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nablet ARRI AMA Plug-in

nablet Support Team
  • Updated

Features

The nablet ARRI AMA Plug-in allows you to link, play, edit and transcode ARRIRAW and ARRICORE as well as Apple ProRes footage recorded by ARRI cameras via AMA in Avid editing products. It supports linking of complete volumes as well as single clips. The clips may consist of MXF wrapped ARRIRAW, ARRICORE or ProRes frames and PCM Audio or may be sequences of unwrapped ARRIRAW frames,  *.ari files accompanied by PCM audio Wave files. Furthermore, this plugin is able to link and decode sequences of Codex HDE encoded ARRIRAW frames in *.arx files or MXF wrapped Codex HDE encoded ARRIRAW essence.

In addition the nablet ARRI AMA Plug-in reads and interprets the important meta data that is encapsulated in the ARRI media and is able to automatically apply embedded Look LUTs and convert LogC3 shots into LogC4 color space during image processing.

Evaluation

The downloaded copy of the nablet ARRI AMA Plug-in will run in demo mode. A nablet logo will be printed into the decoded images but otherwise the plugin is fully functional.

To purchase a license please visit the nablet site.

After the ARRI AMA Plug-in has been unlocked by a license, you can continue to use the clips that were previously linked in demo mode. You do not need to re-link them. The logo will disappear after Media Composer had been restarted and the license has been validated by the plugin. However, transcodings and video mixdowns have to be re-done since they have been encoded with the logo in the source image.

Supported Operating Systems

Windows

  • Windows 11 64-bit
  • Windows 10 64-bit

Mac

minimum Version

  • Intel CPU: macOS 10.15  (Catalina)
  • Apple Silicon CPU: macOS 11.00  (Big Sur)

ARRI Image SDK version used in this release: 9.0.0 
Codex HDE decoder version used in this release: 5.2.1

System Requirements

Debayering and processing of ARRIRAW frames requires a lot of resources. For a fluent workflow your editing system shall meet the requirements below:

  • A powerful CPU with at least 8 logical cores.
  • On windows PCs a high end GPU which supports CUDA or OpenCL 1.2 or above. For CUDA the Nvidia driver version must be 397.44 or higher.
  • On Mac PCs a high end GPU which supports OpenCL 1.2 or above or Metal 2.1 and above.
  • A fast IO able to read 600 MB/s and more.

Version Information

What's new in version 2026.5.0

  • Fix problem to detect validity of legacy license keys files.
  • Add support for educational licenses.

What's new in version 2026.2.0

  • Uses ARRI Image SDK 9.0.1 which fixes internal issues.
  • AMA Plugin Manager: Fix invisible panels and controls when macOS is set to dark mode.

What's new in version 2025.11.0

  • Global settings for image processing and license management can now be made via the nablet AMA Plugin Manager application.
  • New licensing model for convenient activation, de-activation and re-activation on different machine via the AMA Plugin Manager application.
  • New versioning scheme with first digits as YYYY.MM of the release date for better overview.

What's new in version 3.7.1

  • Fix playback of HDE encoded ARRIRAW MXF clips.

What's new in version 3.7.0

  • Uses ARRI Image SDK 9.0.
  • Supports ARRICORE encoded footage.

What's new in version 3.6.0

  • Supports Apple Silicon (ARM) CPU on Mac.
  • Add support for legacy Codex HDE compressed ARRIRAW in MXF container.

What's new in version 3.5.1?

  • Fix playback of ARRIRAW clips which require temporal processing.

What's new in version 3.5.0?

  • Uses ARRI Image SDK v8.3.1 with support for ALEXA 265, ALEXA 35 monochrome and ALEXA 35 SUP 2.2.0.
  • Fixes image distortion on a ProRes clip when vertical mirror and embedded Look LUT are applied at same time.

What's new in version 3.4.2?

  • Fix playback of ProRes when application of embedded Look LUT is enabled.
  • Disabled use of Apple Metal GPU on legacy 12 bit footage due to wrong colors.

What's new in version 3.4.1?

  • Fixes playback stops on clips with dynamic exposure index changes.

What's new in version 3.4.0?

  • Hardware accelerated HDE decompression by CUDA on Windows or Metal on Mac.
  • Supports vertical mirror image on ProRes footage.

Try before you buy

Before you purchase a license for this product, please evaluate the plug-in in demo mode to verify that it fits your needs. Try whether your system is suitable for a sufficient workflow and make sure that the footage which you need to edit is supported.

Installation Procedure

Prerequisites

You cannot install the nablet ARRI AMA Plug-in while the editing application background services are running. Make sure you stop the services before installing AMA Plugins. 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 “nablet_ARRI_Plugin_Setup_Win_2025.11.0.zip” and unpack it.
  2. Double click “nablet_ARRI_Plugin_Setup_Win_2025.11.0.exe” to run the installation.
  3. Follow the instructions provided by the installer. You must read and accept to the End User License.
  4. During the installation any previous version of the nablet ARRI AMA Plug-in as well as of the former ARRIRAW AMA Plug-in will be updated.
  5. Additionally the nablet AMA Plugin Manager application will be installed or updated where you can manage licenses, configure plugin settings and open the user manual. An icon shortcut for the app is placed on the desktop.

Uninstall Instructions Windows:

  1. Open Windows Control Panel and launch “Programs and Features”.
  2. Select “nablet ARRI Plug-in” and then select Uninstall.
  3. Next, select Yes to confirm the removal.
  4. The nablet ARRI Plug-in and a legacy license key file if present are now removed.

Do not uninstall the nablet AMA Plugin Manager as long as you have other nablet plugins installed

Install Instructions Mac:

  1. Download the installer package “nablet_ARRI_Plugin_Setup_Mac_2025.11.0.zip” and unpack it.
  2. Double-click “nablet_ARRI_AMA_Plugin_Setup_Mac_2025.11.0.dmg” to mount the image.
  3. A folder with “nablet_ARRI_AMA_Plugin_Setup_Mac_2025.11.0.pkg” opens.
  4. Launch “nablet_ARRI_AMA_Plugin_Setup_Mac_2025.11.0.pkg” to run the installation.
  5. Follow the instructions provided by the Installer application. You must read and accept to the End User License.
  6. During the installation any previous version of the nablet ARRI AMA Plug-in as well as of the former ARRIRAW AMA Plug-in will be updated.
  7. Additionally the nablet AMA Plugin Manager application will be installed or updated where you can manage licenses, configure plugin settings and open the user manual. It is located under “/Applications/nablet AMA Plugins”.

Uninstall Instructions Mac:

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

"Users/Shared/Library/ApplicationSupport/nablet/nablet_ARRIRAW_AMA_Plugin” and delete it with all it's contents.

  1. Uninstall the nablet AMA Plugin Manager only if you have no other nablet AMA plugins installed. Locate “Applications/nablet AMA Plugin Manager” and delete the whole folder with all it's contents

Verifying the Plug-in Version

After installation the “nablet ARRI Plug-in”will be available to Avid Editing products. To confirm whether the plug-in was properly installed and verify the version follow the steps below:

  1. In Avid open the Console window by selecting Tools->Console.
  2. In the Console, type “Ama_ListPlugins” and press [Enter].
  3. Confirm the version number listed for the “nablet ARRI Plug-in” and is v 2025.11.

Evaluation

Without a license the plugin runs in demo mode. It will be fully functional, but a logo is imprinted into any decoded picture. This allows you to evaluate all features of the plugin without limitation and to find out whether it fits the needs of your workflow before you purchase a license.

Licenses

Starting with version 2025.11 this plugin supports a new, more flexible model for single and multi-seat licenses. Seats can be activated and de-activated and be re-activated on a different machine by means of an activation code. License management can be conveniently done via the nablet AMA Plugin Manager application that now installs with this and any future version of the plugin. A license will be valid for one year starting from first activation, but can be extended.

The new licenses cannot be used on versions of the plugin prior to version 2025.11.

Whether legacy license files (.key) purchased for earlier version can be used on the new version 2025.11 and later depends on their creation date. License key files purchased in 2025 will expire End of 2027, those purchased in 2024 will expire End of 2026, all others expire End of 2025.

License Activation

After the installation of the plugin run the nablet AMA Plugin Manager app. It will show each installed nablet plugin on an own tab. You can activate and reactivate the license by means of an activation code there and also pass or remove a legacy license key file if it is not expired*. Please follow the instructions on the user manual of the nablet AMA Plugin Manager app.

*Please note that legacy license files, depending on their creation date will expire sooner or later for this plugin version and future updates. For versions of the plugin prior to v 2025.11 you can continue to use the license key file.

The license must be used on a single computer only. You may also purchase multi seat licenses.

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

Operation Procedures

Folders and Clips on ARRI volumes

ARRIRAW or ARRICORE frames are usually wrapped in an MXF container. ARRIRAW frames shot with elder camera models can also be stored as a sequence of *.ari files in a folder. An ari file is a single ARRIRAW frame with meta data. Codex HDE compressed ARRIRAW frames as stored in *.arx file sequences or are MXF wrapped. Only MXF wrapped ProRes shot with latest ALEXA cameras is supported by this plug-in.

Below is the typical folder structure of a volume with MXF wrapped ARRIRAW, ARRICORE or ProRes clips

The structure is simple. The folder M002R00H on the left represents the volumes root folder. This folder contains the MXF files. In order to give the plugin the opportunity to detect the folder as an ARRI volume, the folder must also contain the two metadata files *.ale and *.bin, in the sample above they are named M002R00H_AVID.ale and M002R00H_BIN.bin. If these files are missing the folder cannot be linked as a volume as described later and the MXF file must be linked manually. In order to have a quick and convenient workflow where you can link a whole volume with one click do not remove these metadata files from the volume.

The structure of a volume with clips which consists of *.ari  or *.arx file sequences looks a bit more complex

Here the folder S002R6ZJ on the left again represents the volumes root folder, but instead of MXF files you find other folders which each represent a clip. You will notice that the naming style of those 'clip' folders is similar to that of the MXF files.

Inside such a 'clip' folder it looks like below:

On the right you see the *.ari files which each represent one single ARRIRAW frame. Audio is stored in the folder 'wav' on the left. The folder 'xml' contains some meta data.

Sometimes HDE encoded ARRIRAW in *.arx files appears in a simple flat folder structure without audio and metadata files. Here the parent folder of the *.arx files is the 'clip' folder.

But now forget about these internals again. You will not have to deal with the single assets directly but with the 'clip' folder only when you use the plugin to link a clip that consist of *.ari or *.arx files.

Linking the footage

You can either link single or multiple clips out of an ARRI volume or link the complete volume, which is the preferred method for a fluent workflow.

Note: You cannot link *ari or *arx files directly. Instead link the clip's folder as explained above. It is not possible to just link only one or a specific number of frames out of sequence.

Linking to an ARRI Volume

  1. From the menu bar Select File>Input>Source Browser.
  2. When in the Source Browser dialog, make sure that 'Link' is selected, not 'Import'.
  3. Specify the desired destination bin or request to create a new bin.
  4. Navigate to the desired volume.
  5. Select the volume root which must be the volumes parent folder, e.g. M002R00H or S002R6ZJ from the examples on the previous page.
  6. Hit the Link button on the bottom right. Media Composer will choose the nablet ARRI Plug-in automatically and all clips contained in this volume will be linked into the specified bin.

Linking to ARRIRAW, ARRICORE or ProRes files

From the menu bar Select File->Input->Source Browser.

  1. When in the Source Browser dialog, make sure that 'Link' is selected, not 'Import'
  2. Specify the desired destination bin or request to create a new bin.
  3. Navigate to the desired ARRIRAW or ProRes MXF file(s) or the ari/arx clip folder(s).
  4. Media Composer will not assign the plugin for MXF files automatically!
  5. Select and Right click the desired MXF clips and select “Link with -> nablet ARRI”. For *.ari or *.arx sequences just select the clip folders as described earlier.
  6. Hit the Link button on the bottom right.

Note:

Due to a bug in some Avid Media Composer versions, linked ARRI ProRes clips may be marked as InProcess, which usually means that an MXF file is not completed and is possibly still growing. However, in case of linked ARRI recorded ProRes files you can be sure that they are completed and you can ignore that wrong In-Process state.

Transcoding

Do not attempt to transcode a linked clip from within Media Composer's Source Browser as offered when you accidentally tried to Import instead to Link. Always link the footage as described above. When done, navigate to the bin with the linked clips, then 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.

Note that you cannot consolidate ARRIRAW and ARRICORE footage. Consolidation is only possible for footage with a codec that Avid supports native, which is not the case for ARRIRAW and ARRICORE.

Source Settings

The Source Settings allow you to modify how the linked footage is treated.

In order to view the Source Settings window, you must right click a clip or a selection of multiple clips in a bin and select Source settings… There are three tabs in this window, Linked Plug-in, Color Encoding and FrameFlex that affect how the image appears. If multiple clips were selected the first one is shown on that dialog, but changed settings can be applied to all of the selected clips, except those on the Linked Plug-in tab, which require to be set individually for each clip.

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

On the Playback Rates tab you can modify the frame rate.

The Color Encoding tab allows you to add and remove Color Transformation LUTs and Look LUTs.

If the global Color Management Settings are configured to insert a color transformation automatically upon linking, for most project color spaces a matching LogC3 or LogC4 LUT will be applied already when you link the footage.

If no color transformation was inserted automatically or you wish to change the transformation e.g. because you had changed the project color space after linking the footage you can choose from the ARRI LogC3 or LogC4 LUTs which were installed with the plugin.

Automated insertion can also take affect after the color transformation was deleted or if automated insertion upon linking was not enabled. Hit the Auto button in the Color Adapter section and in most cases an ARRI LUT that matches the project color space gets inserted. If not apply it manually.

Note that with version 3.2.0 of this plugin the companion files for automated color transformation application have been updated to properly match the color range. If you are working on a project where the footage had been linked with an earlier version of the plugin before upgrading to version 3.2.0, it is recommended to update the applied color transformation. Select one or more of the desired clips in the bin, right click and select Source Settings to raise the dialog. On the Color Encoding tab hit the Auto button and the current color transformation will be replaced with the new one.

In order to use ASC CDL values which may be embedded in the source clip, make sure the Color Management Settings are configured accordingly. Check the option “Use CDL values from ASC_SOP and ASC_SAT bin columns when available”.

If the “Uses CDL Values …” option was active before the clips are linked, the values will be automatically applied for the color transformation instead of the builtin LUT. Otherwise hit the Auto button to update the color transformation.

Note that ASC CDL values are not applied if they are at the default values (1,1,1)(0,0,0)(1,1,1) (1).

On the Linked Plug-in tab of the Source Settings dialog you can do individual settings for the processing of each clips images inside the plugin. Unfortunately it is not possible to change settings on the Linked Plug-in tab for multiple selected clips in one step. Source Settings need to be opened for each clip individually.

A few global settings can also be made by means of the nablet AMA Plugin Manager app on the ARRI tab. Those settings and their purpose will be explained later here.

For ARRIRAW or ARRICORE footage on the Linked Plug-in tab you will find controls to change the Sensor Type and adjust the White Balance, Exposure and Sharpness of the clip. Initially the values for Color Temperature and Tint and Exposure which were found in the clips meta data are used. For ProRes footage the meta data values are shown, but cannot be modified.

The Sensor Type selector shows the footage's detected sensor type, either Bayer or Monochrome. In most cases there is no need to change the type and with it the processing of the images. Color images are recorded by a camera with Bayer sensor. Black and White images get recorded by a camera with a Monochrome sensor which gives more detail and richer contrast rather than converting color recordings to monochrome in the post-processing.

But some monochrome footage's metadata does not properly indicate the monochrome sensor and the images will appear in a reddish tone. This control allows you to overwrite the Sensor Type by setting it to Monochrome and force a monochrome processing in the decoder for such clips of which you know that they'd been recorded by one of the ARRI Monochrome cameras.

The White Balance can be adjusted on the appropriate slider in a range of 2000 to 11000 Kelvin, and Tint in a Range of -16.0 to +16.0. Color Temperature and Tint controls are disabled for monochrome footage.

The Exposure Index can be adjusted in range from ISO 160 to ISO 6400 for LogC4 encoded footage and ISO 160 to ISO 3200 for LogC3 encoded footage in steps of 1/3 of a stop.

Sharpness can be adjusted in a range from -5.0 to + 35.0. The default is a value of 0. Sharpness can only be modified on certain ARRIRAW clips. Note that the Sharpness setting takes effect only when full resolution frames are requested. So make sure the Avid Video Quality menu is set to Full Quality (see below) when you monitor the settings adjustment. How the sharpness changes can best be viewed at full screen display on a secondary monitor after you hit the Apply button.

To reset the custom settings to the values at recording time choose Clip Meta Data settings above. To reset them to generic defaults choose the Default settings above. Once changes where made, for comparisons you can toggle between Clip Meta Data and Custom Settings.

When an ARRIRAW clip was shot with legacy LogC3 color space the option LogC3 to LogC4 becomes available. When this is enabled the clip gets debayered and processed to LogC4 and REVEAL Color Science in order to better match colors in projects of mixed legacy LogC3 and modern LogC4 shots.

Changing this setting also affects the color space in the view of Avid host and you need to manually adjust the Color Space and a Color Transformation on the Color Encoding tab accordingly. By default the conversion does not get applied.

If an ARRI clip has an embedded Look LUT, a checkbox Apply Look will appear on the Linked Plug-in tab which allows to enable or disable the application of the Look. By default it is enabled and the look is applied after decoding.

Hover with the mouse over this control to get more information about the Look. Uncheck the box if you do not want the Look to be applied or wish to apply a different Look manually as described later.

To change the global default behavior of above features follow the instructions on the Configuring Plugin Features at the nablet AMA Plugin Manager chapter below.

Note:

On recent versions of Media Composer the first attempt to change a setting on the Linked Plug-in tab does not take effect. You may have seen that behavior with other third party plugins as well. To overcome this, toggle a setting one time, for example 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. 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 will image will appear in further processing, or use full screen display on a secondary monitor to view the final image after hitting the Apply button.

Applying a Look LUT manually

If you wish to apply a specific Look LUT make sure that on the Linked Plug-in tab the Apply Look option is disabled in case the clip came with an embedded Look. You can choose from Look LUTs when you switch the Color Adapter Type to User Installed LUTs.

Look LUTs shall be placed before a Color Space Transformation LUT. You can easily drag them around in the Color transformations list to achieve the correct order.

The Look LUTs must have been installed previously. This can be LogC3 or LogC4 3D-LUTs downloaded from the ARRI site or custom Looks. Note that LogC3 Looks shall not be applied on LogC4 encoded footage and vice versa.

In order to use those Look LUTs in your editing projects it is required to install them in Media Composer. To do so proceed as follows:

  • Open a project and on the project page hit the Settings tab.
  • Scroll down and double click Color Management. The Color Management Settings dialog appears.
  • In the Install LUT section specify whether the LUTs shall be embedded in the current project or be installed to be shared or both. However, since the ARRI LogC3 and LogC4 look LUT files have same names, it is recommended to install them for the current project only to avoid a mismatch when you later need to edit a different ARRI LogC footage in an other project.
  • Navigate to the folder containing the LUTs and select all LUTs or the ones you intend to use.
  • Hit Open and be patient. After a few seconds of silent processing you'll be informed that the LUTs were sucessfully installed.

Color Transformation LUTs

The plugin installs two folders with ARRI LogC3 and LogC4 color reference LUTs. On Windows OS their parent folder is C:\ProgramData\nablet\nablet_ARRIRAW_AMA_Plugin\, on macOS they can be found at  /Users/Shared/Library/Application Support/nablet/ nablet_ARRIRAW_AMA_Plugin/. But normally you won't need to install these. Only if your version of Media Composer does not recognize and provide the Installed ARRI LogC LUTs under the Generic color adaptors, you should install them in the same way as described above for the Look LUTs. To apply such a color transformation LUT then select it from the Color Adapters of type User Installed LUTs .

Configuring Plugin Features at the nablet AMA Plugin Manager

The nablet AMA Plugin Manager app which has been installed along with this plugin allows to configure some global plugin settings which cannot be done on the limited Source Settings->LinkedPlugin user interface under the Avid host.

Run the nablet AMA Plugin Manager and choose the ARRI tab.

A global setting means that for any link procedure in any project the selected behavior will be respected. Already linked clips are not affected.

If you do not want the default application of a Look LUT after linking, uncheck the option Always apply an Embedded Look LUT and restart Media Composer. Clips linked in future will not get an embedded Look LUT applied. But you can manually apply it at any time by checking the Apply Look at the Linked Plug-in tab of the Source Settings.

To make LogC3 to LogC4 conversion the default for LogC3 footage,  check the setting Always convert LogC3 to LogC4 Reveal Colorspace. The Source color space then gets already set to LogC4 upon linking and the matching Color Transformation on the Color Encoding tab is set by the host accordingly. You need to link all previously linked clips again to make the change take effect on them. Remove the clips from the project, empty the trash, restart Media Composer and link the clips again. If you do not cleanup and do not link the clips again, the decoder will do the LogC3 to LogC4 processing, but Media Composer will still assume LogC3 and the color transformation it applies will not match and needs to be changed manually.

For best performance by default the processing of ARRIRAW and ARRICORE images will happen on a GPU if available. If you are facing image distortion or software stability issues those my be caused by the GPU and it's drivers. You can force the plugin to use the CPU. Uncheck the option Use GPU for Rendering. Processing on CPU will degrade performance. Always make sure to use latest drivers for your GPU on Windows OS.

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 to reduce processing time and bandwidth.

For a fluent playback it is recommended to choose Draft or Best Performance mode. To view images in best Quality choose Full Quality mode. The quality setting has no influence on rendering and transcoding. There always the highest quality and resolution is decoded.

Known Issues and Limitations

  • For realtime playback of ARRIRAW, ARRICORE and ProRes footage set the Avid’s NLE Video Playback Quality setting to Draft or Best Performance.
  • After transcoding a clip or after performing a video mix down, which always requests the plugin to provide frames in highest quality, some versions of Media Composer will not reset to the desired lower Video Playback Quality when playing back the source file or timeline. Toggle the Video Quality setting once when you encounter a performance loss during playback.
  • On some versions of Media Composer the first attempt to change a value on the Source Settings Linked Plug-in tab 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.

  • Due to a bug in some Avid Media Composer versions, linked ARRI ProRes clips may be marked as In-Process, which usually means that an MXF file is not completed and is possibly still growing. However, in case of linked ARRI recorded ProRes files you can be sure that they are completed and you can ignore that wrong In-Process state.
  • Intel Arc discrete GPUs and Intel integrated GPUs are currently not supported. If no other GPU is available image processing will fall back to CPU.

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