X2Pro Audio Convert

When the latest version of Final Cut X, 10.0.3, was released, one of its improvements was the possibility of supporting XML v1.1. Taking advantage of this factor, the company Marquise Broadcast has just released a software called X2Pro Audio Convert, which allows you to take a project from Final Cut X to Avid Pro Tools (recording, editing and sound mixing tool).

With Final Cut Pro 7 we could directly export an OMF of sound and if we wanted AAF or OMF of audio and video we had this possibility thanks to Pro Export FCP 5.0, from Automatic Duck. This system (which has been free for some time now) also allows us to export AAF and OMF from Final Cut to achieve integration with Avid and Pro Tools. The problem is that it is not available for version 10.0.3, so Final Cut X continues to advance and to carry out this type of process we will need new systems such as this X2Pro Audio Convert.

Its operation is quite simple: from Final Cut X an XML is exported and sent through X2Pro; this converts it to an AAF file that is able to be imported into a Pro Tools session and in this way we already have a perfect integration between the two systems.

One of the features of the AAF is that it allows to carry media, so when performing this conversion, the XML file (with metadata only) becomes an AAF with embedded media (metadata + audio media). For this it is important to keep all the original media of the Final Cut project in the same place from the XML export to the conversion, otherwise X2Pro will not be able to link it.

AAF is capable of carrying a lot of metadata (track information, gain, keyframes, panning, transitions, etc.) and one of the outstanding qualities of X2Pro is the way it carries the names of the tracks or audio clips. In the first case, if in FCPX we have renamed each of the audio tracks (A1, A2, A3) and we have given them a name like dialogues, music or ambiences, when we take it to Pro Tools these names are maintained. However, if what we have changed are the names of the clips (for example by putting the number of the sequence or take: 17-1-3), when we open them in Pro Tools they return to their original file name, which can be very useful for the sound technician.

If in the conversion there is any effect, transition, or any other parameter applied to the audio that could not be translated correctly in the AAF, the program will display a warning message.

X2Pro Audio Convert is now available in the Mac App Store for $100 (for a limited time only, until April 30, it will be priced at $70).

It requires FCPX 10.0.3 and Pro Tools v7.0, or higher. Unfortunately, in the App Store it is not possible to download a trial to test it, so to see the result it is necessary to purchase it (you can do it here).