Failed to link because timecode extents do not match XML

I am having issues importing an XML from Premiere Pro CC 2015 into Davinci Resolve 12. I have footage from a Sony a7s and a Canon t3i that were edited into a simple sequence in Premiere. I then exported an XML and tried to bring that into Davinci Resolve to color grade the footage.

When I did the XML import the usual way I receive an error saying that there is "no overlap between specified target timecodes" for all of my a7s footage. (see attached picture)

no overlap between specified target timecodes

IMG_0117.JPG (253.84 KiB) Viewed 54893 times

When I manually bring the clips into the media pool of Resolve and then try to import the XML I get an error saying that "the clip XXXXX.MP4 failed to link because the timecode extents do not match any clip in the Media Pool." (see attached picture)

no overlap between specified target timecodes

IMG_0117.JPG (253.84 KiB) Viewed 54893 times

Has anyone run into this option before? I have tried a bunch of different ways to try to get this to work but nothing has worked. Any solutions anyone? It should be simple, I'm just cutting up raw footage in a sequence in Premiere and then just trying to import that as an XML into Resolve.

Any help is much appreciated! Thank you!

Does this work in your case?

1. On the Media page:
drag the disk folders where the video source files reside from the Library pane to the Media Pool pane

2. File > Import AAF, EDL, XML
and select the .xml file

3. On the pop-up Load XML page:
select 'Ignore file name extensions when matching'
select 'Resolve' as Mixed frame rate format

[Dmitry Kitsov BMD]

Hello, Garrett,
based on your screen shots it seems as if you are using media that does not have uniques timecode and reel name contained within each file.
In certain cases (especially with XML files from Premiere Pro) you may assist Resolve by using a frame count based workflow when importing XML and conforming it. Prior to bringing in the XML you might need to change the conform options in a master project settings to use the frame count, rather than the embedded timecode and additionally use the reel name assistance based on the clip name. This might allow you to work on such a project even without unique timecode and reel names data contained within each of the source files.
Please be aware that media containing unique timecode/reel name combinations is highly desired and will allow Resolve to operate properly from the POV of any of the features that might depend on those pieces of information.
Workflow described above will work the best if the care is taken to "flatten" the timeline by "collapsing" all of the edits to a single track whenever possible prior to producing XML

Yes Dmitry, it's the Conform Options.
For my project I did that also after some searching...prior to your post...Oh well, it was an aggravating time spent

Project Settings > Master Project Settings
> Conform Options
Use timecode: 'from the source clip frame count'

I actually went back to R11, made the errors go away there, thought I did the above steps 1,2,3 I posted...then went to R12 again and ran into the errors again...then spent the aggravating time...until I compared project settings. Merry Christmas!

In my project, this was needed too:
select 'Ignore file name extensions when matching',
although the file names (HD edit vs 4K) are identical and all have .mov extensions

I was surprised about that.

I had a similar issue with GoPro footage where I edited in FCPX and exported an XML to Resolve. The media would be offline, with error codes noting that the timecodes were exactly 144 hours apart. After hours of search, I found a video by Remote Access Post about Adding Timecode to DSLR Footage.

Although I could see timecode in my GoPro footage, somehow Resolve didn't like it when importing an XML file. It would work well, though, if I imported the video into Resolve and edited it there. But editing in Resolve is not as easy as in FCPX.

Timecode can be re-assigned using the program QTchange. The video above also describes changing the reel name, but I didn't need that to roundtrip my GoPro footage between FCPX and Resolve.

H.264 is not ideal for post for a lot of reasons. You would be wiser to transcode to an easier-to-run format like ProRes or DNxHD. The conform can work if you select "Assist Using Reel Names from the Source Clip Filename" in Conform Options.

Workflow methods are challenging in many situations, but it's never worse when you use non-timecode cameras where every single clip begins at 00:00:00:00. Ideally, every clip should have a unique name and unique time-of-day timecode to prevent any conflicts.

What I just noticed is that in Premiere I am using 4K footage originally shot @60fps and then reinterpreted as @23.976 (inside Premiere). Some were shot @23.876
Edited in a 23.976 timeline in Premiere
Exported AAF from Premiere
Loaded RAW material manually onto Resolve
Then attempted to Import AAF
Some of the clips did not match. Exactly those converted from 60fps to 23.976fps.
Then in Resolve changed those 60fps clips to 23.976fps using Clip Attributes.
retried to import the AAF
None of the clips were found. All offline.
Looked back at Premiere. Clip names match, timecodes don´t.
Somehow Premiere change the timecodes during the reinterpeting process in a different way as Resolve.

I will try to manually reset the timecodes on Resolve using Clip Attibutes.
It´s a short film.
If I figure some procedural way to do that, I will let you know, as well as if in any way this workaround works.

Cheers.

As promised, I am updating about the workaround I attempted.

I changed the timecodes in Resolve to exactly match the ones Premiere showed.
Everything worked OK in DaVinci since then. My AAF assembled just fine.
I confess I was dumb not to keep the old TCs, and dumber not to calculate if the difference was constant. That´s because it was only 12 clips. So I will not be able to answer that.

question for BlackMagic Technicians: why there is this difference? Is it something Premiere creates?
It doesn´t seem to be impossible to solve.

Thank you all.

What I just noticed is that in Premiere I am using 4K footage originally shot @60fps and then reinterpreted as @23.976 (inside Premiere). Some were shot @23.876
Edited in a 23.976 timeline in Premiere
Exported AAF from Premiere
Loaded RAW material manually onto Resolve
Then attempted to Import AAF
Some of the clips did not match. Exactly those converted from 60fps to 23.976fps.
Then in Resolve changed those 60fps clips to 23.976fps using Clip Attributes.
retried to import the AAF
None of the clips were found. All offline.
Looked back at Premiere. Clip names match, timecodes don´t.
Somehow Premiere change the timecodes during the reinterpeting process in a different way as Resolve.

I will try to manually reset the timecodes on Resolve using Clip Attibutes.
It´s a short film.
If I figure some procedural way to do that, I will let you know, as well as if in any way this workaround works.

Cheers.

I encountered this issue when trying to sync MP4 footage with an external audio recording. The issue was not related to the MP4 files, or to a lack of embedded timecode. Rather, the problem had to do with the frequency of the audio file, 44100 Hz. Once the audio file was transcoded to 48000 Hz, the video and audio files synced like a charm on the timeline in Resolve.

Interestingly, I found something similar, but it isn't the frequency....

GH5 mp4 footage has timecode in a data track (track 3). Some applications won't read this. If you re-wrap with an audio transcode (FFMPEG will do this) then the time code ends up in the audio track (2) which is then read by the originating NLE (in my case vegas Pro) and passed in the XML to Resolve.

ymmv.

Hi all. I had the same issue, but these pretty simple steps solved it:

- Export and EDL (not an XML or an AAF) from the editing software.
- In Resolve, prior to importing the EDL, import the media that previously failed to link.
- Then, import the EDL through File / Import /Pre-Conformed EDL.

As I said, it worked for me.