Production workflow · Avid Media Composer workflow
Avid Media Composer: media offline or actually deleted?
Why does Avid Media Composer report media offline?
Short answer
Often only the media database is stale: Avid shows Media Offline when it cannot match clips to MXF files in the Avid MediaFiles folders or to linked originals. Mount the drive, look for the numbered MXF folders and let Avid rebuild its media database. A read-only scan is only for media missing from every drive.
The situation
Avid Media Composer shows a preview or edit decision but cannot open the original media.
Avid keeps managed media in its own folder structure and tracks it with database files that are rebuilt on startup. An offline state therefore often means the database has not been refreshed or a volume is absent, which says nothing yet about the MXF files themselves.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Managed MXF media sits in numbered subfolders inside Avid MediaFiles at the root of a drive, and Avid indexes them per volume. A drive left unmounted, a folder moved out of the root, or stale database files produce an offline clip while the media is still there. Linked clips behave differently: they depend on the original camera file at its stored path.
A changed volume name, missing drive, moved folder and deleted file can trigger similar messages. For Avid Media Composer, this matters because Avid Media Composer can keep references or helper media without containing a complete independent original
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Mount every media drive that belongs to the project and check that each one carries its Avid MediaFiles folder directly at the root level.
- 2
Determine for the offline clip whether it is managed MXF media or a linked camera file, because the two need completely different next steps.
- 3
For managed media, let Avid rebuild its media database for that volume; for linked clips, search the drives for the original filename and relink.
- 4
Only when the MXF files or camera originals are on no drive at all, scan the last known source read-only and export elsewhere.
Do not delete media database files at random or move MXF folders into subfolders to tidy up, and do not delete offline clips from the bin. Avid finds managed media only at the root of a volume, and deleted bin entries take the metadata with them.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
Avid systems often store media on shared or Linux-based storage, which File Recovery Hero does not read; it handles exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 volumes and uncompressed images on macOS and Windows, and repairs no damaged MXF file.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The media counts as online when the bin no longer marks the clip offline after a restart, the timeline plays the shot at full resolution rather than as a black frame, and the clip's duration matches the original capture rather than a shortened version.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can Avid Media Composer workflow be recovered in this situation?+
Avid keeps managed media in its own folder structure and tracks it with database files that are rebuilt on startup. An offline state therefore often means the database has not been refreshed or a volume is absent, which says nothing yet about the MXF files themselves. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not delete media database files at random or move MXF folders into subfolders to tidy up, and do not delete offline clips from the bin.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.