You are mixing up two different announcements. XDCam 35 is currently supported.

The EX1's 35mbs functionality has been announced as supported in a FUTURE release. Never specifying when.

Hi Lain
I am trying your work flow but I am getting a hiss in both audio channels of audio.  I am shooting with an XDcam at 50mbp, not the ex1.  I see and can import the .mov, the video looks great but the audio is unsuable.  Did you have problems like this early on?  Any ideas would be helpful!
Thanks,
Max

Possible future.
FWIW a contact at Sony suggested to me today that NAB will see the release of the 2/3rds XDCAMHD camera.  The U1 will firmware upgrade to be able to write/archive EX data files directly to it AND with Sony software the native EX file will convert and write to a standard XDCAM HD mxf file format on the U1.

This is exciting... Andrew, I take from this (I'm extracting the bit that affects me, an EX1 user, so I'll skip the part about the 2/3rds XDCAM and the U1) that the Sony software involved (i.e., the Sony Clip Browser) will be updated to “re-wrap” to mxf.
Which AXP could then import.
Which would solve all my problems (well maybe not ALL my problems)
Is this right?
Thanks,
Malcolm

"Is this right?" From what I understood yes. However I was hassling from the EX to U1 compatability standpoint, which is the Avid workflow / archiving workflow that I have been headed towards for sometime now.

Hi Max,

I had huge problems with importing Audio from the .mov files that sony had converted! we were running a DA88 I didn't need the sound but on some shots I did use the camera sound and the only way I got the sound in was to export the same clip again as a .mov open quicktime and then export from quictime as quicktime but as I had picture already I just exported sound then imported that clip into Avid! Complete hassle but this is the only way I could get the sound in

 

Let me know if you find a different way

Iain

We just acquired the EX-1 last week. I'm halfway through shooting a feature doc, was shooting on HDV at 1080i/30 up until now. I've had no problems getting the EX1 .mp4 files into the Avid Xpress Pro 5.8 (on an Intel Mac), even though the it's a pain in the butt to have to use the Windows version of Sony's Clip Browser utility to re-wrap the files as .MXF since the Mac version won't do it. (I'm running Windows XP Pro under VM Ware Fusion just for that purpose - ridiculous but functional.)

However, as everyone knows, this only supports the low quality thin raster 1440x1080 mode on the EX1 at 25Mbps, which is a damn waste of a great camera. An Avid tech somewhere in one of these forums recommended using this beta XDCAM to Avid MXF utility to convert full raster 1920x1080 35Mbps files to MXF, but for me it produces nothing but corrupted files full of errors.

Bottom line: I leave Thursday night 3/13 to travel through four different countries shooting with this camera, and I'd sure like to know that I can shoot in 35Mbps 1920x1080 and be able to get my footage into AXP when I get back. Has anyone succeeded in this regard with another method, short of installing a copy of FCP 6 to import these files just for the sake of exporting them as Quicktimes that the Avid can import? I REALLY don't want to be forced to shoot in 25Mbps while I wait for native Avid support for 35Mbps.

Many thanks.

Brian Dilg
----------------------
Mac Pro 8GB/too many terabytes
OS X 10.4.11
AXP 5.8

Hi Brian,
Good to meet someone who's doing just what I want to do - - there don't seem to be many of us - - on this forum, most of the editors don't (yet) have to deal with EX1, and on the EX1 forum (check it out: http://dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=150) most shooter/editors are using other editing software... and those who ARE using Avid seem to be using it on a PC. So yes, we Mac/Avid/EXers have been in limbo.

[Mod Edit] removed for speculation.

I don't know of any other solutions... other than the painfully slow FCP/QT one you mentioned.
Malcolm

Thanks Lain,
I cant do it tonight but will try tomorrow.  But like you said the video looked great.  Glad to hear you have a work around.  I was hoping it wasnt just my system.  I will let you know how it works and the quality i get.  Thanks again for the response!

Max

Malcolm - thanks so much for your reply - since my last post, I was able to successfully re-wrap the 35Mbps EX-1 files to MXF and import them into the Avid with this temporary utility, albeit painfully slowly - slower than real time! So much for the advantages of tapeless. Knowing at least that it is possible to get the 35Mbps footage into AXP, I will shoot 35Mbps and cross my fingers that native AXP support arrives sooner than later, or I'm going to have some serious explaining to do to the producers, whom I sold on upgrading to the EX-1 in the first place...

Headed to Paris to resume shooting tonight. Detailed report on EX-1 and AXP experience to follow.

- Brian Dilg
Mac Pro
8GB/too many terabytes
AXP 5.8
Sony EX-1 XDCAM EX

Hello Lain,
The re-export worked great.  The audio sounds fine. The orginal was shot XDcam 50 (not-hd) and was imported using the sony program within FCP, mov opened, as you said with QT Pro then re-exported at MPEG IMX 525/60 (50 Mb/s) and audio at apple lossless.  A 50 sec clip took 1:45 to export from QT and then :57 secs to import to Avid at 1-1 mxf.  A pain, but I believe I have full rez 50 mbs in avid via firewire.  I am trying to set-up a full rez laptop travel edit machine.  All though I would love Black Dog to look at this workflow and tell if I am correct.  
Lain, thanks again for your help!
Max

Hi again...

Would someone kindly tell me whether, if I upgrade to Media Composer, I could finally use the new Sony EX-1 camera, with its 25Mb/s and 35Mb/s files?  (the 35Mb/s file is different from any other known file type, I think)

Thank you,

Malcolm

No. Currently MC does not support the 35mbs format. Support is planned for a future release.

Just read on a Media Composer web page that indeed, MC will import the 35Mb/s Sony XDCAM HD files.  

That's good.  I'll keep my eye on this forum, though, to see if there's a downside (other than the $495 cash layout) to upgrading.  It would be a huge relief to me to be able to work with the new Sony EX-1, but I'm wondering, if I move to MC, are there going to be more monetary investments I have to make, to stay up and running.  I've been such a loyal AXP user, for quite a few years now... bit of a shock that it's being put out to pasture.

Malcolm

No matter what you read, the MC does not support the 35mb/s version of the EX1 DVCam EX, yes but not the Sony EX1.

Support is planned for a future release but, if you upgrade to MC, don't expect to use this format right away.