Magix Bitmap .MXB

me_again wrote on 1/15/2022, 3:30 AM

Greetings,

Over the past few weeks I've batch converted some JPG's to Magix Bitmaps (extention MXB) using Magix Photo designer (supplied with Movie Edit pro) for use in Movie Edit Pro (here if interested https://www.magix.info/us/forum/a-query-relating-to-slideshows--1289851/#ca1736807 and I'm curious about them.

The MXB extension is not mentioned in any of the Magix forums that I can see and indeed none of the Magix Manuals or website. MEP can open the Magix Bitmaps as can Photo Designer but strangely Photo Manager Deluxe 13 cannot!

It just seems odd that Magix' own photo organiser cannot open Magix' own MXB file extension photos.

AndyW

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 1/15/2022, 5:40 AM

@me_again

Hi Andy

The MXB format is the image equivent to the Magix MXV format for video and is custom format. It is a very old, predating when I switched to Movie Edit Pro (2007), and is, AFAIK, no longer used, the only mention of the format I can find in the Xara Web Designer manuals.

John EB

me_again wrote on 1/15/2022, 7:07 AM

@johnebaker

Greetings John,

Thanks for that, it makes sense that it's now a legacy format with the lack of documentation. I suppose, like MXV it's only useful as a process format within the Magix family of programs. After I posted I tried Magic Media Manager Gold from 2003 (from Magix Photos on CD & DVD) and even that doesn't support the MXB format.

It's a shame really. The jpgs I converted with it are only 10% larger than the original and a massive 25% smaller that Windows Bitmap and to my untrained layman's eye the quality is identical to the Windows BMP and more importantly looks as good as the original JPG.

Oh well, progress marches on - AndyW

johnebaker wrote on 1/15/2022, 9:25 AM

@me_again

Hi Andy

Assuming the images you are converting are the jpg's with the YCbCr 4:4:4 Chroma subsampling issue have you tried converting to YCbCr 4:2:2?

I would expect by the time they have been exported from MEP into a video there would be little if any colour differentiation between the two.

John EB

me_again wrote on 1/15/2022, 10:40 AM

@johnebaker

Yes John, I do do that for "awkward" photos following your suggestion over on the MEP site but for some reason the various sets of photos that my father converted using a negative to digital converter (he loved his gadgets) cause me much aggravation.

Converting to 4:2:2 doesn't seem to work for them. I don't know why.

That's why I convert those to Bitmaps. Converting to Magix Bitmaps was a complete accident. I usually use Paint Shop Pro but for some reason I used Photo Designer once and selected the Magix Bitmaps.

When I opened the folder after conversion I thought it had all gone wrong - no thumbnails and wouldn't open in my photo viewer. But after converting nearly 200 photos I thought I'd try them in MEP anyway and they worked so I've used that format ever since for Dad's photo jpgs.

With around 1500 still to convert to slideshows for the family I'll stay with the MXB method. It could be worse, if I had the negatives I'd feel obliged to digitise them again and at over 2000 that would be a bit tedious.

AndyW

emmrecs wrote on 1/18/2022, 8:05 AM

@John-Hoyland

Welcome to the Magix user to user forums, so not a contact for any Magix staff, sorry.

I have hidden your post because you have posted to a thread about the Magix .mxb image format with a question that has nothing to do with that subject. Please do not hijack another user's thread in this manner, but rather start a new post with your question in the appropriate area of the forum. (You mention a Magix account but don't say what it was for!)

Also, please never post personal information like your email address to a public forum like this one.

Jeff
Forum Moderator