ALEXA XT Workflow

This page provides details on the ALEXA XT workflow using CODEX Platform 8.0 on macOS. The latest version of CODEX Platform can be found in the Software Downloads section.

CODEX+ARRI MXF/HDE unified workflow

The ALEXA XT uses XR Capture Drives (512GB) for recording.

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 Capture Drive is removed from camera you will need one of the following CODEX Media Readers to offload your footage:

• XR Capture Drive Dock (USB-3)
• XR Capture Drive Dock (Thunderbolt 1)
• XR Capture Drive Dual Dock (SAS)
  

The above listed Docks require the CODEX Platform software to be installed, which is available for macOS only.

Offloading MXF/ARRIRAW for these cameras can be performed using any copy tool.

Offloading MXF/HDE for these cameras requires a compatible copy tool (see below for more details).

For more information on HDE, please see, High Density Encoding (HDE).

Note: macOS 14 or above is required to support the latest version of CODEX Platform.

Here are some MXF/HDE sample files that can be used to test the workflow with your preferred post production toolset.

When offloading MXF/ARRIRAW via CODEX Platform, any copy tool application can be used.

For the MXF/HDE workflow, one of the following copy tools must be used, with the minimum version indicated:

• Hedge Offshoot Pro (25.4.2 Beta)
• Silverstack Lab / XT (8.9.1)
• Shotput Pro (v2024.3.6)
• YoYotta (v4 build 49)

It is recommended to use the latest version of your preferred copy tool.

MXF/HDE from ALEXA XT is supported in ARRI Reference Tool and DaVinci Resolve, but may not currently be as widely supported as MXF/HDE from more recent cameras. Compatibility tests with other tools are ongoing.

The file naming convention for ALEXA XT is explained in the image below:

The file naming structure is the same regardless of whether the MXF contains ARRIRAW or HDE.

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

Once the footage on a Capture Drive is backed up securely it should be erased in Codex Platform before returning to camera to be formatted:

For handling original camera data off set we would also recommend this guide to File Formats and Data Handling from ARRI.

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