If you are looking for a smooth workflow for editing Sony PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 footage in Avid Media Composer, you are in the right place. This post describes a way of converting Sony PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 files to DNxHD for use in Avid system stably with optimum performance.
Looking for a fluid workflow for Sony PMW-160 and Avid MC7
“Hi, I just bought a new Sony PMW-160 XDCAM camcorder, and have been testing it with Avid MC. I am using MC 7.0.3 on a HP Z820. I find that I can AMA to XDCAMHD 422 with little or no issues, but the workflow is not reliable and stable. Someone said he used to transcode everything to DNxHD for the offline and online at DNxHD, and it worked reasonably well. Do I need to do the same thing for a fluid workflow? Can you please tell me a convincing solution to work around this? Thanks.”
The Sony PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 Camcorder features three 1/3″ Exmor CMOS sensors and a 20x power zoom lens, and utilizes the XDCAM HD422 format at 50Mbps. To be able to work with Sony PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 footage in Avid successfully, you will need to install XAVC/XDCAM Plug-in for Avid (PDZK-MA2), an AMA plug-in provides support for XAVC and XDCAM / XDCAM EX files in Avid Media Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter products, allowing viewing and editing capability. If for whatever reason you still have issues editing PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 footage in Avid, we would recommend transcoding PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 footage to DNxHD codec first. DNxHD is Avid’s favorite editing codec, which Avid will recognize and handle well. Read on to find a quick guide on how to encode PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 footage to Avid preferred DNxHD format.
Here’s what you need
HD Video Converter
You can download a demo version to have a try. They are not free but it is totally worth it.
How to convert Sony PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 footage to QuickTime for editing in Avid?
Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as a Sony PMW-160 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 PMW-160 XDCAM HD422 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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