Features

The nablet XAVC S AMA Plug-in allows you to link, play and edit Sony XAVC S and XAVC S-I H.264/AVC footage via AMA in Avid editing products. It supports the linking of complete volumes as well as single clips in an MP4 container.

The nablet XAVC S AMA Plug-in reads the timecode and interprets most of the important metadata that is encapsulated in the XAVC MP4 media. Furthermore, it detects Slog2, Slog3, HLG, and other HDR capture gamma in XAVC S shots so that Media Composer can automatically assign a color transformation that matches the project color space.

Also, with the plug-in, you can work with XAVC proxies and export XAVC S or generic MP4-compliant AVC 4:2:0 video files.

Note that Sony XAVC HS HEVC operating points are not supported by this plugin. For linking and editing XAVC HS H.265/HEVC footage please use the nablet HEVC AMA Plugin.

Evaluation

The downloaded copy of the plug-in runs in demo mode. A nablet logo will be printed into the decoded images but otherwise, the plugin is fully functional. Follow the instructions here to purchase a license key and unlock the plugin to make the logo disappear.

After the plug-in was unlocked by a license key file, you can continue to use the clips that were previously linked in demo mode. You do not need to re-linked them. The logo will disappear after the key has been validated by the plugin. However, transcodings and video mixdowns have to be redone since they have been encoded with the logo in the source image.

Requirements

Supported Avid Products

• Avid Media Composer from v8.6 to the latest releases

Supported Operating Systems

Windows

• Windows 11
• Windows 10 64-bit

Mac

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) (Intel, Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2)
• macOS 13 (Ventura) (Intel, Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2)
• macOS 12 (Monterey) (Intel, Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2)
• macOS 11 (Big Sur) (Intel only)
• macOS 10.15 (Catalina)
• macOS 10.14 (Mojave)

Hardware Requirements

The plugin can utilize hardware-accelerated AVC decoders. Your computer should be equipped with an external NVIDIA or AMD GPU or an Intel CPU with the Quick Sync Video feature, which supports the decoding of AVC footage. For the capabilities of your external GPU and your CPU please check the manufacturer's specification.

Minimum required GPU driver versions on Windows systems (Windows 10 required):

• NVIDIA - 470.0
• AMD - 20.7.1
• Intel Iris - 26.20.100.8141

The plugin will detect whether a suitable GPU is available or whether it needs to use the software decoder. Decoding of 4:2:2 footage is currently not supported by any GPU accelerator and will be processed by the software decoder.

On Windows OS by default, the plugin will prefer an available external Nvidia or AMD GPU. The tool nablet XAVC S AMA Plugin Configurator allows overwriting the preferences.

On Mac systems, hardware-accelerated AVC decoding is supported starting from macOS 10.13 through the Apple Video Toolbox API and the performance depends on the systems OS version and hardware configuration.

Change Log

• v2.4.1
  • Fix video sample loss or image distortion upon fast scrubbing on macOS.
  • Fix possible decoder hangup on Intel GPU with the latest drivers (v101.5522).
• v2.4.0
  • Extended ISO range for EI processing.
  • Improvements on hardware accelerated decoding.
  • Approved for macOS 14, Sonoma.
• v2.3.0
  • Changed embedded LUT support in XAVC S clips to a more user-friendly and convenient
    workflow
  • Added control to modify the exposure of XAVC S clips in Source Settings to support the Sony Cine EI workflow
• v2.2.0
  • Support for embedded LUTs
• v2.1.9
  • Correctly detects Slog3 color space
• v2.1.8
  • Add support for clips with 96kHz PCM audio
• v2.1.7
  • Fixed incorrect display of interlaced proxy clips.
• v2.1.6
  • Approved for Windows 11 and macOS 12 (Monterey) (Intel, Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2).
  • Performance improvement on scrubbing.
• v2.1.5
  • Added support for multiple AAC multichannel audio tracks.
  • Set shot marks from Sony metadata as markers on the timeline.
  • Improved scrubbing behavior.
  • Fix timeouts while decoding interlaced proxy files with a software decoder on Windows OS.
• v2.1.1
  • For AVC proxy clips additional dummy audio tracks are added to match the main recordings number of channels.
  • Updated proxy editing workflow instructions.
• v2.1.0
  • Enhanced support for a proxy editing workflow for XAVC and XAVC S.
• v2.0.0
  • Mac version refactored and approved for macOS 11.0 (Big Sur, Intel Mac).
  • Uses hardware accelerated decoding when available.
  • AMA File Export of XAVC S compliant and generic MP4 AVC (4:2:0)
• v1.1.0
  • Support for new 4:2:2 10bit AVC Long GOP and Intra encoded video.
  • Support for new Hi-Res 24bit and multichannel audio.
  • Support for interlaced XAVC substream (proxy) operating points.
  • Support for linking XAVC substream volumes (PXROOT).
• v1.0.8
  • Fix: Plugin failed to load under Media Composer version 2018.11 or earlier on Mac systems.

Installation Procedure

Prerequisites

You cannot install the AMA Plug-ins while the editing application background services are running. Make sure you stop the services before installing AMA Plug-Ins. The stop/start background services icon is on the Media Composer menu bar (Macintosh) or taskbar (Windows). Once you installed the new AMA plug-in, restart the services. See “Starting and Stopping Avid Background Services” in the Media Composer Help.

Install Instructions

Windows

1. Download the installer package and unpack it.
2. Double-click the EXE file in the extracted folder to start the installation.
3. Follow the instructions provided by the installer. Read and accept the End User License. If you already own a license key file use its path when asked. If you used a temporary key file that you received for test purposes you can update it now with the key file you purchased.
4. During the installation, any previous version of the nablet XAVC S plug-in will be updated.

Mac

1. Download the installer package and unpack it.
2. Double-click a DMG file of the plugin to mount the image. A folder with the package opens.
3. Launch the PKG file to start the installation.
4. Follow the instructions provided by the Installer application. Read and accept the End User License. If you already own a license key file pass its path when asked. If you used a temporary key file that you received for test purposes you can update it now with the key file you purchased.
5. During the installation, any previous version of the nablet XAVC S plug-in will be updated.

Uninstall Instructions

Windows

1. Open Windows Control Panel and launch Programs and Features.
2. Select nablet XAVC S Plug-In and then select Uninstall.
3. Next, select Yes to confirm the removal.

Install Instructions Uninstall Instructions Mac:

1. Locate the directory Library/Application Support/Avid/AVX2_Plug-ins/AMA/nablet.
2. Delete the .avx file.
3. Delete the license key file nablet_XAVCS_Plugin_my_name.key.
4. Empty the Trash to completely erase the files from the system.

Verifying the Plug-in Version

After installation, the plug-in is available to Avid Editing products. To confirm whether the plug-in was properly installed and verify the version follow the steps below:

1. In Media Composer's project window hit the Info button
2. A list starting with version and license information for Media Composer will appear.
3. Scroll down to find the AMA Plugin Info.
4. Confirm that the “nablet XAVC S Plug-in” is listed and the version matches the one you've installed

Unlocking the Plug-in from Demo mode

As long as the plug-in runs in demo mode a nablet logo will be imprinted into the decoded images.

To purchase licenses for the plugin visit the nablet store.

For each license that you purchase, you will receive a key file to unlock the plug-in.

1. Shut down Media Composer and the Background Services.
2. Run the XAVC S plug-in installer again, follow the instructions, and pass the path to the key file when asked.
3. Restart Media Composer.

Keep a copy of the key file in a safe place. You will need it again after the plug-in had been uninstalled. Do not rename or modify the license key file, otherwise, it will become unusable.

The key must be used on a single computer only. You should purchase one license for each workplace in your company where the nablet XAVC S plug-in is used.

Once the license key has been validated by the plug-in, the nablet logo will disappear from the linked clips. Now redo any transcodings, consolidations, and video mixdowns that have been done during the evaluation period and which show the logo.

Operation Procedure

Folders and Clips on XAVC S volumes

XAVC S files use the MP4 container and devices store the recorded clips into a specific folder structure on the media:

Cameras that can optionally record other Sony formats may also use this structure:

It is recommended to completely copy these folder structures from each recording media onto your computer or separate storage. Each media's content shall be copied into a new folder with an individual name, for example describing the scene and location. Do not attempt to copy the content over an existing structure. You will make it not-linkable and may lose data.

If your device wrote a PRIVATE folder but does not contain recordings of other formats or you do not intend to edit the other formats, you may omit to copy the whole structure but only copy the M4ROOT folder. This will also avoid troubles on some versions of Media Composer where its built-in AVCHD plugin will claim the volume for itself, regardless of whether the AVCHD folder contains clips or not. In general, to avoid problems in editing systems, it is not recommended to record different formats onto the same media.

Do not remove or manually edit any of the XML files in a XAVC S volume. They contain important metadata and the volume will fail to be linked if they are missing or modified. If you wish to review the copied volumes to for example sort out failed shots before you start linking and editing, we recommend using the Sony Catalyst Browse tool. This tool allows removing clips while it updates the volume's metadata.

Do not attempt to edit footage directly from the recording media. It will slow down the processing and the media cannot be reused for recording until the editing project is finished.

Linking to a Sony XAVC S Volume on Media Composer 8.6 and later

1. Select the desired destination bin in the project.
2. From the menu bar, select File->Input->Source Browser.
3. When in the Source Browser dialog, make sure that Link is selected, not Import.
   
4. Navigate to the desired volume.
5. Select the volume root which must be the folder above M4ROOT (or PRIVATE if present).
6. Hit the Link button on the bottom right. Media Composer will choose the nablet XAVC S plugin automatically.

Linking to a Sony XAVC S Volume on Media Composer 8.5 and earlier

1. Select the desired destination bin in the project.
2. From the menu bar, select File->AMA Link… (Link to Media… if using Avid MC 8.4).
3. Media Composer will not assign the plugin automatically. From the Files of Type drop-down menu select nablet XAVC S (Folder).
4. Select the volume root which must be the folder above M4ROOT (or PRIVATE if present).
5. Select Open.

Linking to Sony XAVC S files on Media Composer 8.6 and later

1. Select the desired destination bin in the project.
2. From the menu bar, select File->Input->Source Browser.
3. When in the Source Browser dialog, make sure that Link is selected, not Import
   
4. Navigate to the XAVC S file(s) to be linked.
5. Media Composer will not assign the plugin automatically. Select and right-click the desired file(s) and select Link with->nablet XAVC S.
6. Hit the Link button on the bottom right.

Linking to Sony XAVC S files on Media Composer 8.5 and earlier

1. Select the desired destination bin in the project.
2. From the menu bar, select File->AMA Link… (Link to Media… if using Avid MC 8.4/8.5).
3. Media Composer will not assign the plugin automatically. From the Files of Type drop-down menu select nablet XAVC S (*.mp4).
4. Select the file(s) to be linked.
5. Hit the Open button on the bottom right.

Transcoding

Do not attempt to transcode a linked clip from within Media Composer's Source Browser as offered when you tried to Import instead to Link. Always link the footage as described above. When done navigate to the bin with linked clips, select the desired clips, right-click, and select Consolidate/Transcode. In the Consolidate/Transcode dialog select Transcode on the top left. For details about the further settings please refer to the Media Composer manual. Once the transcoding is completed the transcoded file(s) will appear next to the linked source clip(s) in the bin.

Auto Mount

When you insert the recording media into a card reader which is connected to your PC or when you connect your camera to your PC via USB while Media Composer is running, it may detect the volume(s) and automatically link the clips into a new bin. While this procedure seems to be convenient, please keep in mind that the footage remains on the recording media. Once the media is removed or disconnected the footage will appear offline.

Use this way of linking only when you want to immediately transcode the footage for editing after linking.

Performance problems with Source Browser of Media Composer 8.6 and later

In some cases, the Media Composer Source Browser may be very slow and sometimes behave erratically when you attempt to link single clips rather than a whole volume. If you frequently face issues with the Source Browser, an option is to use the legacy link dialog instead. This dialog is still available under

Media Composer 8.6 and later, but it is hidden. To make it available persistently select Tools->Console and in the consoles command line type

ToggleHideLinkMenus

and hit Enter. To hide the dialog again repeat the command. Now proceed to link clips and volumes as described for Media Composer 8.5.

Source Settings, Color Transformations and Embedded LUTs

In order to view the Source Settings window, you must right-click a clip in a bin and select Source Settings… There are three tabs in this window, Linked Plug-in, Color Encoding, and FrameFlex that affect
the image appearance.

The Color Encoding tab allows you to add and remove LUT tables, which will change the visual look of
the image which can transform the clip's color space to the project color space.

The FrameFlex tab allows you to change the dimension and framing of the image.

The Linked Plug-in tab allows you to change the exposure of the clip. Application of an embedded LUT,
which is explained later, can be enabled here as well.

Note that exposure control is only available for XAVC S Clips shot with Slog3 capture gamma. Initially,
the value for Exposure (EI) that was found in the clips metadata is used. The Exposure can be adjusted
in a range from ISO 80 to ISO 10000 in steps of 1/3 of a stop.

To reset the custom exposure setting to the value at recording time choose Clip Meta Data settings
above. To reset them to generic defaults choose the Default settings above.

Note
On some versions of Media Composer, the first attempt to change a value does not take effect. To
overcome this, toggle a setting one time, e.g. switch between Clip Meta Data and Default and back.
After that, any further changes will take effect.

The image preview on the Linked Plug-in tab shows the image in the format before any Color
Transformation LUTs and Look LUTs have been applied on the Color Encoding tab. Switch to the Color
Encoding tab to view the final effect of your custom settings after the LUTs have been applied and thus
how the image will appear in further processing, or, if the clip is opened in the Source Monitor, use a full-screen display on a secondary monitor to view the final image while you change settings.

Managing Color Adapters

When you link footage whose Capture-Gamma or Transfer-Characteristic does not match the project color space, for example, a clip with Sony S-Log3.Cine into a BT.709 project, a color transformation is needed to correctly display the pictures.
Media Composer ships with a variety of LUTs for color transformations, including those for Sony S-Log color spaces. Automatic insertion of a matching color transformation upon linking can be enabled in the Color Management Settings. They can be reached either via File->Settings->User tab or at the Color Encoding tab in the Source Settings dialog.

Open the Source Settings dialog of the linked clip to see the current color transformation.

If automatic insertion of a color transformation is disabled in the Color Management Settings, or if the clip color space matches the project color space, the Color transformations list will be empty. If color spaces don't match, you can now insert a color transformation manually in two ways:

• Under Color Adapters hit the Auto button which will cause MC to insert the required transformation
  automatically now.
  
• Or select the desired Color Adapter from either the Generic or User-installed LUTs type.
  

Look LUTs and custom Color Transformation LUTs

If you have a Look LUT, a LUT that gives the recorded video a creative look, or a custom color space transformation LUT that you want to insert, first you need to install that LUT via the Color Management Settings dialog.

For details please see the Media Composer user manual. A user-installed LUT can be inserted in the same way as manually inserting a color adapter. Select it from the User Installed LUTs Color Adapter type.

Make sure to position a Look LUT before any color transformation. If you added a Look LUT after a color transformation was added automatically or manually, you can easily drag the Look LUT upwards to the top position.

Embedded LUTs

Some clips may carry an embedded LUT. This can be a creative LUT to apply a specific look to the
recorded footage or a color transformation LUT for example for conversion from Slog3.Cine to BT.709
or they can even be a combination of both. When an embedded LUT is available you will find the
additional checkbox on the Linked Plug-in tab.

Hover with the mouse over the checkbox to get information about the name of the LUT. To use this
LUT, enable its application with this checkbox. Also for this, on some Media Composer versions, you
may need to toggle the setting once to see the application of the LUT taking effect on the display
window.

You can also check the availability of an embedded LUT in the bin's Monitoring Descriptions column

The name prefix “EMB1” indicates that it is an embedded LUT.

If the LUT is a pure creative LUT, after you enabled the application of it the color transformations on
the Color Encoding tab can be kept as they are. However, if the LUT contains a color space transformation, the color transformation on the Color Encoding tab must be deleted. Otherwise, you
will get a duplicate color transformation which results in a bad image with the wrong colors. Switch to the
Color Encoding tab, select the items in the Color transformations list and delete them.

If you know in advance that the footage has an embedded color transformation LUT and that you want
to use it, disable the automatic insertion of color transformation in the Color Management Settings
before you start linking.

Of course, the color transformation of the embedded LUT must match the color space of your editing
project. For example, you must not use a LUT with a target transformation to BT.709 in a project with
Slog3 or HLG color space to avoid wrong colors.

Unlike the settings on the other Source Settings tabs, unfortunately, Media Composer does not
support applying the settings on the Linked Plug-in tab to multiple selected clips. So you must enable
and disable the application of an embedded LUT for each clip individually.

Avid Playback Settings

The playback quality in the Avid applications can be configured using the Video Quality Menu in the
Timeline window. When the Avid Video Quality menu is set to Full Quality the full 8K, 6K, 4K, or 2K
image is being decoded. At a Draft Quality setting an image of 1/2 resolution is being decoded and at
the Best Performance option, an image of 1/4 resolution is decoded.

For a fluent playback, it is recommended to choose Draft or Best Performance mode. To view images in
best quality choose Full Quality mode.

Working with Proxies

XAVC cameras and some cameras capable to record XAVC S or XAVC HS can simultaneously record low-resolution AVC or HEVC proxy files besides the high-resolution main AV stream. Such AVC or HEVC proxy files are wrapped in the MP4 container in the same style as XAVC S clips.

AVC or HEVC proxies may reside either on the same recording media as the high-resolution clips in the “Sub” folder or in a separate media. When the proxies are stored on a separate media this media has a similar folder structure as XAVC S, but the root folder is named PXROOT rather than M4ROOT, already indicating that the recorded footage is of low resolution.

To link HEVC proxies the nablet HEVC plugin is required. Linking of Sony AVC proxy clips is supported by this plugin directly.

To link high-resolution XAVC (MXF) files the nablet XAVC XDCAM plugin is required to be installed. Linking of XAVC HS (MP4) high-resolution footage is supported by the nablet HEVC plugin.

To work with proxy files for editing you must link the high-resolution footage as well as the low-resolution proxy files. Proceed as described below to link the clips and to become able to switch between high resolution and proxy editing.

1. Link the XAVC S (MP4) high-resolution footage using the methods described earlier in this manual or the XAVC (MXF) footage using the methods described in the manual of the nablet XAVC XDCAM plugin or the XAVC HS footage using the methods described in the manual of the nablet HEVC plugin. Either link the whole volume or link selected clips from the Clip
2. If the proxy clips reside on a separate media, link the whole media by selecting the parent folder above PXROOT, or link selected clips by right-clicking->Link with->nablet XAVC S.

If the proxy clips were recorded to the same media as the high-resolution clips, navigate to the Sub folder and link all or selected clips by right-clicking->Link with->nablet XAVC S.

You may link high-resolution clips and proxy clips into the same bin but it is recommended to link them into separate bins for a better overview.

Number of High-Resolution audio tracks vs. number of Proxy audio tracks

Important! Sometimes the AVC proxy clips have fewer audio tracks than the high-resolution clips. So, special care has to be taken to be able to edit with all audio tracks. If you would fill and edit your timeline directly with the linked proxy clips, you may work for example with 2 audio tracks only while the high-resolution clips have 4 or 8 audio tracks. Relinking the sequence to high resolution later will not add the missing audio tracks!

Beginning with this version 2.1.1 of the nablet XAVC S plugin and version 1.2.2 of the nablet HEVC plugin these plugins will detect the number of high-resolution audio tracks and will add silent dummy tracks for the linked proxy clips to match the number of high-resolution audio tracks so that your workflow becomes easier.

This detection will happen always when high-resolution and proxy clips reside on the same media volume.

When high resolution and proxy clips were recorded on separate media it depends on the proxy volumes metadata version whether the number of high resolution is signaled in the clips companion XML file. If it is signaled, this will let the XAVC S plugin know the number of high-resolution audio tracks and thus how many dummy tracks it will have to add. If it is not there the XAVC S plugin cannot add dummy tracks upon linking and you have to choose a bit more complex workflow.

You can see the number of audio tracks after linking when the 'Tracks' column on the bin to where you linked the clips is enabled.

So, different workflows are required depending on whether you have to work with a different number of audio tracks or an equal one. Please see the instructions on the following pages.

Note that when you have a proxy or high-resolution clips with a varying number of audio tracks, e.g. some clips have 4 channels, some clips have 8 channels, and the first clip you add to a new sequence has fewer channels than others, then Media Composer will only automatically create this number of audio tracks. When you place a clip with a higher number of channels later on in the sequence, no additional audio tracks will be created and not all audio tracks of that new clip will be present.

Make sure your sequence has enough audio tracks and manually add additional audio tracks to the sequence before you place clips with a higher number of tracks.

If the number of high-resolution audio tracks is equal to the number of tracks shown for the linked proxy clips in the bin columns:

Fill and edit the timeline with the proxy clips. When you are done with editing select the sequence in its bin and raise the Relink dialog by right-clicking->Relink... to relink the sequence back to high resolution:

All high-resolution and proxy clips shall have been linked already so that they can be located in the media database by the Relink process.

High-resolution and proxy files typically carry the same Source File ID. This is used by the host to identify the matching source clips for relinking.

As the format and image dimensions of high resolution and proxy clips are different by nature make sure to allow Relink to: Any Video Format. Then Select Highest Quality as Relink method.

In some cases, the high-resolution clips and the proxies have different frame rates. Make sure to enable Allow relink across rates, otherwise, only clips with the same frame rate get relinked.

Check the Create a new sequence if you want the selected sequence to be relinked into a copy.

To switch a sequence back to proxy resolution proceed as above but select Relink Method: Most Compressed.

In some cases, when the high-resolution clips are of AVC format and the proxy clips are of HEVC format, the above relink methods may not work as expected. When relinking method Most Compressed is chosen the high-resolution clips get linked and vice versa.

A recommended workflow to overcome this behavior is to use Relink to the Video format of the current project only... to relink to high resolution:

Where the project dimensions and framerate must match the source material parameters.

To link back to the proxy use Relink to Any HD video format or “Any SD video format”, depending on the resolution of the proxy clips:

If the number of high-resolution audio tracks is higher than the number of audio tracks shown for the linked proxy clips in the bin columns:

You need to relink the high-resolution clips to low-resolution ones before you start editing. But only the video track!

1. Select all high-resolution clips in their bin and do right-click->Relink... to raise the Relink dialog and configure the relink process:
   
   

   As said earlier all high-resolution and proxy clips shall have been linked already so that they can be located in the media database.

   High-resolution and proxy files typically carry the same Source File ID. This is used by the host to identify the matching source clips for relinking.

   As the format and image dimensions of high resolution and proxy clips are different by nature make sure to allow Relink to: Any Video Format. Select Most Compressed as Relink method.

   It is important to select only the Video track to be relinked and keep the audio tracks at a high resolution! This way the relinked clips will still refer to all high-resolution audio tracks.

   In some cases, the high-resolution clips and the proxies have different frame rates. Make sure to enable Allow relink across rates, otherwise, only clips with the same frame rate get relinked.

2. Now you may create the sequence and start editing by filling the timeline with the relinked clips from the high-resolution bins. You will see that the video track appears as low-resolution but all high-resolution audio tracks are available on the timeline.
3. To relink a sequence with a low-resolution video source back to high resolution for export, high-quality rendering, and preview, select the sequence in its bin and raise the Relink dialog by right-clicking ->Relink...to relink the sequence:
   
   To switch a sequence back to proxy resolution proceed as above but select Relink Method: Most Compressed.

On some macOS versions relinking the sequence might not work as shown above. The video track on the timeline may stay at a low resolution.

Instead, select the high-resolution clips in their bin again and proceed as above but select Relink method: Highest Quality. Again only relink the Video track!

To relink a high-resolution sequence back to proxy format, proceed as above but select Relink method:

Most Compressed.

Note that if you had linked the XAVC proxy clips before with a version earlier than nablet XAVC S plugin 2.1.0 or with Media Composers built-in plugins, the clips will not be detected by the Relink process.

You must clean the media database first and then link the proxy clips with the nablet XAVC S plugin v2.1.0 or later and link the high-resolution clips with the nablet XAVC XDCAM plugin or the XAVC S plugin, depending on whether their container is MXF or MP4.

Choosing the AVC decoder on a Windows PC

Mac users can skip this chapter. There is no manual choice for the user between a hardware-accelerated decoder or a pure software decoder when the plug-in is running on macOS. It is all managed by the OS based on the hardware configuration of your Mac.

On modern Windows PCs, mostly there is more than one decoder available. Besides the software decoder of the plug-in, which is always available, there may be hardware-accelerated video decoders available. This can be the Intel Quick Sync Video decoder if your system is running with an Intel CPU, or the decoder of an NVIDIA or AMD GPU if the system is equipped with a modern discrete graphics card.

By default, the plug-in will decide automatically which decoder it uses. It prefers the AVC decoder of a discrete GPU if that is available and it supports the video profile of footage to be linked. If no supporting GPU is found, the plugin will look for the Intel Quick Sync Video decoder and fall back to using the software decoder if no supporting hardware accelerated decoder is found. This is the procedure for video with 4:2:0 chroma sub-sampling. Footage with 4:2:2 sub-sampling is decoded by the software decoder on the CPU for now, because currently there is no hardware decoder available that is capable to handle 4:2:2.

The behavior of the plug-in to automatically choose a decoder should be sufficient in most cases and you won't need to intervene. But there may be a few cases where it is good to have the means to override the plug-in's default behavior. This can be when a specific type of footage is not properly decoded on the GPU. Or, this is probably a rare case, the decoder of the discrete GPU is less powerful than the Intel Quick Sync Video decoder of your CPU, or even your CPU is so powerful that it outperforms the hardware-accelerated decoders when using the software decoder.

During the installation of the plug-in also a small tool called nablet XAVC S AMA Plugin Configurator, which allows changing the default behavior of the plug-in is installed. You can find a shortcut on the desktop or run it from the Windows Start Menu under nablet XAVC S AMA Plugin.

Please shut down Media Composer before you run this tool, or restart it after you have made your choice to make the change take effect.

AMA File Export of XAVC S and generic MP4 Files

The AMA File Export feature allows the export of XAVC S compatible or generic MP4 files from Avid editing solutions. Exports can be performed with all Avid media including linked AMA files.

Supporting formats

XAVC S AMA File Export supports the following operating points:

Video

HD 1280x720

XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 40Mbps	50p/59.94p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 16Mbps	50p/59.94p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 9Mbps	50p/59.94p (MP4 generic only)

HD 1920x1080

XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 50 Mbps	23.98p, 25p, 29.97p, 50p, 59.94p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 25 Mbps	23.98p, 25p, 29.97p, 50p, 59.94p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 16 Mbps	23.98p, 25p, 29.97p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 15 Mbps	50p, 59.94p (MP4 generic only)
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 10 Mbps	23.98p, 25p, 29.97p (MP4 generic only)

UHD 3840x2160

XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 60 Mbps	23.98p, 25p, 29.97p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 100 Mbps	23.98p, 25p, 29.97p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 150 Mbps	50p, 59.94p
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 80 Mbps	50p, 59.94p (MP4 generic only)
XAVC-LongGOP 4:2:0 8-bit 40 Mbps	23.98p, 25p, 29.97p (MP4 generic only)

Audio

PCM Stereo 48kHz 16 bit	XAVC S only
AAC Stereo 48 kHz 256 kbps	MP4 generic only
AAC 5.1 Ch 48 kHz 640 kbps	MP4 generic only

The choice of video resolutions and bitrates depends on the resolution and frame rate of the editing project. Make sure the editing project is configured for the target resolution and frame rate.

Although the term 4K is often used for all resolutions with a height of 2160 lines, 'real' 4K has a resolution of 4096x2160 while UHD (also known as Ultra HD, UHDTV, or QFHD) has a resolution of 3840x2160 which equates four times the Full HD resolution of 1920x1080. Note that XAVC S only supports HD and UHD resolutions.

Export configuration

The color space specified in the editing project and thus used on an exported timeline will be signaled in the resulting file. Applications and Hardware which can interpret the signaled color space can display the video in the proper colors and dynamic range.

Before you export a timeline, make sure the correct number of tracks is selected.

The total number of channels of the selected mono or multichannel audio tracks on the timeline shall match the number of channels for the target format, 2 for PCM or AAC Stereo, 6 for AAC 5.1

If you rendered a Stereo or 5.1 audio mixdowns for the timeline (recommended), the resulting mixdown will have been added to the timeline automatically as a single multichannel track. In this case, deselect all source audio tracks and only select the mixdown track.

Do not forget to also select the video track.

If the total number of audio channels on the timeline is equal to or less than the desired number of channels in the target video and no audio mixdown is needed, it is not required to select tracks for export. Just do not check the Use Selected Tracks option on the export dialog. The video and all audio tracks will be exported. If there are fewer audio channels than desired, silent ones will be added during export.

The timeline's Data track is ignored for the export. However, the plug-in will add a so-called Realtime Data track with timecode and color space metadata information as specified in the Sony XAVC specification and SMPTE RDD-18 to the resulting XAVC S MP4 file.

Configuring the export

1. Right-click the desired sequence or media file for export to reveal the context menu.
2. On Media Composer before v8.6 select AMA File Export to open the AMA File Export dialog. On Media Composer v8.6 up to v2018.9 select Output->AMA File Export. Then Proceed to step 3.

   From Media Composer 2018.10 onward intermediate steps are required:

   On the Menu select File->Output->Export to File.

   A dialog to specify the target file name and location and the settings will appear:

   

   There set the file name, select an existing export profile, or hit Options to create a profile or edit an existing one

3. From the File Type drop-down menu select XAVC S or MP4 AVC.
   

The dialog will show the available general and XAVC S relevant export settings now.

Check the Use Marks option if you want to export only a certain range of your timeline which you have specified by setting In and Out marks in the monitor.

If your timeline has more audio channels on its audio tracks than desired for export, check the Use Selected Tracks option. If there are more source audio tracks and channels selected than can be exported (2 for Stereo, 6 for AAC 5.1) the surplus channels will be ignored at export.

If the timeline has fewer audio channels than required for the export, additional silent channels will be added automatically during export.

On Media Composer prior to v2018.10 specify the target file name and location here.

Choose the File Format

The default option is MP4 XAVC S. For players and devices which do not support the XAVC S-compliant format or when low bitrates are desired there is an option to generate an MP4 Generic file. This generic format has fewer constraints than the XAVC S format but does not support PCM audio.

Choose the Video Format

Depending on the resolution and frame rate the choice of available bitrates varies. Low bitrates, e.g. for use in social media, are offered for generic MP4 export.

Choose the Audio Format

Available options are PCM Stereo 16 bit for XAVC S  or AAC Stereo and AAC 5.1 for generic MP4. The sampling frequency is 48000Hz.

PCM Stereo is the typical audio recording format of XAVC S devices. Uncompressed PCM guarantees the highest audio quality. But some software players are not able to playback a PCM track from an MP4 file. In that case, choose a generic MP4 file format and AAC audio format which is more widely supported and the natural companion to the MP4 file format. Note that PCM audio format is not available when the generic MP4 file format is chosen.

Running the Export

On Media Composer prior to v2018.10 select the Save button to start the export.

On Media Composer v2018.10 and newer hit Save As to save the setting as a preset.

Then hit save to return to the Export as... dialog. Hit the Save button to start the export.

Saved export settings can be selected from the Export Settings drop-down menu on Media Composer v2018.10 for further exports without the need to raise the AMA File Export dialog again.

Known Issues and Limitations

• For Media with a PRIVATE root folder and an AVCHD folder besides the M4ROOT folder, some versions of Media Composer may not access the nablet XAVC S plugin to link this media. Instead, the built-in AVCHD plugin will claim this media. A workaround is to remove the AVCHD folder if it doesn't contain clips, or rename it to e.g. “AVCHD_”.
• Media from Sony cameras that utilize the folder structure with the capability of recording AVCHD will not automount in Avid Media Composer. The user must link to them manually. • Depending on the computer's hardware specification XAVC S QFHD footage may not be played back in real-time with the Video Quality Menu option set to Full Quality.
• Some Media Composer versions prior to version 8.9.1 fail to transcode XAVC S footage with frame rates of 100, 120, 200, and 240 fps with an error message when “Keep source's frame rate” is set. A workaround is to edit high frame rate footage in native format without transcoding.
• After transcoding a clip or after performing a video mixdown, some versions of Media Composer will not set a desired lower Video Quality when playing back the source file.

Toggle the Video Quality setting once when you encounter a performance loss during playback.

Notes for system administrators

Windows system administrators who deploy the plugin binaries to other systems without running the plugin installer and thus are not installing the nablet XAVC S AMA Plugin Configurator application on them can overwrite the default hardware decoder selection behavior by setting a registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\nablet GmbH\XAVC S AMA Plugin
DecoderPreference=0

Values are: 

• 0 = Auto – prefers external GPU (default)
• 1 = Force using Intel QuickSync if available
• 2 = Force using a software decoder