Weird XDCAM Transfer Error
 

I've been searching around for some help on this and have found nothing. Hopefully someone here can help...

I'm importing some XDCAM clips shot on an EX3 into FCP using the XDCAM Transfer application. They were shot on an SDHC card with an adapter. All of the clips are transferring over no problem except for one.

I narrowed it down to which one is not transferring over and have tried pulling it in separately full length and as a sub-clip with In/Out points. Every single time it begins to transfer, gets about a third of the way done and then XDCAM Transfer Application gives me an error telling me the device has not been removed properly and then quits unexpectedly. This is very weird to me because the clip plays just fine in the XDCAM Transfer application with no errors whatsoever. The data is there, but how do I remove it?

Does anyone know what could be causing this?

Is there any other way to extract this clip?

Thanks!

Just some thoughts for starters:

You could try a Finder copy, or a Shotput Pro copy if feeling a little flush. Try extracting from there.

You could try Log & Transfer to see if the mojo is better there.

If all else fails, you could try Calibrated Software - their tool to allow XDCAM-EX files work natively in QuickTime, then rewrap there.

This may sound totally odd, but swapping the card out of the adaptor and putting it in another one.

Hi Matt, so I just tried Log and Transfer and the same exact thing happened...

What do you mean by Finder copy? Do you mean backing up the entire card elsewhere and importing from the backup vs. the original card?

I don't have Shot Put but am looking into it now. Same thing with Calibrated...

Also, was it this piece of Calibrated Software you were referring to?

Calibrated{Q} XD Decode

They have a few on there and it's confusing me a bit. It says it's not for Macs with FCP?

Yes - the copying process may cure a nasty sector in the card so long as the data integrity started out good. If not, the pay-for software solutions may get you out of trouble. Or they may do nothing - hence the need to test.

A little note about ShotPut - I used their Express product even though there was no demo version. I could appreciate the functionality but it wasn't faultless. The company has displayed no interest in being nice to customers, or in offering an upgrade path to the early adopters, so it's with a little hesitation I recommend them. YMMV and all that.

As for the Calibrated Software thing, it was the third of the four options - the demo enables you to demonstrate putting MP4 files directly from the card onto the timeline. From there, you can export to ProRes, XDCAM-EX, whatever. Sorry to sound woolly - have been on a long shoot. I'm footling around on DVinfo whilst XDCAM Transfer wraps the footage. Three 16 GB cards for a 2 minute video, though we experienced significant brief drift. But I digress.

Lest anyone get all hot and bothered about 'yet another SDHC issue', I helped a colleague the other night with a shot that wouldn't download... from an SxS card. And that's not the only SxS problem someone's called me about. But I should say all systems remedied.

This may be a very obvious question, but is it a spanned clip by any chance?

Also what kind of computer are you on and how are you transferring - more details.

Sorry I should have clarified, the clip is not spanned. It is in the middle of the card as well, not at the end. Only clips at the end can be spanned right? Also the card only has abut 30 min of footage on it.

I am running Leopard 10.5.8 on FCP 6.0.6

Also, I am trying to transfer the clips into FCP using Sony XDCAM Transfer. I also tried the Log & Transfer function in FCP with no luck. This same clip gets hung up in XDCAM Clip Browser when trying to back up as well...

At this point, I think it is the actual clip and not the computer or the SDHC card because it is happening on 2 different Macs. It just baffles me because it plays absolutely fine in XDCAM Transfer and XDCAM Clip Browser with no hang ups or glitches.

This Calibrated Software seems interesting, but I'm kind of anxious to hear others feedback about it before purchasing and then it not working...

Try copying the clip from card A to card B in your camera or vice versa. If it plays in camera then it should copy, you may just have a bad sector on your card.

OK so I tried copying the clip from the original SDHC card in slot A to a Sony SxS card in slot B. It gets to about 20% and then stops and says, "Media Error in Slot A. Media needs to be restored." So I restore it and try again - same thing.

This is really becoming troublesome. Can anyone else think of ANYTHING else I could try?

Sounds like a card with bad sectors. Not much you can do about it I'm afraid.

Assuming it is a card with bad sectors - should I never use this SDHC card again? Or will re-formatting the card cure this?

I would not use it again. If it is a recent purchase then see if they will exchange it, otherwise bin it. A new card is a lot cheaper than the loss of a client as a result of losing important footage on a job.

Thanks Vincent. I agree I'm not going to use this one again. It was bought specifically for this project about 2 weeks ago so I'm hoping they will let me exchange.

One more question/option worth trying:

Someone suggested that since the clip is playable on the camera that I could play out via SDI and capture into FCP. Now, my Mac does not have a HD/SDI BNC in (I believe you need a BlackMagic/Matrox/Aja for that right?) Is it possible to play out via HDV firewire and capture in FCP?

The clip is 720P30 so I'm not sure if that would even work...

If this is the case then you should be able to transfer the data between slot A & B, try it again using a SDHC card that you know works.