The Material eXchange Format (MXF) is an open file format, targeted at the interchange of audio-visual material with associated data and metadata. It has been designed and implemented with the aim of improving file- based interoperability between servers, workstations and other content-creation devices. These improvements should result in improved workflows and in more efficient working practices than is possible with today’s mixed and proprietary file formats.

A major aim of MXF is the seamless passage of programme content and its associated metadata. MXF metadata may carry information about:
the file structure;
the body contents – e.g., MPEG or DV … 525 or 625 … etc.;
key words or titles;
subtitles;
reference numbers;
editing notes;
location, time, date and version number;
…………

How to play and convert MXF on Mac OS X?

You can access MXF files by adding a few different pieces of software to your computer. You can pick between special media programs that support the MXF format, or you can install specialized codecs that support this format.

Solution one: VLC Media Player to play MXF file
Install VLC Media Player on your Mac, drag and drop your MXF file to the program to play MXF file. VLC Media Player is a lightweight media utility that won’t use a lot of your computer’s available system resources while playing video files, and it supports many different types of audio and video formats including MXF, MTS, M2TS, TS, MKV, M4V, MOV, MPEG, VOB, AVI, WMV, DivX, Xvid, FLV, SWF, etc.

Solution two: MXF file converter for Mac to play and convert MXF file
MXF file converter for Mac is an all-in-one solution to play MXF files on Mac OS X. In other words, you can play MXF file freely on your Mac and convert MXF to other video formats the you need, such as convert MXF to MOV for QuickTime, convert MXF to MP4 for iTunes, convert MXF to ProRes for import into FCP, convert MXF to AIC for edit in iMovie, convert MXF to FLV for YouTube, etc.

Free to try MXF file converter for Mac before going to get the full version!