Offloading RED R3D, ARRIRAW and BRAW safely on Mac
RED .R3D, ARRIRAW and Blackmagic BRAW are camera-original files — often the only copy of a take that can’t be reshot. Getting them off the card safely matters more than anything you’ll do to them later. Here’s what “safely” means for these formats.
Copy and verify the whole structure
These formats aren’t always a single file per clip. RED spreads a clip across a .RDC folder; other cameras drop sidecar XML and audio alongside the media. A safe offload copies the entire card structure — every file, not just the obvious big ones — and verifies each by reading it back off the destination and comparing checksums. Miss a sidecar and you can lose metadata, timecode or audio sync without noticing. (How do you know a card copied correctly?)
Write ASC MHL so the proof travels
For camera-original material especially, you want proof that survives the trip to post. An ASC MHL manifest records the checksum of every file so anyone downstream can re-verify the R3D or ARRIRAW without your software — a chain of custody for the footage.
What Olycen does with these formats today
Olycen copies R3D, ARRIRAW and BRAW to as many drives as you want at once, verifies every file (including the spanning .RDC and sidecars) by reading it back, writes ASC MHL v2, and produces reports — then only offers the card for formatting once every file is verified on two physical drives.
Being straight about what’s not here yet: viewing proxies, LUT dailies and thumbnails from RED and ARRI RAW are not in the current build. We have RED’s SDK and an approved ARRI partner agreement, and we’re integrating both formats’ picture pipeline in one pass rather than shipping half of it. Until then, the copy, verification, MHL and reports all work on these formats today — only the picture side is pending, and the app says so rather than pretending.
The rule doesn’t change with the format
Whatever the camera, the bar is the same: every file verified on at least two physical drives, with a manifest to prove it, before the card is wiped. See the features or join the beta.
Keep reading: What ASC MHL is, and why your offload should write it · Best SD card offload software for Mac (2026)
Offload that never lies to you.
Olycen copies every card to as many drives as you want, verifies each file by reading it back, and only says the word verified once the proof is in. One-time $129, two Macs, no subscription — the launch list pays $99.