content browser

[Dan Eskelson]

Cool.

I just installed v.2 and now the software reads directly from the card reader.

Thanks for all the help in this thread!

[Stephen Crye]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

Off topic a little but for Stephen this is a short NX30 video ... It was shot 1920x1080 60P and the file should be downloadable but of courses Vimeo will have re-encoded to 720 30P
Ron

Thanks Ron!

Sorry to everyone for hijacking this thread.

Rod, I'll comment on the vid on Vimeo and try to download it. Would love to see the "raw" footage.

Also will start new thread on dvinfo about my NX30 questions.

Steve

[Ron Evans]

I have now had a little time to play with the Content Browser V2 and at least I have not yet found a way of it transferring AVCHD files satisfactorily. I have tried files from my NX30 and NX5 and in neither case can I get it to join the FAT32 files together. It operates much like the XDCAm browser V2.6 but for that I can get the single clip in the browser window to transfer to Edius. Not so for this Content Browser. It transfers over the same total size as the Content Management Utility but the files are still separate and there are other files that come across too !!! When I place on the Edius timeline there is a gap in the audio that gets worse as the timeline gets to the end . After 57 mins its is way off. Not good. The Content Manager Utility is much better at least at the moment.

Ron Evans

[Chris Harding]

Ouch!! More confusion now...Is the Content Management Utility is different bit of software from the content Browser??? I'm downloading the file CMU_Upgrade_21

I have to go and sign up a bride in a few minutes so i'll install and check it out when I get back!.

It's getting complicated now ...On my Saturday wedding the file split is exactly over a section with no crucial audio so I just left them as is and they are fine. What I often used to do was physically stop recording and start again to force clips to be under 2GB and therefore not split.

Chris

[Ron Evans]

Yes Chris. The Content Browser V2 is supposed to be a replacement for the XDCAm Browser and also the Content Management Utility. In other words it is supposed to handle all the Sony Pro formats. I have all 4 of the Sony transfer software on my PC. The consumer PMB, the Content management Utility that comes for the NX5U and came with my NX30U, the XDCAm Browser V2.6 that handles EX1/3 files and now this new Content Browser V2. This latest Content Browser looks exactly like the XDCAm Browser and works the same way but now will also handle AVCHD files as well as mp4 etc. Except for the EX1/3 the old Browser would handle the transferred FAT32 EX files like one clip. The new one will not handle AVCHD files the same way. Brings them in as individual files. The Content Management Utility V2.1.01.11180 that came with my NX30U will join the files and bring them in as a single m2ts file just like the Consumer PMB. Not sure what came with the EA50 of course. The files in the EA50 should be the same as the NX30U though. AVCHD 2.0 with LPCM audio as far as I can tell the NX30U and EA50 have the same spec for the encoder. LPCM is a problem for the consumer PMB ( now PlayMemories ) I think but Dolby is OK.

So far every attempt with Content Browser V2 has failed to get a single file imported.

Ron Evans

[Dan Eskelson]

Every one of my attempts with Content Browser V2 has resulted in success. Download link is on this thread.

[Ron Evans]

All my uses are also successful if you define success as transferring to the PC. In this regard it has transferred from the cameras, FMU128 and SD card reader. But in all cases NOT joined long clips together. The issue I have is that for long clips it does not join the FAT32 files together in a single long clip. They stay as individual FAT32 size files. Have you managed to successfully get V2 to join a long clip, say 50 mins or so into one file ? If so how?

Ron Evans

[Chris Harding]

Hi Ron

OK, I installed the program and it insisted I connect the camera (which I did) The utility works and since the cam was still connected I did an import from the card in the camera and it makes the three MTS files into two invidivual M2Ts files named with date/time and it DOES join them ...one file was 12 minutes and the other was 4 minutes and the last was 2 minutes...Now, the 4 minute file, which was the extra section after the split never showed on import ...so on import I just selected two files (the 12 minute and the 2 minute ones) and it automatically included the 4 minute piece that needed to be tacked onto the end of the 12 minute file.

Maybe you didn't realise that the 2nd split of a split file cannot be selected?? It is found automatically and the software also "sees" it as a complete file.

Chris

[Chris Harding]

Ok, I just tried the utility on a card reader and it also works perfectly!!

The moment you click the import media icon ..the import screen comes up and shows what you can import from..my cam wasn't connected so it only allows you to select the card reader drives ... if you select the drive (with the card in, of course) it already shows all the files and shows all split files as one file only! My clips 0000.MTS (12 minutes) and 0001.MTS (4 minutes) show up in the software already joined up as a now 16 minute file (000 and 001 are automatically recognised as being split and are joined even before you import the now composite file.

Works a treat!!

Chris

[Ron Evans]

Yes mine does exactly what you have described. Shows either the camera or any memory module in the top window, select clips and drag into the location in the bottom window. All show as expected as one clip. However when I try to bring into Edius for editing it will not come over to the bin as the EX3 files will in the previous XDCAm Browser that in operation is the same. If you look in explorer there isn't a single file but still the individual mts files. If you butt these up together on a Vegas or Edius timeline the audio is out of sync. I am sending a mail to support to explain to me how it should work . A 12 min and 4 min file do not need joining. Time has to be longer than the 2G FAT32 file size so greater than about 20mins in length. For the 57min file I am using to test there are 5 FAT32 files. In Content Management Utility these will be imported as just one m2ts file. That is what I want from this new Content Browser.

Ron Evans

[Ron Evans]

These are some images. First is of the Browser V2 showing my FMU128 connect and indicating 4 clips in the top window. I have imported the first clip into a directory shown in the bottom window. Both indicted as a single clip correctly and of 57min long ( 5 FAT 32 files). The second figure shows what is in the directory using explorer and the third fig is what is in the directory for an import from Content Management Utility. Nowhere in the Browser V2 directory is there one big file like there is in the directory for the Content Management Utility. I have sent a mail to support and will let you all know what they have to say.

Ron Evans

[Chris Harding]

Hi Ron

Ok, I'm confused now ...when I look at the camera or card I see a bunch of files (on the card reader) and I have on this card 8 MTS files 0000 and 0001 are my wedding ceremony and the EA-50 has done a split at 12 minutes and then the rest of the ceremony is the remaining 4 minutes (16 minutes total) The 0000 MTS file is 1.97 GB hence the split ...the file 0001 never got to 2GB so there is only one split in the continuous 16 minute take. The files 0002 to 0007 are all under 2GB so they are not split (speeches)

Now I run the Utility and there are only 7 clips because 0000 and 0001 have been joined. I select the first file and import it to my "registered folder" which is "My Videos" ...On import I get a combined single Mt2s file in a folder with today's date and my import is complete.

I open Sony Vegas and import the file into my Media Bin and then drag it onto my timeline and I get a seamless 16 minute wedding ceremony without the split if I had used the two MTS files. I cannot see any issue with this at all. I'm shooting interlaced 1080 50i in FX mode with is 24mbps and it seems to get to 2GB after about 12 minutes of recording ... (My Pannys used to average 17mbps and they would split the file at around 18 -19 mins) That to me seems to be about the right size too ... 12 mins = 720 seconds x 24 = 17280 ...Divide that by 8 (bits to bytes) gives you 2160 mb (not 100% as the cam runs 24 mbps MAX) but it's close enough to say the file will split "around the 12 minute mark" so it doesn't exceed 2GB.

When you import to a "registered folder" on a file that has multiple splits you still should only have one file
A continuous shoot without stopping the camera for 60 minutes should create 5 x MTS files the way I see it if you shoot at 24mbps and the utility should merge them into one BIG almost 10GB video file that encompasses all 5 clips in sequence.

Surely Edius can import the one file and put it on the timeline???

To be feeble brain the utility works perfectly and the end result is exactly what we need ...

Dan??? Are you getting the same as I am ??? What bit rate are you shooting at and when do your files split at the 2GB mark??

Chris

[Chris Harding]

Hi Ron

Your "registered folder" shows the correct file made up from the 5 split files... It's 57 mins long so that's all correct as far as I can see. Why can't you simply pull that mt2s file into your NLE and plonk it on the timeline???

That's what I'm doing and have no issues ..I don't really care what the Explorer Window is showing at all.

All I need to do to keep my stuff together now is copy the merged file from the registered folder into my client's folder so all my footage is together. Can you "unregister a folder" and change it to a new location after each shoot???

Chris

[Ron Evans]

Chris the Content Management Utility works correctly. The Content Browser V2 does not . They are two different programs. I use the Content Management Utility version 2.1.01.11180 that works exactly like I want it to. I just tried this new Content Browser V2 ( I think you all got Content Browser version 1 or 1.1 with the EA50 ?) That is what I have shown in the fig in my previous post. Fig 1 and 2 are the content Browser and the associated registered folder and fig 3 is the registered folder for Content Management Utility that works correctly.

To answer your question about registered folders for the Content management utility you register folders under the tools menu> settings> folders > then add a new folder. At the bottom of the import window ( shown on one of my early posts) you can then change the import folder to any of the registered folders. I set a new one up for each project I have.

Ron Evans

[Chris Harding]

Hi Ron

Perfect thanks!! The total confusion caused by Sony introducing two programs with almost the same name has obviously been the fly in the ointment!! I see exactly where you are going now...Yep I have Browser V1 installed but Utility V2 installed as well. I might just wipe the browser out for now!! As the confusing part is that they look almost the same!!

Chris