MXF Output

MXF (Material Exchange Format) is a professional video container format widely used in broadcast and post-production workflows. This guide explains how to use the MXF output functionality in the VisioForge SDKs.

Basic Usage

To create an MXF output, you'll need to specify:

1. Output filename
2. Video stream type
3. Audio stream type
4. Optional video encoder settings
5. Optional audio encoder settings

Here's a basic example:

var mxfOutput = new MXFOutput(
    filename: "output.mxf",
    videoStreamType: MXFVideoStreamType.H264,
    audioStreamType: MXFAudioStreamType.MPEG
);

Supported Video Encoders

The following video encoders are supported:

• OpenH264 - Basic H.264 encoder
• QSV H264 - Intel Quick Sync Video H.264 encoder
• NVENC H264 - NVIDIA H.264 encoder
• AMF H264 - AMD H.264 encoder
• MF HEVC - Media Foundation HEVC encoder (Windows only)
• QSV HEVC - Intel Quick Sync Video HEVC encoder
• NVENC HEVC - NVIDIA HEVC encoder
• AMF H265 - AMD HEVC/H.265 encoder

To set a specific video encoder:

mxfOutput.Video = new NVENCH264EncoderSettings();

Supported Audio Encoders

Available audio encoders include:

• MP3 - Standard MP3 encoder
• VO-AAC - VisioForge AAC encoder
• AVENC AAC - FFMPEG AAC encoder
• MF AAC - Media Foundation AAC encoder (Windows only)

Example of setting an audio encoder:

mxfOutput.Audio = new MP3EncoderSettings();

Custom Processing

The MXF output supports custom processing for both video and audio:

// Add custom video processing
mxfOutput.CustomVideoProcessor = yourVideoProcessingBlock;

// Add custom audio processing
mxfOutput.CustomAudioProcessor = yourAudioProcessingBlock;

Sink Settings

The MXF sink settings control the output file configuration:

// Access sink settings
mxfOutput.Sink.Filename = "new_output.mxf";

Best Practices

Encoder Selection:

• Choose hardware encoders (NVENC, QSV, AMF) when available for better performance
• Fall back to OpenH264 for maximum compatibility

Audio Encoding:

• Use MF AAC on Windows for optimal performance
• Use MP3 or VO-AAC on other platforms

File Management:

• Use GetFilename() and SetFilename() methods for file path handling
• Ensure write permissions in the output directory

Error Handling

While the code doesn't explicitly show error handling, you should:

• Verify encoder availability before use
• Handle file access permissions
• Check for null references when working with optional components

Example Implementation

Here's a complete example showing how to set up MXF output with custom settings:

// Create MXF output with specific stream types
var mxfOutput = new MXFOutput(
    filename: "output.mxf",
    videoStreamType: MXFVideoStreamType.H264,
    audioStreamType: MXFAudioStreamType.MPEG
);

// Configure video encoder (prefer hardware acceleration if available)
if (NVENCH264EncoderSettings.IsAvailable())
{
    mxfOutput.Video = new NVENCH264EncoderSettings();
}
else
{
    mxfOutput.Video = new OpenH264EncoderSettings();
}

// Configure audio encoder based on platform
#if NET_WINDOWS
    mxfOutput.Audio = new MFAACEncoderSettings();
#else
    mxfOutput.Audio = new MP3EncoderSettings();
#endif