استيراد الملفات من كاميرا XDCAM

It’s always a fun moment when as an editor or writer, the opportunity is found to simplify a complex subject, and share the knowledge with readers of the website. I’m a little disappointed that Sony Broadcast Professional has stolen that opportunity away when it comes to the XDCAM EX camcorder. This system is so easy, it’ll take you far longer to read this article than it takes to Xfer the media and start editing.

It's always a fun moment when as an editor or writer, the opportunity is found to simplify a complex subject, and share the knowledge with readers of the website. I'm a little disappointed that Sony Broadcast Professional has stolen that opportunity away when it comes to the XDCAM EX camcorder. This system is so easy, it'll take you far longer to read this article than it takes to Xfer the media and start editing.

The Sony PMW EX1 camcorder

Working with the XDCAM EX requires virtually zero effort on the part of the user. The workflow is fast, and refreshingly easy. The EX stores video files on an SxS ("S" by "S") card. Remove the card from the camcorder when shooting is complete or the card is filled. Insert into a laptop or desktop Express port or card reader.
The folders on the card will appear like this:

You won't need to view the files here, this is merely an example to show how the file structure on the SxS card will appear.

Install the XDCAM EX browser software if you haven't already done so. Once the browser software is installed, open the card in the browser. You can download the Clip Browser software here.

Files are copied from the SxS card to a hard drive.

Select the files to be copied over from the SxS card to the hard drive either by dragging the cursor over all files to select them, use the CTRL+A shortcut to select ALL, or select individual files by holding the CTRL key and selecting individual files.

Press CTRL+G to export the files in the .mxf file format. The Clip Browser will ask you for a destination for the file(s). Choose the drive to which you wish to export/store the converted files, and choose the START button in the dialog.

This will copy the files from the SxS card to a local hard drive and re-wrap the files with a new extension (mxf). The transfer and re-wrap time is approximately 4:1, so an hour of content takes approximately 15 minutes to Xfer. For the sake of curiosity, I Xferred files without the re-wrap to see how much time the re-wrap added to the Xfer. The difference was about 10%, or just under 14 minutes. Nothing is actually done to the files when exported in this manner; only the header file is changed in the file, making it compatible with most NLE systems.

Now open Vegas. The clips/files will show up in the local drive to which they were exported.

Drag the files to the Vegas timeline. Edit. That's it. You're done.

So to recap:
1-Shoot
2-Put SxS card in card reader
3-Xfer
4-Begin editing
5-Win an Oscar or Emmy

OK, so the last step might not happen right away, but overall, it's ridiculously easy to work with XDCAM EX files in Sony Vegas 8.

Alright, now to discuss some details. First, Vegas does not (nor does any NLE) currently support the data straight off the card. That's OK, because no one wants to edit directly from the card anyway; it's much too slow. However, currently other NLE's require converting the 1920 x 1080 files to 1440 x 1080, which takes a little time. Vegas doesn't need this, and in this image, you can see that the files on the Vegas timeline are 1920 x 1080.

Vegas Properties display the 1920 x 1080 file on the Vegas timeline.

A word of caution; I initially tried playing back the 1920 x 1080 files on my laptop in Vegas 8. Using a USB2 drive as an external, I could play back one stream on the Vegas timeline at 24p if I had Vegas optimized (full timeline view). As soon as the timeline was stretched/zoomed, playback framerate fell to between 18 and 22 fps. My laptop is an older 1.83GHz machine, single core. Putting the media on a dual core desktop, the files played back from the same USB2 HDD without any hiccup, and playback maintained framerate with color correction.

XDCAM EX files on the Vegas 8 timeline

Once capture time is removed thanks to file-based editing, and the benefits of markers in the MXF format, a project can begin editing at least four times as fast as previously possible, with outstanding quality and high performance on the Vegas timeline. Xfer time of the Express card is incredibly fast, yet portable and low in power consumption. From a selfish perspective, I'm very excited to have the EX on a skydiving expedition at Mount Everest where HDD-based systems aren't possible, and tape systems are a serious hassle due to temperature. Couple the camera with Vegas, I'll be able to Xfer and upload daily without breaking a sweat or feeling pressured due to capture or Xfer time, while keeping pristine pictures and no upsampling.

Vegas and the PMW-EX1 camcorder? Speed x Speed! The fastest combination on the planet.