BDM File Extension

What is the .BDM file type?

Primarily, the .bdm extension serves to denote AVCHD index files (.bdm). AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) is a patented standard format developed jointly by Sony and Panasonic for digital camcorder devices that use random-access storage. Most AVCHD cameras follow the AVCHD Disk format closely based upon Blu-ray Disk (BD) and partially compatible with it.

AVCHD uses the legacy 8.3 filename convention, and the .bdm files have the same function as the .bdmv ones on BD disks. Within the standard AVCHD disk structure, there are two mandatory .bdm files, "INDEX.bdm" and "MOVIEOBJ.bdm," in the "BDMV" directory of the disk's root. Both are index files generated against the actual content (.mts video clip files in the "STREAM" directory) and required for accessing multimedia data within the AVCHD file structure.

Just like .bdmv, BDM files are not media files and are not meant to be "opened" by the user, being instead referenced by the camcorder device and any multimedia software that directly supports the AVCHD file structure.

Differently, the .bdm extension is also tied up with the Binary Data Matrix (BDM) file type/format used with Gitools, an open-source (GPL-3 license) scientific tool for genome analysis and visualization developed by the Biomedical Genomics Group. A .bdm file is a text-based file that contains tab-separated data items arranged in a table. The data can be either "0" or "1" (binary values recorded as text). Any .bdm file can be opened with a text editor or imported into a spreadsheet application.

Besides, the .bdm extension has another association with the Blaise Prepared Data Model (BDM) file type/format utilized with Blaise for Windows, a commercial computer-assisted survey processing (CASP) application by Statistics Netherlands. A prepared data model, also referred to as instrument, is a set of three files (.bdm, .bxi, and .bmi).

Apart from that, the .bdm extension is additionally encountered in temporary files generated by Pro/Engineer (PTC) CAD applications. Such .bdm files are temporary working files created automatically by the software in the course of working on a Pro/Engineer project.

Software to open or convert BDM files

VSO Media Player by VSO Software

 

VLC media player by VideoLAN

 

VSO Media Player

 

VSO Media Player_ by VSO Software

 

Movie Maker by Microsoft Corporation

 

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