How to ensure a smooth workflow editing FDR-AXP33 XAVC S 4K files in Avid MC? Read this post to find an answer to the question.
“4K for less than $1k”, the FDR-AXP33 4K handycam is a massive reduction in price compared to last year’s £1,600 FDR-AX100E, which Sony hopes will give more people than ever the ability to shoot high quality 4K footage. The FDR-AXP33 uses a 1/2.3in backside illuminated (BSI) Exmor R CMOS sensor, paired with a BIONZ X image processor capable of shooting 3,840×2,160 resolution 4K footage at either 24 or 25 frames per second or 1080p video at 50fps, as well as 20.6-megapixel stills.
The FDR-AXP33 shoots up to 100Mbit video in the XAVC S format, which should let users store more video before having to upload to a PC or swap memory cards, but not impact image quality. XAVC S is widely supported by the most popular high-end video editors too, as it uses an MP4 container and H.264 video along with 2-channel PCM audio. However, if you intend to import FDR-AXP33 XAVC S 4K files to Avid Media Composer for editing, you may run into incompatibility issues one or another. That’s because currently there isn’t an AMA plug-in available to import XAVC S footage to Avid. To be able to work natively with FDR-AXP33 XAVC S 4K files in Avid, you will need to convert FDR-AXP33 XAVC S 4K MP4 clips to a format that is well supported by Avid first. This requires third party software like HD Video Converter. Read on to learn a quick guide on how to encode FDR-AXP33 XAVC S 4K MP4 clips to DNxHD .MOV for use in Avid smoothly.
Here’s what you need
HD Video Converter
You can download a demo version (for both, PC and Mac) to have a try. They are not free but it is totally worth it.
A quick guide on how to convert Sony FDR-AXP33 XAVC S video to DNxHD for Avid MC
The steps
Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as a FDR-AXP33 XAVC S Converter for Avid. When its main interface pops up, click ‘Add File’ to input your source media.
Step 2: Choose output format for Avid MC
From ‘Profile’ list, select ‘Avid DNxHD (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
Important: If you’ve loaded a number of video clips to do batch conversion, please do remember ticking off ‘Apply to All’ option before you start.
Step 3: Custom video and audio settings
If necessary, you can click ‘Settings’ button and go to ‘Profiles Settings’ panel to modify video and audio settings like video encoder, resolution, video bit rate, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio encoder, sample rate, audio bit rate, and audio channels. 3D settings are also available.
Step 4: Start Sony FDR-AXP33 XAVC S MP4 footage to DNxHD MOV Conversion
When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start format conversion. As soon as the conversion is complete, you can click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the exported DNxHD MOV files for use in Avid apps with optimum performance.
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