So back awhile ago, I noticed that in my MXF media folder, there was something strange. Not only was there a "1" folder, but AVID had created a "2" and "3" folders as well. This got me thinking - does AVID treat all these numbered folders the same? If so, I could create many numbered folders myself, and use these to put media for various projects back while restoring a Consolidation.

In other words, when I'm restoring a project, rather than drag that Consolidated media back from an external drive into the "1" folder, I could create a "2" folder, and drag media for that lone project into "2" - that way I could keep these restored projects separate, and just delete the "2" folder when I'm done.

Thoughts? Is this dumb?

Mike:

The reason Avid creates additional numerical folders is that there is a 5,000 file limit per MXF media folder. So, when the "1" folder reaches 5,000, a new "2" folder is created. However, new files created from that point are placed in the "1" folder and other files are "rippled" into the "2" folder, and so on, with additional numerical folders created as needed. So all your newest files reside in the "1" folder. So doing what you propose can involve a certain amount of risk, unless you have a program like MDV that will allow you to cluster media files by project association.

Hello,....

A follow up question about the workflow, because I installed Avid today, and I don't see a MXF folder, or a MXF/1 Folder.  I have MXF files from P2 media cards, not the actual cards.

What I have is a folder labled RAW. (not MXF)

Location: My Computer, Shared documents, Avid Media Composer, Avid MediaFiles, RAW folder, and offline icons.

I tried to create my own MXF/1 folder and copied and pasted the audio/video files in the but nothing happened.

Windows XP

If you ingest or generate any media, using MXF as the media type, the folder structure will be created for you.  A fast way is to generate Tone Media from the Audio Tool.

Some comments on the use of the numbered folders for organizational uses:  We do this all the time.  When my night digitizers start a session, I have them rename the existing "1" folder to the current date, e.g., 072009.  Then, when they start capturing, all the media for that show will be placed in a new "1" folder.  This reduces the number of files in that folder, during the editing of the show.  This in turn keeps the media database files small(er), which can boost performance. 

On film shows, using OMF media, we rename the Unity folders to match the dailes reel name.  Again, this reduces the file count, and size of the media databases.

BTW, even though Avid has reduced the MXF file count to 5,000, we have seen issues when the file count exceeds approx 3,500.  I've requested the file count be reduced to 2,500.  Sadly however, although the code is fairly simple to change, the testing would be significant.  Also, as more systems move to 64-bit OS's and 8GB's or more of RAM, this issue will probably self-correct.

Randall L Rike:

When my night digitizers start a session, I have them rename the existing "1" folder to the current date, e.g., 072009.