MXF, when used in the form of "Operational Pattern OP1A" or "OPAtom", can be used as a container, wrapper or reference file format which supports a number of different streams of coded "essence", encoded in any of a variety of video and audio compression formats, together with a metadata wrapper which describes the material contained within the MXF file.
MXF has full timecode and metadata support and is intended as a platform-agnostic stable standard for future professional video and audio applications.
MXF was developed to carry a subset of the Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) data model, under a policy known as the Zero Divergence Directive (ZDD).
This theoretically enables MXF/AAF workflows between non-linear editing (NLE) systems using AAF and cameras, servers, and other devices using MXF.
Long-GOP MPEG-2 material interchange between video servers is possible, as broadcasters develop application specifications they expect their vendors to implement.