What is this?
The nablet X-OCN Media Extension is an add-on for Apple macOS which extends the native media decoding and playback capabilities of the system on OS-level. It allows to access, import, decode, play and edit Sony X-OCN footage in MXF file container in Apple Final Cut Pro and other Apple video editing applications and media players.
Supported is X-OCN footage shot with popular Sony VENICE and Sony BURANO cameras as well as with Sony PMW F55, F5 and other models that record X-OCN video internally or onto an external unit.*
*Support for legacy Sony RAW format like from F65 camera will be added in a future version.
Supported Operating System
Minimum Apple Mac Software environment:
macOS 15.6 (Sequoia)
Apple Pro Video Formats v3.0.0
Final Cut Pro v11.1 for X-OCN only, v11.2 for X-OCN and legacy RAW
Version Information
What's new in version 1.2.1?
- Fix application of original camera metadata tint correction value.
What's new in version 1.2.0?
- This version adds support for BURANO v3 imager modes 1.9k und 5.3k.
What's new in version 1.1.0?
- This version adds support for legacy Sony RAW video essence.
What's new in version 1.0.0?
- This is the first version released. Frequently check for updates at the nablet site.
Installing the Media Extension
- Download the package “nablet_X-OCN_MediaExtension_Setup_1.1.0.zip” and unpack it.
- Double click “nablet_X-OCN_MediaExtension_Setup_1.1.0.dmg” to mount the image.
- A folder with “nablet_X-OCN_MediaExtension_Setup_1.1.0.pkg” opens.
- Launch “nablet_X-OCN_MediaExtension_Setup_1.1.0.pkg” to run the installation. You will need administrator rights to install this extension.
- Follow the instructions provided by the installer application. You must read and accept the End User License.
During the installation any previous version of the nablet X-OCN Media Extension will be updated.
Uninstalling the Media Extension
Go to Applications→nablet Media Extensions and delete the nablet X-OCN Media Extension.app and the accompanying user manual nablet X-OCN Media Extension Release Notes and Manual.pdf. You may need to enter administrator credentials in order to get permission to delete the files. Then empty the bin.
Note: After the nablet X-OCN Media Extension had been uninstalled or the Media Extension’s
Decoder and Processor had been turned off in the system settings, you can no longer play and edit X-OCN files. Clips that had been imported in Final Cut Pro may remain visible but as thumbnails only.
Activating the Media Extension
- Choose the Apple Menu and select System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Login Items & Extensions. (you may need to scroll down).
- In the Extensions section, click the Info button next to Media Extensions, turn on the nablet X-OCN Decoder and the nablet X-OCN Processor (you may need to scroll down), then click Done. (It may take a moment until the system has recognized the new extensions. If they did not yet appear close System Settings and try again).
- To verify that both the extensions are properly enabled go to Applications→nablet Media Extensions and run the nablet X-OCN Media Extension.app.
On the menu hit nablet X-OCN Media Extension->About nablet X-OCN Media Extension to verify the version number. Hit Help→Show X-OCN Media Extension Help to view this user manual. Quit the app. You don’t need to run it again in future in order to work with the Media Extension.
- Restart Final Cut Pro or other apps you want to use with the Media Extension.
Using the nablet X-OCN Media Extension
Certain video applications require Apple Pro Video Formats being installed to get access to OS-level support for professional video formats.
Make sure that Apple Pro Video Formats are installed and are updated to the latest version 2.4.1. Download Pro Video Formats from here https://support.apple.com/en-us/106396 and run the installer.
Viewing X-OCN clips in Apple QuickTime Player
In Finder navigate to the MXF file you wish to play back, select it and simply double click it. If the nablet X-OCN Media Extension is properly installed and activated, the Apple QuickTime Player will open the file and display the first frame. Hit the onscreen controls to play it back.
Importing and editing and X-OCN and RAW clips in Apple Final Cut Pro
In the Apple Final Cut Pro menu select File→Import->Media and navigate to the location of the desired X-OCN MXF files. Files supported natively by Final Cut Pro or are supported by a Media Extension will be highlighted, others remain grayed out. If your footage remains grayed out and you are sure that it contains X-OCN or legacy RAW essence, make sure that the media extension is properly enabled as described earlier. Also check whether your version of Final Cut Pro is v11.1 for X-OCN and v11.2 for X-OCN and RAW or newer and whether the Apple Pro Video Formats 3.0 are installed and updated.
Click the desired file to see and play a preview in the upper window of the Media Import dialog. Double click the file to import it to the previously selected Event of the opened Final Cut Pro project.
You may also directly drag a clip from Finder and drop it onto the selected Event.
Once a clip had been imported, you can edit it like any other footage in Final Cut Pro. Select a clip in the currently selected Event to show it in the player window.
On the Inspector panel at the right side you can change how the X-OCN Decoder processes the image. Scroll down and hit the Edit Raw Properties button to open the Raw Processor Settings Dialog.
Select an Output Colorspace that matches your project and workflow. Choices are Scene Linear / 2020, Slog3 / S-Gamut3 and Slog3 / S-Gamut3.Cine. The later ones are the Sony native recording colorspaces with an extended high dynamic range. When viewed in a normal colorspace environment they may look pale. Choose Scene Linear / 2020 to convert and view the images in a color space that matches the monitoring environment, or stay with an SLog3 colorspace and apply a Camera LUT in the Inspector panel’s General settings.
Under Raw Image Processing you can manipulate the clip’s Color Temperature in a range of 2000 to 15000 Kelvin, Tint in a Range of -100.0 to +100.0, the Exposure index from ISO 80 to ISO 32000, an Exposure Offset from +1 to -1 stop and Sharpness from -300 to + 500 (Sharpness is only available for X-OCN).
X-OCN footage shot with with a camera with Sony VENICE 2 v3 firmware or later can have two additional parameters which then become enabled in the In-camera VFX settings group. When the footage was shot in an environment with mixed conventional light and light from an LED wall, you may fine tune the color fidelity by correcting the LED Wall Color Temperature in a range of 2000 to 15000 Kelvin and by means of the Light Blend slider specify the percentage contribution of conventional light to the color in the mixed environment in a range of 0 to 100 percent.
After a clip had been imported, at first the initial values of the controls match the clip’s recording camera metadata. To reset a changed setting hit the revert symbol at the right of each individual control. To reset all settings to the previous settings hit the Revert To button.
You can choose between Initial Values which are the values stored when you last accessed the setting dialog, or Original Camera Values which match the values from the clips camera meta data or you can choose Neutral Values which are the default values of the metadata specified by the X-OCN standard. Typically you will work with the Original Camera Values like they were intended by the shooter and probably do some custom changes to adapt to the overall projects look.
For further information about editing workflows in Apple Final Cut Pro and other Apple editing applications please refer to corresponding user manuals.
Remarks and Known Issues
- To achieve best image quality, depending on the recording profile, X-OCN and RAW clips can have a quite high data rate. For a fluent playback make sure the IO of your system, including external storage, is capable to mange rates of up to 5500 Mbps for X-OCN XT 24p 8k shots and up to 7000 Mbps for X-OCN XT 5.8k 60p shots.
- Processing of X-OCN and RAW frames requires a lot of computation power. Your system should be equipped with a powerful processor. Recommended is a modern Apple Silicon processor of the Pro series or better for best performance. But this Media Extension will also work on a system with an Intel CPU accompanied by a discrete AMD GPU that is compatible with macOS 15.