Hello,

I have a client that is giving me all the footage in mxf files that include audio and video in just one mxf file.  I've been told that they are OP-1a mxf files.  All the rest of the team is able to ama link this mxf files, but I get this error every time I try it (console window):

Unable to autodetect plug-in for / Volumes / Samsung 500GB / VADILLO_VIK_SXXEP108.mxf. Please choose a specific AMA plug-in

My system profile is as follow:

iMac 27" late 2013 / Mavericks 10.9.2

3.5 GHz Intel Core i7

32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4096 MB

Because I can't stop working (fatal deadlines, you know) I'm importing this files into my project, but for some reason, MC doesn't import them using my project settings DNxHD 120 (HD1080p), and change the format to XDCAM HD 50Mbits (1080i/50). This is a pain in the ass, because now I have clips with different frame rate, so I can't make motion effects unless I go for a videomixdown first...or I have to transcode them first...whatever, this is not an ideal solution.

Can anybody help me please? I'm quite desperate..

Select the Import window that is MXF AMA plugin. Do not put it on auto.

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Selecciona en la ventana de importación que el plugin AMA es MXF. No lo pongas en auto.

The files are XDCAM.  That is a native codec to Avid which is why it is ignoring your import settings.  This is to be expected.  It's what avid does.  If you want those files as DNxHD then you need to transcode them after they are in but i'd recommend just leaving them as XDCAM as you're not losing anything and you're keeping your file sizes down.  

In the AMA link dialog there is an option at the bottom to autodetect the plugin.  Click this dropdown menu to manually choose which AMA plugin to use. Choose MXF from the list and see if you can AMA then.  Auto-detect has been flakey in my experience.  If you can get it to AMA in then you can either transcode to DNx from the AMA clips or consolidate to re-wrap the op1a mxfs as Avid op-atom mxfs.  

You don't have clips with a different frame rate, they are still 25 frames a second it's just that your footage is interlaced not progressive like your sequence.  Why can't you add motion effects?

If you still cannot AMA to the clips using the manual settings then perhaps you don't have the correct AMA plugin installed?  You can check this by opening the console (ctrl+6) and typing AMA_ListPlugins and it will show you what has been installed.  If you're missing the canon xf plugin or mxf plugin etc then you can go to the Avid website and follow the links to download them - www.avid.com/ama is the address i think.  Check to see what the other editors have got installed and if you're missing one that they have then you can download it and have another shot.

Andi

Feralfons:

Select the Import window that is MXF AMA plugin. Do not put it on auto.

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Selecciona en la ventana de importación que el plugin AMA es MXF. No lo pongas en auto.

OK, thanks a lot Feralfons!!, I'm not used to work with AMA and haven't expected this SO easy solution!!

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Muchas gracias Feralfons!!, es la primera vez que trabajo usando AMA y no se me ocurrió una solución tan sencilla...tonto de mí...

ripvanmarlowe:

You don't have clips with a different frame rate, they are still 25 frames a second it's just that your footage is interlaced not progressive like your sequence.  Why can't you add motion effects?

Andi

Thanks for this quick and complete answer ripvanmariowe.   I've changed the autodetect AMA to mxf plugging as Feralfons told me and now AMA linking is working fine.  But I still having the motion effect issue.  If I tried to use for example "fit to fill" effect, I get this error:

A motion control cannot be created from a clip with a non-native format. You must open a project matching this clip's format to make a motion control from it

This is not a big problem because it will only affect me sometimes, and I can passthrough this error by videomixing.  I don't think there is a solution for that..am I wrong?

Off the top of my head; try flipping your project to 1080 50i when you need to do this.  Then your footage should be essentially native as it's now 50i footage in a 50i timeline.  Add your motion effects and then switch back to 25p.  You can flip between complementary frame rates using the format tab in your project window.  Let me know if it works,

Andi

taquiman:

I still having the motion effect issue.

You have brought in footage that is 1080i50 in your 1080p25 project, which means that MC automatically applies a Motion Adapter to the footage (deinterlacing from 50i to 25p). This is why you can't apply any other motion effect. You can however add the motion adapted footage to a timeline, park on the clip, open the Motion Effects Editor tool, and click Promote; this will promote the Motion Adapter to a TimeWarp effect, which lets you control effect type and speed.

Your original import would have had the same issue, and since MC recognizes your Op1A source file as XDCAM-HD@50i, it imports that same as source. You can easily transcode the result, but you will need to find out if the content of the source file is interlaced or progressive. A 50i XDCAM-HD clip may either contain video content that was shot in 50i or it may contain footage that was originally acquired at 25p. In the first case, there are 50 motion steps for every second, and you will need to deinterlace it to mix it in your 25p project. If originally acquired as 25p, there are 25 motion steps for every second, and each field for each frame will represent the same moment in time. In that case, you can choose to display the Field Motion colum in the bin and change it from Interlaced to Progressive, then optionally transcode to DNxHD120.

You can determine if the source is actually 50i or 25p by opening the footage in a 50i project and field stepping through the footage. If you see motion changes between every field, it is 50i. If you only see motion changes every other frame, it is 25p.

And I'm pretty sure that ripvanmarlow's solution works, but you may have to select "Refresh Sequence" when going back and forth between interlaced and progressive. Also, in the end, you will need to determine if any deinterlacing that is automatically performed is actually necessary. You could just use the progressive content in a 50i project and finish in 50i.

Thank you Job,

Me and my frustrating lack of technical knowledge!!!! I have learned a lot today.  Thank you guys, this community rocks!.  I'll try to find out if this original footage came in 50i or 25p.