User Guide

70 Chapter 5 Working With IMX

IMX Formats Supported by Final Cut Pro

IMX can be recorded using NTSC or PAL video standards at three possible bit rates

(30, 40, and 50 Mbps). Final Cut Pro supports real-time editing and effects using the

30 and 50 Mbps IMX formats. You can use 40 Mbps IMX in Final Cut Pro, but the

RT Extreme playback engine does not support this format.

About MXF

Material eXchange Format (MXF) is a generic media container format for the video

industry. It is not a compression scheme or specific video type, but rather a container

for storage and transmission of video, audio, and associated metadata. An MXF

container is similar in concept to a QuickTime movie, which is a general-purpose media

container that can contain video and audio with various dimensions, codecs, sample

rates, and so on.

For example, the IMX format stores MPEG-2–compressed video and audio within an

MXF container. However, because MXF is not codec-specific, it can contain video

compressed with other codecs as well, such as DVCAM. Panasonic P2 cards can store

DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, and DVCPRO HD data within an MXF wrapper. The MXF

wrapper facilitates transfer and storage of specialized media data within

general-purpose computer systems and across multiple media types.

Working With IMX in Final Cut Pro

There are several steps for importing and editing IMX video in Final Cut Pro. Because

IMX is an MXF-based format, you need third-party software to extract MPEG-2 IMX

media from its MXF container and store it in QuickTime media files.

Step 1: Transfer IMX footage to your computer

Step 2: Import MXF-wrapped IMX media files into your project

Step 3: Choose an IMX Easy Setup

Step 4: Edit your IMX clips into a sequence

Step 5: Export IMX QuickTime Media Files

Format Dimensions Data rate

IMX - NTSC 720 x 486 30, 40

, 50 Mbps

IMX - PAL 720 x 576 30, 40

, 50 Mbps

Real-time processing of 40 Mbps IMX footage is not supported.