Final Cut won't import the XML

Final Cut can refuse an Eddie export completely. You see an error like "Inappropriate file type or format". Nothing arrives — no clips, and no offline timeline.

This has one common cause: a source file with an extension Final Cut cannot decode. The usual case is Blackmagic RAW (.braw).

It is not your fault, and the export is not broken

The XML file is valid. Final Cut reads the source file names in the XML. It finds a file type it cannot open, and it rejects the whole document. It does not skip that one clip. It refuses everything.

Eddie cannot warn you before you download. The result depends on which formats your copy of Final Cut can decode. That depends on the plugins installed on your Mac, not on anything in the file Eddie writes.

What we measured

We tested this on Final Cut Pro 12.3, on macOS 15.7.7. We built three XML files. Each file was identical to the others, except for the name of the source file:

• clip.mov — imported.
• clip.r3d — imported.
• clip.braw — refused. Nothing imported.

The test has two limits, and we will not overstate it. The .braw file was also offline: the media was not on the test machine. The test machine had no Blackmagic RAW plugin. So we have not separated "Final Cut cannot decode this extension" from "cannot decode it and the media is missing".

What to do

Pick the route that fits your finish.

1. Install the Blackmagic RAW plugin for Final Cut. Blackmagic Design supplies it free, in the Blackmagic RAW installer. It lets Final Cut decode .braw. This is the most likely fix, but we have not confirmed it on our test machine. Put the BRAW media online as well, then import again. If the import still fails, use option 2 or option 3.

2. Transcode the footage to ProRes before you import it to Eddie. This route always works. Final Cut reads ProRes natively, so the XML then names .mov files. Convert your BRAW in DaVinci Resolve, in Compressor, or with Blackmagic's own tools. Import the ProRes files to Eddie, cut as usual, then export to Final Cut. If you later install the plugin, you can relink to the original BRAW in Final Cut.

3. Export to DaVinci Resolve instead. Resolve reads BRAW natively, so the same edit opens with no plugin to install. Use the .drp on the Resolve button. See Getting an Eddie timeline into DaVinci Resolve.

This is not only about BRAW

Any extension Final Cut cannot decode does the same thing. Camera RAW formats are the usual group. BRAW is only the case we measured. RED .r3d imported in our test. Your result can differ, because the rule is what your Final Cut can decode on your machine.

One unreadable source file blocks the whole import, even when every other clip is fine.

"Invalid edit with no respective media"

This is a different error. Final Cut imports the timeline, then refuses every clip in it, and the timeline arrives empty.

It happens when the start timecode in the export does not match the timecode Final Cut reads from your files. Some cameras store their timecode in a place Final Cut does not read, so Final Cut treats the file as starting at zero.

What to do: export again with Zero timecode (if Final Cut says 'Invalid edit') ticked on the Final Cut Pro row of the Export menu. Import the new file. Leave the box unticked for any other case: an export with it ticked against a file that does carry timecode fails the same way.

Still stuck

Contact support and send us the XML file. Tell us which camera formats your footage uses.