Extract text from edit decision lists (EDL)
To convert EDL edit lists to another format, you need DaVinci Resolve or other Video software.
To convert other file formats to the "Edit Decision List" file type, you need software like DaVinci Resolve or a similar tool.
An .EDL file is a plain-text document that acts as a basic blueprint for video NLE (Non-Linear Editing) timelines. It utilizes the CMX 3600 standard to record SMPTE timecodes, tape reel names, and simple cut instructions. Professional video editors use it primarily to migrate fundamental timeline structures between different software platforms, such as moving a sequence from offline editing to a color grading suite.
You can open and read an .EDL file with any standard text editor like Notepad++. To interpret the timeline data, you must import the file into professional video applications like DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro.
The .EDL format is an outdated relic from the 1970s tape-to-tape editing era, making it highly restrictive for modern workflows. A single .EDL file typically supports only one video track and a maximum of four audio tracks. It completely strips away complex transitions, speed ramps, visual effects, and color grading metadata. Furthermore, the archaic CMX 3600 standard truncates clip reel names to eight characters, which frequently causes media relinking failures when matching high-resolution source files on modern hard drives.
Because of these severe limitations, you will often need to convert this file for efficient post-production workflows. For migrating timelines to advanced NLEs without losing scaling or multi-track data, convert .EDL to Final Cut Pro XML or AAF. For producer review, VFX logging, and human-readable spreadsheets, convert .EDL to a CSV or TXT file.
Convert.Guru analyzes your EDL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted FIOXML, PHOTOS EDL ANNEXE, EDLPAPER, EML, XLSX, PRPROJ, TXT, XLS, AAF, SPV, OMF, ZIP and XML files.
If you want to convert EDL file to MP4, AAF, SRT, AVI, MOV, WMV, FLV, WEBM, MKV, M4V, 3GP or OGV, you can use DaVinci Resolve or similar software from the "Video Timeline Migration" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MTS, MOV, RMVB, DIVX, RM, H264, TS, WMV, VOB, MP4, XVID or AVI files to EDL, try DaVinci Resolve or another comparable tool in the "Video Timeline Migration" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our EDL converter.