MXF is a container format for professional digital video and audio that supports different streams of coded "essence" and encoded with a variety of compression formats.
Since a lot of new cameras and camcorders from producers like Panasonic, Sony, Canon, BlackMagic, or GoPro released products that support the 4K MXF resolution, the need for a video format for all these 4K formats was imminent. That’s where the MXF file jumps in and, allowing users to export their 4K recording on their computers.
Even so, problems appear when users try to view MXF files. Since it’s a quite new video format, most of the known video players can’t play MXF files and that lead to a lot of questions on the top of how to play MXF recordings. Especially if you’re operating on a Mac, the quest of finding a top MXF player can prove to be quite difficult and even if you play them constant lagging, freezing or chopping has been reported.
If all the above sound familiar and you’re looking for a solution, keep reading and you will find the perfect solution for your problem.
Elmedia Universal Video Player is a pro level MXF viewer for Mac that is comprehensive enough for anyone to use. Elmedia offers a variety of settings. It can play MXF files by Panasonic P2, Canon XF, Sony XDCAM series camcorders with ease.
Follow the guide below to play MXF on Mac with Elmedia Player:
1. Download the application
Go to Mac App Store to buy Elmedia Universal Video Player with your Apple ID. Click the price tag (Buy) under the app icon. After the purchase is complete the download will start. As soon as the player is downloaded you can open it.
Download Eltima Universal Player. It is free and it’s available right here, on the website.
2. Play MXF files
Elmedia offers several convenient ways to add files to it:
3. Play all movies you have
Elmedia Player is so popular because additionally to MXF files it offers brilliant playback for FLV, MKV, MP4, AVI, MP3, OGG, M4A, AAC, F4V, and many more. You can easily watch online videos on YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion and other resources directly from Elmedia without opening a web browser; Open Online Video option helps eliminate noisy ads often included in online videos.
To be able to play MXF on your Mac, you can try various third-party players, install MXF codec packs, use converters. Or you can install Mac MXF player that is capable of handling this complex format without an effort.
Material Exchange Format, since that’s the full name of this video format became more popular by the day with the release of a lot 4K cameras. But the concept of MXF exists for quite some time, being defined as a ‘wrapper’ format that supports multiple streams of coded ‘essence’. These streams can be coded with many different codecs and also includes a metadata wrapper.
The MXF file format brings together audio, video and programming data and puts them together in a wrapper. Thanks to its complexity, MXF can hold an extended range of video frames, filled with audio and data essance, as well as frame-based metadata. The frame-based metadata is mostly about file format and timecode information for each of the individual video frames, also known as interleaved media files.
Being mostly used in TV productions and movies, the MFX can handle a lot of Advanced Authoring Formats all under a policy called Zero Divergence Directive. This should enable mixed MXF and AAF workflows between non-linear editing, making it perfect high-quality TV productions.
The key distinction between MXF and MP4 is their intended purpose of use. MXF, short for Material Exchange Format, was conceived for professional television, and some cameras nowadays do record videos in this format. MP4, also known as MPEG-4 Part 14, was developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group for day-to-day use. That’s the main reason for which MP4 files are so common and easy to work with. For a more advanced comparison between MXF and MP4 files, you can check out the table below:
| Comparison Parameter | MXF | MP4 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers | Moving Picture Experts Group |
| File extension | .mxf | .mp4 |
| Video codecs | MPEG-1,2,4, H.264, DV, uncompressed, others | H.263, H.264, H.265, MPEG‑4, others |
| Audio codecs | AAC, MP3, AC‑3, PCM, others | AAC, MP3, AC‑3, ALAC, ALS, SLS, others |
| Usage | Advertisements and broadcasting programs on TV, storing video recordings from Sony and Canon cameras | Storing video files and streaming videos from the Internet |
Judging by its complexity and some difficulties when it comes to user friendliness, MXF will have to wait for a long time to replace the popular video formats that are in use right now. Not to mention that there’s not enough software supporting MFC However, AVI, MPEG or GXF received the same treatment when they were released. If we will be seeing MXF in use on more devices, that’s something we need to wait and see.
Thanks to solid advances in technology, the number of cameras that allow Ultra HD MXF recording is spreading and most of the big manufacturers have starting producing models that can support MXF 4K. Here are the main makes and models of cameras:
Sony PMW-160, PMW-300K1, PMW-100, PMW-F55, PMW-320K, PMW-200,PMW-F5, PMW-F3, PDW-530, PMW-F3K,PDW-510, PMW-EX30, PMW-400L, PMW-500, PMW-F3L, PMW-400K, P, PMW-50, PMW-1000, MW-TD300, PXW-Z100, XDCAM HD422 Camcorder.
Panasonic AG-HPX250PJ, AG-HPX255, AG-3DP1, AG-HPX370, AG-HPX170PJ, AG-HPX600PJ, AG-HPX600PJF, AG-HPX500, AJ-HPX2000, AG-HPX600PJB, AJ-HPX2700, AJ-HPX3100GJ, AJ-PX5000G, AJ-HPX3700, AG-HPX500MC, AJ-HPX3100MC, AG-HPX265.
Canon XF305, XF100, XF300, XF105,EOS C500, EOS C300.
This is where we will answer some of the most frequently asked questions in regards to Mac MXF files, as well as their features, and their compatibility with the users’ operating systems and needs. However, if you have any additional questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below, and we will address them as fast as possible.
Simply download the file and run it, then follow the on-screen instructions to install.
Upload an MXF Video file for Conversion. Open the Movavi converter then click Add Media followed by Add Video.
Select the Format of your choice. Click on Video, then choose your desired output for the video format. And that’s it, just convert the MXF file to MP4.
