http://www.evs-opencube.com XFConverter v1.
http://www.evs-opencube.com OpenCube Technologies SAS 6 rue Brindejonc des Moulinais Bâtiment A – CS95836 31505 Toulouse Cedex 5 FRANCE Tel Fax E-mail XFConverter Support Website : +33 (0)561 285 606 : +33 (0)561 285 635 : contact@opencubetech.com : support_xfconverter@opencubetech.com : http://www.opencubetech.com XFConverter version 1.3 - User Guide DISCLAIMER This document has been prepared out of concern for accuracy and constitutes a copy of the specifications when printed and delivered.
http://www.evs-opencube.com TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Application Use ................................................................................................................................................ 6 1.2 Hardware Requirements ................................................................................................................................. 6 1.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 4.3 QUICKTIME (MOV) Plug-in ....................................................................................................................... 26 4.4 MPEG Plug-in ................................................................................................................................................ 27 4.5 MXF Plug-in ..................................................................................................................................................
http://www.evs-opencube.com FIGURES FIGURE 1: ABOUT DIALOG BOX (WITHOUT LICENSE) ...................................................................................................... 7 FIGURE 2: ABOUT DIALOG BOX (WITH EXAMPLES OF LICENSE FILES) ............................................................................. 8 FIGURE 3: XFCONVERTER MAIN WINDOW ...................................................................................................................... 9 FIGURE 4: FILE MENU...........
http://www.evs-opencube.com 1 Introduction 1.1 Application Use XFConverter is a gateway solution between non-interoperable video systems. It enables users to wrap, unwrap and convert a wide range of video and audio wrapper formats (AVI, GXF, MOV and MXF). XFConverter does not transcode media during the conversion process, ensuring that no information is lost. The conversions can be automated with the watch folder module, creating a seamless workflow in your networked environment. 1.
http://www.evs-opencube.com Figure 1: About dialog box (without license) The plug-ins listed in red are not activated and require a valid license. You must provide a license for each of the plug-ins so that the corresponding formats can be supported by XFConverter. In order to activate the plug-ins, click on the button located at the bottom of the dialog box and select a valid .lcs file. After you load a license, the display will change, showing the new status of the plug-in.
http://www.evs-opencube.com Figure 2: About dialog box (with examples of license files) Please note that a copy of your license is available in the XFConverter program data directory if you happen to lose it. If you buy an XFConverter license, the product must be connected to the Internet so that the license can be activated. If your computer does not have an Internet connection or uses a proxy, please contact the XFConverter support team (support_xfconverter@opencubetech.com).
http://www.evs-opencube.com 2 XFConverter in Practice 2.1 Overview 1 5 9 7 2 10 3 4 8 11 6 Figure 3: XFConverter main window The main window is displayed above. The left part of the window is used to configure and display the source directory in which the media files to be processed are located. The Explorer view (4) displays the list of files stored in the current directory and ready for conversion.
http://www.evs-opencube.com the toolbar (2) or by right-clicking on the file name and selecting Play. The playback will start only if you have installed the appropriate player. To playback MXF and GXF files you can download OpenCube’s XFReader application from www.opencubetech.com. Apple’s Quicktime Player can be downloaded at www.quicktime.com. Most AVI files will play directly with Microsoft’s Windows Media Player; however you may have to install third-party codecs. 2.1.
http://www.evs-opencube.com Recently Opened Projects: Shortcuts to the most recently used projects. Quit: Quit the application 2.2 Conversion Graph To open the Configure Conversion dialog box, click on the wrench icon located in the toolbar (2) of the main window. Or, you can open the configure menu (1) and choose configure conversion. It will open a graph view where you can define the conversion process in detail. 5 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 Figure 5: Configure conversion window 2.2.
http://www.evs-opencube.com button, it will open a new dialog box whose content will vary depending on the format. Refer to the section 4 for a more detailed description of these settings 2.2.2 Output Plug-in Configuration When the input plug-in(s) is (are) configured, you have to define the outcome of the conversion by defining the output plug-in. There are three ways to perform this task: Automatic Configuration: This is similar to the automatic input plug-in configuration.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3 Video and Audio Stream Configuration 3.1 DV Stream Figure 6: DV stream settings DV Type: Use this setting to change your DV type. Note that PAL DV IEC chroma sampling is 420 while other variants of DV have a 411 sampling. Bit rate: DV IEC bit rate is always 25Mbps, while DV SMPTE bit rate can be 25, 50 or 100Mbps. Video System can be PAL or NTSC (25 and 50 Mbps bit rates). DV SMPTE at 100Mbits/s (DVCProHD) can be 720 progressive lines at 50 or 59.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.2 MPEG Elementary Stream 3.2.1 MPEG 1&2 video elementary stream Figure 7: MPEG 1&2 video elementary stream settings Elementary Stream Content: Defines a video or audio stream. MPEG Format: Defines a MPEG1 or MPEG2 stream. Profile@Level: Defines the Profile and Level of the video stream. You should set this entry to “MPEG COMPRESSION” if you do not want to constrain the Profile and Level.
http://www.evs-opencube.com Figure 8: Force Aspect Ratio in MPEG video elementary stream This document is the exclusive property of OpenCube Technologies SAS and cannot be reproduced or distributed without prior authorization.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.2.2 AVC-Intra elementary stream Figure 9: AVC-Intra elementary stream settings Video System: Depending on the selected Profile and Level, the video system can be set to 720/1080 i/p 50/59.94Hz). Bit rate: This parameter defines the video bit rate in Mbps; it can be equal to 50 or 100Mbps. Store AVC-Intra header on each frame: This parameter is only available on the output plug-in.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.2.3 MPEG 1&2 audio elementary stream Figure 10: MPEG 1&2 audio elementary stream settings Nb Audio Channels: Use this parameter to define the number of audio channels in the audio stream. Audio Sampling Frequency: Use this parameter to define the sampling frequency of the audio MPEG stream (32.0, 44.1 or 48kHz). Audio Quantization: Use this parameter to define the quantization of the audio MPEG stream (8, 16, 24 or 32 bits/s).
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.3 JPEG 2000 stream Figure 11: JPEG 2000 stream settings System: Use this parameter to define the video system. Values available are: PAL, NTSC, 720p, 1080p, 1080i, 2k and 4k. Frame Rate: Use this parameter to define the frame rate depending on the selected system. Mxf wrappring: Use this parameter to define the mxf wrapping, frame or field wrapping (i.e the number of field by KLV). This option is available only on the MXF output plug-in and for interlaced files.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.4 AIFF, WAV and PCM streams Figure 12: Uncompressed audio (AIFF, WAV and PCM) stream settings Nb Audio Channels: Use this parameter to define the number of channels in the audio stream. Audio Sampling Frequency: Use this parameter to define the sampling frequency of the audio stream. Audio Quantization: Use this parameter to define the quantization of the audio stream (8, 16, 24 or 32 bps).
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.5 Dolby audio stream Figure 13: Dolby stream settings XFConverter can detect if Dolby is present on audio tracks. Dolby Type: It can be Dolby-E or AC-3. Audio Quantization: Use this parameter to define the quantization of the audio stream (8, 16, 24 or 32 bps). Channels: Use this parameter to define if the stream contains the left, the right or both channels. Manage Dolby as PCM: Use this parameter if you want to have XFConverter manage Dolby as PCM.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.6 Timecode stream Figure 14: Timecode stream settings The output plug-in timecode pin is supported for MPEG, GXF, MXF and MOV formats. It is an easy and convenient way to manually set a start timecode or to convey the timecode information from the input plug-in. XFConverter currently supports continuous timecode but not discontinuous ones. Keep Original Timecode: Set this parameter to “Yes” if you want to preserve the timecode originating from the input plug-in.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.7 Metadata (XML) stream Figure 15: Metadata stream settings During the MXF files extraction process, you have the option of outputting the file’s metadata as an XML file. In order to do so you have to connect metadata pins from the input MXF file to the output Unwrap plug-in. Note that metadata wrapping is currently not supported. Process XML: This parameter is set to “No” by default to generate an XML.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 3.8 Ancillary Data – VBI Stream The ancillary-VBI stream is available in wrapping and unwrapping modes in MXF plug-in. It allows you to extract / wrap ST436 from/to a MXF file. Figure 16: Ancillary Data – VBI stream settings This document is the exclusive property of OpenCube Technologies SAS and cannot be reproduced or distributed without prior authorization.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 4 Plug-in Configuration This section contains a brief summary of the settings for the different plug-ins. 4.1 AVI Plug-in Figure 17: AVI plug-in settings Version: AVI version 1.0 is limited to 1GB media data size while version 2.0 is unlimited. Type: Type 1 contains a single DV track with audio embedded in the DV chunks. Type 2 stores the audio channels into separate AVI tracks. Nb Audio: If AVI type 2 is selected, this parameter defines the number of PCM audio tracks.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 4.2 GXF Plug-in Figure 188: GXF plug-in settings Nb Audio: This parameter defines the number of PCM tracks embedded in the GXF file. Note that GXF format only allows 48 kHz mono channels. This document is the exclusive property of OpenCube Technologies SAS and cannot be reproduced or distributed without prior authorization.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 4.3 QUICKTIME (MOV) Plug-in Figure 19: Quicktime plug-in settings Nb Audio: This parameter defines the number of PCM tracks embedded in the MOV file. External References: If set to “Yes”, this parameter indicates that the MOV file will not embed the media streams but will reference external raw media files. XFConverter currently does not support the creation of MOV files with external references so this feature is only supported in the input plug-in.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 4.4 MPEG Plug-in Figure 20: MPEG plug-in settings Stream Type: The stream type can be a Transport, a Program or an Elementary Stream. If you select Transport or Program Stream each individual elementary stream will be outputted. Note that XFConverter currently does not support MPEG multiplexing and therefore only supports Transport and Program streams in the input plug-in.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 4.5 MXF Plug-in Figure 21: MXF plug-in settings Operational Pattern: This parameter defines the operational pattern of the MXF file. Possible values include: o Op1a: This is the most commonly used pattern. It corresponds to a set of video and audio tracks played simultaneously. This operational pattern does not impose any restrictions on the media that can be embedded in the MXF file.
http://www.evs-opencube.com Sony eVTR: Use this pattern if you want to convert/produce MXF files similar to the ones that an eVTR tape recorder would generate. This format includes an IMX track and an 8-channel AES audio track (D10). o Sony XDCamHD: Use this pattern if you want to convert/produce MXF files similar to the ones that an XDCam HD camcorder would generate. This format includes an MPEG Long-GOP track (15, 25 or 35 Mbits/s) together with 2 or 4 mono AES tracks.
http://www.evs-opencube.com Figure 22: MXF Avid OpAtom settings 4.6 Wrap Plug-In Figure 23: Wrap plug-in settings This document is the exclusive property of OpenCube Technologies SAS and cannot be reproduced or distributed without prior authorization.
http://www.evs-opencube.com This plug-in should be used when multiple input source files have to be wrapped together in a single wrapper format. It can construct a graph when multiple input plug-ins are required. The configuration dialog box allows you select the number of source files and their type using the combo boxes. The “Param” button can be clicked to open the configuration dialog box for each plug-in. Finally the “Source filename” field contains the pattern of the filename.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 5 XFConverter Configuration To open the “Options” dialog box, select Options and then Configure… in the main window menu. 5.1 File Management The first tab from the “Options” dialog box allows you to configure the destination file naming convention used during the conversion process. Figure 25: File management options o o o o o o o Converted input files can be deleted by checking the corresponding box in the “Source file option” settings.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 5.2 Application Start-up and Shutdown The second tab in the “Options” dialog box enables you to configure the application’s behavior during start-up and shutdown. Figure 26: Application start-up and shutdown options o o o o o Load automatically previous project upon start-up: If this option is enabled, the project that was opened during the last session will be automatically loaded. However, the watch folder will be launched only if the previous option is also enabled.
http://www.evs-opencube.com o Get minimized when closing the application: When this option is activated and you click on the Windows’ exit icon , XFConverter will go in the tray task bar and hide the user interface. To exit the application in this mode, you can right-click on its icon and select Quit. 5.3 Watch Folder Configuration The third tab in the “Options” dialog box allows you to configure the watch folder.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 5.1 Global Options Figure 28: XFConverter global options o o Write log file: This option enables log file writing. You select a directory and XFConverter will automatically create a new log file per day in the directory selected. You can specify the log level. Temporary directory: specify the temp directory. If XFConverter has to create some temporary files, it will use this directory. 5.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 1 2 3 4 Figure 29: Interplay configuration Figure 30: Lanshare settings This document is the exclusive property of OpenCube Technologies SAS and cannot be reproduced or distributed without prior authorization.
http://www.evs-opencube.com Interplay catalogs can be browsed from the main window. Figure 31: Browsing Interplay catalog New catalogs can be created from the “Catalog Browser” windows. Figure 32: Create new Interplay catalog This document is the exclusive property of OpenCube Technologies SAS and cannot be reproduced or distributed without prior authorization.
http://www.evs-opencube.com 6 XFConverter API XFConverter includes a C++ API (Application Programming Interface) as an option for Developers who want to integrate XFConverter features in their applications. The API can be used as a local dll or as an RPC server/client using SOAP protocol. This server can be used to automate the conversion processes scheduled by an automation server.
