Select the clips you want to export in Organize or Edit mode.

The left pane allows you to navigate the folders in your library, and the middle pane displays the contents of the selected folder

• Click a file to select it.

• Hold Shift and click the first and last file you want to select to select a range of files.

• Hold Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ (macOS) to select multiple files.

  Click the Select button to select multiple files without using keyboard modifiers.

  An on a thumbnail indicates a clip that spans multiple files due to file-size limitations but is displayed in Catalyst Prepare as a single virtual clip. Spanned XDCAM EX clips can be transcoded directly, but AVCHD clips must be copied first.

  To transcode spanned AVCHD clips, first copy them to a new folder. After the copy is complete, the indicator is removed, and the clips are combined in a new clip that you can transcode. For more information, see "Transcoding clips."

Click the Export button at the top of the Catalyst Prepare window, and use the Export pane to choose a destination and format for your exported files.

The Export clips to box displays the path to the folder where the selected files will be exported. You can type a path in the box or click the Browse button to choose a folder.

If you want to rename files, select the Rename files check box. Renaming ensures that source files will not be overwritten.

• Type a string in the Prefix box if you want to start all file names with the same text.

• Choose a setting from the Numbering drop-down list to indicate whether you want to number clips or use their original file names.

• Type a string in the Suffix box if you want to end all file names with the same text.

  For example, if you wanted to name clips using a convention such as Commercial_001_Camera1.mxf, you would type Commercial_ in the Prefix box, choose 3 digits from the Numbering drop-down list, and type _Camera1 in the Suffix box.

  If you're exporting a still-image sequence for use in an editor that has specific file-naming requirements, you can use the Rename files controls to ensure your exported files are compliant with your editor's requirements.

The Source Metadata section shows you the file name, color space format, frame size, and frame rate of the selected clip.

Source metadata is not displayed when a storyboard or clip list is selected.

Click the Reset button in the Source Metadata heading in the Inspector pane to reset the Color Space based on the clip's metadata or the selected SR Live metadata source. For more information, see "SR Live for HDR settings".

Use the Transcode Settings section to choose the format for your exported files. If you need to reset the transcode settings to their default values, click the Reset button .

1. If you want to use a transcode preset to choose the settings for your exported files, choose a setting from the Transcode preset drop-down list, and then click Export.

   If you want to choose custom transcoding settings, choose Custom from the Transcode preset drop-down list and continue to step b.

   For more information, see "Transcoding presets."

   When you select a video processing device other than your CPU in the application settings dialog, high-quality deinterlacing and upscaling are applied to convert SD and HD sources to modern progressive HD and UHD assets. For more information, see "Choosing a video processing device."

   • High-quality upscaling is applied during transcoding when you choose an HD or UHD render preset.

   • Please note that some systems with limited GPU memory are not supported.

2. When exporting to a video format, choose a setting from the Output color space drop-down list to choose the color space that will be used for rendering the new files.

   You can choose Same as preview or Same as external monitor (if an external monitor is enabled) to match the output color space and color adjustments to your video preview or external monitor setting. For more information, see "Editing Catalyst Prepare options."

   If the selected color space includes color adjustments, the color adjustments icon is displayed in white and a ToolTip notifies you that color adjustments will be included. If the selected color space does not include color adjustments, the color adjustments icon is displayed in gray and a ToolTip notifies you that color adjustments will be excluded.

   If the selected output color space is not compatible with the source color space, a warning is displayed to notify you that the clip cannot be exported using the current settings.

   SR Live settings are applied only when the Output color space drop-down is set to Same as preview or Same as external monitor. For more information, see "SR Live for HDR settings."

3. Choose a setting from the Format drop-down list to indicate the file format you want to use for your exported files.

   Format settings that are not supported by the selected Output color space will not be available.

   When transcoding to DPX format, you can type a value in the Starting frame index box to append a numeric index to transcoded file names.

   OpenEXR is available only for S-Gamut, RAW, or X-OCN sources when Output color space is set to ACES, Rec.2020/Linear, S-Gamut/Linear or S-Gamut3/Linear.

   ProRes is available on macOS only.

4. Choose a setting from the Frame size drop-down list to choose the dimensions of the rendered frame, or choose Same as source to match the selected clip.

5. Choose a setting from the Frame rate drop-down list to choose the number of frames per second for the rendered clip, or choose Same as source to match the selected clip.

6. Choose a setting from the Render preset drop-down list to choose the settings that will be used for the exported files.

   Choose the Best match preset if you want Catalyst Prepare to choose the most appropriate preset for each selected clip.

   Render preset settings that are not supported by the selected Output color space and Format will not be available.

   Please note that the XAVC Long 422 3840x2160 200 Mbps (Sony) render presets require 16 GB or more RAM. If you're using a dedicated GPU, the presets also require 4 GB or more GPU memory.

7. If you want to create a file with segmented body partitions from a single body partition, select the Create Sony Professional Disc partitions or Create segmented body partitions check box. When the check box is cleared, body partitions are not modified.

   The Create Sony Professional Disc partitions check box is available only when XDCAM is selected in the Format drop-down list. Create segmented body partitions is available only when XAVC Intra or XAVC Long is selected in the Format drop-down list.

   Files created with segmented body partitions may not be recognized properly by some Sony camcorders, decks, or servers.

Enable the Use advanced settings switch if you need to adjust additional transcoding settings.

1. Choose a setting from the Crop type drop-down list to choose the aspect ratio for your transcoded file:

   • None (letterbox/pillarbox): if the source frame is wider than the destination frame, black bars are displayed at the top and bottom (letterbox). If the source frame is narrower than the destination frame, black bars are displayed on the sides of the frame (pillarbox).

   • Center crop (cut edges): if the source frame does not match the output frame, the frame is centered, and the edges are cropped as needed.

   • Use masking ratio: crops the frame to the masking ratio selected in the Clip Settings menu. For more information, see "Editing clip settings."

2. Choose a setting from the Encode mode drop-down list to choose whether you want to optimize image quality or transcoding speed.

3. Choose a setting from the Audio channels drop-down to choose how audio will be rendered in the output file.

   • Same as source: the rendered file will contain the same number of audio channels as the source clip.

   • Map audio channels: you can choose how audio channels from the source clip will be mapped to audio channels in the rendered file.

     Each channel in the rendered file will be displayed with a drop-down list so you can choose which source channel should be rendered to that channel.
     

4. Select the Stitch clips check box if you want to combine the selected clips into a single continuous clip. The order of the clips in the new clip will match the order they are displayed in Organize or Edit mode.

   If you want the new clip to include continuous timecode based on the source clips' timecode, select the Use continuous timecode check box. Clip order will be adjusted as needed, and black frames will be added between clips to ensure the timecode in the new clip is not interrupted. For more information, see "Stitching clips."

5. Select the Add custom metadata check box if you want to include custom metadata items for the exported files. For each item that you define, an edit box is displayed to allow you to type the desired value for that metadata item. Custom metadata is saved in a sidecar .json file.

   The Add custom metadata check box is only displayed if you have created a customMetadataExport.json file to define the items you want to export. For more information, see "Exporting custom metadata."

6. Select the Burn in timecode check box if you want to include timecode in the transcoded video.

   Click the position control below the check box to indicate where timecode will be positioned in the frame.

   The transcoded file will include the source clip's timecode. If you're transcoding a storyboard, each clip will display its source timecode.

7. Select the Burn in clip name check box if you want to include the clip name in the transcoded video.

   Click the position control below the check box to indicate where the clip name will be positioned in the frame.

   If you rename a clip, the custom name will be displayed. For more information, see "Renaming clips."

   If you're transcoding a storyboard, each clip will display its source clip name.

8. If the Burn in timecode and/or Burn in clip name check boxes are selected, you can select the Allow burn in within letterbox/pillarbox area check box if your output format will include letterboxing or pillarboxing and you want to allow the timecode/clip name to be placed in the letterbox/pillarbox area.

   When the check box is cleared, the timecode/clip name will be limited to the source frame area.

9. Select the Add watermark check box if you want to include a watermark image in the transcoded video.

   Click Browse to choose a JPEG or PNG image file.

   Drag the Opacity slider to set the transparency/opacity of the watermark image.

   Click the position control below the Opacity slider to indicate where the watermark image will be positioned in the frame:

   • If you need to render multiple frame sizes, create a full-frame transparent PNG using the dimensions of your largest target frame size, and the watermark image will be scaled as needed for the smaller frame sizes.

   • If your watermark image is smaller than the target frame size, no scaling is applied and the image will be anchored at the selected position control.

10. Select the Use flip, rotate, and desqueeze settings check box if you're working with rotated video or video that was filmed with an anamorphic lens and want to preserve the Flip horizontal, Flip vertical, rotation, and Anamorphic desqueeze settings when transcoding. When the check box is not selected, letterboxing will be applied.

    For more information, see "Editing clip settings."

11. Select the Repair flash bands automatically check box if want to automatically detect and repair flash bands when transcoding.

    For more information, see "Repairing flash bands."

12. Select the Use mark in/out points check box if you want to transcode only the portion of the video between the mark in and mark out points. For more information, see "Marking in and out points for playback."

13. Select the Add padding to clips check box and type a number in the Seconds box if you want to preserve media before the mark in/mark out points.

14. Select the Transcode using proxy source clip check box if you want to use the proxy as the source clip when transcoding. When you're transcoding a lower-resolution clip, using the proxy as your source media is faster.

15. Select the Override start timecode check box and type a number in the edit box to specify the starting timecode for your transcoded clip. When the check box is cleared, the clip's timecode is used.

    The Override start timecode check box is available when transcoding MXF clips to DNxHD, SStP, XAVC-I, XAVC-L, and XDCAM formats.

Click Export.

If multiple clips are selected, the Export button at the bottom of the Export pane is displayed as Batch Export.

Progress is displayed in the activity pane at the top of the Catalyst Prepare window. Each export job can contain multiple files if you have multiple files selected in step 2 above. If you have multiple export jobs queued, a separate progress indicator is displayed for each job.