I recently published an article about the breakthrough pro XAVC Long GOP códec/format from Sony, which is the third group of XAVC born in 2012. In the first article, I covered the status of third party software that support professional XAVC Long GOP. Since then, more compatibility reports are coming out of the woodwork. Ahead is a compatibility update, and even a video from a Canadian reader.
Link to first article
The first article is called Understanding & using the breakthrough XAVC Long GOP códec/file format and includes the following sections:
- What’s GOP (not the political party) and i-frame?
- 50 megabit/second = nostalgia = 6.25 megabytes/second
- How to use XAVC Long GOP files today?
- Apple software
- Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve
- Sony software
- Other third party software
- Telestream Switch
- The temporary bottom line
Here’s a link to that first article.
Updated list of software apps that already support pro XAVC long GOP directly
As indicated in detail below, only some of the following has been tested by me.
Editing software
- Adobe Premiere CC for Mac or Windows. I haven’t tested it, but Rubén Abruña of The Absent House/La Casa Ausente (who is an Adobe Certified Instructor for Premiere Pro CC) says that it works fine, but innapropiately indicates ARRI Cinema as the Editing Mode when the usar asks to create a new sequence based upon the Long GOP XAVC file. I also personally verified that the older Adobe Premiere CS6 does not support professional XAVC Long GOP material.
- Avid Media Composer (for Mac or Windows, via AMA, and requires the free XAVC/XDCAM Plug-in for Avid (PDZK-MA2) from Sony. I haven’t tested it, but Rubén Abruña has with version 8.3.0. Rubén is also an Avid Certified Instructor for Media Composer.
- Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve (for Mac, Unix, or Windows. I tested the free DaVinci Resolve Lite 11 version 11.2.1lite002 on Mac, as indicated in the prior article.)
Transcoding software
The following software applications can be used to transcode to a edit-friendly format/códec, for those editors who can’t yet read pro XAVC long GOP directly.
- Divergent Media EditReady, US$49.99 (for Mac only. I tested version 1.1.4.588 and it worked fine.)
- Sony Catalyst Browse, free (It works with version 1.1.0. Thanks to reader Gerry Fraiberg who wrote to me from Canada to point it out. The prior version I downloaded didn’t work, but version 1.1.0 does.)
Gerry Fraiberg also published the above video which he shot with the Sony PXW-X70 camcorder using XAVC 50 megabit per second 4:2:2 10-bit and (after transcoding) edited with FCP X.
- Sony Catalyst Prepare, US$199.95 (for Mac or Windows. I haven’t tested it, but Sony has.)
- Telestream Switch, US$295.00 (as of version 1.5 for Mac or Windows. I tested the Mac version only, as indicated in the prior article.) My review of Telestream Switch is here.
I won’t go into detail here (that’s what I do in my reviews), but I will clarify that the paid apps listed above have more features than the free Catalyst Browse.
Remaining applications that don’t yet support pro XAVC long GOP directly
- Final Cut Pro X version 10.1.4 with Mac OS X 10.10.2 (14C109)
- QuickTime Pro 7 version 7.6.6 (1709) with Mac OS X 10.10.2 (14C109)
- QuickTime X version 10.4 (833.1) with Mac OS X 10.10.2 (14C109)
So as of today, if you edit with Final Cut Pro X, you’ll have to transcode or wait. As always, I’ll keep publishing news about this as the situation changes.
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Contact Allan Tépper for consulting, or find a full listing of his books, articles and upcoming seminars and webinars at AllanTepper.com. Listen to his CapicúaFM and TecnoTur programs. Search for CapicúaFM TecnoTur in iTunes or Stitcher Radio.
My latest book (paperback + ebook)
My most recent book is available in two languages, and in paperback as well as an ebook. The ebook format is Kindle, but even if you don’t have a Kindle device, you can read Kindle books on many other devices using a free Kindle app. That includes iPad, Android tablets, Mac computers, and Windows computers. Although generally speaking, Kindle books are readable on smartphones like Androids and iPhones, I don’t recommend it for this particular book since it contains both color photos and color comparison charts. The ebook is also DRM-free.
In English:
In English, it is currently available in the following Amazon stores, depending upon your region:
- Amazon.com, for the US and other countries in the Americas that don’t currently have their own Amazon store, or anywhere if you simply prefer it
- Amazon.br for Brazil
- Amazon.ca for Canada
- Amazon.de for Germany
- Amazon.es for Spain pero a lo mejor lo preferirás en castellano, a continuación)
- Amazon.fr for France
- Amazon.in for India
- Amazon.it for Italy
- Amazon.co.jp for Japan
- Amazon.com.mx for México
- Amazon.co.uk for the United Kingdom
Or in your favorite bookstore by requesting ISBN–10: 1456310232 or ISBN–13: 978–1456310233.
En castellano:
En castellano, está disponible actualmente en las siguientes tiendas Amazon, según tu región:
- Amazon.com para EE.UU. y todas las Américas donde no existe ninguna tienda particular… o en cualquier parte si simplemente lo prefieres
- Amazon.com.br para Brasil
- Amazon.co.jp para Japón
- Amazon.de para Alemania
- Amazon.es para España
- Amazon.fr (Francia)
- Amazon.in para India
- Amazon.it para Italia
- Amazon.com.mx para México
- Amazon.co.uk para el Reino Unido
o en tu librería preferida al solicitar el ISBN–10: 1492783390 ó el ISBN–13: 978–1492783398.
FTC disclosure
No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article or the mentioned books. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs.
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