AAF is Avid’s home turf — Media Composer writes the cleanest AAFs in the business. Live just can’t read them. That’s the missing step this page covers.
Media Composer exports reference-grade AAFs — it’s the
format’s birthplace. Ableton Live has no AAF import at all. AAF
Bridge reads real Avid AAFs (embedded or linked, MXF included) and
turns the sequence into a native .als that opens like any
session you saved yourself.
Select the sequence and export as AAF — audio embedded for a self-contained file, or linked with media alongside. Add handles if you want trim room; commit AudioSuite/time effects first.
The free demo converts the first 120 seconds of any sequence.
AAF Bridge lists tracks, clips and markers. Set tempo and time signature for the Live session.
MXF-wrapped audio converts to WAV automatically; a Live project folder and a report are written.
Clips sit sample-accurately with fades, clip gain, track names — and your Avid markers as named locators.
Not carried by any tool: MIDI, plugins, bus routing. Time-stretched clips are flagged so you can commit them in Avid first — nothing is rendered behind your back.
Both work. Embedded is self-contained and simplest to hand around; linked keeps the AAF small — send the media folder along, or let Collect media build a movable project on import.
Yes — AAF Bridge reads markers the way real Avid AAFs store them, names included, and writes them as named Live locators.
Yes — the other direction writes a real AAF with named tracks, transitions, automation and markers that Media Composer displays. See How to export an AAF from Ableton Live.
The free demo is the full app — it converts the first 120 seconds of any timeline, so you can check the result before spending anything. $49 one-time, no subscription, runs offline. macOS & Windows.
Download the free demo Back to the overview