Pinnacle DV500 User guide

Download

Pinnacle Systems DV500

SER'S GUIDE

Pinnacle Systems DV500 User’s Guide

Version 1.2 / GB September 2000

41000052 © Pinnacle Systems 2000

permission from Pinnacle Systems, Braunschweig, Germany.

All brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This manual is printed on chlorine-free paper using environmentally safe ink. Pinnacle Systems. has written this manual to the best of its knowledge, but does not guarantee that the

programs/systems will fulfill the desires of the user. No warranty is made as to the specifications of features. Pinnacle Systems. retains the right to make alterations to the content of the manual without the obligation

to inform third parties. All tenders, sales, supply and manufacturing contracts from Pinnacle Systems., including consultancy,

installation and other contractual performance are subject exclusively to the General Sales and Delivery Terms of Pinnacle Systems.

CHAPTER 1: WELCOME 1

ENERAL

DV500 P A

DDITIONAL INFORMATION

OLUTIONS FOR VIDEO APPLICATIONS EVERYWHERE

DOBE PREMIERE SUPPORT

OW THIS GUIDE IS ORGANIZED

RODUCT FEATURES

CHAPTER 2: BEFORE YOU BEGIN 7

YSTEM REQUIREMENTS

ACKAGE CONTENTS

CHAPTER 3: INSTALLING ADOBE PREMIERE 10

CHAPTER 4: INSTALLING THE HARDWARE 11

EFRAGMENTING THE HARD DISK

NSTALLING THE

DV500 11

CHAPTER 5: CONNECTING THE BLUEBOX AND THE VIDEO DEVICES 14

ONNECTING THE VIDEO DEVICES

LAYER AND RECORDER IN ONE DEVICE

ONNECTING THE VIDEO MONITOR AND LOUDSPEAKERS

15 21 22

1 2 3 4 4 5

7 8

CHAPTER 6: INSTALLING THE DV500 SOFTWARE 23

NSTALLING THE SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS

DDITIONAL INFORMATION (INSTALLATION PROGRAM

NT 4.0 24 2000/98 25

)27

CHAPTER 7: CAPTURE, EDITING AND PLAYBACK 30

UICK CAPTURE CHECKLIST

APTURING VIDEO IN DETAIL

DITING THE CLIPS

LAYBACK

UTPUTTING THE PROJECT

EVICE CONTROL

30 31 35 36 37 38

CHAPTER 8: DV500 CONTROL 43

ETTINGS—VIDEO INPUT

ETTINGS—VIDEO FORMAT

ETTINGS—AUDIO INPUT

ETTINGS—OUTPUT

ETTINGS—GENERAL

44 45 46 47 49

CHAPTER 9: WORKING WITH DV MATERIAL 51

AKING MOVIES

APTURING SINGLE FRAMES (SNAPSHOTS

)61

User's Guide

CHAPTER 10: DVTOOLS 64

APTURE GALLERY

APE GALLERY

DV D

EVICE CONTROLLER

64 69 70

CHAPTER 11: TRANSITIONS, FILTERS, AND SUPERIMPOSITIONS 76

RANSITIONS

ILTERS

UPERIMPOSITIONS

76 82 85

CHAPTER 12: PINNACLE FREEFX 86

CHAPTER 13: INSTANT VIDEO 93

W I

NSTANT VIDEO WINDOW

M R

ENDERING PREVIEWS

IMITATIONS

Instant Video? 93

HAT IS

ODES OF OPERATION

99 100 100

CHAPTER 14: TITLEDEKO 101

ELCOME TO TITLEDEKO

AUNCHING TITLEDEKO

HE TITLEDEKO USER INTERFACE

ELECTING TEXT AND OBJECTS

ORMATTING TEXT AND OBJECTS

OOLS AND SELECTION HANDLES

RANSFORMING TEXT AND OBJECTS

SING AND MODIFYING LOOKS AND STYLES

HE BACKGROUND

ET’S MAKE A TITLE

101 102 103 107 109 111 113 114 117 119

CHAPTER 15: VIDEO SPICERACK 127

EY CONCEPTS OF VIDEO SPICERACK

OW DOES A GRADIENT IMAGE MAKE A TRANSITION

IDEO SPICERACK CATEGORIES

OW TO USE SPICERACK

? 127

127

128 129

CHAPTER 16: HOLLYWOOD FX 130

HAT IS HOLLYWOOD

NSTALLATION OF HOLLYWOOD

FX? 130

FX 131

CHAPTER 17: EXPORT TO AVI, DV- OR MPEG2 133

ETTING

XPORT TO

DVANCED EXPORT SETTINGS

–MPEG

FORMAT

MPEG2 133 DV AVI 134

133

135

CHAPTER 18: TECHNICAL DATA 140

Pinnacle Systems DV500

APPENDIX A: MPEG COMPRESSION I

HE COMPRESSION PROCEDURE

MPEG I

APPENDIX B TROUBLESHOOTING IV

ENERAL

ROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

ROBLEMS WITH THE VIDEO DISPLAY ON THE

ROBLMS WITH INTERUPT SHARING

ROBLEMS WITH CAPTURE

ROBLEMS WITH EDITING AND RENDERING

ROBLEMS WITH PLAYBACK AND OUTPUT

ROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS—PINNACLE FREE

ROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

THER PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS

ROBLEMS WITH THE COMPATIBILITY OF VIDEO DEVICES

- G

ENERAL

- A

FTER EFFECTS

PC S

CREEN

FX XV

IV IV VI

VII

XII

XVI XVI

XVII

APPENDIX C: ERROR MESSAGES XVIII

APPENDIX D: MULTIMEDIA TERMINOLOGY XIX

APPENDIX F: LICENSE AGREEMENT XXVIII

INDEX

User's Guide

iii

OR YOUR OWN SAFETY

NOTE: Shielded cables should be used for a composite interface. This is to ensure continued protection against radio frequency interference.

FCC Compliance Statement

FCC W

AUTION

ARNING STATEMENT

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

•

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

•

Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

•

Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

•

Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.

ABEL WARNING

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Shielded interface cable must be used in order to comply with the emission limits.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Tested To Comp l With FCC Standards

FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE

About the User’s Guide

This User’s Guide explains how to install and use the Pinnacle Systems DV500 hardware and software. Instead of using the complete product name, the abbreviation DV500 is used for a better readability.

Subheadings

In the margins are subheadings to help you quickly find your way through this manual.

Important text passages are marked with the “notepad” and this format.

Numbers mark step by step instructions:

1. Start TitleDeko.

Bullets mark instructions for optional steps the order of which is not important.

Connect the board to the camcorder.

•

All keyboard commands appear in this font:

install

Menus, commands, options or buttons which the user can select are written in

italics.

User's Guide

For your own safety

In the interest of your own safety and the flawless functioning of your new product and computer system please note the following:

Computer components are sensitive to static charge. Divert any



electrostatic charge from your person before touching the components with your hands or any tools.

Before opening the computer make sure that the power plug is



disconnected from the wall outlet.

For changes or supplements that could not be included in the printed documentation, please, refer to the ReadMe file on the CD-ROM supplied with your system!.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

ENERAL

Chapter 1: Welcome

The next generation of video is digital and DV is the world-wide digital standard. With the DV500, Pinnacle Systems offers a non-linear video editing system that meets the highest quality standard for DV productions.

What makes this product special, however, is its incorporation of classic post-production in software rendering. A real-time effects mixer outputs entire productions or creative ideas to the video monitor in full quality as soon as they have been arranged.

The DV500 comes with more than instantly in real-time. Furthermore, the card's effects mixer is also suitable for titles and filters.

The combination of DV hardware codec and real-time effects mixer marks the advent of dual-stream technology on standard desktop computers. No comparable video editing system offers more are visible instantly in full-quality video. In addition, videos can be processed for digital data media such as DVD and CD.

real-time

—in other words, without time-consuming

200 wipes and dissolves

productivity

that run

, since the effects

The DV500 is able to save projects as MPEG export data directly from the timeline so that DVD productions can be built.

The DV500 processes analog (S-Video, Composite video) and IEEE 1394) signals via corresponding inputs and outputs.

With its outstanding features, the DV500 sets new standards for quality, compatibility, and productivity.

digital

(DV,

Chapter 1: Welcome

DV500 P

RODUCT FEATURES

Video resolution



720 x 576 (PAL) or 720 x 480 (NTSC) according to ITU.R 601, studio quality, compatible with Betacam and DV; cropped size 704 x 576 (PAL), 704 x 480 (NTSC).

Bit rate



50 Mbit/sec in dual-stream mode. 25 Mbit/sec in single-stream mode

Encoding method



DV 25.

Bit rate control (for MP2 export only)



Constant (CBR) or variable bit-rate (VBR).

Audio



Support for

- 32 kHz 12 bit and 16 bit stereo

- 44 kHz 16 bit stereo

- 48 kHz 16 bit stereo

Playback mode



Dual stream – 2 video files via one mixer for real-time effects. Titles, filters, and 200 wipes and dissolves without time-consuming software rendering.

Production length



Up to 3 hours video productions larger than 2 GB. Capture of files up to 12 TBytes in length.

Instant Video™



Intelligent, hardware-accelerated rendering, multi-file playback for Audio processor, perfect, lip-synch audio processing in CD or DV quality.

DVD and MPEG2-CD Production



Export MPEG2 ML@MP (4:2:0) using IBP format suitable for DVD and MPEG2-CD authoring. Direct interface to Minerva Impression.

Video overlay



Real-time monitoring on computer screen.

Video Standards



PAL, NTSC (US version NTSC only), audio input (stereo), audio output (stereo).



Pinnacle Systems DV500

Standard ports

S-Video (Y/C) and Composite (CVBS). DV (IEEE1394).

DDITIONAL INFORMATION

Production Process

Productions created with DV500 can be output to analog (S-VHS, Hi8, Betacam) or digital tape systems (DV) or stored as a file.

Files are saved in AVI format. Optionally, the MPEG II IBP compression method can also be used. This material is suitable for subsequent processing with DVD authoring software.

Real-time Processing

The DV500 is equipped with a real-time mixer, making it possible to mix and output, according to the specifications of an effect, two videos that are simultaneously being played back from the hard disk. This method is especially useful for wipes and dissolves, since these consist of two chronologically overlapping videos. Real-time playback occurs via the analog ports of the card. For digital playback, the effects have to be rendered.

DV500 offers more than 200 effects in real-time. DV500 can even superimpose color titles and other graphics over a video without prior rendering.

Instant Video

Instant Video coordinates playback of all videos within a production. In particular, it provides for so-called “cutlist playback”, so that multiple video files can be played back one after the other without interruption. The intelligent software detects all postproduction steps that do not take place in real-time, renders these quickly, and automatically integrates the result in the production. Every production consisting of different materials can be called up and played back again and again in context.

blueBOX

The blueBOX makes it easy to connect a video editing system to other video equipment. Of course it is possible to use both analog signal sources (for instance, camcorders) and recording devices (for instance, recorders) on the same box at the same time. The video inputs and outputs are designed for SVideo (Y/C) and Composite (FBAS) signals. The stereo audio signals are connected via line-out and line-in connections with cinch jacks.

The blueBOX can be positioned at your desktop so that it is always easily accessible, making it easy to plug in and unplug cables. This enables you to adapt the cabling between the blueBOX and other video devices to individual conditions quickly and flexibly. All jacks are marked with easyto-understand symbols, thus ensuring fast, secure connections.

Chapter 1: Welcome

OLUTIONS FOR VIDEO APPLICATIONS EVERYWHERE

No matter what kind of project you’re working on, DV500 gives you everything you need for professional quality results.

With the DV500, your video production can be a function of your creativity, not your budget. Just as it should be.

DOBE PREMIERE SUPPORT

Adobe Premiere provides:



Direct integration of the DV500 capture, playback and effects engine

within Adobe Premiere.



Intelligent Rendering, which automatically renders non-real-time

playable segments.



Source/program monitor consolidates clip, preview, trim and controller

windows.



Three-point editing.



Collapsible AfterEffects-like timeline.



Navigator palette speeds timeline access.



New, key-frameable video and audio filters.



DV device control.

Add Character to Your Productions with our TitleDeko Character Generator

Want to add easy-to-use, cutting-edge titling to your finishing station? Our powerful TitleDeko character generator package comes standard with DV500. This plug-in version of our industry-leading Deko CG product lets you create your own title style, with customizable faces, edges, shadows and underlines. TitleDeko’s library of text effects includes rotate, skew, glow, emboss, texture, neon, metallic and extrude. With DV500, use TitleDeko to easily add rolls and crawls, or other movements to your titles.

Integrate into any Digital Production Environment

With the onboard DV/1394 ports you can capture digital videos and output them to a connected DV device.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

OW THIS GUIDE IS ORGANIZED

This User Guide is not intended to be a supplement to the Adobe Premiere User's Guide. For detailed information on Adobe Premiere, please refer to the Adobe Premiere User's guide.

This manual consists of the following chapters:

Overview

The chapter “Welcome” introduces the DV500, provides an overview of its capabilities and explains the organization of, and conventions used in, this User’s Guide.

System requirements

The chapter “Before You Begin” gives you all necessary information about the system requirements needed to work efficiently with DV500. In addition the package contents are introduced in detail.

Installing Adobe Premiere

The chapter “Installing Adobe Premiere” tells you how to install Adobe Premiere.

Hardware installation

The chapter “Installing the Hardware” explains the hardware installation.

Connecting the blueBOX

The chapter “Connecting the blueBOX” shows how to connect DV500, the blueBOX and the video devices.

Software installation

The chapter “Installing the Software” describes the installation of the software under Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows NT.

Capture

The chapter “Capture, Editing and Playback” gives you detailed information on how to capture, edit and playback video clips to tape. In addition, the Device control functions are described in detail.

DV500 Control

The chapter “DV500 Control ” describes all features of the Control, which allows you to specify individual settings.

DV Material

The chapter “Working with DV Material” introduces step by step how to capture video clips using the DVTools.

DVTools

The chapter “DVTools” describes in detail the functions of the three main components of the DVTools: The Capture Gallery, the Tape Gallery, and the DV Device Control.

Chapter 1: Welcome

Effects

The chapter “Transitions, Filters and Supersition” introduces the Pinnacle Systems’ real-time transitions and filters which allow you to check the effects without having to render the clip.

3D Effects

The chapter “Pinnacle FreeFX” shows how to work with the Pinnacle accelerated 3D effects.

Instant Video

The chapter “Instant Video” gives you information about how to minimizes the rendering time under Adobe Premiere considerably.

TitleDeko

The chapter “TitleDeko” explains how to use the TitleDeko character generator to add titles, rolls and crawls, with a variety of text effects.

Video SpiceRack

The chapter “Video SpiceRack” introduces Video SpiceRack, a collection of 300 top-quality transitions and dynamic effects.

Hollywood FX

The chapter “Hollywood FX” decribes how to generate 3D transitions and near realtime effects for your videos.

Export

The chapter “Export to AVI, DVD- or MPEG2-CD” explains the settings for an export of your project.

Technical data

The chapter “Technical Data” informs you about the most important data of DV500.

Appendix

The “Appendix” contains a troubleshooting guide, a detailed multimedia glossary and the declaration of conformity.

Index

An index concludes this User’s Guide.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

This chapter tells you which computer system components are required for the operation of the DV500 and what is included in the DV500 package contents.

YSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Please make sure your system meets the following requirements before installing the DV500:

PC System

Chapter 2:

Before You Begin

At least Pentium II



1 x 32-bit PCI 2.1 slot



Windows 98 / Windows 98 SE / Windows ME

128 MByte RAM



Windows 2000

196 MByte RAM



Windows NT

128 MByte RAM

500 MByte hard disk capacity for system files and programs, e.g. Adobe



Premiere 5.1a or higher

20 GByte hard disk capacity for capture / playback of video, able to



sustain at least 8 MBytes/sec transfer rate.

If you plan to use a DMA capable IDE hard disk (e.g. IDE-UDMA 100 or IDE-UDMA 66) for your video, you should absolutely install a DMA busmaster driver to ensure the smooth function of your DV500 board. You will find this driver on the CD-ROM supplied with your motherboard, in the internet, or contact your dealer.

400 or faster compatible processor



16-bit display adapter with DirectDraw drivers, OpenGL compatible



DirectX 7.0 or higher (for FreeFX)



CD-ROM drive



48 kHz compatible sound board.



Software

Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or



Windows NT 4.0 SP4 or higher.



Chapter 2: Before you begin

ACKAGE CONTENTS

Please make sure your DV500 system is complete before you begin the

installation. The system includes

DV500 board** blueBOX

CD-ROM with: IEEE-1394 cable

- drivers

- extended Adobe Premiere presets

- Instant Video

- Pinnacle TitleDeko

- online documentation

- FreeFX effects (not for Windows NT)

- Adobe Premiere Update

Pixèlan Video SpiceRack Adobe Premiere Overview

Depending on the delivery scope, the package contents may vary from the contents listed in this manual.

For model and serial number of your board, refer to the label on the board.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Minerva Impression CD Documentation

Hollywood FX Copper

If any parts are missing, please contact your retailer.

Computer components are sensitive to electrostatic charge. Do not take the DV500 board out of its antistatic package until you install it.

Related Information

Refer to Pinnacle at information on configurations and software updates.

Refer to Microsoft Windows documentation, online help and Microsoft Website for information on the Windows operating system.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com

for the latest

Chapter 2: Before you begin

Chapter 3:

Installing Adobe Premiere

The following chapter describes the procedure to install Adobe Premiere.

You must install Adobe Premiere computer, because the DV500 presets must be copied to the appropriate Adobe Premiere folder during the installation of the DV500 software.

Proceed as follows to install Adobe Premiere:

1. Place the Adobe Premiere CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive.

2. If the installation program does not start automatically, select the

3. Depending on your drive, enter, for example:

If your CD-ROM drive has a different drive designation, change the path accordingly.

—or— Click on

mentioned above and double-click the

4. Click OK.

5. Follow the program installation instructions on the screen.

menu.

Start

e:\premiere\setup.

Browse

..., switch to your CD-ROM drive and to the directory

before

installing the DV500 board in your

Run…

setup.exe

file.

from

6. Install the Adobe Premiere Update.

After

you have installed Adobe Premiere on your computer, you can install

the DV500 board and software.

If you ever need to reinstall Adobe Premiere, please remember to run the DV500 installation again, selecting at a minimum the Presets and PlugIns. DV500 will not work correctly with Adobe Premiere if these components are missing.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Installing the Hardware

EFRAGMENTING THE HARD DISK

Before installing and configuring the DV500 you should defragment your hard disk/s. Under Windows 98/98SE/ME you find the defragmenter tool via

Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter

Chapter 4:

If you use Windows 2000, please proceed as follows: Click on

Computer Properties Defragment Now...

If you use DV500 under Windows NT, use a tool you can obtain from your computer store to defragment your hard disk.

NSTALLING THE

The following chapter explains how to install the DV500 into your computer.

, then click right on the disk to be defragmented, then choose

Tools

, and under

Defragmentation

click on the button

DV500

Chapter 4: Installing the Hardware

Inserting DV500

To insert the DV500 into your computer, proceed as follows:

1. Discharge yourself.

Discharge yourself by touching the metal case of your computer.

2. Switch off the computer, disconnect the cables.

Switch off the computer and all peripheral devices. Pull out the power cord and disconnect all necessary cables.

3. Remove the cover.

Loosen the screws of the computer's cover and remove the cover.

4. Select a PCI slot.

Select a free (busmaster) PCI slot for the DV500 board.

Slot shields

Slots

PCI slots

5. Remove the slot bracket.

Remove the slot bracket at the back of the computer. If necessary, remove the screw at the cover.

6. Insert the board.

Power supply unit

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Insert the board carefully in the selected slot. Hold the board at the top edge and push both ends simultaneously into the slot. Press the board's top edge to make sure that the board is firmly seated in the slot.

If the board cannot be inserted without problems, do not force the board into place. The contacts at the connector could bend. Instead, pull the board out carefully and try again.

7. Screw in the slot bracket.

Screw the slot bracket tight.

8. Reconnect the cables.

Reassemble the computer's casing. Reconnect the cables.

The DV500 hardware installation is completed. In the next step, you can connect the breakout box and the video devices

as is described in the following chapter and install the software as described in the chapter „Installing the DV500 Software“.

Chapter 4: Installing the Hardware

blueBOX and the Video Devices

The following chapter tells you how to connect your video devices to the DV500 via the blueBOX, need the appropriate cables.

The following illustration shows the DV500 board with its connections:

Connects to DV devices

(1394 connector)

Connects to DV devices

(1394 connector)

Connects to the blueBOX

(26-pin D-type)

Chapter 5: Connecting the

with the computer turned off

. To do so you will

The free connector of the board does not have any function presently, it is designated for possible future extensions.

The following illustration shows the connections of the blueBOX:

Video inputs

S-Video

Video outputs

Composite

Audio inputs

Left Right

Audio outputs

Pinnacle Systems DV500

ONNECTING THE VIDEO DEVICES

Via the blueBOX you can connect S-Video (Y/C) as well as Composite video devices to DV500. The blueBOX is connected to the DV500 via the cable of the blueBOX.

In the following, the options for cabling your video source—referred to as the

player

that you want to digitize (“capture”) to your hard disk and then edit on your PC.

—is described. The player provides the video and audio signals

Subsequently, connections to the device—typically a VCR—that you would like to output your final production to.

recorder

are explained. The recorder is the

Player: DV device

Devices that connect to the board include any DV or Digital 8 format video camcorder or recorder that has an IEEE-1394/DV connector. On many devices, this connector is labeled “i.Link”.

To connect your DV camcorder/VCR to the DV500, use the IEEE-1394 DV cable included in the package.

1. Connect the IEEE-1394 cable to the DV500.

Connect the 6-pin connector of the IEEE 1394 DV cable to one of the 1394 data ports of your DV500.

2. Connect the IEEE-1394 cable to the DV device.

Connect the 4-pin connector of the IEEE 1394 AV cable to the DV IN/OUT or the DV OUT connector of your DV camcorder/VCR.

Chapter 5: Connecting the Breakout Box and the Video Devices

Player: S-Video device

Choose this type of connection if your player has an S-Video output. The following table and the illustration give an overview of the connections:

Player Out blueBOX In

S-Video Input

S-Video Output Audio Output L Audio Output R

blueBOX Out DV500 In

blueBOX Cable

Audio Input L

Audio Input R

26-pin D-t

? @ A

pe Connector

Pinnacle Systems DV500

If your player is equipped with S-Video outputs as well as with Composite video outputs, please choose S-Video, as this will provide the highest level of video quality.

If your player has a Scart connector, you will need an appropriate adapter. This adapter is available wherever video recorders are being sold.

Player: Composite Video device

Choose this type of connection if your player has a Composite video output. The following table and the illustration give on overview of the

connections:

Player Out blueBOX In

Composite Video Output Audio Output L Audio Output R

blueBOX Out DV500 In

blueBOX Cable

Composite Video Input

Audio Input L

Audio Input R

26-pin D-t

? @ A

②

③

pe Connector

If your player has a Scart connector, you will need an appropriate adapter. This adapter is available wherever video recorders are being sold.

Chapter 5: Connecting the Breakout Box and the Video Devices

Recorder: DV device

PAL device:

Many PAL devices sold in Europe usually have only a DV can be identified by the label DV OUT (and not DV IN/OUT) on the DV connector. Such devices do videotape. Note that with DV500, you can of course use the analog outputs to play your finished DV project to an analog VCR.

NTSC devices

Devices that connect to the board include any DV or Digital 8 format video equipment that has an IEEE-1394/DV connector, such as Sony Digital Handycams, DCR-VX1000, DCR-X700, and DCR-PC7. . On many devices, this connector is labeled „i.LINK”.

If you have not already done so, connect your DV camcorder/VCR to the DV500. Use the IEEE-1394 AV cable included in the package.

not

support recording of DV data back to

output

. These

1. Connect the IEEE-1394 cable to the DV500.

Connect the 6-pin connector of the IEEE-1394 DV cable to one of the 1394 data ports of your DV500.

2. Connect the IEEE-1394 cable to the DV device.

Connect the 4-pin connector of the IEEE-1394 AV cable to the DV IN/OUT connector of your DV camcorder/VCR.

The DV output always carries the same signal that you will see on the analog outputs. It is thus possible to use a DV device on the DV output and simultaneously connect and use a video monitor and speakers to the analog outputs.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Recorder: S-Video device

Choose this type of connection if your recorder has an S-Video input. The following table and the illustration give an overview of the connections:

DV500 Out blueBOX In

26-pin D-t

blueBOX Out Recorder In

S-Video Output Audio Output L Audio Output R

pe Connector



blueBOX

S-Video Input

Audio Input L

Audio Input R

? @ A

If your player is equipped with S-Video outputs as well as with Composite video outputs, please choose S-Video, as this will provide the highest level of video quality.

If your player has a Scart connector, you will need an appropriate adapter. This adapter is available wherever video recorders are being sold.

Chapter 5: Connecting the Breakout Box and the Video Devices

Recorder: Composite video device

Choose this type of connection if your recorder has a Composite input. The following table and illustration give an overview of the connections:

DV500 Out blueBOX In

blueBOX

Composite Video Input

Audio Input L

Audio Input R

26-pin D-t

blueBOX Out Recorder In

Composite Video Output Audio Output L Audio Output R

pe Connector

? @ A

If your player has a Scart connector, you will need an appropriate adapter. This adapter is available wherever video recorders are being sold.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

LAYER AND RECORDER IN ONE DEVICE

Up to now, player and recorder have been treated as two separate devices. When editing video with DV500, it is also possible to combine both functions in one single video device. In this case, connect the device to the blueBOX as a player avoid video signal feedback, you should deactivate the option

loopthrough

in the DV500 Control software.

as a recorder, as described above. In order to

and

Video

Similarly, in order to avoid audio signal feedback, you should deactivate the option

Audio loopthrough

in the DV500 Control software.

Chapter 5: Connecting the Breakout Box and the Video Devices

ONNECTING THE VIDEO MONITOR AND LOUDSPEAKERS

The video display on the PC monitor gives a preview during editing. Usually, the video is not displayed in full quality, nor does it have the full size.

In order to check the image and the sound quality during capture, editing and output, we recommend that you connect a video monitor or TV set, either with integrated or separate loudspeakers. There are two possibilities:

Connect the monitor to the video and audio outputs of your recorder. In



this case the output signal of DV500 is transmitted to the input of the recorder (see cabling above), through the recorder and on to the monitor.

Connect the monitor directly to the free outputs of the blueBOX. The



monitor can be connected to the S-Video or Composite Video output of the blueBOX. If necessary, use an appropriate adapter.

For working with Minerva Impression and to output audio during certain operations in Adobe Premiere (e. g. scrubbing), you will also need speakers connected to the audio output of your PC sound board. Instead of using two pairs of speakers, you may want to connect the audio outputs of both the DV500 and your PC sound board to an audio mixer. Its output would then be connected to both the video recorder and the speakers used for monitoring.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Chapter 6:

Installing the DV500 Software

After you have installed the DV500 board in your computer, you can install the DV500 drivers and software.

Make sure that you have installed Adobe Premiere DV500 software.

The installation steps for Windows 98, Windows 2000 or Windows NT are slightly different. Please refer to the corresponding sections:

Installing the Software for Windows NT 4.0 as of page 24.



Installing the Software for Windows 2000/98 as of page 25,



During the installation the following items are copied to / installed on your hard disk:

The DV500 drivers



Presets for Adobe Premiere



Instant Video



PlugIns for Adobe Premiere



Real-time effects



FreeFX (Windows 98 / 2000 only)



The TitleDeko application



before

you install the

Video SpiceRack



DVTools



The online manual



A short installation guide



Help files and files with information that were not available when the



manual was printed.

The DV500 program group is created and the DV500 Control icon is added to the Control Panel.

You will find detailed information concerning the installation in the “Additional information” section as of page 27 in this chapter.

Chapter 6: Installing the Software

NSTALLING THE SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS

To install the software for Windows NT 4.0, please start your computer, if necessary start Windows NT 4.0 and insert the installation CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.

Important for Windows NT: Log in with administrator rights.

If the Autostart function has been disabled under Windows NT double click on

My Computer

drive. The file autorun.exe will be detected. Open this file. —Or—

icon on the Windows desktop and change to the CD-ROM

NT 4.0

Select the where necessary, enter another letter. Click on OK.

e:\

... command in the

Run

represents the driver letter for your CD-ROM drive. If

menu and enter

Start

e:\autorun

The installation program

The installation program is started in the language determined by the Regional Settings ( of the installed Windows version: German, English, or French.

If other Regional Settings than German, English or French are activated on your computer, you need to select the language in which the installation should be carried out.

1. If necessary, select language, click

If necessary, select the language in which the installation should be carried out.

Click on the

2. Follow the instructions.

Follow the instructions of the installation program.

Start

button.

menu,

Settings, Control Panel, Regional Settings

)

Pinnacle Systems DV500

You will find detailed information concerning the installation in the “Additional information” section as of page 27 in this chapter.

NSTALLING THE SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS

To install the software for Windows 2000/98, please proceed as follows:

1. Switch on computer.

Switch on your computer. Windows is started automatically. If your computer is configured in such a way, that Windows is not started

automatically, start Windows now.

Important for Windows 2000: Log in with administrator rights.

After Windows starts, the new hardware (the PCI Bridge of the DV500) is found, and the respective driver will be installed..

2000/98

DV500 Overlay

The

Add New Hardware Wizzard / Found New Hardware Wizard

appears.

2. Click

Click on the

3. Click

In the next window click on the

4. Select

Now specify the folder in which Windows 2000 should search for the device drivers. Activate the check box CD-ROM drive, make sure all other check boxes are deactiveted and insert the DV500 CD in your CDROM drive, click the

The DV500 driver will be found.

5. Follow the instructions.

Follow the instructions of the Windows installation program.

The “Pinnacle Systems DV500 Overlay” is found as a new hardware component.

button.

CD-ROM drive

button.

, insert the installation CD, click

button.

dialog

DV500 E4

6. Click

In the next installation step click on the The software for the new component will be installed.

7. Follow the instructions.

Follow the instructions of the Windows installation program.

The “Pinnacle Systems DV500 E4” is found as a new hardware component.

8. Click

Click on the

9. Click

In the next windows click on the

button.

Chapter 6: Installing the Software

10.Click

Windows 98

Windows ME

Windows 2000

The checkbox Under Windows 98 the “PCI OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host

Controller” will be found. From the list of the selectable drivers choose the

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Under Windows ME the “Texas Instuments PCI OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller” will be installed automatically. After the reboot the

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Overlay and the DV500 E4 again). Under Windows 2000 confirm the following window with

11.Follow the instructions.

Follow the instructions of the Windows installation program.

The Pinnacle software installation program starts. If the installation program is not started automatically, please read the following section.

Note: Unter Windows 2000 the Pinnacle installation program is not started automatically. To start the installation program, please proceed as follows: Double click on the CD-ROM drive. The file autorun.exe will be detected. Open this file.

CD-ROM

My Computer

is already activated. Click on the

driver. Click on

will be installed (as well as the DV500

icon on the Windows desktop and change to

Yes

button.

—Or— Select the

represents the driver letter for your CD-ROM drive. If necessary, enter another letter. Click on OK.

... command in the

Run

Start

menu and enter e:\autorun, where e:\

The installation program

The installation program is started in the language determined by the Regional Settings ( of the installed Windows version: German, English, or French.

If other Regional Settings than German, English or French are activated on your computer, you need to select the language in which the installation should be carried out.

12.If necessary, select language, click

If necessary, select the language in which the installation should be carried out.

Click on the

13.Follow the instructions.

Start

button.

menu,

Settings, Control Panel, Regional Settings

)

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Follow the instructions of the installation program.

You will find detailed information concerning the installation in the “Additional information” section as of page 27 in this chapter.

DDITIONAL INFORMATION (INSTALLATION PROGRAM

Selecting Setup Type (installation program)

)

In the Typical option.



Setup Type

Typical

Installs all components and uses the default settings.

Compact

Skips some components (e.g. online manual) and uses the default settings.

Custom

Lets you select the components and allows to adjust the settings individually. You should only choose this option if several versions of Premiere are installed on your computer, or if your system hard disk is very slow.

window, Pinnacle Systems recommends to select the

Selecting hard disk (installation program)

If you wish to copy the files to another hard disk / another folder, click on the

Browse

folder. Click on the Next button to proceed the installation.

The driver software should be installed on the system hard disk and not on the hard disk for the video files!

... button in the Setup Type window and define the hard disk / the

Selecting components (installation program)

If you have chosen Custom as setup type you can directly choose those components in the dialog box



DV products software

The option DV500 software includes the drivers for DV500, which must be installed in order to use the functions of DV500.



System software*

The System software includes DirectX and DirectMedia. If you have received the note at the beginning of the installation that there is no DirectX or an older version installed on your system, you should install the System Software.



Adobe Premiere AddOns

Presets for Adobe Premiere which have been developed specifically for the DV500 board and the PAL and NTSC standard. These presets are required for working with Adobe Premiere. If you activate the DV500 Software check box, you can not deactivate the Pinnacle Plugins and the Pinnacle Effects option.

If you cannot select this item, the newest system software is already installed on your computer.

Select Components

, which you want to install.

Chapter 6: Installing the Software



Video SpiceRack

The Vide SpiceRack software comes with lots of transitions and effects.



Documentation

The User´s Guide is also available in PDF format and can be opened with the Acrobat Reader. If no Acrobat Reader or an older version has been installed on your computer, use the Documentation option to install the current version.



DVTools

DVTools let you scan for clips on your DV tape, add in and out points, control your DV devices, transfer DV to your hard disk and back to DV tape.

After having determined the components, click

Log in with administrator rights

To install the DV500 under Windows NT and Windows 2000, you definitely have to log in with administrator rights. This is not necessary for Windows 98.

Possible additional installation steps

With some hardware configurations the appears again.

Driver for DV500 Overlay

Click on the

•

Cick

•

Select

•

Follow the instructions of the Windows installation program.

•

DV500 Overlay

button.

and click the

Add New Hardware Wizzard

button.

dialog

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Driver for DV500 E4

For the installation of the next driver the dialog appears again.

Click on the

•

Cick

•

Select

•

Follow the instructions of the Windows installation program.

•

Driver for DV500 IEEE 1394

At the end, the driver for DV500 IEEE 1394 is installed automatically.

Follow the instructions of the Windows installation program.

•

DV500 E4

button.

and click the

Add New Hardware Wizzard

button.

Defragmenting the Hard Disk

If you have problems digitizing video clips you should defragment your hard disk/s. You find the Windows 98 defragmentation utility under

Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter

Start

If you use Windows 2000, please proceed as follows: Click on

Computer Properties Defragment Now...

If you use DV500 under Windows NT, use a tool you can obtain from your computer store to defragment your hard disk.

, then click right on the disk to be defragmented, then choose

Tools

, and under

Defragmentation

click on the button

Chapter 6: Installing the Software

Capture, Editing and Playback

The process by which video and audio signals are digitized and then stored to your hard disk is called capturing. This chapter explains how to use the features of DV500 video and audio capture that differ from standard Adobe Premiere operation. Generally, these differences involve settings and preferences for your DV500 hardware and software. For details on standard Premiere functionality, refer to the Adobe Premiere User Guide. This chapter also describes how to play back captured video sequences with DV500.

UICK CAPTURE CHECKLIST

If you want to capture right now, follow these steps.

Chapter 7:

Function Where and What

1. Connect video source Connect a video source such as a camcorder or VCR to one of the video and audio inputs of the DV500 breakout box or to the DV connector.

Set the video source into play mode so that it outputs a signal.

2. Start Adobe Premiere From the start Adobe Premiere .

3. Select preset To select a Pinnacle preset, click on the

4. Load preset To load the preset, select the appropriate preset, click on the OK button, click OK again.

5. Project selections

made?

6. Select scratch disk To choose your capture disk, select

IF you have selected a Pinnacle Preset from the

Project Settings

Otherwise, follow the procedure under

Set Recording Options

Preferences/Scratch Disk File

If necessary, activate the device control, see also page 38.

Start

menu and the

dialog box, go on to Step 6.

menu. Choose a hard drive and click OK.

Adobe

program group

Load

from the Adobe Premiere

button.

Load

Pinnacle Systems DV500

7. Bring up movie Select

Capture

8. Begin capture Start your source tape and click on in the

9. End capture To end capture, press the <Escape> key.

File, Capture

window appears.

Movie Capture

and

window.

Record

. The

Movie

APTURING VIDEO IN DETAIL

Loading a Preset

The presets included with DV500 contain settings that guarantee an optimal operation of DV500 and Adobe Premiere . We strongly recommend that you load a Pinnacle preset every time you start Premiere . If you select the settings manually, please note that Premiere will allow you to select resolutions, frame rates and other options that DV500 cannot support.

1. To load an appropriate preset, start Adobe Premiere via the

and the program group The

New Project Settings

2. Click the

The

Load Project Settings

button in the

Load

Adobe

window appears:

New Project Settings

window appears.

dialog box.

Start

Chapter 7: Capture, Editing and Playback

3. Select one of the settings that have been installed for your DV500 editing board.

Please make sure that your selection between PAL and NTSC matches the video equipment that you will be using.

4. Click OK to use the DV500 setting. The Premiere project settings are now optimized for working with the DV500 editing board. You return to the

New Project Settings

window.

5. Click OK to finish the loading of the preset.

The supplied presets guarantee best results and an optimal quality. If you do not use these presets and manually choose settings that the DV500 hardware does not support, editing will not work correctly.

The supplied presets automatically set the output resolution, rendering field order, audio format and other Adobe Premiere parameters to the correct values for working with your DV500 editing board.

Preparing for Capture

Before you capture video under Adobe Premiere , please select the capture drive. This is the drive to which your AVI files will be written. It should be a separate hard disk that is fast enough and offers enough free space for digital video recording.

1. To choose your capture disk, select

Device Control

The

Preferences

from the Adobe Premiere

dialog box will appear, allowing you to choose the

Preferences

menu.

File

location for your files:

2. Select fast hard drives for all three types of files,

Video Preview Temps

and

Audio Preview Temps

If you use a DV device you should absolutely select

control

Device Control

and

Scratch Disk /

Temp/Captured Movies,

and click

OK.

Pinnacle device

Pinnacle Systems DV500

We recommend that you store all video files and Adobe Premiere project files along with their temporary video clips on one or more separate drives reserved for video editing. Storing any of these files on your system drive may result in unsatisfactory performance or dropped frames during capture or playback. To check the performance of your hard disks, please start the DVExpert tool in the DV500 program group.

Setting the Recording Options

Before capturing a video clip, you should check the capture settings. For this, select the

menu and the commands

File

Capture

and

Movie Capture

The

Movie Capture

click into the open the DV500 Control.

The settings dialog is described in detail in the “Pinnacle Control” chapter in this User's Guide. In addition, clicking the same information.

window appears. Now use the right mouse button to

Movie Capture

window and select the

button will also display the

Help

Settings

... command to

Analog devices

only

For capture, please review the following items and make changes as appropriate:

Video



Select the video input that your video source is connected to and make adjustments for brightness, contrast etc.

Video



Select the video standard, and the frame size.

Audio



Select the audio input and the audio capture format. In addition, the audio recording level may be adjusted here.

Now click OK to close the dialog.

input tab

format tab

input tab

Chapter 7: Capture, Editing and Playback

The file type for capturing (AVI) can be changed by opening the Premiere

Project

called

menu and choosing

Capture

Format.

Settings

and

Capture

. Here, open the list box

Capturing the clips

We recommend that you disconnect from any network prior to a video capture session, as network traffic may result in dropped frames.

1. Click the Capture commences. The video is displayed as it is captured on your

Record

button at the top of the

Movie Capture

window.

monitor and PC.

2. Watch the display in the lower left corner of the during the capture process. If you notice that

any

Movie Capture

frames are dropped,

window

press the <Esc> key to halt the capture process. Press the <Esc> key to end the capture session when you have captured

the desired amount of video. The movie window appears.

3. Select the

Tip:

Save your file to the root directory of your video disk. Saving it

menu and the

File

command to save the file.

Save

somewhere else will result in the file being copied to the new location. This can be time-consuming.

4. Close the

Clip

window.

5. Capture a second clip in the same way as you captured the first one.

6. Close the

Capture

window.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

DITING THE CLIPS

Adobe Premiere is a powerful editing application that usually provides several options on how to achieve a certain task, allowing you to pick the method that best matches your personal way of working. In the following, we describe one way of doing things - please refer to the Premiere User Guide for much more detailed information.

To edit the captured clips, activate the

1. Click right and select the commands

2. If necessary, change to the hard disk and into the directory where you

saved the files you captured.

3. Select the files and click

The selection of files works as follows:

To select a single clip

−

button.

To select several clips in a row

−

left mouse button, press the <Shift> key and keep it pressed, click on the last clip pressing the left mouse button, release the <Shift> key.

To select several clips out of order

−

the left mouse button, press the <Ctrl> key and keep it pressed, click on the next clip by pressing the left mouse button, etc., then release the <Ctrl> key.

4. Drag the first clip into the left

5. If desired, set in and out points.

Open

: click on the file by pressing the left mouse

Project

: click on the first clip pressing the

Monitor

window.

Import

and

: click on the first clip pressing

window (

File

Source

window).

6. Drag the clip into the right

The captured video clip automatically appears in the timeline.

7. Repeat the steps 4. - 6. to place the second clip in the timeline.

8. If you want to add a transition, drag the second clip into the

track.

9. Now, drag a desired transition from the

Transition

Important:

they do not require rendering. All others must be rendered before they can be played back.

10.To add a filter to the video clip, select the clip, click right and select

Filters

For detailed information of how to select and use transitions and filters, please refer to the “Transitions, Filters and Superimpositions” chapter of this User's Guide.

track. To specify the properties, double-click the transition.

The transitions named “Pinnacle ...“ are real-time transitions,

. The filters named Pinnacle can be done in real-time.

Monitor

Window (

Transitions

Target

window).

windows into the

Video 1B

Chapter 7: Capture, Editing and Playback

LAYBACK

Previewing the Project

You have several possibilities to preview the clip in the target window:

You can scrub in the timeline using the cursor in the time ruler.



If the timeline or monitor Window is activated, you can start the preview



from the current cursor position pressing the <space bar>. Pressing the <space bar> again stops the preview.

You can start the preview clicking on the



window. Clicking on the

Important: Only real-time effects such as the Pinnacle transitions can be seen in the preview. All other effects will show the current video frame and a red cross on playback until they are rendered by setting the work area appropriately and pressing <Enter>. (see the “Rendering the Project” section as of page

Fehler! Textmarke nicht definiert.

button stops the preview.

Stop

button of the

Play

Target

Setting the Output Options

Before playing or rendering the project you should review and change the output settings using the DV500 Control. To do so, click right on the

Video

The DV500 Control window appears.

window and choose the

Settings...

command.

Instant

Pinnacle Systems DV500

The settings dialog is described in detail in the “Pinnacle Control” chapter in this User's Guide. In addition, clicking the same information.

button will also display the

Help

Click on the video quality for the selected output and adjust the audio level. Click on to close the dialog.

The Volume slider in the output settings sets the upper limit of the audio level that gets sent to the analog outputs. In addition, the speaker icon button in the Premiere Monitor window allows you to attenuate or mute the audio output.

These options are not available if a DV device is connected. With a DV device you can activate the 16:9 DV output format option.

UTPUTTING THE PROJECT

To output the project,

1. Select the work area so that it covers the parts of the project that need

rendering (and that you want to render now).

2. Press the <Enter> key.

Output

tab. Here, you can adjust an output filter to optimize the

Adobe Premiere asks you to save the project.

3. Click the OK button.

4. Change to the drive and into the directory where you want to save the

project. Use the drive that is reserved for video files.

5. Enter the file name and click on the

The

Building Preview

displayed. First the video data, the transitions and the filters are rendered (Pinnacle Systems’ transitions and effects need not to be rendered). Then in a second render process the audio data are rendered.

After the render process, playback will start automatically at the beginning of the work area. You will now see effects.

windows appears. The estimated remaining time is

all

button.

Save

effects, even the non-real-time

Chapter 7: Capture, Editing and Playback

EVICE CONTROL

For a list of compatible DV devices, please refer to our website under

http://www.pinnaclesys.com

The DV500 board can control DV devices connected via the 1394 connection, and can query information from the device like time code, for example. The device control function of the DV500 is capable of controlling DV devices that are connected to the board via the 1394 cable.

Before you begin controlling your DV device, you must configure the device control and Premiere for your device.

1. In Premiere, click the Select the

Scratch Disks / Device Control

2. In the device control list box, select the entry:

menu and then the

File

Preferences

command.

Pinnacle device control

Operating the device control

The 1394 device control of the DV500 supports the following functions:

Frame forward, frame backwards



Export to DV tape, insert edit



Position information (the time code)



Locate commands , seeks to a specific time code



Basic functions



(Stop/Rewind/Fast Forward/Playback/Pause) Batch capture, in combination with any capture plug-ins



Jog Shuttle functions



The device controls are accessible in various Premiere windows. Consult the Premiere user manual for details on how to control a device from Premiere.

These functions are not supported by all DV devices.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Export to DV tape

For record and insert/assemble edits you need DV devices that support these functions. Consult your video recorder/camcorder user manual to find out which functions your device supports. The device control will determine your device's scope of functions and will only offer those functions that your device supports.

Although the device control supports functions such as record and insert cuts, no guarantee of clip playback precision can be given. It is Premiere that plays the video clip, and not the DV500 device control. Please consult Adobe Premiere's technical support if you should find there are irregularities in video playback.

Under Premiere, the DV500 supports export of video data to tape.

In Premiere, click the

•

Export and Export to Tape

menu.

The following dialog box appears:

command in the

File

Chapter 7: Capture, Editing and Playback

Certain device control options can be activated.



Activate recording deck

Select the

Activate recording deck

option if you want to use the device control to synchronously set the connected DV device to the record mode. This is required to record video data to tape.



Print to tape options

These settings allow a frame accurate insert/assemble cut if the connected DV device is supporting this function. Otherwise this option is greyed.



Time code

You can enter a start time code that is used for the current project. Further, you have the possibility to adjust the desired target time code yourself by using the device control buttons. Just search the position on the tape where you want to insert the project.



Preroll

The

Preroll

field allows you to fine tune the synchronous start of

playback and recording.

Once you have made the required settings, Premiere switches to the playback mode to prepare the required operations and starts playback. During operation your PC screen will be blacked. After playback, Premiere switches back to the edit mode. You may have to repeat the settings just defined because they are not stored.

Adjusting the device control accuracy

You can use the following steps as a guideline for fine tuning the export to tape function.

Stripe a DV tape, the tape should contain continuos time code. Switch



your DV device into the

Camera

mode, rewind the tape and while the lens is darkened push the record button until the tape is completely recorded.

Select Export-to-tape as described above.



Enter a start time code. Save the in and out time code to a piece of paper



Hit Enter to start operation.



After the export-to-tape operation is complete use the device control (you



must select Movie capture) or the remote control to seek to the start time code. Check the discrepancy between the first recorded frame and the desired tape location. This difference should be used the next time you repeat this operation in the preroll setting.

Check that recording started with the first marked frame of your project.



Check that recording stopped at the out-time code.



Repeat this procedure until you find the preroll value that works the best.



Pinnacle Systems DV500

If you find that recording started or ended inaccurately we recommend that you use black frames at the beginning and at the end of your video production to ensure that the total production is recorded.

Note that the export-to-tape accuracy depends on the DV camcorder or VCR that is used. Pinnacle Systems cannot guarantee that this function is supported by all DV devices.

Discrepancies

Suppose that you wanted to start the cut at time code 01:00:00:00. What was the frame number at the start of the cut after the project was transferred? If it was at 01:00:00:01 or more, the clip was started too early. Therefore, you should enter a smaller number of frames under “Pre-roll”. Repeat the test until you arrive at a satisfactory result.

If the first frame at the start of the cut was black or if you saw repeated frames, the clip was started too late. In this case, you must set a higher number of frames for the “Pre-roll”.

Premiere and time code

Internally, Adobe Premiere assigns frame numbers to your recorded clips instead of genuine time codes (this applies to all versions of Adobe Premiere). Frame numbers are random, automatically incremented numbers that, above all, facilitate the work of programmers. However, as one and the same frame number may correspond with one of three different time code values, depending on the time code format used, problems may be encountered if the correct time code format is not set. This may be relevant in the following situations:

You manually enter a batch list with the wrong timed code format, or



You use Premiere's logging function without device control in the video



recording window (Movie Capture).

The time code format in the recording window does not match the



current tape format that is currently being logged.

This may lead to various errors like the following:

“Time code not found” error message



The time code on your clip is offset by a few seconds



Recorded clips begin with a wrong time code



The reason for this is fairly basic. If you choose a time code of 01:00:00:00 for the starting point, Adobe Premiere may interpret this value depending on the format of the digitized video:

NTSC (NDF time code) 108,000 frames



NTSC (DF time code) 107,892 frames



PAL 90,000 frames



Chapter 7: Capture, Editing and Playback

A new feature in Premiere is the ability of displaying the time code of your clip and monitor windows in different ways, some of which may be confusing. In turn, this may lead to errors if you attempt to calibrate your time code discrepancy or to manually enter a batch capture list. Premiere allows you to adapt the time format of the monitor or clip window. However, this

does not

affect the video recording window. This is a general setting that does not change automatically when you load a clip with a different format. The fact that the time base of a clip can also be displayed incorrectly makes it difficult to determine the time code format of a clip. If you wish to determine the actual time code format of a clip, you must call up the

Properties for

command from the

menu while the clip in

File

question is displayed in the monitor or the clip window. You will find further information on this topic in the Adobe Premiere manual.

DV time code

Drop frame

time code

DV devices use a Drop Frame or DF time code (NTSC only). It cannot be set to a specific default, i.e. new tapes always begin at 00:00:00:00. Nevertheless, this is exact and returns clear values for single frames. When working with DV material, select “Drop-frame time code” in the Premiere project settings.

NTSC video (the US standard) is based on 30 frames per second almost. The exact frame rate is 29.97 frames per second, which corresponds to a mismatch of 3% per second. This is why video engineers developed the DF system, where 2 frame numbers each minute – with the exception of each 10th minute – will be skipped. Actual video frames will not be skipped, just the numbers in time code used to count them. One important reason for the use of the DF time code is that the timing of long videos will be more precise.

In figures, it looks like the following:

Non Drop Drop 00:01:00;00 00:01:00;01

00:01:00;02

⇒

00:01:00;03

⇒

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Please note that this applies only to every 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and

minute, but not to the 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th or the 0 minute.

Chapter 8:

DV500 Control

Starting the Pinnacle Control from the Control Panel

You have two possibilities to start the Pinnacle Control tool:

Click the



double-click the Pinnacle Control icon Click the



Control

Important: Settings that you change from the Windows Control Panel or in the Pinnacle program group (Pinnacle Control) are global settings. The settings take effect when video clips are played back, for example, via the Media Player or the DV500 is used with other applications. The control program is also available to you within Adobe Premiere. The settings that you make here, for example, by selecting a Pinnacle Preset, apply only in Adobe Premiere and are saved with every project.

Menu, the commands

Start

menu and the commands

Start

Settings

and

Pinnacle, Tools

Control Panel

and

Pinnacle

and

Starting the DV500 Control from Adobe Premiere

To start the DV500 control under Adobe Premiere:

For the input options,

click with the right mouse button in the

Capture, Movie Capture

select the

Configure

Project

button.

menu and the

) and select the

Settings, Video

Movie Capture

Settings

... command, or

command and click the

window (

File

menu,

For the output options,

click with the right mouse button into the Instant Video window and select the

Settings

The DV500 Control offers the following tabs to modify your settings.

Video input



Video format



Audio input



Output



General.



The tabs may offer different options—depending on the connected video device (S-video / Composite video or DV)

... command.

Chapter 8: DV500 Control

ETTINGS

—V

IDEO INPUT

The video input tab allows you to specify all settings concerning the video inputs.

Input

Determine the connector of the connected video source: or

DV device

checkbox. Several sources can be connected at the same time, but only the selected

signal will be digitized.

Video loopthrough

The

Video loopthrough

the same time the recording device, i.e. it is connected to the video input as well as to the video output, you need to deactivate the checkbox in order to avoid video feedback.

If a DV device is selected, this option is not available.

Brightness / Contrast / Sharpness / Saturation / Hue (NTSC)

Allows you to modify the

Saturation.

This applies to analog sources only. If a DV device is selected, these options are not available.

. If the DV device is known, its name will appear in the

checkbox is enabled by default. If your player is at

Brightness

Under NTSC you can additionally change the

, the

Contrast

S-Video, Composite

Video loopthrough

, the

Sharpness

Hue

and the

Pinnacle Systems DV500

ETTINGS

—V

IDEO FORMAT

Via this tab you determine the video format.

Video standard

Here, you determine the video standard of the connected video source: PAL or NTSC. The default setting is the video standard that you have selected during the installation of DV500. Note that products bought in the USA only support the NTSC standard.

Frame size

The full frame size (checkbox size of 720 x 576 pixels for PAL and a frame size of 720 x 480 pixels for NTSC. This size is the standard resolution for MPEG2-coded video and provides best results when your production target is DVD or MPEG2-CD.

Cropping

If you enable the be digitized (PAL: 704 x 576, NTSC: 704 x 480). This is useful if your video source does not supply the full 720 pixels horizontally, as it prevents black vertical lines at the sides of the video image, which can be especially annoying when using push transitions or picture-in-picture effects.

When using cropping, you can still export your project for DVD or MPEG2CD production and the image size will be recalculated to the standardized 720x576 or 720x480 resolution. However, this will increase the rendering time for the export and may result in a loss of quality.

Cropping

checkbox, a slightly smaller image section will

not

activated) offers you a frame

Chapter 8: DV500 Control

AVI file format

AVI 1.0

If you want to import an *.avi file into an application that does not support the

OpenDML

If you activate the exceed the 2 GB limitation.

option, activate the A

OpenDML

format, you can capture *.avi files, which

VI 1.0

checkbox.

ETTINGS

—A

UDIO INPUT

This tab allows you to specify the necessary audio input settings.

Format

Here, you select the format for audio recording of the video sequence.

Analog source

DV source

Pinnacle Systems DV500

For DVD select 48 kHz 16 bit stereo. For MPEG2-CDs, 44.1 kHz 16 bit stereo is more appropriate, as some PCs may not be able to play back 48 kHz audio.

If you have selected a DV device as video input, the audio format is adjusted dynamically to the format of the DV devices. A preliminary selection is not possible.

Capture audio

Activate the audio. Deactivate the checkbox for capturing without audio.

Capture audio

checkbox if you want to capture the clip with

Audio loopthrough

(for analog sources only)

The

Audio loopthrough

the same time the recording device, i.e. it is connected to the audio input as well as to the audio output, you need to deactivate the checkbox in order to avoid audio feedback.

DV Channel

If there is no DV signal received by DV500, this option will be greyed.By selecting the option button 1 or 2, you determine whether the input signal will be recorded from channel 1 or channel 2. Note that DV devices provide two audio channels only if you selected 32 kHz 12 bit audio on your DV equipment at recording time.

Level

Volume / Balance

Moving the sliders Volume and Balance you can select the audio input level and balance. It should be set so that the VU meter stays in the green and yellow areas.

(for analog sources only)

(for 32 kHz only)

checkbox is enabled by default. If your player is at

Audio loopthrough

ETTINGS

Output

(analog device)

—O

tab

Peakmeter

If an analog input is selected a peakmeter displays the audio level.

UTPUT

The

Output

audio. The appearance of the video device: analog (S-video / Composite video) oder digital (DV device).

tab lets you determine the output settings for video as well as for

Output

tab varies according to the connected

Chapter 8: DV500 Control

Output filter

Here, you select if the output filter is optimized for the S-Video or the Composite video output. Set this option according to the output you connected your recorder to. Note that all outputs will always show the video signal, but the one selected here will provide the best-quality signal.

When outputting to a DV device, this option will not influence the filtering.

Test picture

If the checkbox test picture is activated the internal test picture of the encoder will appear on the S-Video and composite video outputs and indicate the correct function of DV500.

The test picture will never appear on the DV output.

Checkbox Real-time

If you deactivate the real-time option, the real-time effects have to be rendered. You should only deactivate the real-time effects if you realize that the project playback cannot be done jerkyless.

Output

tab

(DV device)

Volume

Volume / Balance

Moving the sliders

Volume

and

Balance

you can select the audio output and balance level. Both sliders can be moved independently of each other. The set level will be displayed.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

16:9 DV Output format

If you activate the

16:9 DV output format

checkbox, the video is output in

the 16:9 DV format (”wide-screen format”).

ETTINGS

—G

ENERAL

This tab allows you to determine the overlay settings during recording and playback.

Mode

Here you can determine the overlay mode during recording and playback.



Overlay Surface

As the overlay surface can be produced with a considerable less amount of system resources and additionally without any limitations to the resolution, you should generally—if your graphics board supports it— activate the



Primary Surface

Use this option if your graphics board does not support the Overlay Surface or if you notice that buttons or other screen elements to not get displayed correctly.



Off

There is no video display on the PC screen during recording and playback.

Pinnacle logo

If you activate the displayed during recording and playback. This setting is available only if you selected PC screen only, it will not show on the video outputs nor will it get recorded with the video when you capture.

Overlay Surface

Pinnacle lo

Overlay Surface

go checkbox, the Pinnacle logo will be

as the mode. Note that the logo is seen on the

Chapter 8: DV500 Control

DV Overlay Provider

(connected DV device only)

Here, you determine where the overlay appears. Select one of the following options:

DV software codec

The overlay will be displayed via the software.

S-Video

The overlay is taken directly from the S-video output of the video source.

Composite

The overlay is taken directly from the Composite video output of the video source.

This option is not available if you open the

Pinnacle Systems DV500

General

tab via the Instant Video window.

Chapter 9:

Working with DV material

This chapter introduces the step-by-step process of capturing DV clips from tape using DVTools, editing DV using Adobe Premiere, and printing DV back to tape. It also explains how to capture a single frame from your DV tape. The combination of the DVTools and Adobe Premiere lets you get the most out of your DV footage.

Preparations

AKING MOVIES

Before you start working with DV material it is advisable to check your system performance using the DVExpert. The DVExpert is located in the

DV500

disk being tested should be defragmented. If you use more than one hard disk in your system, you should test them all and use the hard disk with the fastest data rate.

For more information on the DVExpert, please click on the help button in the DVTools.

Note that the DVTools require at least a 16-bit color resolution and an 800 x 600 resolution. If your display is set to fewer colors, an error message will appear after starting the DVTools.

In planning and capturing your movie, use the DVTools. DVTools allows you to scan the DV tape, store clip locations, view the individual clips, redefine and edit clip in points and out points (i.e., start and end markers) and re-order clips. Once you have completed these steps, you can create separate AVI files for each clip. After these AVIs have been created you can use Adobe Premiere to add titles, transitions and special effects. You can then output the final DV back to DV tape or to conventional analog tape.

Program Group. In order to provide you with realistic results, the

The difference between scanning and capturing

Scanning the tape does not capture the video and save it to the hard drive. Scanning merely identifies all the clips on the tape so you can see which clips are candidates for your final video, and which aren’t useful at all.

Capturing, on the other hand, saves the digital video on the hard drive. At that point, with the digital video on your computer’s hard drive, you can edit the clip using Adobe Premiere.

Neither scanning or capturing modifies your original videotape in any way. Your original shots remain in their original form and quality.

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

Some remarks on shooting DV footage

When shooting DV, you can use as many DV tapes as you like. DVTools is capable of keeping track of as many DV tapes as you wish to scan. When you scan the video tape later, the software will automatically detect the start of a clip at each place where you started the recorder. Conversely, those places where you stopped recording will automatically be detected as ends of clips.

When shooting video footage, make sure the camcorder is running in C

amera

mode

Checking preferences in DVTools

Before using the DVTools to capture your video footage, it is advisable to check the preferences with regard to your television standard and some recording parameters. In Western Europe (except for France), the PAL standard is used; the standard used in the USA is NTSC.

To check the preferences in the DVTools, proceed as follows:

1. Launch the DVTools.

Click

Program Files

and click on The

Capture Gallery

DVTools

in the

appears.

menu. Select the program group

Start

DV500

Pinnacle Systems DV500

3. Checking the TV standard.

In the

Capture Gallery

, select the

menu and the

Tools

Preferences

item. This dialog will be displayed the first time you launch DVTools. The program can automatically detect the video standard if the DV device is connected to the card and is switched on. You must not overwrite this setting.

3. Choose your preferred capture method

You can select between a single pass capture and a multi pass capture. Default is single pass capture since your PC system should be fast enough to capture DV footage in one pass. If you find too many dropped frames on the capture you might select the multi pass capture method.

4. Select the capture drive.

Under

Trim point based capture

, select the hard drive and the directory where you want to save the video. Please verify that enough storage space is available on this drive.

5. Select the audio channel.

DV devices support two audio channels on a 32kHz setting. Select the channel from which you want to capture the sound.

6. Select an appropriate value for the

Length of blank

. Click OK.

When scanning a DV tape containing long blank sections where no DV footage has been recorded, the DVTools might abort the scanning process in the middle of such a pause because it assumes that the blank section is the end of the recording. To ensure that the DVTools continue to scan the tape, you can enter a value (in seconds) under

blank.

This value determines the maximum length of a blank section

Length of

which the DVTools will accept as a pause but not as the end of a recording.

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

Scanning a DV tape for clips

Once you have set the preferences, you can use DVTools to scan your DV tape(s) for clips. A clip is defined as a video sequence located between an in point (start of take) and an out point (end of take).

To scan a DV tape for clips, proceed as follows:

1. Connect DV equipment.

If you haven't already, connect your DV camcorder or DV video recorder to the DV500 board.

2. Turn on your DV equipment.

Turn on your DV camcorder or DV video recorder. Make sure that your DV camcorder is running in

3. Insert DV tape.

If you haven't already, insert the DV tape in your DV equipment.

4. Scan DV tape.

You can start the scanning process in three ways:

Click the



(see icon).

Tape Scan

button in the right section of the

VTR

mode.

Capture Gallery

Right-click into the



of the Capture Gallery) and select From the



It is also possible to scan the tape manually ( the video simultaneously.

The DV tape is then rewound to the beginning and the DVTools display a dialog box showing the progress of the scanning process. To abort this process, click on

5. Enter a name and description for the DV tape or rescan the tape.

After the tape has been rewound, DVTools will identify the tape.

If the tape is unknown to the tape database, the program will prompt



you to enter a name and a description for the tape. After you have typed in the information, the tape description will be stored in the database.

If the tape is already known, the program will allow you to abort the



tape scan or to rescan the tape. The clips from the previous scan are remembered and you will be promoted as to where to start the new scan. This is helpful if you have recorded new footage to a tape you have previously scanned. You can scan in the new scenes, updating the existing scan gallery, without having to re-scan the entire tape.

Tools

DV Explorer

menu, select

Cancel

(mainly white area in the left section

Scan DV tape...

Scan DV tape

Live capture

) and capture

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Next, DVTools scans the DV tape for clips. The scan process takes as much time as it would take to play back the video footage on your tape. For example, a 30-minute tape will take approximately 30 minutes to be scanned if the tape is completely filled with video information. If the tape only contains 15 minutes of video data the scan will need approx. 15 minutes.

Once the software has finished scanning the tape, a window appears in which all the clips found on the video tape are depicted as „poster frames“ (the first frame in a clip). This any time after you scanned a tape.

Tape Gallery

will be brought up

6. Scan additional DV tapes if necessary.

If you want to use several video tapes for your movie, have DVTools scan for clips as described above.

Viewing clips and adding trims

To view your DV at full-screen size, a television set or video monitor must be connected to your DV camcorder or DV video recorder. There is also a preview window in the small thumbnail window with a reduced resolution.

To view clips, proceed as follows:

1. Open DV tape (if necessary).

If the

Tape Gallery

already, double-click a database name in the question must be in the DV camcorder.

Tape Gallery

depicted by the first frame (poster frame) of each clip.

DV Device Controller

with the clips of your video tape is not displayed

then appears in which all the clips on your video tape are

that plays back your DV in a

DV Explorer

. The tape in

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

2. Playing back clips.

To view a clip, first double-click on the desired clip. The window will then appear

The

Clip Info

window displays the title, the time code, and the trim

Clip Info

points (if there are any). If you wish to do so, you can enter a description for your clip.

To rewind or forward the tape to the position where the clip is located, click on the

(eye) button. The DV device will take a while to find the

start of the clip.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

The

DV Device Controller

will appear. You will know that the tape is positioned to the start of the clip when the time code displayed at the top of the window is identical with the clip start displayed at the bottom of the window.

The

DV Device Controller

lets you control your DV device. The video tape does not automatically stop when it reaches the end of a clip. To pause the playback, click on the

Pause

button.

3. Choose the clips you want to capture.

Once you have „sifted through“ your video footage, you can choose the clips you actually want to capture. To do so, drag the desired clips from

the

Tape Gallery

and drop them in the

arrange the clips in the

Capture Gallery

in any order.

. You can

Drag & Drop: Left-click the desired element. Hold the mouse button down and drag the element to the desired position. To “drop” the element, release the mouse button.

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

4. Add trims.

Sometimes you may not want to use an entire clip, but rather only part of a clip. In that case, you can edit the clip in question using the

Controller

DV Device

You can define the in point and out point of a clip using the (in point) and

(out point) buttons. You can either click on the buttons during playback, or pause the tape at the desired location and then click on these buttons. You can also forward and rewind the tape using the slider control at the bottom of the

DV Device Controller

window (jog-

shuttle function). Once you have finished inserting the points in the clip, click

(

Apply)

to save the trim points.

The original trim points are still stored in the clip database and can be restored at any time by clicking on

Pinnacle Systems DV500

5. Save the

Save the select the

Capture Gallery

Save as...

the extension *.sto.

file.

file with the added clips and edits. To do so,

option in the

menu. These files are saved with

File

Capturing DV (generating AVI files)

Now that you have selected the clips for your movie, you can generate AVI files.

To generate AVI files from the clips, proceed as follows:

1. Open the

If you have not done so already, open the capture. To do so, click on the

Capture Gallery

2. Check file size.

The status bar at the bottom of the the total duration, and the total size of the AVI files that will be generated. If you like to verify that you have enough disk space for capturing the clips from this Gallery, click on your drive in Windows 95

Explorer

DVTools will check if there is enough disk space available before capturing.

3. Capture AVI files.

To create AVI files from the clips in your

Capture

4. Enter file name and directory.

Capture Gallery

. Here you can select the

. The free space on your hard disk will be displayed. However,

button located on the right-hand side of the

Capture Gallery

menu in the DVTools and select

File

Capture Gallery

shows the clip count,

you want to

(*.sto file).

, click the

Capture Gallery

Open

If you do not want to use the default drive you chose in the dialog, enter a file name and choose a directory to which you want to copy the AVI files. All clips located in the captured. The AVI files will be numbered according to the order of capturing.

DVTools use a unique technology, in multi-pass capture mode, allowing lossless capture also on slower computer systems. For that reason, DVTools may search the DV tape one or more times to retrieve dropped frames.

Capture Gallery

Preferences

will then be

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

Editing AVI files using Adobe Premiere

The DVTools allow you to directly launch Adobe Premiere without having to do this from the Windows

If you want to output your AVI file to the DC30 board, you must select the

Optimized display for DC30

To edit your AVI file(s) using Adobe Premiere, proceed as follows:

1. Start Adobe Premiere.

To start Adobe Premiere, click on the corresponding button on the righthand side in the your system, this button will be disabled.)

2. Select a Project Preset.

Select an appropriate Project Preset, depending on whether you are using PAL or NTSC and on whether you want to output your final DV file to a DV tape or to an analog video tape via DC30.

3. Import AVI file(s).

Capture Gallery

menu.

Start

option in the DV Configuration tool.

. (If Adobe Premiere is not installed on

To import one or more AVI files, go to the menu commands

4. Edit AVI file(s).

At this point you can add effects and process your video. If necessary, select the display mode for all frames of the video clips under

Construction window options, Track format

5. Make a movie.

Use the Instant Video tool to create your final movie and to save it back to the DV tape. For more information on Instant Video, please refer to chapter 12. Press the <Enter> key.

Import

and

... . Select the AVI file(s).

File

menu and select the

File

Windows,

Pinnacle Systems DV500

APTURING SINGLE FRAMES (SNAPSHOTS

The DVTools allow you to capture still images with the DV recorder, the camcorder in VTR mode or directly from its lens.

Checking preferences in DVTools

Before using the DVTools to capture single frames from your video footage, it is advisable to check the preferences with regard to your television standard and the frame size.

To check the preferences in the DVTools, proceed as follows:

1. Open the DVTools.

)

Click

Program Files

and click on

2. Checking the TV standard.

In the

... and the

Capture Gallery

DVTools

Preferences

in the

, select the

menu item.

menu. Select the program group

Start

menu item...

Tools

DV500

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

The DV data format will be autodetected at any time while DVTools is running. You must not overwrite the setting.

3. Select an image size for your BMP file.

From the The table below states the BMP resolutions that will result from the different settings.

Setting NTSC PAL

Full size Quarter size 1/16 size

If you want to de-interlace your bitmaps, select the Click on „De-interlace“ section at the end of this chapter).

Snapshot

OK.

list box select the size you want your frame to have.

720 x 480 (full TV size) 720x576 360x240 360x288 180x120 180x144

De-interlace

(For more information on the

De-interlace

feature, read the

option.

Capturing single frames

Once you have set the preferences, you can use the DVTools device controller to capture a single frame from either recorded video footage or directly from the lens.

To capture a single frame, proceed as follows:

1. Connect DV equipment.

If you haven't already, connect your DV camcorder or DV video recorder to the DV500 board.

2. Turn on your DV equipment.

Turn on your DV camcorder or DV video recorder. If you want to capture a single frame from your recorded video footage, make sure that your DV camcorder is running in been inserted.

If you wish to capture a single frame directly from the lens, set your camcorder to the capture.

3. Open the

To open the DVTools window.

4. Create bitmap.

If you are running in the to capture using the transport controls and click on the stop the tape.

DV Device Controller.

Camera

DV Device Controller

mode and point it at the object you wish to

mode, search out the frame you would like

VTR

mode and that a suitable tape has

VTR

, click on the

(camera) icon in the

Pause

button to

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Click on the RAM.

(snapshot) button to temporarily store the image to

5. Name and save the BMP file.

You can now enter a name and a location where you like to save your BMP file.

De-interlacing

The DV500 software automatically de-interlaces the images you capture from your DV tape. TV systems, such as NTSC and PAL use the interlacing technique.

TV images are not scanned (drawn) line by line, but first all odd lines (1, 3, 5 etc.) are drawn and in a second step all even lines (2, 4, 6 etc.) are drawn. The sections consisting of either odd or even lines are called fields.

When watching TV the human eye cannot distinguish the odd and the even lines but merges them so that they appear as one. When capturing a DV image, however, the resulting image would normally look distorted because the odd and the even frames are put together.

The DV500 software, however, compensates for this with the feature called de-interlacing by eliminating one field and generating a new enhanced image from the remaining field.

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

Chapter 10: DVTools

This chapter describes the DVTools in detail. DVTools let you scan for clips on your DV tape, add in and out points,

control your DV devices, transfer DV to your hard disk and back to DV tape.

DVTools consists of three main components: the

Gallery

APTURE GALLERY

The most important workspace in the DVTools is the you can arrange the clips you want to capture, check the running time and file size of a movie, generate AVI files, open Adobe Premiere, and print AVI files back to tape.

To access the Capture Gallery,

select

•

group and click The

, and the

Program Files

Capture Gallery

DV Device Controller

DVTools

from the

opens.

menu. Select the

Start

Capture Gallery

DV500

program

, the

Tape

. Here

Pinnacle Systems DV500

The

Capture Gallery

the film strip, the DV buttons and the status bar. The following sections explain these individual components.

consists of the menu bar, the tool bar,

DV Explorer

Menu bar

File

View

New Capture Gallery

Lets you create a new

Capture Gallery

database.

Capture Gallery

databases

have the file extension *.sto.

Open Capture Gallery:

Lets you open an existing

Save Capture Gallery:

Lets you save the

Save Capture Gallery as:

Capture Gallery

database which is currently open.

Lets you save the database which is currently open under another name.

Last Capture Gallery:

Opens the

Exit:

Capture Gallery

that has been saved last.

Exits the DVTools.

Add clips to Capture gallery:

Allows you to manually define clip segments to be added to the Capture Gallery. Useful when working with tapes that have very large or just one scene (recorded with no interruption for the entire tape).

Thumbnails:

Toggles between the Clip Gallery and an overview window. If you enable

Thumbnails,

you can view more clips which provides a better overview.

Clip Info:

The

Clip Info

time code, and the trim points (if there are any). It also contains the

window displays the title and the description of the clip, the

Play

button (eye).

Rename DV tape database:

Lets you rename an existing database. To rename an existing database, click on a database in the DV Explorer, select

Rename DV database

and enter a

new name.

Delete DV tape database:

To remove an existing database, click on a database in the select

Options:

Delete DV tape database

When clicking on

Options

, the following dialog appears:

DV Explorer

Chapter 10: DVTools

To select another language for the DVTools, you can choose the language you prefer from the list box. When enabling

Force confirmation on file deletions

, you will be prompted to confirm that you want to delete the file every time you want to remove a database. Disabling this option avoids this request. The

Use Tool Tips

option check box lets you toggle the little information

windows that appear for the buttons.

Tools

DV Device Controller: This option o

Scan DV tape:

pens the

DV Device Controller

Lets you scan a tape and create a you can also use the

Capture Gallery Seek start of clip:

Scan Tape

When clicking on a clip in the

button located on the right-hand side in the

Clip Gallery

New database

. Instead of this menu item,

, the

DV Device Control

opened and the device will rewind the tape to the start of the clip.

Capture Scenes From Capture Gallery:

Use the

Capture

the hard disk) the clips you inserted in the menu item, you can also use the side in the

Start Video Editing Application:

command to start capturing (transferring the DV clips to

. Instead of this

Capture Gallery

Capture

Capture Gallery

button located on the right-hand

Launches Adobe Premiere.

Print-to-DV-tape

Use the

Print-to-DV-tape

to tape. Instead of this menu item, you can also use the located on the right-hand side in the

command to start playing back the AVI clips back

Print-to-tape

Capture Gallery

will be

button

Please note: You must always capture the clips, which means transferring them to your hard disk and converting them into AVI files, before you can record them back to your DV tape. It is some clips in the

Preferences:

This option opens the

Capture Gallery

Preferences

not

possible to scan a tape, arrange

and print them back to the DV tape.

dialog box.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Tool bar

The toolbar provides quick access to the following dialog boxes and windows:

Always present

Opens a new Opens an existing Saves the current Opens the

Capture Gallery.

DV Device Controller

Only appear when there are scenes in the Capture Gallery

Show all clips in the

Capture Gallery

Manually add/remove clips in

Capture Gallery

Rewinds/fast forwards the tape to the start of the current clip. Opens the

DV Explorer

The DV Explorer has the look-and-feel of the Windows Explorer and

Clip Info

window.

provides a clear overview over the DV tapes you have already scanned. After you have scanned a DV tape, the DVTools will prompt you to enter a name for the database. This name will then appear in the DV Explorer. The actual directory with the media database files (*.sbd) is located on your hard disk in the DV500 directory, which is by default

DV500/DVTools/Media

To delete or rename the databases, select the

database

commands from the

View

menu.

Delete database

Chapter 10: DVTools

Rename

Film strip

In the film strip you can arrange the clips you want to capture (as the name

Capture Gallery

infers) by moving them from a

frame. To insert a clip from the

Tape Gallery

into one frame of a film strip,

to a film strip

click on the clip, hold the mouse button down, drag the element to the desired position, and release the mouse button. To insert a clip, drag and drop it between two existing clips.

You can also replace the clip which has already been inserted into the film strip by dragging the desired one directly on top the one to be replaced.

DV buttons

The DV buttons provide the basic functions of the DV Tools.

Tape Scan (New DV tape database):

This button lets you scan a tape and create a

New database

Capture scenes from Capture Gallery:

Use the

Capture

command to start capturing (transferring the DV clips to

the hard disk).

Start Video Editing Application:

Launches Adobe Premiere.

Print to DV tape:

Use the

Print to DV tape

command to start recording the AVI clips.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Status bar

APE GALLERY

The status bar shows the number of clips inserted in the

Capture Gallery

well as the running time and the expected file size. The running time states the total duration of all clips which have been

inserted into the

Capture Gallery

in time code format

(hours:minutes:seconds:frames). The expected file size states the sum of the file sizes (in MB) which will

result after you have captured the clips from the

Tape Gallery

displays all clips of a tape. So-called poster frames

Capture Gallery

represent the clips. A poster frame is the first frame of a clip used for visual identification purposes.

Tape Gallery

tape. The

is a kind of database which is created when you scan a DV

Tape Galleries

are saved in the DV Explorer and can be opened

by double clicking on a name. The buttons in the toolbar of the

Tape Gallery

let you open the Clip Info

window, display large posterframes, or display thumbnails.

Chapter 10: DVTools

DV D

EVICE CONTROLLER

The

DV Device Controller

window allows you to remotely control your DV equipment so that you do not need to use the buttons on the device itself. It also contains a preview window, lets you capture video and print it back to tape and add trim points.

To open the DV Device Controller,

•

in the

Capture Gallery

, go to the

menu and click

Tools

DV Device

Controller.

—or— click on the

•

Camera

icon in the toolbar.

Top section of the DV Device Controller

The top section of the

DV Device Controller

displays a preview of the current video and the current time code. The preview quality depends on the overlay capabilities of your graphics board.

This window also contains the buttons for capturing a bitmap ( saving digital video to hard disk (

Capture

), previewing DV AVI files on

Snapshot

your DV device and transferring saved files from hard disk to the DV video tape (

Print to tape

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Time code(top of DV Device Controller):

Displays the time code of the current video clip. The time code marks the chronological position of a video frame and is given in the hours:minutes:seconds:frames format. This time code is transferred by the DV video device to the

DV Device Controller

From DV Device to Computer (Left Side)

Live capture:

The

Live capture

button lets you capture video directly from the lens or from your DV tape. If you want to capture video from the lens of your DV camcorder, make sure that it is set to the

Camera

mode.

If you want to capture video from the tape, make sure that your DV device is set to the

VTR

mode.

After you start capturing, a dialog box appears displaying the progress of the capture process. To abort capturing, press the

Cancel

button. If you do not abort capturing manually, the DVTools will save DV video to your hard disk as long as enough storage capacity is available. After the capturing process is complete, you can enter a drive and the directory where you want to save the AVI file. The default drive is the one you selected in the

Preferences

dialog box.

Capture (creating AVI file):

This button lets you create an AVI file from the current video clip. You can only use this button after you set the in and out points for the clip boundaries (like during tape scan). If you did not scan the tape and you want to capture an AVI file from your tape, use the

Live capture

button (see below). If you do not want to save the entire clip on the hard disk, you may want to set trim points. These trim points mark the beginning and the end of the AVI file.

Chapter 10: DVTools

From Computer to DV Device (Right Side)

Preview DV Output:

This button allows you to play back an AVI file to your DV device for previewing.

Print-to-tape (recording AVI files back to the DV videotape):

Allows you to save the AVI file back to your DV videotape.

VTR controls

The VTR controls area lets you remotely control your DV device. The controls resemble the controls found on your DV device.

Playback:

The DV device plays back the tape.

Pause:

The DV device stops playing back the tape, while displaying the current frame.

Stop:

The DV device stops playing back the tape, the current frame will not be displayed.

Set To Record:

Allows you to set the DV device to record. Useful for e.g. PAL cameras that do not have a record button for use in VTR mode.

Rewind/Play fast in reverse:

If the DV device is stopped, this button rewinds it rapidly. If the DV device is in play or pause mode, this will provide fast reverse play with viewable video.

Step back:

This button lets you jump to the previous frame.

Step forward:

This key lets you jump to the next frame.

Fast-forward/Play fast forward:

If the DV device is stopped, this button causes the tape to move forward rapidly. If the DV device is in play or pause mode, this will provide fast forward play with viewable video.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Trim points

If you do not want to capture the entire clip but only a section of it you may want to define trim points (in and out points). It is only possible to add trim points, if you scanned the tape. A clip is in this case the video footage between the start of a shot and the end of a shot.

You cannot define sections extending beyond clip boundaries when you opened the

These buttons let you define in and out points to define the start and end of

DV Device Control

from within the

Clip Info

window.

a section. Click on these buttons either during playback or in the pause mode. You may also use the slider at the bottom of the

Controller Start of clip:

(jog shuttle) to move the tape forward or to rewind it.

DV Device

Rewinds the current video clip to its beginning.

End of clip:

Moves the current video clip forward to its end.

Apply trims:

After you defined a section, click

Apply trims.

Manual editing of the In and Out time code

The DVTools DV Device Controller allows for the manual (typed) entry of trim point timecode by the user. Simply double click on either the In or Out point time code window to bring up the Manual trim point entry window. Enter in the desired trim In and/or Out point value and then click OK.

Chapter 10: DVTools

The trims will only be permanently saved in the clip using the

Apply trims

button, if the videotape has already been scanned and if a database has been created for it. If you add trims in a clip you opened from the

Tape Gallery

, these trims will be permanently saved for this clip until you change them. If you add trims in a clip you opened from the will only be saved for this special

Capture Gallery

database.

, the trims

The

Clip length

is the duration of the current section. If no trim points were

set, the duration of the whole clip will be displayed. The

File size

displays the file size (in kilobytes) the current section will have when being captured. If no trim points were set, the size of the whole clip will be displayed.

You may delete the trims you set in the current clip by clicking the

section. This restores the original clip boundaries.

trims

Jog-Shuttle

The

Jog/Shuttle

slider is located at the bottom of the

DV Device Controller

Delete

window. You can use it to search through a tape at different speeds to accurately locate start and end frames for your clips. The duplicates the

Jog/Shuttle

editing wheels offered on VCRs. The rewind and

Jog/Shuttle

slider

fast forward modes of the VTR controls scan in one speed, whereas the

Jog/Shuttle

When the slider is in the middle, the DV device is paused. Dragging the

slider offers a variety of speeds.

control box to the left accesses the reverse shuttle speeds, while dragging it to the right accesses the forward shuttle speed.

Not all DV devices support all of the functions possible with the DVTools DV device controller. Please refer to your DV device's owner's manual to learn what functions your DV device supports.

Manually inserting video clips into the Capture Gallery.

The DV Tools identify recorded scenes on a registered DV Video tape by date and time code information. Using the

Add clips to capture gallery

the user is able to insert a video clip into the

menu and the command

View

current Capture Gallery.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Determine the tape you wish to capture the footage from (

relies to the tape which is currently in your powered camcorder

the

New

define further video clips. Click on Capture Gallery. The window commands

) button. Set the in and out point. Click on

(

in order to add the clips to the

Add

Add clips to capture gallery

New, Rename

and

Delete

. You can access them using the buttons

Current tape

). Click on

. If necessary,

Apply

supplies the

in the upper left corner or by clicking right into the editing area.

Rescanning tapes

If a tape has already been scanned before, the DV Tools will offer to rescan the tape from the beginning or from any known clip. You can add footage to the DV tape without effecting existing clips stored in the database. Select the clip you would like to start from using the corresponding list box.

Chapter 10: DVTools

RANSITIONS

Chapter 11: Transitions,

Filters, and Superimpositions

This chapter explains how the DV500 provides transitions, filters and superimpositions in real-time, without any rendering.

Superimpositions allow you to play one clip over another. In its simplest form, keying takes a foreground image and superimposes it upon a background image. The resulting composite image combines two or more video signals into one.

Under Adobe Premiere Pinnacle Systems offers a vast number of transitions that can be played in real time. You will find these transitions at the top of the Transitions Window. They can be easily recognized by the “P” in the animation.

You can choose the settings for the single transitions by

double-clicking on the transition in the Transitions Window, or



double-clicking on the transition after having dragged it into the timeline.



You can not only check dissolves and effects in preview quality, as



before, but rather you can also preview them in real time on the television set/ video monitor, in other words, exactly the way they will also appear later in your movie.

To do this, open the desired Pinnacle dissolve and activate the option

Show on video output.

In the following sections, some transitions will be described as examples. Real time transitions require a lot of processing power during playback.

Under some circumstances, it is possible that a particular transition, especially complex gradient wipes, will show dropped frames or distortions. If this occurs, please replace the Pinnacle transition with the same one provided by Adobe Premiere and render it.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Pinnacle Band Wipe

After having opened the transition “Pinnacle Band Wipe”, you can choose additional settings:

Slider

By using the to the end and go back again.

Play / Stop

If you click the button current slider position. The button changes into the button playback is not stopped, the playback will start again after the end.

In / out points

By using these buttons you can set in and out points. For this purpose move the slider to the point at which you want the transition to start and click on the button In. Then move the slider to the point at which you want to stop the transition and click on the button used.

Show on video output

you can scan through the transition from the beginning

Slider

, the transition will be played beginning at the

Play

Stop

. Only parts of the transition will be

Out

. If the

If you acitvate this option you can preview the effect not only in preview quality but in real time on the television set/ video monitor, in other words, exactly the way they will also appear later in your movie.

Chapter 11: Transitions, Filters and Superimpositions

Show actual sources

Note that this option is only available if you have opened the transition from the timeline.

If you activate the option

Show actual sources

, the pictures of the original

sequences in the timeline are used during the playback of the transition.

Show placeholder

If you have activated the option

Show placeholder

, the bitmap of the

transition is shown during the playback of the transition.

Repeat Count

Here, you choose the number of elements (for the transition Pinnacle Band Wipe the number of stripes) that the transition is to contain. Depending on the kind of transition you can choose the number of elements not only in one but also in two directions (e. g. for the transition “Pinnacle Checker Board”).

Direction

The buttons

Direction

determine the direction of the transition (for the

transition Pinnacle Band Wipe this is either vertical or horizontal).

Reverse

If you activate the checkbox

Reverse

, the transition will run in the opposite direction, i.e. instead of running from the outside to the inside it will now run from the inside to the outside.

Swap sources

By using the checkbox

Swap Source

video A will be swapped with video B.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Pinnacle Gradient Wipe

The transition Pinnacle Gradient Wipe—like other transitions—offers more options than the ones described in the previous section.

Border

By using the slider you can place borders of any width between both elements of the transition. To determine the color of the borders click into the color box and choose one of the Windows standard colors or mix any color you like by yourself.

By activating the checkbox of the border.

Pattern

If you want to change the pattern that is the basis for the transition Pinnacle Gradient Wipe, click on the pattern in the upper area of the dialog box or

click on this button

Border smoothing

you slightly soften the edges

Chapter 11: Transitions, Filters and Superimpositions

The following dialog box will appear.

Here, you can choose any pattern you like from the Pixèlan SpiceRack library of gradient wipe images. Please see Chapter “Video SpiceRack” for more information on SpiceRack.

If the transition was playing

before

you clicked the open button, you will

see a preview of the transition while you choose it.

You can also create your own gradient wipe transitions by creating or modifying the PNG files. The PNG image format can be imported and exported by many image manipulation applications such as Adobe Photoshop.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Pinnacle Iris Round

The transition Pinnacle Iris Round again provides different settings to customize it.

In addition to the adjustment options already described, you can move the center of the transition by dragging the yellow dot with the mouse. The current position is indicated at the top of the dialog box.

Chapter 11: Transitions, Filters and Superimpositions

ILTERS

Pinnacle Systems provides four additional filters under Adobe Premiere:

Pinnacle Image Correction



Pinnacle Brightness



Pinnacle Saturation



Pinnacle Invert.



These filters run in real time as long as there is no other effect at the same position in the timeline.

Pinnacle filters may only have two keyframes and these must be at the very start and the very end of the clip. If you set different values for the start and the end, the value of the filter will be varied smoothly in between.

You can activate these filters by clicking with the right mouse button on any clip in the timeline and choosing the command

Filter...

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Do not move the start and end keyframes in the filter timeline from their default positions, as will result in unexpected behavior of the filter parameters. If want to apply the filter to only a part of the clip, use the razor tool to cut out that part and apply the filter only here.

In the window

Add

Make the desired settings.

Filters

, please select the desired filter and click on the button

Pinnacle Image

Correction

Slider

By using the top slider you can see how the filter works on different parts of the clip.

Play / Stop

If you click the button slider position. The button changes into the button

, the filter will be played beginning at the current

Play

. If the playback is

Stop

not stopped, the playback will start again after the end.

Show on video output

If you acitvate this option you can preview the filter not only in preview quality but in real time on the television set/ video monitor, in other words, exactly the way they will also appear later in your movie.

Chapter 11: Transitions, Filters and Superimpositions

Show actual sources

Note that this option is only available if you have opened the transition from the timeline.

If you activate the Option

Show actual sources

, the pictures of the original

sequences in the timeline are used during the playback of the filter.

Show placeholder

If you have activated the option

Show placeholder

, the bitmap of the filter is

shown during the playback of the transition.

Brightness

By using the

Brightness

slider you can select the brightness value that the

filter applies.

Contrast

With the

Contrast

slider you can adjust the degree of the contrast.

Saturation

With the lower slider you can adjust the degree of the saturation.

Pinnacle

Brightness

Pinnacle

Saturation

Pinnacle

Inverse

Slider

By using the lower slider you can select the brightness value that the filter applies.

Slider

With the lower slider you can adjust the degree of the saturation.

By using this filter you can invert the colors of your video clip: black turns to white, red turns to blue, etc.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

UPERIMPOSITIONS

For real-time operation, the following media can be used in the superimposition track.

Still titles in TrueColor with alpha channel, a white alpha matte or a



black alpha matte. These titles may be created with the Premiere titling function or with TitleDeko. For details on TitleDeko, see the Chapter “TitleDeko” in this User’s Guide

Bitmaps with an alpha channel or black or white alpha matte.



Video clips captured with DV500.



Note that a combination of a title/bitmap and a transition or filter at the same point in the timeline will require rendering. This is indicated by a red line below the work area bar. Setting the work area appropriately and pressing <Enter> will start the rendering process. In addition, some bitmaps or titles that are very complex may also not be processed in real time. Again, a red line will indicate this.

Chapter 11: Transitions, Filters and Superimpositions

Chapter 12:

Pinnacle FreeFX

This chapter explains how the DV500 board works with video effects. The DV500 board allows you to use all normal effects from Adobe Premiere.

In addition, Pinnacle FreeFX, these are accelerated 3D effects, are delivered with the DV500.

Important: The accelerated 3D effects of the Pinnacle FreeFx are available only in Windows 98 / 98 SE / ME, and Windows 2000!

What Is “Pinnacle FreeFX”?

Pinnacle FreeFX is an effects plug-in for Adobe Premiere. It offers additional 3D effects.

The FreeFX effects are no real-time effects and therefore have to be rendered.

DirectX

FreeFX has a powerful 3D rendering engine offered in a complete and easyto-use interface. An installed graphics board with 3D acceleration is used by FreeFX to strongly accelerate the rendering process.

System requirements for FreeFX

For the perfect function of FreeFX Microsoft DirectX 7.0 or higher has to be installed on your system. DirectX is installed automatically during the installation of the DV500. If you have not executed this installation step at the beginning, please do this now.

Start FreeFX

Before starting Premiere, you should make sure that your VGA screen runs at 16 bit (32,768 or 65,536) colors.

Many 3D accelerated graphics boards do not support proper FreeFX rendering while running the Windows display in TrueColor mode.

Start Premiere after the Pinnacle FreeFX installation. Open the transition palette. The Pinnacle 3D transition should now be visible in the top area of the screen window.

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Compatibility problems can occur with the graphics card installed when accelerating the hardware. Therefore, the hardware acceleration should be switched off as a rule (dialog box

Hardware), Hardware

Set the slider to the proper position depending on the graphics board used in your PC.

button), i.e., the slider is set to the lowest position.

Pinnacle FreeFX (Rendering in

Important:

full FreeFX acceleration, you should start working with FreeFX using the lowest slider position. For more information on the current compatible graphics boards, please visit our FreeFX web site

If you are not sure if your graphics board and drivers support

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/freefx

Working with FreeFX

FreeFX works like using any other Premiere transition with custom settings: In your Premiere project, drag the Pinnacle FreeFX transition from the list

in the transition palette to an appropriate position of the timeline window. In the

click OK.

That’s it! Now you can preview, render and play the FreeFX the standard Premiere

way, and put the results to videotape with Instant Video.

Pinnacle FreeFX

window select one of the available effects, then

Chapter 12: Pinnacle FreeFX

The options in the FreeFX window

Effect to use

Background:

Color”

Here you select the 3D effect you want to use for this transition by clicking it from the list.

Some Pinnacle FreeFX reveal a (normally) black background on parts of the screen which show neither video A nor B.

Here you can change the color of this background by clicking the button and picking a color .

Change

Background:

Bitmap to use

Pinnacle Systems DV500

If you select a background bitmap as well, this color affects the tone of the bitmap. The background can be reset to show the standard black by clicking

Reset to default

Some FreeFX reveal a (normally) black background on parts of the screen which show neither video A nor B.

Here you can select a bitmap to be shown as background by clicking the

Change

button.

If you want to change the color of the bitmap, you may add a specific color (see above) to it.

The bitmap must be in 256 colors or more, use true color for best results. The bitmap will be scaled to the video size - to get best quality, the bitmap

size should be identical to your projects video resolution.

Use 3D

hardware to

render

The background can be reset to show the standard black by clicking

default

Important:

With hardware acceleration enabled, background bitmaps can

Reset to

use large amounts of the VGA board’s offscreen memory. If there is not enough memory available on the VGA board, wrong render results or other problems may occur. In this case you should use smaller bitmaps or no bitmaps at all.

This option is normally checked for every Pinnacle 3D transition you apply. This means that hardware accelerated rendering will be used for this effect if

the following conditions are met:

a 3D accelerated graphics board is detected in your PC and



there is enough off screen memory detected on the 3D graphics board



and

hardware acceleration is generally enabled in the Pinnacle FreeFX



system settings dialog

You should uncheck this option if the Pinnacle 3D effect that you have selected causes problems with hardware rendering turned on. This could mean bad looking results or other problems, like system crashes.

Reverse

Swap Sources

Hardware

This switch only applies to one individual Pinnacle FreeFX transition on the timeline, so you can turn off hardware rendering for one effect while leaving it on for the others. To generally turn on and off hardware acceleration, use the

3D system settings

This option is identical to the

dialog.

Reverse

function in the standard Premiere

transition dialog, it makes the transition run from end to start.

This option is identical to the

Swap Sources

function in the standard Premiere transition dialog, it makes the transition run video B to A instead of A to B and vice versa.

This button opens the

3D system settings

dialog. Here you can change the general 3D hardware acceleration mode of Pinnacle FreeFX. Changes done here apply to all Pinnacle FreeFX.

Chapter 12: Pinnacle FreeFX

The hardware compatibility slider offers three settings:

Help

The topmost, called

Full 3D hardware acceleration

, makes the Pinnacle 3D engine render the effects as fast as possible making full use of the available 3D graphics hardware. This may cause compatibility problems with some VGA cards and drivers. With a modern 3D accelerator this results in render times of less than 10:1, meaning a one second transition is being rendered in less than ten seconds.

The center setting, called

Reduced acceleration

, still uses the 3D graphics hardware for acceleration but does handle the image data transfer in a slower mode and prevents using some sophisticated texture blending modes. This can fix problems with some VGA cards.

The lowest setting, called

No 3D hardware acceleration

, does all 3D rendering completely in software, using the CPU. This is slowest, but it works with any VGA card and gives the lowest amount of possible compatibility problems. This setting is required if your VGA card does not support 3D acceleration, or has 8 MB or less of memory.

Click OK to close this dialog after doing your settings. Clicking the

button shows the ReadMe file. After reading the info you

Help

need, click the button below to get back to the Pinnacle FreeFX window.

Cancel

Play

Slider

Pinnacle Systems DV500

This button closes the Pinnacle FreeFX windows, applying all settings and changes you have done.

This button closes the Pinnacle FreeFX windows without applying the changes you did.

This button starts and stops the effect preview playback. This can also be done by hitting the space bar.

The slider shows the current position within the effect. This is given as a percentage. You can change the position by dragging the slider. The same can be done with the left and right cursor keys.

Brackets

The left and right brackets can be used to set the in and out points of the effect. The current percentages are shown below. Setting both to the same value will make the effect static, which is useful for picture-in-picture type effects.

Show actual

sources

Show actual

length

Render mode

indicator

Static picture-

in-picture effect

(PiP)

By default, the two video sources for the transition are represented in the preview window by 'A' and 'B' bitmaps. Selecting this option will show the actual source videos.

By default, the preview of a transition in this dialog has a fixed duration of some seconds. Selecting this option makes the preview run at the same duration the transition currently has in the timeline.

At the top of the FreeFX window, an indicator shows if the FreeFX rendering is currently hardware accelerated (rendering in Hardware) or not (rendering in Software).

How to use the Picture-in-Picture Effect

To create a static picture-in-picture (PiP) effect:

1. First place two video clips into the timeline, one each on video tracks 1A

and 1B, starting at the same time.

2. Next apply the Pinnacle FreeFX on the transition track between the two

videos.

Dynamic end

movement

3. In the FreeFX settings window, select the PiP effect and move the time

slider to 50%.

4. Click on both bracket icons to set both the start and end to 50%. Click

5. Adjust the position and length of the PiP effect by dragging it in the

timeline. Done!

To add a dynamic end movement to the PiP effect:

1. Add another FreeFX PiP effect, at the end of the one created above.

2. Set it's in point (using slider and left bracket) to 50% and the out point to

100%.

You can add start movements as well using the same method, and get additional effects using the

Reverse

option.

Chapter 12: Pinnacle FreeFX

How fast is FreeFX?

This depends on the Pinnacle editing board you use, on the speed of your PC, CPU, and hard drive, on the FreeFX render mode you use, and (if you use hardware rendering) on your VGA card and it's drivers.

Using a modern 500Mhz PC, a modern VGA board with proper drivers, and a DC50 video editing board we have measured render times of about 12 seconds per second of FreeFX transition, being about 12:1.

If you see slow rendering, you should first check if hardware rendering is being activated. This is shown on top of the FreeFX settings dialog. If it is not active, check the following:

the hardware slider must be set to medium or high position



hardware rendering must not be disabled by the checkmark in the dialog



your VGA must support 3D rendering, must have a Direct3D 6



compatible driver, and at least 16 MB of RAM.

If you have problems...

If you encounter any problems with FreeFX, please refer to Chapter “Troubleshooting” of this manual first. If you do not find any solution there, please use the FreeFX form available on our web site for reporting—the link to this form is available at

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/freefx

Pinnacle Systems DV500

Pinnacle DV500 User guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

FCC Compliance Statement

About the User’s Guide

Chapter 1: Welcome

Production Process

Real-time Processing

Instant Video

blueBOX

Add Character to Your Productions with our TitleDeko Character Generator

Integrate into any Digital Production Environment

PC System

Software

Chapter 2: Before you begin

Related Information

Chapter 4: Installing the Hardware

Inserting DV500

Player: DV device

Player: S-Video device

Player: Composite Video device

Recorder: DV device

Recorder: S-Video device

Recorder: Composite video device

The installation program

The installation program

Selecting Setup Type (installation program)

Selecting hard disk (installation program)

Selecting components (installation program)

Log in with administrator rights

Possible additional installation steps

Defragmenting the Hard Disk

Loading a Preset

Preparing for Capture

Setting the Recording Options

Capturing the clips

Previewing the Project

Setting the Output Options

Operating the device control

Export to DV tape

Adjusting the device control accuracy

Discrepancies

Premiere and time code

Starting the Pinnacle Control from the Control Panel

Starting the DV500 Control from Adobe Premiere

Chapter 8: DV500 Control

Chapter 9: Working with DV material

Chapter 10: DVTools

Capture Gallery

Menu bar

Tool bar

DV Explorer

Film strip

DV buttons

Status bar

Tape Gallery

DV Device Controller

Top section of the DV Device Controller

VTR controls

Trim points

Manual editing of the In and Out time code

Jog-Shuttle

Manually inserting video clips into the Capture Gallery.

Rescanning tapes

Pinnacle Band Wipe

Pinnacle Gradient Wipe

Pinnacle Iris Round

Filters

What Is “Pinnacle FreeFX”?

System requirements for FreeFX

Start FreeFX

Working with FreeFX

The options in the FreeFX window

How to use the Picture-in-Picture Effect

How fast is FreeFX?

If you have problems...