Panasonic P2 MXF converter – AIC Converter-Import AVCHD/MTS to FCP/FCE/iMovie

Free and Best 6 MXF Converter for Mac programs reviewed

Admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:49:00 +0000

MXF is a file format for the exchange of programme material between servers, tape streamers and to digital archives. MXF bundles together video, audio, and programme data, such as text – together termed essence – along with metadata and places them into a wrapper. MXF does not force the use of certain video or audio compression types but also the internal index and partition structure can vary. The body can be based on several different types of material (essence) including MPEG, DV and uncompressed video and audio, it also uses the SMPTE KLV data coding system, which has the advantage of being a recognized standard.

See also: What is MXF | What can MXF do

The MXF container is not so widely accepted as MP4, QuickTime MOV, and M4V format. Neither does QuickTime plays MXF format nor does iTunes stream MXF files. Professional editing software like Final Cut Pro and Avid support a range of MXF footage (but not all of them), while iMovie won’t let your import MXF to at all. That’s where MXF Converter comes in (learn how to convert MXF files on Mac). This article outlines the Free and Best 6 MXF Converters for Mac programs reviewed, go ahead to learn and compare them by yourself.

Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac
Aiseesoft MXF Converter for Mac
Calibrated{Q} MXF Import
MXF4mac Player
MXF Import QT
Pavtube Media Magician for Mac

1. Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac

Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac is an easy-to-use and intuitive Mac tool for users of Panasonic P2 camcorders and Canon XF series cameras. It lets you imports P2 MXF, XDCAM, and Canon XF .mxf footage and export editable Apple ProRes/DVCPRO/HDV/Avid DNxHD/AIC codec so as to import to video editing software like iMovie, Final Cut Pro (X), Final Cut Express, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, and more. More than generating editable files for video editing software, Pavtube Mac MXF Converter also comes with optimized format presets for almost all popular multimedia devices, such as iPad, the new iPad 3, iPhone, iTouch, Apple TV 3, Motorola Xoom, Asus Transformer Pad Infinity 700, Google Nexus 7 Android 4.1 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy S3, Acer Iconia Tab, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HTC Evo 4G, Samsung Galaxy X S II, PS Vita, PS3, Xbox 360, etc. In general, the Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac offers best MXF Playback and Import solutions with its extensive output options and flexible settings.

System Requirements:

Mac OS X Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.8)
1G Hz or above Intel processor
512 MB physical RAM (memory) or above
1024*768 or higher resolution display.

Price: $29

2. Aiseesoft MXF Converter for Mac

Aiseesoft MXF Converter for Mac can convert MXF file to other popular video format like MP4, MPG, 3GP, MKV, AVI, WMV, FLV, VOB, SWF, DV, M4V, and MOV, etc. on Mac. Also this application supports converting MXF to 3D videos on Mac. You are allowed to convert MXF recordings to other video format that can play well on any portable devices such iPad 2, The new iPad, iPhone 4S, iPod, Apple TV, and Android devices, etc. It also has multiple editing functions to help you edit different MXF recordings instead of professional video editing software.

System Requirements:

Mac OS X 10.5 or above
Intel processor
512MB RAM, Super VGA (800×600) resolution
16-bit graphics card or higher

Price: $29

3. Calibrated{Q} MXF Import

Calibrated{Q} Import components are QuickTime components for NATIVE Importing and Playback of supported MXF or XDCAM EX MP4 Files in QuickTime Player and CatDV on Windows & OSX, and in Final Cut Studio 2 & 3 Applications, and in Final Cut Pro X (MXF files only) and other QuickTime enabled applications on OSX. With Calibrated{Q} MXF Import, you can import and work with DNxHD .MXF files in Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.0/5.5/6.0, Adobe After Effects CS 5.0/5.5/6.0, or Adobe Media Encode CS 5.0/5.5/6.0.

System Requirements: Mac OSX (Intel) 10.5/10.6/10.7

Price: Free for 30 days

4. MXF4mac Player

MXF4mac Player can open most MXF variations. It supports, XDCAM HD, AVC-Intra, JPEG2000 (optional with J2K Codec) , DNxHD, HDV, Uncompressed SD/HD, Uncompressed Avid 10 bit, DVC-Pro HD, IMX-D10,DV, Meridien, Sony Proxy and more.The MXF4mac Player is also able to play Panasonic P2 XML documents like movie files with video and audio linked together. Of course it is compatible to QuickTime movies and more (e.g. .mp4, .avi, .m4v, .wav, .aif, .aiff). Open or just drag nearly any flavour of MXF files into the MXF4mac Player to watch it, even in full screen.

System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.6, v10.7, v10.8

Price: $0 (freeware)

5. MXF Import QT

MXF Import QT is an advanced MXF reader for QuickTime that supports MXF variations from broadcast media, ingest, transcoding, playout devices, hard disk recorders, and MXF-based software. MXF Import QT is a versatile solution for direct conversion-free, real-time MXF access and editing that works with Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server, and Logic Pro. It allows natively open and access a broad range of MXF variations without converting or referencing to the QuickTime movie format. The unique integration enables Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server and other solutions to directly work with native MXF media.

System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.6, v10.7, v10.8

Price: 499 EUR

6. Media Magician for Mac

Pavtube Media Magician for Mac is a useful timeline-oriented video editor and converter. It helps edit and convert not only camcorder videos, but also MXF, MTS, TS, Tivo, MKV, FLV, and so on for further editing in non-linear editing software, watching on iOS/Android/Windows RT tablets and phones, or direct uploading to YouTube.

It features smart camcorder wizard, lossless trim/cut MTS/M2TS frame by frame, preset optimized output formats, Apple ProRes encoding (for Mac only), 3D effect adding, and more for you to explore.

Nowadays, kinds of camcorders record videos in HD or Full HD. Professional Photographers like to edit their camera clips without quality lossless. So as to keep the video quality as good as original. With a mac computer, there are many useful editing software. Like FCP (X), FCE, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Avid Studio, iPhoto etc. If you often use such editing software, you may find, each editing software has the most suitable codec for editing. Which will help us maintain video quality to a large extent. For example, FCP series prefer Apple ProRes codec, while Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) is most suitable for iMovie or FCE. However, our camcorders record videos in kinds of video formats, when you import them into the editing software, sometimes, it will take a long time for rendering. In fact, it’s the process of transcoding.

System Requirements:

Mac OS X Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.8)
1G Hz or above Intel processor.
512 MB physical RAM (memory) or above.
1024*768 or higher resolution display.

Price: $49

What is P2 (storage media)?

Admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:14:02 +0000

P2 (P2 is a short form for “Professional Plug-In”) is a professional digital recording solid-state memory storage media format introduced by Panasonic in 2004, and especially tailored to electronic news-gathering (ENG) applications. It features tapeless (non-linear) recording of DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO25, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO-HD, or AVC-Intra streams on a solid-state flash memory. The P2 card is essentially a RAID of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards with an LSI controller tightly packaged in a die-cast PC Card (formerly PCMCIA) enclosure, so data transfer rate increases as memory capacity increases. The system includes cameras, decks as drop-in replacements for Videocassette recorders (VCR), and a special 5.25-inch computer drive for random-access integration with non-linear editing systems (NLE). The cards can also be used directly where a PC card (PCMCIA) slot is available, as in most older notebook computers, as a normal hard disk drive, although a custom software driver must first be loaded.

As of early 2010, P2 cards are available in capacities of 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 GB. At introduction, P2 cards offered low recording capacity compared to competing, video tape-based formats (a miniDV tape holds roughly 13 GB of data, and an S-size HDCAM tape holds 50 GB). To solve this, camcorders and decks using P2 media employ multiple card slots, with the ability to span the recording over all slots. Cards are recorded in sequence, and when a card is full, it can be swapped out while another card is recording. This limits recording time only by power supply and the available number of cards. If a card is partially full, the deck will record only until it is full. Unlike video tape, old video cannot be recorded over accidentally; old footage must be manually deleted.

P2 cards are of a ruggedized PCMCIA type with the fastest transfer speeds currently available through this format. The card also contains a processor that organizes and safeguards the files and the case is developed and crafted to “military” (according to Panasonic) specifications, making P2 cards tough and reliable.

The first pieces of equipment released by Panasonic which use the P2 format included the AJ-SPX800 (a 2/3″ broadcast camcorder for ENG and EFP applications), the studio recorder AJ-SPD850, the AJ-PCD10 offload device (basically, a five-slot PC card reader with USB interface designed to fit a 5-1/4″ IT systems bay), and the memory cards themselves – AJ-P2C004 (4 GB) and AJ-P2C002 (2 GB). Panasonic is currently shipping a wide range of camcorders that support the P2 format, including the professional video camera AG-HVX200 HD handheld camcorder, and the high-end, or broadcast professional shoulder-mount AG-HPX500, AJ-HPX2000, and AJ-HPX3000 camcorders. Panasonic has also announced the P2-based AG-HPX170 handheld HD tapeless camcorder. The HPX170 is very similar to the HVX200 and the HVX200A, the main difference being the lack of a video tape drive on the 170. The latest products to feature P2 technology are the well-received recently launched AJ-HPX2700 and AH-HPX3700 “Varicam” high end cameras.

On April 15, 2012, Panasonic introduced the “MicroP2” system, an extension of the P2 format. It utilizes a P2 Card adapter that enables the use of high-speed SDHC or MicroP2 cards. Current P2 products will require a firmware update to be able to use the new format.

P2 card footage related guide:

PS. More solutions about P2 card footage at MXF Column and File Importing; More Question at FAQ

The original source: pavtube.com

Flawlessly Import and Edit Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 MXF footage into iMovie 8/9/11

Admin — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 08:20:06 +0000

Summary: By the article, you will learn the easiest way to import and edit Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 MXF recording with iMovie flawlessly on Mac Mountain Lion 10.8 by transcoding Panasonic P2 MXF to iMovie campatible codec “Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) MOV”.

Q: One of my clients just bought a used Panasonic P2 camera, a AG-HVX200, and wants to edit P2 MXF footage (720p 24p) in iMovie 11 and Mac Mountain Lion 10.8.

I’m looking for an simple, reliable, reasonably priced converter so they can take their Panasonic P2 MXF footage and prep it for iMovie 11.

I am seeing a number of products on the market that do this, but I’m not sure which one I should purchase.

Do you guys have something suitable for this task?

Stephen

A: Apple Intermediate Codec is iMovie preferred video. That is to say, AIC videos will show you a better performance when you import and edit them in iMoive. So you’d better to choose a program which can export AIC videos. My brother is a photographer and he owns a Canon XF100. The program he uses is a MXF Converter for Mac made by PavTube (it seems to be this name). He usually exports Apple ProRes video for further editing in FCP. I have tested this program and noticed that it also has AIC output. Please google PavTube MXF Converter for Mac and check if it is helpful.

Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac is entitled as a top P2 MXF to iMovie Converter. It supports encoding Panasonic P2 and Canon C300/XF105/XF100/XF300 MXF files to iMovie native format so that you can easily import Panasonic P2 camera recording MXF to iMovie 8/9/11 for editing on Mac Mountain Lion 10.8. This will help you import the file correctly and saving the rendering time.

Required software:

1. Free Download P2 MXF to iMovie Converter for Mac

2. Supported OS: Mac OS X Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.8)

Below, I will offer a quick tutorial up on how to transcode Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 to AIC MOV for editing on iMovie 8/9/11 smoothly on Mac Mountain Lion 10.8.

Step 1. Load P2 MXF footage from Panasonic AG-HVX200 to Pavtube P2 MXF to iMovie Converter for Mac.

Install and run P2 MXF to iMovie Converter for Mac, load your P2 MXF files into the program.

MXF file structure on Panasonic’s P2 card

Note:

If you are loading Panasonic P2 MXF files to Pavtube MXF converter for Mac to Final Cut Express to do format conversion, please make sure you have the entire MXF file structure as it saved on your camcorder’s P2 card. As the above screenshot of MXF file structure on Panasonic’s P2 card showing, .MXF clips are all saved in ‘VIDEO’ folder, while audio files are all stored in ‘AUDIO’ folder, so if you only have some loose .MXF clips, your files will have image only without audio.

Step 2. Select AIC MOV as the output format for iMovie 8/9/11 and set the output folder.

Click “Format”, and move mouse pointer to “iMovie and Final Cut Express”, from the sublist, you can easily find the “Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) (*.mov)” which is the compatible format for you to import Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 MXF to iMovie 8/9/11 for further editing on Mac Mountain Lion 10.8.

Step 3. Click “Convert” button in the main interface to start convert Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 MXF to AIC MOV for iMovie 8/9/11 editing on Mac Mountain Lion 10.8.

Some more helpful features of the Panasonic P2 MXF to iMovie Converter for Mac:

1. Settings – click to set video resolution (1920×1080/1440×1080/1280×720/720×480), bitrate(from 1Mbps to 20Mbps), frame rate (24p/30p).

2. Editor – click “” bar to set effect, deinterlace, denoise, mute, volume up, trim, crop etc.

As a 2012 professional P2 MXF to iMovie Converter for Mac, it also supports transcoding P2 MXF to Apple ProRes Codec for editing with Final Cut Pro 6/7 and FCP X.