MXF export format using the DNxHD or DNxHR codec

Jeremy Richard · Post by **Jeremy Richard** » 21 Jun 2024, 22:57

To be able to export videos as MXF files, using the DNxHD or DNxHR codec.

Ffmpeg offers a version of the DNxHD or DNxHR codec which could possibly be an alternative to Prores, especially for Windows machines and/or Avid users.

DNxHR could be for 2K, 4K or 8K projects, and has no restrictions except for pixel format and minimum frame size, as far as I can see.

These are the 8 bit ffmpeg profiles:

dnxhr_lb: DNxHR LB - Low Bandwidth. 8-bit 4:2:2 (yuv422p). Offline Quality
dnxhr_sq: DNxHR SQ - Standard Quality. 8-bit 4:2:2 (yuv422p). Suitable for delivery format
dnxhr_hq: DNxHR HQ - High Quality. 8-bit 4:2:2 (yuv422p)

The following would be the equivalent to DNxHR HQ (which is 8bit) at 24fps for a 4K video:

Code: Select all

ffmpeg -i input -c:v dnxhd -vf "scale=4096:2160,fps=24,format=yuv422p" -profile:v dnxhr_hq -b:v 746M -c:a pcm_s16le output.mxf

DNxHD is quite restrictive, specially with the framerate, but for 720p or 1080p projects there are a few options.

The following would be the equivalent to Avid DNxHD 175 (which is 8bit) at 24fps:

Code: Select all

ffmpeg -i input -c:v dnxhd -vf "scale=1920:1080,fps=24,format=yuv422p" -b:v 175M -c:a pcm_s16le output.mxf

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EDIT from the 30/06/2024

Maybe, as a possible reason to support MXF export is the fact that mxf files can be compressed quite a bit when zipped. It is solely based on anecdotal evidence, but when compressing a mxf file into a zip, it reduces its size of about 80% or 90% sometimes or even more, like with this example, where a file that was 440MB originally weighted 30MB once zipped using 7zip.