How can EditReady prep my source media for immediate use in Media Composer?

EditReady can transcode your source media into Avid codec-based MXFs to speed up and simplify your dailies (or rushes) workflow.

There are two types of MXFs Media Composer can use:

  1. OP-Atom

  2. OP1a

OP-Atom

OP-Atom MXFs are the individual video and audio streams Media Composer then combines into one Clip inside a Bin.

When Media Composer transcodes MXFs, it typically names these files like this on your filesystem:

  • Video - V01.(Some Hexadecimal Numbers).MXF

  • Audio - A01.(Some Hexadecimal Numbers).MXF

With EditReady 24.1, you can transcode your source media into DNxHD-based OP-Atom MXFs Media Composer will recognize as one Clip. It also uses the name of your source media for your transcoded MXFs so you can quickly identify them on your filesystem and in your Bin.

Currently, EditReady can only create DNxHD-based OP-Atom MXFs, not DNxHR OP-Atom MXFs

OP1a

OP1a MXFs contain all the video and audio streams captured by a camera or recording device in one container, which Media Composer will see as one Clip inside a Bin.

EditReady can transcode your source media into OP1a MXFs – DNxHD or DNxHR – you can use in an editorial workflow.

How to use

1. Transcode your source media to MXFs

  1. In EditReady, add the clips you wish to transcode.

  2. Transcode your source media to the MXF that's best for your workflow, OP-Atom or OP1a.

  1. In the Preset: dropdown, choose the desired DNxHD... (MXF) preset.

  2. Next, select Custom from the Preset: dropdown. Selecting a Custom preset enables the File Format: dropdown.

    1. From File Format:, choose OPAtom (.mxf).

    2. If needed, customize your transcode settings with:

      1. Dest Folder: - the destination folder where EditReady creates your transcoded files.

      2. Additional Options such as Frame Resizing, Color Conversion, etc.

    3. Go to Batch > Save Current Preset and name your new preset.

  1. Click Convert All.

Your transcoded MXFs are now available in the Dest Folder: location.

2. Copy the transcoded MXFs into one of Media Composer’s media folders

Copy the transcoded MXFs from the Dest Folder: location to one of these folders:

  • Shared Storage - /(Volume)/Avid MediaFiles/MXF/(Someones Computer).(N)

  • Local Storage - /(Volume)/Avid MediaFiles/MXF/(N)

Do not mix Shared and Local storage media management folder structures on the same volume.

Media Composer will index and use the MXF and UME folders if they exist inside /(Volume)/Avid MediaFiles on the same volume.

3. Launch Media Composer to index your media folders

The result of Media Composer’s indexing will be a msmMMOB.mdb file in each media folder:

  • ../Avid MediaFiles/MXF/(Folder)

  • ../Avid MediaFiles/UME/(Folder)

4. Use the MDB file to fill your Bin with Clips

  1. In Media Composer, create a new Bin.

  2. In Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows), open one of those media folders – MXF or UME – and locate the msmMMOB.mdb file.

  3. Drag and drop the MDB to your Bin.

You now have a Bin full of Clips ready to use in Media Composer, and those Clips will have the network-connected icon in your Bin.

Questions

Should I rename the folders inside ../Avid MediaFiles/(MXF | UME)/?

Many teams do, but we strongly recommend leaving those folders named as-is.

If identifying those MXFs by filename is important to your workflow, EditReady uses your source media filenames for the transcoded file names so you can easily do so.

A complete discussion on this topic is available in Mimiq's documentation.

What if I add new MXFs to an existing ../Avid MediaFiles/(MXF | UME)/ folder?

If you haven’t renamed those folders to something Media Composer doesn’t expect, Media Composer will reindex that folder, resulting in a new msmMMOB.mdb file. You can drag and drop that MDB file on a new or existing Bin, which will update your Bin with new Clips created from your transcoded MXFs.

Can Media Composer really use OP1a MXFs as media in an editorial workflow?

Yes.

Avid released the Universal Media Engine (UME) to support OP1a MXFs natively in Media Composer 2019.6.

Since 2019, Avid has removed installers for Media Composer versions that do not support UME.

You can read more about the Universal Media Engine and Media Composer’s native OP1a support at Avid’s Knowledge Base:

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