66 Chapter 3 Working with IMX

IMX Formats Supported by Final Cut Pro

IMX can be recorded using NTSC or PAL video standards at three possible bit rates
(30, 40, and 50 Mbps). Final Cut Pro supports real-time editing and effects using the
30, 40, and 50 Mbps IMX formats.

About MXF

Material eXchange Format (MXF) is a generic media container format for the video
industry. It is not a compression scheme or specific video type, but rather a container for
storage and transmission of video, audio, and associated metadata. An MXF container is
similar in concept to a QuickTime movie, which is a general-purpose media container that
can contain video and audio with various dimensions, codecs, sample rates, and so on.
For example, the IMX format stores MPEG-2-compressed video and audio within an MXF
container. However, because MXF is not codec-specific, it can contain video compressed
with other codecs as well, such as DVCAM. Panasonic P2 cards can store DV, DVCPRO,
DVCPRO 50, and DVCPRO HD data within an MXF wrapper. The MXF wrapper facilitates
transfer and storage of specialized media data within general-purpose computer systems
and across multiple media types.
Working with IMX in Final Cut Pro
There are several steps for importing and editing IMX video in Final Cut Pro. Because
IMX is an MXF-based format, you need third-party software to extract MPEG-2 IMX
media from its MXF container and store it in QuickTime media files.
Step 1: Transfer IMX footage to your computer
Step 2: Import MXF-wrapped IMX media files into your project
Step 3: Choose an IMX Easy Setup
Step 4: Edit your IMX clips into a sequence
Step 5: Export IMX QuickTime media files
Format Frame dimensions Data rate
IMX - NTSC 720 x 486 30, 40, and 50 Mbps
IMX - PAL 720 x 576 30, 40, and 50 Mbps