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Howdy. New to Premiere Pro and trying the demo. Unfortunately I'm having a issues right off the bat.
I'm trying to import Avid DNxHD 36 media from Media Composer 5.5. But I get some issue saying that the codec isn't supported. Am I wrong that DNxHD is supposed to be native in Premiere Pro CS5+?
Thanks!
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Almost forgot, my hardware = Mac Pro w/ 12GB RAM. Nvidia GT120. OS 10.6.7.
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Am I wrong that DNxHD is supposed to be native in Premiere Pro CS5+?
Correct; DNxHD is not native--meaning that Premiere Pro does not ship with encoders or decoders for it. Since DNxHD uses QuickTime for containering, however, it's a simple (and free) add-on: Avid QuickTime Codecs LE 2.3.4
Once installed, any Avid-encoded QuickTimes will import into PPro without issue, and you can even encode back to an Avid codec (DNxHD and many others) when you select QuickTime as your export Format. Pick the codec you like from the Video tab, and you can configure the encoder as necessary.
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.......but, does Avid DNxHD then bog down PPro because it might trigger a 32 bit operation because of Quick Time?? If not, can anyone explain?
JFPhoton
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Sure, you're using the 32-bit QuickTime bridge when using some QuickTime files--DNxHD files included--but I wouldn't get all worked up about it. Despite all the boogity-boogity that goes on around here regarding QuickTime, DNxHD and other QuickTime codecs (ProRes, for example) work just fine in Premiere Pro, on both Windows and Mac.
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So PP uses the QT DNxHD codec even when the files are wrapped in MXF?
I have Media Composer 5.5 on the same system, so it has all the DNxHD QT codecs installed. Even re-installed just to be sure. No luck. I'll try again when I get home.
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So PP uses the QT DNxHD codec even when the files are wrapped in MXF?
Oh--I see. In that case, no. Premiere Pro supports some Avid OMF and MXF files, but I don't believe that DNxHD MXFs are included in that. You'd have to export (rewrap, really) the files from MC to MOVs, which PPro would then import.
That said, I might be able to help you with another rewrapping workflow. Would it be possible to upload a teeny-tiny sample MXF somewhere for testing purposes?
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Thanks for the replies guys. Great community here. I'm just getting my head back above water with some work and thought I'd dive into Adobe side of things before I barge into the next Avid project. Upping my After Effcts skills here too as we move away from FCP.
Anyway, I was starting to think that maybe I was over-optimistic in thinking I should be able to move from DNxHD MXF files to Premiere. But now I'm looking at this Adobe page on Extensibility, and it certainly seems to suggest that it should be possible. Easy even. There's a whitepaper specifically on going from MC to PP. Still no luck for me. Going by the method in the paper, I get "Cannot load clips that refer to separately generated media files. Clip S23A/03 will be set to offline." And no audio or picture online. FYI, this is media that was created in REDcine-X. Anyway, the saga continues...
Colin, I'd send you a media sample but the footage that I'm trying this with doesn't belong to me. Hopefully I'll soon get a chance to bring in some "fresh" media and see how that works.
Thanks again.
- Justin
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Hi Justin,
I don't think you're wrong in assuming this should work--all signs point to "yes" based on the information you've found. There really don't seem to be any really conclusive, "this is how you do it" types of resources, though. Maybe I'll download a demo of MC and see if I can make some files to tinker around with
In the meantime, if you're feeling savvy, you might want to check out ffmbc - FFMedia Broadcast. FFmbc is basically a derivative of FFmpeg that has some considerations for professional/broadcast media. One of those functions, as noted on the website, is the ability to "Create AVID DNxHD files in .mov." Now, that's not totally what you're after, but you might be able to losslessly rewrap these MXFs into MOV containers which WILL import into Premiere Pro, for certain. Granted, that is not the exact solution you're after, but if you're in a situation where you have to get something done, it may be able to get you moving again.
If you should happen to discover anything more conclusive about this supposed functionality, do post back--others will likely find the information useful.
Good luck!
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Thanks Colin. I forgot that FFmpeg can do DNxHD. That could end up being really handy.
I'll definately post back as I figure out more.
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I wouldn't be surprised if REDCineX was using FFmpeg under the hood for that! Definitely use FFmbc for such things, however--it's got more functionality built-in for professional media. It's MXF support is waaay better than FFmpeg's.
BTW: The Premiere Pro docs are rather tight-lipped and inconclusive about the whole matter...
From File formats supported for import:
MXF (Media eXchange Format; P2 Movie: Panasonic Op-Atom variant of MXF, with video in DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, DVCPRO HD, AVC-Intra; XDCAM HD Movie, Sony XDCAM HD 50 (4:2:2), Avid MXF Movie), and native Canon XF (new in Premiere Pro CS5.5)
From Importing assets from tapeless formats:
Avid capture format
Avid editing systems capture footage to MXF files, generally into a folder called Avid Media files, with audio captured into discreet files separate from the video files. When you import Avid video files, Premiere Pro automatically imports their associated audio files. However, it is simpler to import Avid project files, in Advanced Authoring Format (AAF), than to identify and import individual Avid MXF video files.
Hmm... yeah. A veritable cornucopia of information.
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We just posted this, and I'm in the process of writing up a blog post that links to this and some related useful resources.
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Ruh roh:
DNxHD
Unfortunately, at this time, DNxHD via MXF is an unsupported codec in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Rewrapping, it is.
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Either rewrapping or going with a different codec. I'm not sure if we'd see the advantages of AAF without MXF.
Not supporting DNxHD via MXF is basically not supporting Avid at this point. You would have to come into MC via AMA, which defeats the purpose of Media Composer in many ways. Or use OMF media, which is standard def.
Still, it's good to know. At least it's not just me. But the Premiere marketing re: Avid compatibility is pretty misleading IMHO. Hopefully this will be ammended in CS6. Unless it's an Avid legal issue holding us back.
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I agree that adobe really should support these files. We just purchased a Cinedeck recorder system that captures 1080i SDI video in MXF files. They are the same DNxHD formatted MXF and premiere can't load them. Now we wasted thousands of dollars on a device based on adobe's claim of MXF file support. We obviously assumed it was all encompassing, but it is not. It would not think it would be too difficult for adobe to add this into premiere.
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The Cinedeck should be able to do ProRes as well.
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JBBarham wrote:
The Cinedeck should be able to do ProRes as well.
It does but that is not what we want, we subscribe to the apple/quicktime is evil theory. We want to avoid them. We use Windows 7 Machines with 8 cores and 64bit OS, quicktime cripples our systems.
It can't be that hard to implement these files into premiere.
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I see. Well I don't know, but their might be a licensing issue at play with DNxHD. I know that there's a $500 add-on to use DnxHD in DaVinci Resolve.
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Now that BlackMagic has added DNxHD MXF comperssion to the HyperDeck Shuttle 2, this codec is going to be a useful aquisition format. That means all NLEs will benefit from being able to use it.
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r39525 wrote:
Now that BlackMagic has added DNxHD MXF comperssion to the HyperDeck Shuttle 2, this codec is going to be a useful aquisition format. That means all NLEs will benefit from being able to use it.
Yup balls in your court Adobe - our facility is looking to purchase a number of these units and has been more than a little interested in MC6...really want to stick with CS6 but if the workflow isnt there...
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Just as an update, a rewrap with ffmbc to MOV does not work. The Hyperdeck DNxHD MXF files are non-standard and other than the Calibrated{Q} MXF Importer (I tried the demo with my Shuttle 2 MXF video files and it works) there isn't any cost-effective way of getting them into PPro CS 5.5. Of course, if you have Avid MC installed, that would work also, but most people who use Premiere probably don't have both NLEs.
There is hope on the horizon. The author of ffmbc is entertaining donations to update his software so the MXFs will convert to MOVs and then will open in PPro. Blackmagic Design staff have posted in their official forum (Creative Cow) that BMD is working on adding another codec to the Hyperdeck series via a firmware upgrade. I'd guess that from the nuances in the post, that they are talking about either ProRes or Cineform.
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Blackmagic Design just relased version 2.5 (beta 1) for the Hyperdeck Studio and Shuttle 2, which adds an option for DNxHD in a MOV wrapper. I just checked it out and PPro CS 5.5 reads the files from my Shuttle 2 fine.
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Which bit rates of DNxHD does it record in? Or maybe I mean Mbps?
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Only 220 Mb/s at 1080, but it might be slightly lower in PAL land (probably 185 Mb/s).