ALEXA 265 Workflow

This page provides details on the ALEXA 265 Workflow using Device Manager on macOS. The latest version of Device Manager can be found in the Software Downloads section.

CODEX+ARRI MXF/HDE workflow

The ALEXA 265 uses CODEX Compact Drives for recording, either 1TB (CX.0001002) or 2TB (CX.0001073).

Achievable frame rates for both 1TB and 2TB Compact Drives can be found via ARRI Rental. For the 2TB drive this is up to 60 fps for all resolutions, the 1TB drive can record up to 29, 37 or 43 fps depending on resolution.

By using the ARRI Data Rate Calculator you can get an accurate estimate of how many minutes you can capture, depending on Resolution / Frame Rate / CODEX Media.

Once your Compact Drive is removed from camera you will need one of the following CODEX Media Stations to offload your footage:

• Compact Drive Reader TB3
• Compact Drive Reader USB-C
• SXR Capture Drive Dock and Capture Drive Adapter for Compact Drive (*CX.0001009)

MXF/ARRIRAW files from the ALEXA 265 can be offloaded on Mac systems.
Note: macOS 13 or above is required to support the latest version of CODEX Device Manager.

Offloading MXF/HDE from ALEXA 265 material requires CODEX Device Manager (macOS only) and a compatible copy tool. For more information on MXF/HDE, please see, High Density Encoding (HDE).

Device Manager is updated in line with the latest SUP releases for the ALEXA 265, to ensure that you can offload MXF/HDE correctly please ensure that you are updating Device Manager to the latest version when possible.

When not using the HDE features of Device Manager, any copy tool application can be used.

If an HDE workflow is required the following Copy Tools and Applications can be used:

•  Hedge Offshoot Pro
•  Silverstack Lab / XT
•  Shotput Pro
•  YoYotta

1.92 TB of source material on Compact Drive can be offloaded as MXF/HDE (with source and destination verify) to two destinations in under 30 mins* with a Compact Drive Dock (Thunderbolt 3).

At 24fps sensor rate, 1.92 TB Compact Drive can record 43 mins of ALEXA 265 (6560x3100).

*Benchmark performed on Mac Studio M1 Max, 64GB Memory, using Silverstack Lab.

Below are some image examples and breakdowns of the file naming formats when shooting with the ALEXA 265. You can select the images to view them in full screen.

The first image showcases a general ALEXA 265 File format.

This image shows the file format for HDE compatible files. You'll notice that the change is specific to the Codec Identifier otherwise the file format is identical to the above.

 This image shows the Roll naming format for the ALEXA 265.

For more information on File Naming conventions we recommend this article on the ARRI website.

Once a Compact Drive's footage is backed up securely it should be erased in Device Manager before returning to camera to be formatted:

ARRI have a detailed workflow guide for the ALEXA 265 that should be followed.

For handling original camera data off set we'd also recommend this guide to File Formats and Data Handling from ARRI regarding checksum verification which should be used here.

General cleaning guidance for all CODEX Media can be found here.