How to Play Canon .MXF Video Files

With the Canon R5-C, XF705, and other newer Canon cinema cameras, you can record in XF-AVC, XF-HEVC, and XF-MPEG. I’ve really enjoyed these video formats, however playing the files to quickly review them was a challenge for me. Instead of having to drag the clips into Premiere pro, I wanted to easily play them to preview my video files.

Canon to the Rescue

While I have been unable to get normal players, like VLC or Windows Media Player to play these files, Canon provides the XF Utility. This software can easily open and play .mxf videos so you can quickly review your video files. This utility can be found on the EOS-R5-C Support page on the Canon website. I’ll list the installers below for direct access as well.

The program is light weight and easy to use; I wish it allowed these files to be played in your default media player, however you have to use the app.