XDROOT - XDCAM import

Report · May 21, 2018

Hi,

I've been given video files to edit and I can't figure out how to open / convert / import these files in to Premiere Pro.

This is what I can see in the folders I've been given.

When I right click the file 'MOVIEOBJ.BDM' - there is no option to 'show package contents'.

Anyone know what these files are and how I can edit them?

Thank you!

Report · May 21, 2018

It depends on what format was chosen to record on.

Here's a screen shot of the card from a Sony z90v, it was set to record in XAVC so the files are in the XDRoot folder as .mxf files:

But you don't need to drill down to the files themselves - If the footage is AVHD, for example, in Premiere, in the Media Browser window, navigate to the card and select AVCHD and Import. If you shot is XAVC, navigate to the XDROOT folder and choose import. Premiere Pro just needs to be directed to the top level of the folder containing the clips, it will figure out where the clips are on its own - and utilize the other files contained within folder (such as the metadata file MEDIAPRO.XML if needed.

Often when you do this, after import a warning dialog will appear saying that there were incompatible files found - that is Premiere reporting that within the folder it was directed to, it found files which were not video clips (which is correct). You can dismiss that warning.

MtD

Report · May 22, 2018

Hi MtD,

Thanks very much for your answer.

Unfortunately, I've no idea what format or camera these videos were shot on. I was just given the footage and asked to edit it.

As you can see from the screenshots there aren't any .mxf files in any of the folders/subfolders. Do you think there are files missing?

In premiere pro I've tried importing the files in various different ways but since there are no .mxf files no video files are appearing in the project. Only empty folders and the .jpgs are importing. I've tried importing the whole 'PRIVATE' folder. And I've tried importing the AVCHD folder, M4ROOT folder and XDROOT folders individually.

When I import the AVCHD folder I get this warning, and an empty folder named 'AVCHD'.

When I import the M4ROOT folder I get this warning, and an empty folder named 'M4ROOT'.

When I import the XDROOT folder I get this warning, and a folder named 'XDROOT' with a .jpg and nothing else.

As you can see from my original post the only file that looks like a video is the file 'MOVIEOBJ.BDM' in the 'BDMV' folder in the 'AVCHD' folder. Maybe I need to do something with this file? When I right click this file, I don't have the option to 'View package contents'.

I've been given two other interviews to edit and I can't edit those files either.

Here's how their folders look:

Interview 2:

I see this file when I select 'Show Package Contents'.

I see these two files when I select 'Show Package Contents'.

I've tried importing each of these subfolders individually into Premiere Pro and I've tried importing the whole 'PRIVATE' folder. I get the same error messages and empty folders as I do when attempting to import the files from interview 1.

Here are the files for Interview 3:

This interview folder definitely seems to be missing files. Do you agree?

Sorry for such a lengthy reply / question!

Thank you!

Rachel

Report · May 22, 2018

Hi Rachel,

Are you using Media Browser as MtD suggested, or File > Import? Very important to use Media Browser, usually a window found at lower left in Premiere. Slowly drill down through folders from SD card (copied to hard drive first) until it populates with the video clips in right-hand pane, then select them and drag to Project Bin or timeline sequence. This is preferred method vs. File > Import for many reasons.

As MtD said, the location of folder the video clips are in will vary, depending whether shot in AVCHD mode or XDCAM mode, but they should be there.

Also, I see asterisks in your file name path. Not a Mac user, so maybe those are normal, but if added by you, not a good idea. With Windows at least, many "special" characters are reserved for system use and if you add / \][**&^%@$# type of letters to file names, can cause issues, confuses the system.

Thanks

Jeff

Report · May 22, 2018

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for the feedback. I’ve tried importing using both File > Import and Media Browser. I get the same errors with both methods. Did you look through all of my screenshots? None of the files in any of the folders looks like video files. Do you think there are files missing?

As for the * in the folder name – I’m not sure if this is an issue on a MAC. It’s never caused any problems before. The files were shared with me via a shared Dropbox folder. I’ve tried importing them into Premiere Pro straight from the Dropbox folder and I’ve copied the files to my laptop hard drive and tried importing from there. Neither has worked! Same errors every time.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Rachel