Came upon issues editing MXF footage in Premiere Pro? This post aims to help you out of the issue. It explains a workaround to transcode MXF files for use in Premiere Pro with optimum performance.
How can I import MXF files into Premiere Pro?
“Hi, guys, I’d like some advice on how to import .MXF files into Adobe Premiere Pro for editing. I’m working on a Macbook Pro running OSX Yosemite. 8.0.1 is the Build number of the Premiere Pro software. When I attempt to import Canon XF100/.MXF media into Premiere, I get the error message ‘Unsupported format or damaged file’. There is nothing wrong in reality with these files as they are opening perfectly fine with VLC Player. Is there a good MXF converter out there which maintains the HD quality of the original .mxf files? I would greatly appreciate any help and advice for this situation.”
A Sony or Panasonic camera…or a Canon, etc. can produce MXF footage. Different sorts of MXF files need different ways to read in Premiere Pro. For those who need to transcode MXF files for use in Premiere Pro, HD Video Converter is a proper choice. Check a quick guide on how to convert MXF files for Premiere Pro editing via using this converter app.
How to transcode MXF footage for use in Premiere Pro smoothly?
Software requirement
HD Video Converter
Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as an MXF to Premiere Pro Converter.
Step 2: Click ‘Add File’ to import your source media to the program.
Step 3: Select output format
* If you are on a Windows PC, from the format bar, choose ‘Avid DNxHD 1080p (*.mov)’ as output under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
** If you are on a Mac computer, you can from the format bar, choose ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as target under ‘Final Cut Pro’ catalogue.
Also, you can select ‘MOV (AVC) (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas’ option.
*** A point to note here is that the HD Video Converter software features an MPEG-2 format profile optimized for Adobe Premiere, but some people said that the MPEG-2 is a lossy codec that throws away information which is not the right codec for editing. For this reason, we would recommend converting MXF to DNxHD MOV for Premiere Pro on Windows and transcoding MXF to ProRes MOV for Premiere Pro on Mac.
Step 4: Custom video and audio settings (for advanced users)
Click ‘Settings’ button, the ‘Profile Settings’ panel pops up, on which you are able to modify video and audio settings like resolution, bit rate, frame rate, sample rate and audio channel.
Step 5: When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start transcoding MXF files to Premiere Pro supported QuickTime MOV format. As soon as the conversion complete, click ‘Open’ button to locate the generated files and now you are able to open them in Premiere Pro for further editing.
Also read
How can I import MXF footage into Avid Media Composer?
FCP 7 not recognizing my MXF file – convert MXF to ProRes
Convert P2 MXF to ProRes for FCP 6/7/X without losing sound
MXF and Vegas – How can I edit MXF video files in Sony Vegas?