Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

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Robert Pirron

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Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostWed Jul 15, 2015 1:58 pm

Hi Forum members,


I downloaded Davinci Resolve Lite this morning for Mac. I assembled a quick edit in FCPX and exported XML to DRL. I was able import but all the video files are black/blank.

Could anyone who uses same camera and edit program please advise as to what could be causing the issue and a resolution if possible please?

Edit computer: imac, current OS, 16GB RAM, 2GB VID CARD


Thanks


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Dwaine Maggart

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostWed Jul 15, 2015 10:05 pm

That file format is not currently supported in Resolve.
Dwaine Maggart
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Robert Pirron

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostWed Jul 15, 2015 10:33 pm

Will there be future moves to support the format?
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Dwaine Maggart

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostWed Jul 29, 2015 11:36 pm

We can't comment on future features, but we are aware of the user desire to support this format.
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Robert A. Ober

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostThu Jul 30, 2015 1:46 pm

Dwaine Maggart wrote:That file format is not currently supported in Resolve.


Which file format? XML from FCPX? XAVC-I codec?

XAVC-I works on Resolve 11.

Thanks,
Robert
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Dwaine Maggart

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostThu Jul 30, 2015 4:14 pm

The FS7 sample file I have is an MXF file, UHD resolution, XAVC MPEG4 codec.
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Robert A. Ober

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostThu Jul 30, 2015 4:21 pm

Dwayne,

Are you saying the UHD XAVC-I does not work in R12? As my high school chemistry teacher said, "I flunked mindreading three times."

The last time I tried it in 11 it worked.

I own an FS7 so I will try it in 12. Odd that it would be broken in 12. As you may realize, the FS7 has sold very well and apparently is still selling pretty well.

Thanks,
Robert
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Dwaine Maggart

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostThu Jul 30, 2015 4:53 pm

The sample file I have does not work in Resolve 11 or Resolve 12.
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Robert A. Ober

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostThu Jul 30, 2015 5:05 pm

Dwaine Maggart wrote:The sample file I have does not work in Resolve 11 or Resolve 12.



Interesting. Maybe it's the frame rate. I just imported XAVC-I UHD (3840x2160) at 23.98 into R12 with no problem. Three clips of a lens test shot on my FS7 with firmware 2.0 .

Is yours 29.97 or higher?

Let me know and I will endeavor to shoot a sample at whatever framerate you wish.

Thanks for all your efforts,
Robert
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Marc Wielage

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostFri Jul 31, 2015 3:09 am

Robert A. Ober wrote:I own an FS7 so I will try it in 12. Odd that it would be broken in 12. As you may realize, the FS7 has sold very well and apparently is still selling pretty well.

That's true, and it's not a toy camera. The FS7 does have the ability to record natively to ProRes with the XDCA-FS7 adapter, and my advice would be to record to that format. The XAVC codecs are problematic because of their reliance on H.264 encoding, which is a lot of overhead in the OS.

Barring that, my workaround would be to shoot in XAVC and then transcode to ProRes 444 for editing, VFX, and color. The FS7 is at least 10-bit, though it's still technically recording 422.

I sympathize with BMD, because it seems like every six months, four new cameras come out with 2 new recording codecs that present new compatibility and performance problems. Keeping up with this is an absolutely nightmare for developers. I also don't envy people who have to put outtakes and re-edits back together 5 or 10 years after a project has wrapped. I'd bet there's a good chance none of these formats will be decodable a decade from now, not if it's one manufacturer's proprietary codec. It's a sobering problem for long-term archiving.
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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostFri Jul 31, 2015 5:09 am

Yep, as Marc advises, shoot native ProRes. Even the cheap Atomos 'Star' allows this on any modern camera with a clean HDMI output. Alternatively, transcode selected takes to ProRes or DNxHD with timecode and your problems will all go away...
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David Williams

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostFri Jul 31, 2015 11:04 am

11 and 12 takes everything my FS7 can throw at it, XAVC-I, XAVC-L, Prores, 1080 to UHD.

That's Windows though. I'd suspect Apples aversion to anything not inside a quicktime wrapper.
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Robert A. Ober

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostFri Jul 31, 2015 4:03 pm

Marc Wielage wrote:
Robert A. Ober wrote:I own an FS7 so I will try it in 12. Odd that it would be broken in 12. As you may realize, the FS7 has sold very well and apparently is still selling pretty well.

That's true, and it's not a toy camera. The FS7 does have the ability to record natively to ProRes with the XDCA-FS7 adapter, and my advice would be to record to that format. The XAVC codecs are problematic because of their reliance on H.264 encoding, which is a lot of overhead in the OS.

Barring that, my workaround would be to shoot in XAVC and then transcode to ProRes 444 for editing, VFX, and color. The FS7 is at least 10-bit, though it's still technically recording 422.

I sympathize with BMD, because it seems like every six months, four new cameras come out with 2 new recording codecs that present new compatibility and performance problems. Keeping up with this is an absolutely nightmare for developers. I also don't envy people who have to put outtakes and re-edits back together 5 or 10 years after a project has wrapped. I'd bet there's a good chance none of these formats will be decodable a decade from now, not if it's one manufacturer's proprietary codec. It's a sobering problem for long-term archiving.


Hopefully you meant this for the OP.

For the record, XAVC-I came out with either the F55 or F5 so it had been around years before the FS7. Other apps handle it fine. Resolve 11 is the stinker when using XAVC-I. It works but is slow.

I have an Odyssey 7Q+ so I do sometimes record ProRes but for what many of us do XAVC-I properly exposed is more than good enough. I do follow an offline workflow as I find it eliminates issues. I bring the XAVC-I into Resolve and export DNxHD or DNxHR with an AAF for Media Composer. After the edit is locked I can return to Resolve and reconnect to the camera originals for grading.

Y'all be cool,
Robert
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Jim Watt

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostSat Aug 01, 2015 12:21 am

This is a post from the 27th.

Re: Support for A7s XAVC files
Fri Mar 27, 2015 8:22 am

Hi Charlie, A faster method than transcoding ProRes is to simply rewrap the files with Quicktime (thus they remain XAVC) using a tool such as EditReady. Resolve can handle XAVC-S, but what it has a problem with is playing back the LPCM audio from inside the .mp4 container. Once you rewrap as Quicktime, Resolve will have no problem playing the XAVC-S clips video and audio. Rewrapping is much faster than transcoding to ProRes and keeps the files smaller.
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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostSat Aug 01, 2015 12:30 am

I just posted a reply to this thready about using edit ready to rewrap XVAC-I files for Resolve, but apparently I'm an idiot. I just imported a bunch of 4K XVAC-I files into Resolve 12 and they are all fine and play perfectly. We were shooting scene file tests and SLOG3 tests and all are working fine without rewrapping.

Sorry! I was having another issue with resolve and spaced.

thx...Jim Watt

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostTue Aug 04, 2015 9:58 pm

Jim Watt wrote:This is a post from the 27th.

Re: Support for A7s XAVC files
Fri Mar 27, 2015 8:22 am

Hi Charlie, A faster method than transcoding ProRes is to simply rewrap the files with Quicktime (thus they remain XAVC) using a tool such as EditReady. Resolve can handle XAVC-S, but what it has a problem with is playing back the LPCM audio from inside the .mp4 container. Once you rewrap as Quicktime, Resolve will have no problem playing the XAVC-S clips video and audio. Rewrapping is much faster than transcoding to ProRes and keeps the files smaller.


If you're on a PC, ClipToolz Convert will also perform a re-wrap without transcoding and also has the ability to embed a correct reel number into the file. (also re-stipes timecode to correct for errors or breaks on selected codecs)
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paul schefz

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostTue Aug 04, 2015 11:13 pm

this is just weird....the v11 project with FS7 XAVC-I files crashes on start up in v12 and when i try to create a new project in v12 the FS7 files play back as green/pink mess...i don't get how a file format that has been around for a while and was supported in v11 all of a sudden is not in v12?
this does not have anything to do with the FS7 being the shipping camera right now going head to head with the soon to be shipping ursa mini?
i love the XAVC-I format...it is super compact with pretty incredible quality and plays back crazy fast in fcpx even on my mbp....
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Uli Plank

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Re: Sony FS7 XAVC-I No video

PostWed Aug 05, 2015 2:09 am

I can open XAVC-I footage from a FS7 just fine in beta2 on a Mac. It's in 25 fps UHD.

Edit: Found some footage in 29.97 fps too (mistakenly recorded, we are in PAL land) and it's playing fine.

Do you need another sample, Dwaine?
No, an iGPU is not enough, and you can't use HEVC 10 bit 4:2:2 in the free version.

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