Pinnacle Systems NewsCutter Setup Guide

Download

Avid® NewsCutter

Setup Guide

Release 1.5

for the Windows NT® Operating System

tools for storytellers™

Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide • Part 0130-04395-01 Rev. A • November 1999

Using This Guide

Who Should Use This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

About This Guide Symbols and Conventions Using the Help System If You Need Help Related Information If You Have Documentation Comments How to Order Documentation

Chapter 1 Introduction

NewsCutter System Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Meridien I/O Box Indicators Example System Layout Checking the Installation Materials Rack-Mounting Kits

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 2 Setting Up the NewsCutter System

Connecting the Keyboard and Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Installing the Application Key Connecting the VGA Interconnect Cable Connecting NewsCutter to the Meridien I/O Box Avid MediaDrive Connection

Evaluating Drive Types Data Rate Calculations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Optional NewsCutter Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Network Configuration Fibre Channel Workgroup Configuration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Chapter 3 Connecting Audio and Video Devices

Avid Meridien I/O Box Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Audio Interface Connections Video Interface Connections Serial Digital Interface Connections Connecting the Reference Signal Controlling a Video Deck Connecting a V-LAN VLX

Video Local Area Network General-Purpose Interface

Master Clock Connection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

i Controller and GPI Devices. . . . . . 43

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter 4 Running the System Diagnostics

Turning On the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Avid System Test Pro

Starting Avid System Test Pro Quick Start Dialog Box Understanding the Main Window Understanding the Avid System Test Preferences Window Running the Standard Diagnostics Suite Running the External/User Interaction Diagnostics Suite

External Diagnostics Audio Cabling External Diagnostics Component Video Cabling External Diagnostics Composite Video Cabling External Diagnostics Serial Digital Video Cabling External Diagnostics S-Video Cabling Running the External Tests

Understanding the Error Log Window

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

. . . 51

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

. . . . 53

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

. . . . . . . . 54

. . . . . . . . . 55

. . . . . . . 56

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Avid StorEx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Running Avid StorEx Avid StorEx Disk Test Window

Menus Toolbar Test Display Console Display

Test Preferences Window

Tests Tab Options Tab Control Buttons

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Chapter 5 Troubleshooting Chapter 6 Setting Up Workgroups

Video Transfers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Cabling the NewsCutter to the Workgroup Connecting the NewsCutter and Playback Device for Ingest Setting Up the Playback Device for Ingest Setting Up the NewsCutter for Ingest Transferring from the NewsCutter to the Playback Device Transferring from the Playback Device to the NewsCutter

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

. 79

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

. . . 82 . . . 84

Appendix A Servicing the Avid Meridien I/O Box

Avid Meridien Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Avid Meridien I/O Box Board Replacement Serial Digital Interface Board Installation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Appendix B Supported Serial Control Video Decks

General Deck Selection Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Direct Serial Decks

Edit Decks Record Decks Play Decks

V-LAN Decks

Edit Decks Record Decks Play Decks

VTRs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Appendix C Regulatory and Safety Notices

FCC Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Canadian ICES-003 European Union Notice Australia and New Zealand EMC Regulations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Index

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Figures

Figure 1-1 Meridien I/O Box Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Figure 1-2

Figure 1-3 Meridien I/O Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Figure 2-1 Keyboard and Mouse Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Figure 2-2

Figure 2-3 VGA Interconnect Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Figure 2-4 VGA Interconnect Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Figure 2-5

Figure 2-6 Figure 3-1

Figure 3-2 Video I/O Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Figure 3-3

Figure 3-4 Reference Signal Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Figure 3-5 Video Deck Control Cabling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Figure 3-6

Figure 3-7 Timecode Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Sample NewsCutter Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Application Key Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Connection Between the NewsCutter and

Meridien I/O Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

MediaDrive SCSI Connector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Audio I/O Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Serial Digital Video I/O Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

V-LAN VLXi Deck Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Figure 4-1 Avid System Test Pro Quick Start Dialog Box. . . . . . . 49

Figure 4-2 Figure 4-3 Avid System Test Preferences Window

Figure 4-4

Figure 4-5 Figure 4-6

Figure 4-7 Composite Video External Cabling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Avid System Test Pro for NewsCutter Window. . . . . 49

— Test Control Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Avid System Test Preferences Window

— Video Subsystem Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Audio Test External Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Component Video External Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Figure 4-8 Serial Digital Video External Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Figure 4-9 S-Video External Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Figure 4-10

Error Log Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Figure 4-11 Avid StorEx Disk Test Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Figure 4-12 Avid StorEx Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Figure 4-13

Avid StorEx Test Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Figure 4-14 Avid StorEx Test Preferences Window

— Tests Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Figure 4-15

Avid StorEx Test Preferences Window

— Options Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Figure 6-1 Figure 6-2

Audio, Video, and Serial Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Digital Cut Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Figure A-1 Avid Meridien Audio Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Figure A-2

Avid Meridien Video Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Figure A-3 Avid Meridien Serial Digital Interface Connectors. . . 89

Figure A-4 Avid Meridien I/O Box Thumb Screws . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Figure A-5

Circuit Board Connector and Rails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Figure A-6 Video I/O Board Blank Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Figure A-7 Avid Meridien Serial Digital Interface Connector . . . 92

Tables

Table 1-1 NewsCutter Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Table 1-2

Table 1-3 Meridien I/O Box Indicator Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Table 2-1 DV25 Data Rate Storage Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Table 5-1

Table 5-2 Display Colors Are Incorrect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Table 5-3 Cannot Initialize TARGA Board Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Table 5-4

Table 5-5 Security Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Table 5-6 MediaDrives Not Recognized by System . . . . . . . . . . 73

Table 5-7

Table 5-8 Video Deck or V-LAN Not Recognized . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Table 5-9 Table 5-10 Sequences or Clips Do Not Appear in the

Table 6-1

Table A-1 Avid Meridien Audio Identifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Optional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

No Display After Power-On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

UI Monitor Does Not Display Selected Resolution. . . 72

Cannot Read NewsCutter CD-ROM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

No Video on Playback Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Source or Timeline Viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Workgroup Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Table A-2 Avid Meridien Video Identifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Table A-3

Table B-1 Direct Serial Edit Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Table B-2 Direct Serial Record Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Table B-3

Table B-4 V-LAN Edit Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Table B-5 V-LAN Record Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Table B-6

Avid Meridien Serial Digital Interface Identifiers . . . 89

Direct Serial Play Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

V-LAN Play Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Using This Guide

The Avid system components. NewsCutter ships with Windows NT Windows service pack, and the NewsCutter application loaded on the internal hard drive. You should consult the Avid Notes, distributed with this guide, for any late-breaking information that might apply to your system setup.

If for any reason the NewsCutter application needs to be reinstalled, see the release notes for instructions on installing the application. For instructions on how to install Windows NT, see your Windows NT documentation.

NewsCutter® Setup Guide explains how to set up NewsCutter

Who Should Use This Guide

You should have some prior knowledge of computers before attempting to install this product. If you are not familiar with computers, you should obtain qualified help before installing any hardware or software for this product.

4.0,

NewsCutter Release

About This Guide

Use this guide when you are connecting the peripherals and cables to the NewsCutter. After you complete the installation, you might want to consult this guide if you need to add external drives and video decks to the NewsCutter system.

After you set up the NewsCutter and connect it to the A vid Meridien

input/output (I/O) box, see the chapter “Running the System Diagnostics” to verify that your hardware is functioning properly. Troubleshooting information is also provided to help if you encounter any problems. To install the optional Meridien serial digital interface board or to replace a subassembly in the Meridien I/O box, see Appendix A.

The index helps you locate the information you need.

Symbols and Conventions

The Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide uses the following special symbols and conventions:

1. Numbered lists, when the order of the items is important. a. Alphabetical lists, when the order of secondary items is

important.

• Bulleted lists, when the order of the items is unimportant.

™

- Indented dashed lists, when the order of secondary items is unimportant.

A note provides important related information, reminders, r ecommendations, and strong suggestions.

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data.

A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow the guidelines in this guide or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

Using the Help System

T o open the Help system, start the NewsCutter application and choose NewsCutter Help from the Help menu. The Help Topics dialog box opens. Double-click a book icon in the Help window to display the topics.

The NewsCutter application also provides context-sensitive Help. While the NewsCutter window is active, press F1 to display information about that window or tool. Right-click a screen object in

the NewsCutter application for a shortcut menu. Click What’s This? to display a description of the screen object.

ToolTips are pop-up labels that appear when the cursor is over any NewsCutter button. Y ou can turn on or turn of f the ToolTips feature by choosing Show ToolTips from the Help menu.

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using NewsCutter, you should:

1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide.

2. Check the documentation that came with your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

3. Check the Customer Service and News + Publications sections of the Avid Web site at www.avid.com for the latest FAQs, Tips & Techniques, Broadcast Update, and other Avid online offerings.

4. Check the Avid Bulletin Board, “Avid Online,” for information on product and user conferences. If you do not find the solution to your problem, you can exchange information with other Avid customers and Avid Customer Support representatives.

5. Contact the local support office in your region.

Related Information

The Help system and the following documents provide more information about NewsCutter:

• Avid NewsCutter Getting Started Guide

• Avid NewsCutter Release Notes

• Avid Products Collaboration Guide

The most recent update of the Avid Products Collaboration Guide is available in the Documentation section of the Avid Customer Service Knowledge Center. To access the Avid Customer Service Knowledge Center, click the Avid Customer Service link at www.avid.com and select Knowledge Center.

If You Have Documentation Comments

Avid Technology continuously seeks to improve its documentation. We value your comments about this guide, the Help, the Online Publications CD-ROM, and other Avid-supplied documentation.

Simply e-mail your documentation comments to Avid Technology at

TechPubs@avid.com

Please include the title of the document, its part number , revision, and the specific section you are commenting on in all correspondence.

How to Order Documentation

To order additional copies of this documentation from within the United States, call Avid Telesales at 800-949-AVID (2843). If you are placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local Avid representative.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This chapter introduces the NewsCutter hardware. The introduction includes an overview of the system and a list of the standard and optional components.

The NewsCutter is a computer with an Avid peripheral board set that lets you digitally record and compress high-quality audio and video analog or digital signals to disk. This disk-based, nonlinear, random access system is designed for editing news stories and other broadcast needs.

The peripheral board set, referred to as the TARGA fits into a full-length PCI slot and supports full-screen, full-motion National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) video at 60 fields per second or Phase Alternating Line (PAL) video at 50 fields per second.

The Windows NT operating system and the Windows service pack come preinstalled in the NewsCutter . Unpack the har dware (monitors, Meridien I/O box, application key, and media storage) and connect the components, as described in the following chapters. After you connect all the hardware, install the NewsCutter application as described in the Avid NewsCutter Release Notes.

2000 board set,

A User Interface (UI) monitor displays the user interface, including the Timeline and bins. A customer-supplied Playback monitor displays media the system is playing or recording. The Avid Meridien I/O box is the interface for all the audio and video, input and output connections.

If you have purchased the optional serial digital board for the Avid Meridien I/O box, see Appendix A for installation instructions.

When the system is recording, it stores the audio and video media data in digital format on a MediaDrive. The system plays back the digital media from the drives.

NewsCutter System Features

The NewsCutter minimum system requirements include the hardwar e listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 NewsCutter Features

Equipment Description

NewsCutter Hard drive

Deskside computer system with optional rack-mount kit

Internal hard drive (see the manufacturer’s documentation for details)

CD-ROM

Internal CD-ROM reader (see the manufacturer’s documentation for details)

Floppy drive Expansion slots

Internal 3.5-inch PCI and ISA slots (see the manufacturer’s documentation

for details)

Keyboard

PS/2-style (with color-coded keycaps, branded with icons, and linked to commands in the NewsCutter application)

Mouse Operating system

Small Computer System Interface

PS/2-style Microsoft

Windows NT 4.0 with service pack

A fast and wide external SCSI connector provided for external MediaDrives

(SCSI)

Network interface Ethernet-compatible 10BASE-T/100BASE-T interface

connector

Video board Video graphics array (VGA) board

TARGA 2000 board set

Avid and Truevision® designed board set, used to interface with the Avid Meridien I/O box

Monitor Color VGA monitor that displays the user interface;

1024 x 768 pixels capability

Meridien I/O box Interface for the NewsCutter; provides industry-standard

input and output connectors for broadcast video and audio

Table 1-2 lists the NewsCutter optional or additional equipment that

is purchased separately.

Table 1-2 Optional Equipment

Equipment Description

Playback monitor Displays incoming video when recording. Also displays

playback material during the edit session.

MediaDrives Individual external A vid MediaDrive rS enclosures linked

in a SCSI chain. These drives are audio and video certified with a 15-inch (38-centimeter [cm]) cable. The MediaDrive rS enclosures can be rack-mounted or stacked on top of each other.

MediaDock

™

An enclosure that houses up to eight 3.5-inch drives or up to four 5.25-inch drives. The chassis can stand alone or be rack mounted. Drives slide into slots and plug into a SCSI bus in the chassis.

Video source A video deck or satellite feed can be used for recording

material to the NewsCutter. Recorded media can then be transferred from the NewsCutter back to videotape.

Audio amplifier and two speakers

V-LAN

VLXi®If a deck does not support Sony® direct serial protocol,

Hardware for monitoring audio. (An amplifier is not required if the speakers are powered.)

control may be possible via V -LAN VLXi hardware, which includes a transmitter and appropriate receivers.

General-purpose interface (GPI) (optional)

Timecode (customersupplied house or master clock)

Black burst generator

Triggers external hardware to play or create effects, generate characters, or create other special video effects using a parallel control interface.

The timecode is used to synchronize all the input data to a common clock time. The timecode is connected to the Meridien I/O box, video decks, audio, and external devices.

A stable video reference source is required for synchronizing the system.

Meridien I/O Box Indicators

The Meridien I/O box provides six indicators along with a power switch on the front of the box (see Figure 1-1 Meridien I/O box, the indicators will turn on and off as it goes through its power-on self-test (POST). After the POST, the 48 kHz and POWER indicators remain on.

44.1 kHz AUDIO SYNC PULL DOWN

). When you turn on the

44.1 kHz

48 kHz

48 kHz VIDEO SYNC POWER

AUDIO SYNC

VIDEO SYNC

PULL DOWN

POWER

Figure 1-1 Meridien I/O Box Indicators

Table 1-3

lists the indicator functions.

Table 1-3 Meridien I/O Box Indicator Functions

Indicator Function

44.1 kHz

48 kHz The 48 kHz indicator is on when 48 kHz digital audio is

The 44.1 kHz indicator is on when 44.1 kHz digital audio is connected to the Meridien I/O box.

Do not use 44.1-kHz digital audio. The NewsCutter accepts and outputs only 48 kHz.

connected to the Meridien I/O box.

Power switch

Table 1-3 Meridien I/O Box Indicator Functions (Continued)

Indicator Function

AUDIO SYNC The audio synchronized indicator is on when audio is

detected by the Meridien I/O box.

VIDEO SYNC The video synchronized indicator is on when video is

detected by the Meridien I/O box.

PULL DOWN

POWER The power indicator is on when the Meridien I/O box

The pulldown indicator is on when performing a telecine film-to-tape transfer whereby 24-fps film material is adapted to the 30-fps NTSC videotape format. Extra pulldown fields are eliminated to achieve true 24-fps film editing.

This function is not used in the NewsCutter.

power switch is in the on (I) position.

Example System Layout

Before you start to connect and install equipment for NewsCutter, set up your system components, especially monitors and keyboards, in positions that allow you easy access to them.

The sample layout in Figure 1-2 shows a fully configured NewsCutter system, including a UI monitor, Playback monitor, video deck, Avid Meridien I/O box, MediaDock, speakers, and amplifier.

Video deck

Speaker UI monitor

Keyboard

Playback monitor

Speaker

Mouse

Amplifier

VLX

SCSI IDSCSI ID

Slots

Act Wide Dualbus Fans Pwr 2Pwr 2

Pwr 1Pwr 1

Figure 1-2 Sample NewsCutter Layout

Checking the Installation Materials

When you purchase Avid NewsCutter, you should receive the following items in the package. Make sure you have everything before you start.

V-LAN VLXi

PULL DOWN

44.1 kHz

AUDIO SYNC

kHz

POWER

VIDEO SYNC

Meridien I/O box

NewsCutter

MediaDock

• NewsCutter system A computer with specific peripheral boards for recording, editing,

and playing back clips. Included with the computer is a keyboard and mouse. An optional rack-slide rail kit is available for mounting the NewsCutter in a rack.

• NewsCutter application key This copy-protection device (also called a dongle) attaches to the

parallel port on your computer. A parallel printer can be connected to the application key if a local printer is desired.

• Meridien I/O box In a separate package, you will find a Meridien I/O box that

connects to the NewsCutter. The Meridien I/O box provides the video and audio interface connectors for the system.

• Audio and video cables The TARGA 2000 board set includes a VGA interconnect (loop-

through) cable and a Meridien digital media cable that connects the NewsCutter to the Avid Meridien I/O box.

• Serial adapter (Rosetta Stone) A serial adapter is included for remote video deck control through

COM1 of the NewsCutter. The adapter converts the NewsCutter RS-232 signals to RS-422.

• NewsCutter CD-ROMs (2) One CD-ROM contains the NewsCutter application. The

NewsCutter ships from Avid with the application already loaded on the system. If you ever need to reinstall the application, see the Avid NewsCutter Release Notes for instructions.

The second CD-ROM provides you with a copy of the NewsCutter application context-sensitive Help and an online version of the printed documentation (in PDF format).

• NewsCutter documentation:

- Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide (this guide)

- Avid NewsCutter Getting Started Guide

- Avid NewsCutter Release Notes

- Avid NewsCutter Help

Other items you need to supply:

• XLR cables for audio connections

• Speaker wire (or cables) to connect speakers

• Broadcast-quality BNC cables for connecting video devices

• Flat-tip and #2 Phillips-head screwdrivers should be available for component installation, setup, or attaching an optional rackmount kit to NewsCutter

• Wrist strap (recommended for grounding when handling circuit boards)

Rack-Mounting Kits

If you have purchased an optional rack-mount kit for the NewsCutter, install the kit before making any connections to the NewsCutter. A stationary rail is attached to each side of the NewsCutter and the sliding rails are attached to the rack. The NewsCutter typically requires five rack units. Detailed instructions for attaching the rails are included with the kit.

The Meridien I/O box also comes with two rack-mount brackets. Allow three rack units for the Meridien I/O box in the rack.

Bracket

To attach the brackets to your Meridien I/O box:

1. Locate the two brackets and four screws that come with the Meridien I/O box.

2. Position one of the brackets so that the two holes in the bracket line up with the holes in the side of the Meridien I/O box (see

Figure 1-3

3. Secure the bracket with the screws provided.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other side.

Meridien I/O box

Figure 1-3 Meridien I/O Box

CHAPTER 2

Setting Up the NewsCutter System

This chapter provides instructions for connecting the keyboard, mouse, application key, UI monitor, and Avid Meridien I/O box to the NewsCutter. These instruction use generic illustrations representing the type of connector found on the back of the NewsCutter. For the exact connector locations, see the documentation that is provided by the computer manufacturer.

Install the NewsCutter into your rack before you connect any cables (see Chapter 1 for more rack-mounting information).

Connecting the Keyboard and Mouse

The NewsCutter uses industry-standard PS/2-style keyboard and mouse input devices.

To connect your keyboard and mouse:

1. Plug the keyboard and mouse cables into the PS/2-style connectors on the back of the NewsCutter (see Figure 2-1

The PS/2-style connectors have keyboard and mouse icons beside the connectors or are color coded.

PS/2 connector

Use PS/2-style extension cables with the keyboard and mouse when the NewsCutter is rack-mounted.

Figure 2-1 Keyboard and Mouse Connection

Installing the Application Key

The application key (also called a dongle) is a copy-protection device. Without the application key, the NewsCutter application will not run.

KeyboardMouse

To install the application key:

1. Plug the application key into the parallel port on the back of your NewsCutter (see Figure 2-2

2. Secure the application key to the connector with the attached screws.

Parallel port connector

Do not overtighten the application key screws.

Application key

Figure 2-2 Application Key Connection

A local parallel printer can still be used even though the application key is connected to the parallel port. The application key allows the printer signals to pass to and from the printer.

Connecting the VGA Interconnect Cable

The video graphics array (VGA) interconnect cable has three connectors. This cable is used to carry the video output from your

computer’s VGA board to the TARGA 2000 video board. The VGA interconnect cable also connects to your VGA monitor cable (that comes with your monitor).

TARGA 2000 label

To connect to your VGA monitor:

1. Locate the VGA interconnect cable (also known as a VGA “loop-

through” cable), labeled CA-206.

VGA label

Monitor label

Figure 2-3 VGA Interconnect Cable

2. Connect the 15-pin male connector (labeled TARGA 2000) to the VGA connector on the TARGA 2000 video board (see Figure 2-4

3. Continuing with the VGA interconnect cable, connect the 15-pin male connector (labeled VGA) to the VGA connector on the standard video board.

VGA connector on the TARGA 2000 video board

VGA connector on the standard video board

Monitor cable

Figure 2-4 VGA Interconnect Cable Connections

4. Connect the 15-pin female connector (labeled Monitor) to the VGA monitor cable (provided with the monitor).

Use a VGA-style extension cable with the UI monitor when the NewsCutter is rack-mounted.

5. Make sure that the other 15-pin end of the VGA monitor cable is connected to the back of the monitor . (For more information, check the documentation that comes with your monitor.)

Connecting NewsCutter to the Meridien I/O Box

All audio and video interfacing with the NewsCutter is done through a Meridien digital media cable. This Meridien digital media cable connects the Meridien I/O box to the NewsCutter. The Meridien I/O box is designed to provide a convenient way to attach many cables to the NewsCutter system.

To attach the cable:

1. Locate the Meridien digital media cable. This 6-foot (1.8-meter) cable ships with the NewsCutter.

An optional 50-foot cable can be ordered from Avid.

2. Plug one end of the Meridien digital media cable into the connector labeled SYSTEM IN/OUT on the Meridien I/O box. Tighten the screws on the cable to secure it in place (see

Figure 2-5

Do not overtighten the digital media cable screws.

3. Attach the other end of the system Meridien digital media cable to the TARGA 2000 video board M port connector on the NewsCutter. Tighten the screws on the cable to secure it in place (see Figure 2-5

4. Plug the power cords into the power connector on both the NewsCutter and the Meridien I/O box. Plug the other end of each power cord into an ac power source.

Avid Meridien I/O box

Power cord

TARGA 2000 video board

M port connector on the NewsCutter

Figure 2-5 Connection Between the NewsCutter and

Meridien I/O Box

Avid MediaDrive Connection

This section provides information about Avid-approved drives and points out some important areas you need to be aware of if you are planning to use non-Avid drives.

Do not record your media to the internal system drive. Use external SCSI hard drives to store your media. Avid offers external drives that have been qualified for video and audio media, referred to as MediaDrives. MediaDrives can also store nonmedia files.

SYSTEM IN/OUT connector

Meridien digital media cable

Avid recommends that you purchase a 30-inch (76.2-cm) SCSI cable for connecting the first SCSI drive to the system. An active SCSI terminator is also required for terminating the last drive in the chain.

Connect the MediaDrives according to the documentation that comes with the drives. Avid-recommended drives provide the following documentation:

• Avid rS MediaDrive Setup and User’s Guide ships with the individual MediaDrives.

• Avid MediaDock LVD Setup and User’s Guide ships with the media docking station.

The NewsCutter provides a 68-pin, high-density SCSI connector. You can have more than one MediaDrive attached to the NewsCutter. When attaching multiple SCSI drives, assign the SCSI IDs from 0 to 6 and 8 to 15. The last drive in the chain must be terminated. Figure 2-6 illustrates the SCSI connection.

SCSI connector

Typically, SCSI ID 0 is assigned to the internal SCSI drive if your NewsCutter has an internal SCSI drive installed. For specific information about the internal SCSI device IDs, see the manufacturer’s documentation.

SCSI cable to MediaDrives

Figure 2-6 MediaDrive SCSI Connector

T urn on the external MediaDrives befor e turning on your NewsCutter. Allow approximately 10 to 15 seconds for the MediaDrive to complete its self-test.

Turning on your NewsCutter before each MediaDrive completes its self-test could cause the system to ignore the drive.

Before you can store files on the MediaDrives, you must format and partition them with the Windows NT operating system (see the documentation that comes with your drive). The NewsCutter application uses the NT File System (NTFS).

If you have more than one hard disk drive and performance is a high priority, you can use striping across multiple external hard drives. Striping increases the read and write speed. For more information, see your Windows NT documentation.

Evaluating Drive Types

The quality of your external drive where you store media affects the end results of your video product. For best performance, use Avidapproved drives. Storage components (including terminators, power supplies, and cables) that are integrated into Avid drives are fully tested and certified against stringent criteria.

Avid recognizes the possibility of using non-Avid drives. However, Avid cannot ensure the viability of third-party solutions or provide support for them.

If you are using non-Avid drives to store your media, in the General Settings dialog box, you must deselect Drive Filtering Based on Resolution.

To record and play back the media properly, you must have media storage devices with:

• A SCSI-II compliant interface, fast and wide, 20-MB-per-second minimum controller bus transfer rate

• A sustained SCSI transfer rate of 4.5 to 6.5 MB per second

• An average seek time of 12.5 milliseconds or less (including controller overhead without disconnect)

• 1 MB or greater on-board cache (memory)

• Impedance-matched internal and external cabling

• Active termination

• Appropriate-size power supplies for continuous use

• Regulatory approvals (CSA, FCC, TÜV, UL)

Data Rate Calculations

Use Table 2-1 to determine how many minutes of audio and video you can store on your MediaDrive. (These numbers are approximate.) At a DV25 resolution, a 9-GB drive stores about 40 to 45 minutes of media, and an 18-GB drive stores about 80 to 90 minutes of media.

Calculations include a 20 percent system overhead factor.

Table 2-1 DV25 Data Rate Storage Calculations

Megabytes per Second

4.4 266.7 4.6

Megabytes per Minute

Minutes per Gigabyte

Optional NewsCutter Connections

The NewsCutter can work as a standalone system or as part of a broadcast network. The following connections are necessary if you are planing on transferring media files over a network (using Avid Transfer Tool software) or sending media out to a playback device over a Fibre Channel network.

Network Configuration

NewsCutter systems include an RJ-45 Ethernet network connector. Avid recommends that you use a category-5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable when connecting the NewsCutter to a network. For more information on the installed network interface, see the documentation provided by the computer manufacturer.

Fibre Channel Workgroup Configuration

An optional Fibre Channel connection kit is available for the NewsCutter. If you are installing a Fibre Channel connection kit, follow the instructions provided by the computer manufacturer for removing the cover and installing an expansion board. Chapter 6 provides more information on setting up a Fibre Channel network by using a playback device.

CHAPTER 3

Connecting Audio and Video Devices

This chapter describes the connection between the Avid Meridien I/O box and the audio and video devices. Install the Meridien I/O box into your rack before you connect any cables (see Chapter 1 for more rackmounting information).

The Meridien I/O box communicates with the NewsCutter through the Meridien digital media cable. This cable provides all the audio, video, timecode, and reference signals to the NewsCutter. The connection between the NewsCutter and Meridien I/O box is described in Chapter 2.

Avid Meridien I/O Box Connections

The audio and video interact with the NewsCutter through the Avid Meridien I/O box. The Meridien I/O box provides connectors for all the standard audio and video input and output signals. The connections to the Meridien I/O box will vary, depending upon your deck and type of audio and video signals used.

Audio Interface Connections

The Meridien I/O box provides the following analog and digital connections:

• Two analog audio channels; two sets of input and output connectors.

• One analog microphone connector; accepts powered or phantom power microphones. Choose the audio input setting in the Record tool to match your type of microphone.

• One digital Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcasting Union (AES/EBU) audio channel; one set of input and output connectors. Each AES/EBU channel has left and right channel information. AES/EBU is a format used with professional digital audio equipment (for example, audio from a videotape or CD).

• One digital Sony/Philips

audio channel; one set of input and output RCA Some digital audiotapes (DATs) found in consumer digital audio equipment use S/PDIF.

Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF)

connectors.

The NewsCutter system accepts and outputs only 48-kHz digital audio. Do not use 44.1-kHz digital audio.

The audio interface usually is connected to an amplifier with speakers for monitoring audio during recording and playback. Pay careful attention to the audio levels while you are recording. Use a mixer or amplifier to control the audio levels.

Figure 3-1 shows the audio hardware connections.

All audio cables are customer supplied.

Speakers

Microphone input

Audio amplifier

Audio channel inputs

Audio output to deck or

other audio destination

Audio channel outputs

Speakers can connect directly or through an amplifier.

(Speakers and amplifier are optional.)

Powered speakers

AES/EBU digital I/O

Phono (RCA) jacks for S/PDIF digital I/O

Avid Meridien I/O box

Audio input from deck or other audio source

Figure 3-1 Audio I/O Connections

Video Interface Connections

Figure 3-2 shows the connectors used to connect the customer-

supplied Playback monitor and video deck to the Avid Meridien I/O box. These connectors are used for video input and output from decks, satellite feeds, or routers. A customer-supplied Playback monitor displays incoming video when the system is recording or edited material during playback. These analog video connections can be either composite or component. See “Serial Digital Interface

Connections” on page 40 if you are connecting digital video to the

Meridien I/O box.

The video connections also require a reference signal (black burst generator or house clock) to lock audio and video sampling together to keep video and audio synchronized. See “Connecting the Reference

Signal” on page 41.

All video cables are customer supplied.

Component video input connections (from deck, router, or satellite feed)

Composite video input connection (from deck, router, or satellite feed)

S-Video input connection (from deck, router, or satellite feed)

Figure 3-2 Video I/O Connections

Component video output connections (to deck, router, or monitor)

Avid Meridien I/O box

S-Video output connection (to deck or monitor)

Three composite video output connectors (to deck, router, or monitor)

Serial Digital Interface Connections

The serial digital interface board is optional. If you need to install the optional serial digital interface board, see “Serial Digital Interface

Board Installation” on page 91. Figure 3-3 shows the BNC connectors

used to connect the serial digital video to the Avid Meridien I/O box. These connectors are used for video input and output from decks, satellite feeds, or routers.

Signal” on page 41.

All video cables are customer supplied.

Avid Meridien I/O box

Serial video input connection (from deck, router, or satellite feed)

Three serial video output connectors (to deck, router, or monitor)

Figure 3-3 Serial Digital Video I/O Connections

Connecting the Reference Signal

All broadcast systems require an analog video reference signal. The video reference signal must be provided to several of the system components and must meet standard NTSC or PAL specifications.

The video reference signal can be a black burst generator or the house black reference signal (see Figure 3-4 the Avid Meridien I/O box, V-LAN VLXi

). The reference signal connects to

controller, and deck.

All cables are customer supplied.

Black burst generator or house referencevideo source

Video reference output to REF connector

Figure 3-4 Reference Signal Connections

Video reference output to video deck

BB3BB1 BB2

V-LANVLXi

SERIAL PARALLEL REF LAN CF

Avid Meridien I/O box

Video reference output to REF connector

Terminator

TIMECODE A

SERIAL A SERIAL B

VLX TRANSMITTER VLX 2R DUAL RECEIVER

IN INOUT OUT

TIMECODE B

Video deck

Optional

Controlling a Video Deck

You can control up to two video decks remotely by using serial connections between the NewsCutter and the video deck. This serial connection requires an RS-232 to RS-422 cable adapter for each video deck connected to the NewsCutter. A serial adapter kit, called the Rosetta Stone, is provided with the NewsCutter. The serial adapter kit contains:

• An RS-232 to RS-422 serial adapter

• Two serial cables; male 9-pin connectors at both ends

To video deck

If you need to connect and control more than two video decks, see

“Connecting a V-LAN VLXi Controller and GPI Devices” on page 43.

To connect the remote control:

1. Locate the serial adapter kit.

2. Attach one end of the first 9-pin cable to the end of the serial

adapter labeled RS-232 (see Figure 3-5

3. Attach the other end of the first 9-pin cable to the NewsCutter

COM1 serial port (see Figure 3-6

Serial adapter RS-232 connectionRS-422 connection

LEDs

Figure 3-5 Video Deck Control Cabling

4. Attach one end of the second 9-pin cable to the end of the serial adapter labeled RS-422.

To NewsCutter

5. Attach the other end of the second 9-pin cable to the remote serial port of the video deck.

6. Set the video deck’s Remote mode switch to Remote.

If the LEDs on the serial adapter do not light when the connections are completed with the equipment turned on, the serial adapter is connected backward. Before the remote control becomes functional, you must also choose the COM port in the Deck Configuration window of the NewsCutter application (see the NewsCutter Help for more information).

Connecting a V-LAN VLXi Controller and GPI Devices

The NewsCutter can control multiple video decks through a video local area network (V-LAN) VLXi deck controller. Use a generalpurpose interface (GPI) connected to the V -LAN to trigger functions in the NewsCutter.

Video Local Area Network

The V-LAN VLXi shown in Figure 3-6 consists of one V-LAN transmitter and a dual V -LAN VLXi receiver. The receiver contains two deck controllers. Both the transmitter and receiver are internally linked. The V-LAN VLXi connects to the NewsCutter through a direct serial connection.

Each V-LAN VLXi supports two video decks. Daisy-chain multiple V-LAN VLXi units together if you need to add more video decks.

General-Purpose Interface

The VLXi-GT contains six programmable GPI input and output terminals. The GPI input terminal can be configured to trigger the NewsCutter to Play, Record, Cue, and Stop. You can configure the GPI output terminal to provide Stop, Record, and Play status. For information on configuring the GPI in the NewsCutter application, search for GPI in the Help.

Assign the VLXi-GT to V-LAN node addresses 16 through 19. LAN connections of more than 50 feet must have a terminator. For more information, see the Videomedia VLXi User’s Guide.

The V-LAN VLXi deck controller and VLXi-GT connect to the NewsCutter as shown in Figure 3-6

Six GPI input and output terminals

IN OUT1IN OUT2IN OUT3IN OUT4IN OUT5IN OUT

SERIAL LAN CF

V-LAN connection

All cables are customer supplied.

VLXi-GT (GPI)

Terminator (required when cable length is more than 50 feet)

VLXi transmitter serial input

SERIAL PARALLEL REF LAN CF

VLX TRANSMITTER VLX 2R DUAL RECEIVER

TIMECODE A

SERIAL A SERIAL B

IN INOUT OUT

TIMECODE B

Serial connection to deck remote

Serial cable to RS-232 COM1 port on the NewsCutter

Figure 3-6 V-LAN VLX

Deck Control

Video deck

V-LAN VLXi

Master Clock Connection

When you are controlling the video deck through a serial remote control or a V-LAN VLXi controller, the deck timecode is utilized in the application. Avid strongly recommends synchronizing the NewsCutter to the house master clock (SMPTE for NTSC, and EBU for PAL) when using a satellite feed or manually controlling a video deck. The house master clock connects to the Timecode IN connector on the Avid Meridien I/O box (see Figure 3-7 throughout the Avid NewsCutter system.

). This timecode is used

Timecode IN connector

Figure 3-7 Timecode Connections

Timecode OUT connector

(not functional)

CHAPTER 4

Running the System Diagnostics

After you have set up the Avid NewsCutter system, test the system to make sure that the Avid components and peripheral boards are functioning properly. Avid supplies a system diagnostics program (Avid System Test Pro) to help you verify that the Avid TARGA 2000 board set and the Avid Meridien I/O box are working properly. In addition, a storage exerciser (Avid StorEx) is supplied for testing the MediaDrives.

This chapter provides enough information to run the diagnostics. Use the Help provided within the diagnostics for more information about the function of specific buttons and windows.

To start the Help, start the Avid System Test Pro application and choose Help from the Help menu. The Help Topics window opens. Double-click a book icon in the Help window to display the topics.

The application also provides context-sensitive Help. While the diagnostic window is active, press F1 to display information about that window.

The Avid System Test Pro reads the Meridien I/O box default state when you start the diagnostics. These defaults are used during the diagnostics. An example default state could be NTSC mode, Composite In, and Component Out. To change the default state of the Meridien I/O box, run the Avid Video I/O Utility application.

Turning On the System

After you have connected the keyboard, mouse, application key, monitors, MediaDrives, and Meridien I/O box, you should turn on the system to make sure the system starts properly before you start the NewsCutter software.

To turn on the system:

1. Make sure all devices are properly plugged into a surge protector or wall outlet.

2. Turn on the UI monitor, Meridien I/O box, and MediaDrives.

3. Turn on the NewsCutter by pressing the power switch to the on (I) position on the front of the unit.

The system starts. System-specific information is displayed on the UI monitor.

4. Select Windows NT Workstation 4.0 when asked to select the operating system.

Avid System Test Pro

The Avid System Test Pro diagnostics are a set of tests that check the Avid TARGA 2000 video board set and the Avid Meridien I/O box. Run these diagnostics before you begin editing with your NewsCutter system. Avid System Test Pro is divided into two separate test suites:

• Standard — Tests all the Avid board sets with no intervention needed by the user

• External/User Interaction — Tests the I/O portions of the board sets and needs user intervention such as connecting cables and answering questions in a dialog box

Avid System Test Pro contains Help that provides information on each button, window, and test. This section provides:

• A brief explanation of the user interface

• A procedure for running standalone diagnostics

• Cable connections needed for the interactive portion of the diagnostics

• A procedure for running interactive diagnostics

You should read this section completely before you attempt to run the diagnostics.

Starting Avid System Test Pro

To start Avid System Test Pro:

1. Close all open applications.

2. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Avid, point to Utilities, and click Avid System Test Pro.

Avid System Test Pro starts, and a dialog box appears.

3. Click OK. The main window opens. To exit the Avid System Test Pro

diagnostics, choose Quit from the File menu.

Quick Start Dialog Box

The Avid System Test Pro Quick Start dialog box appears when you start the Avid System Test Pro diagnostic program (see Figure 4-1). This dialog box tells you what you need to do to start testing the standard set of diagnostics using all test program defaults. The defaults include the use of NTSC video.

Figure 4-1 Avid System Test Pro Quick Start Dialog Box

Understanding the Main Window

The Avid System Test Pro for NewsCutter window (see Figure 4-2) appears the first time you run the diagnostics. This window contains the test selections, buttons needed to start and stop the diagnostics, and indicators for test status.

Pause button Stop button

Start button Test suite tabs

Test tree

Expansion button

Figure 4-2 Avid System Test Pro for NewsCutter Window

Toolbar

Item name Item check box

Item status

System status

The Avid System Test Pro for NewsCutter window contains:

• Toolbar — A VCR-like user interface that provides control over running the diagnostics. When you first start the diagnostics, only the Start button in the toolbar is active.

• Test suite tabs — Allow the user to select the Standard or External/User Interaction test suite to run. Each suite has a status indicator that provides status for each suite selected.

- Standard test suite contains tests that run without special

cabling or user interaction.

- External/User Interaction suite contains tests that requir e user

interaction and special cabling. See “Running the External/

User Interaction Diagnostics Suite” on page 53 for

information on how to cable the system for these tests.

• Test tree — A section of the window that contains expansion buttons, item names, item check boxes, and item status.

• Expansion button — Clicking an expansion button (+) switches the level of detail for a given item. For example, clicking + shows the groups within the item.

• Item name — The name of the board being tested or the test name under that board if the item is expanded.

• Item check box — Selects the item for testing. When the check box contains an X, the item is selected for testing. By default, all tests associated with the Standard suite are selected when you first run the diagnostic program from the desktop. Items are deselected when the box is empty.

• Item status — Provides status of each test (see the Help for a complete explanation).

• System status — Displays the pass or fail status of the entire system.

You should run both suites of Avid System Test Pro diagnostics to ensure that the NewsCutter system is functioning properly. You should run the Standard suite first and then the External/User Interaction suite if the Standard suite passes.

Understanding the Avid System Test Preferences Window

The A vid System Test Preferences window opens when you choose Set Preferences from the Options menu. The Avid System Test Preferences window controls the way testing occurs. The window has two tabs: Test Control tab and Video Subsystem tab.

Test Control Tab

The Test Control tab allows you to select the manner in which errors are to be handled and how many times you want to repeat the test (see

Figure 4-3

Figure 4-3 Avid System Test Preferences Window

— Test Control Tab

Video Subsystem Tab

The Video Subsystem tab (see Figure 4-4 default video standard (NTSC, NTSCj, or PAL) of the Meridien I/O box. The Meridien I/O box defaults to NTSC in the United States. If the default is set to NTSC and you want to test the PAL functions, you must change the video standard to PAL and restart the diagnostic (the settings are looked at only during the diagnostic startup).

) allows you to override the

Figure 4-4 Avid System Test Preferences Window

— Video Subsystem Tab

Running the Standard Diagnostics Suite

To run the Standard diagnostics suite:

1. Start the diagnostics as described in “Starting Avid System Test

Pro” on page 48.

The Avid System Test Pro Quick Start dialog box appears, explaining how to run the Standard diagnostics using default settings.

2. Click OK.

3. Click the Start button in the toolbar in the main window. The Standard diagnostics run with status shown in the Item status

boxes in the main window.

4. Do one of the following:

• If the tests pass, continue testing at “Running the External/

User Interaction Diagnostics Suite” on page 53.

• If any test fails, the Error Log window opens, showing which

board failed the test.

If this is the first time the tests have failed, see Chapter 5,

“Troubleshooting,” for possible solutions to the problem. If you have tried the solutions in Chapter 5 and the

diagnostics still fail, contact your Avid Reseller.

Running the External/User Interaction Diagnostics Suite

The External/User Interaction diagnostics suite tests the following assemblies:

• TARGA 2000 board set — Interactive test that requires you to respond to pop-up dialog boxes as they appear.

• Meridien video I/O board — External test that requires you to cable selected inputs to selected outputs before you run the tests. The test might be NTSC, NTSCj, or PAL, depending upon the selection in the Avid System Test Preferences window.

• Meridien audio I/O board — External test that requires you to cable the channel 1 and 2 inputs to the outputs before you run the tests.

All External/User Interaction tests displayed under these items are deselected by default, and you must select each test to run them.

To cable the boards in the Meridien I/O box to run the interactive tests, locate the following cables (all cables are customer supplied):

• Audio cable — Two male XLR connectors on one end and two female XLR connectors at the other or two individual audio cables. Avid recommends a Beldon 8451 audio cable or equivalent.

• Component video cable — Three BNC connectors at both ends of the cable or three individual BNC video cables. Avid recommends a Beldon 8281 video cable with 75-ohm video connectors or equivalent.

• Composite video cable — One BNC connector at each end.

• S-video cable — One 6-pin, S-video connector at each end.

Cable the Meridien I/O box as described in the following section, and then see “Running the External Tests” on page 58 for instructions.

External Diagnostics Audio Cabling

Connect the audio channel inputs to the audio channel outputs on the audio I/O board with the audio test cable (see Figure 4-5

1. Attach CHAN 1 OUT to the CHAN 1 IN.

2. Attach CHAN 2 OUT to the CHAN 2 IN.

AUDIO IN

COMPONENT

COMPOSITE

ININ

MIC CHAN 1

COMPOSITE

REF

R-Y B-Y

-10

CHAN 2

CHAN 1

R-Y

S-VIDEO

OUT 1

OUT 2

Figure 4-5 Audio Test External Cabling

External Diagnostics Component Video Cabling

Connect the component video cable to the video I/O board as shown in Figure 4-6

1. Connect one end of the cable (using the three BNC connectors) to the COMPONENT OUT on the video I/O board as follows:

a. Attach one green wire BNC connector to the connector labeled

b. Attach one red wire BNC connector to the connector labeled

c. Attach one blue wire BNC connector to the connector labeled

Y OUT.

R-Y OUT.

B-Y OUT.

AUDIO OUT

-10

GAIN 1

OUT

B-Y

S-VIDEO

OUT 3

AES / EBU

GAIN 2

CHAN 2

OUT 1 OUT 2 OUT 3IN

DIGITAL VIDEO

SYSTEM

OUT

IN / OUT

S / PDIF

OUT

LTC

SLAVE CLOCK

OUT

AUDIO IN

MIC CHAN 1

ININ

COMPONENT

R-Y B-Y

COMPOSITE

S-VIDEO

COMPOSITE

REF

Figure 4-6 Component Video External Cabling

2. Connect the other end of the cable (using the three BNC connectors) to the COMPONENT IN on the video I/O board as follows:

a. Attach the green wire BNC connector to the connector labeled

Y IN.

b. Attach the red wire BNC connector to the connector labeled R-

Y IN.

c. Attach the blue wire BNC connector to the connector labeled

B-Y IN.

External Diagnostics Composite Video Cabling

AUDIO OUT

-10

GAIN 1

CHAN 2

CHAN 1

OUT

B-Y

R-Y

S-VIDEO

OUT 1

OUT 3

OUT 2

AES / EBU

GAIN 2

CHAN 2

OUT 1 OUT 2 OUT 3IN

DIGITAL VIDEO

SYSTEM

OUT

IN / OUT

S / PDIF

OUT

LTC

SLAVE CLOCK

OUT

Connect the composite video cable to the video I/O board as shown in

Figure 4-7.

1. Connect one end of the cable to COMPOSITE IN on the video board.

2. Connect the other end of the cable to COMPOSITE OUT 1 on the video I/O board.

AUDIO IN

COMPONENT

COMPOSITE

ININ

MIC CHAN 1

COMPOSITE

REF

R-Y B-Y

-10

CHAN 2

CHAN 1

R-Y

S-VIDEO

OUT 1

OUT 2

Figure 4-7 Composite Video External Cabling

To test OUT 2 and OUT 3, move the output end of the cable to the untested

output and run the test again for each one.

External Diagnostics Serial Digital Video Cabling

Connect the serial digital cable to the serial digital interface board (if installed) as shown in Figure 4-8

The serial digital interface board is optional and might not be installed in your Avid Meridien I/O box.

1. Connect one end of the cable to IN on the DIGITAL VIDEO portion of the serial digital interface board.

AUDIO OUT

-10

GAIN 1

OUT

B-Y

S-VIDEO

OUT 3

AES / EBU

GAIN 2

CHAN 2

OUT 1 OUT 2 OUT 3IN

DIGITAL VIDEO

SYSTEM

OUT

IN / OUT

S / PDIF

OUT

LTC

SLAVE CLOCK

OUT

2. Connect the other end of the cable to OUT 1 on the DIGITAL VIDEO portion of serial digital interface board.

AUDIO IN

Figure 4-8 Serial Digital Video External Cabling

To test OUT 2 and OUT 3, move the output end of the cable to the untested

output and run the test again for each one.

External Diagnostics S-Video Cabling

Connect the S-video cable to the video I/O board as shown in

Figure 4-9

1. Connect one end of the S-video cable to S-VIDEO IN on the video

2. Connect the other end of the cable to S-VIDEO OUT on the video

I/O board.

COMPONENT

COMPOSITE

MIC CHAN 1

ININ

REF

COMPOSITE

R-Y B-Y

AUDIO OUT

-10

GAIN 1

CHAN 2

S-VIDEO

CHAN 1

OUT

B-Y

R-Y

S-VIDEO

OUT 1

OUT 3

OUT 2

AES / EBU

GAIN 2

CHAN 2

OUT 1 OUT 2 OUT 3IN

DIGITAL VIDEO

SYSTEM

OUT

IN / OUT

S / PDIF

OUT

LTC

SLAVE CLOCK

OUT

AUDIO IN

MIC CHAN 1

CHAN 2

ININ

COMPONENT

R-Y B-Y

COMPOSITE

S-VIDEO

COMPOSITE

REF

AUDIO OUT

-10

GAIN 1

GAIN 2

CHAN 1

R-Y

OUT 1

OUT 2

CHAN 2

OUT 1 OUT 2 OUT 3IN

OUT

B-Y

DIGITAL VIDEO

OUT

S-VIDEO

OUT 3

Figure 4-9 S-Video External Cabling

AES / EBU

S / PDIF

OUT

LTC

SLAVE CLOCK

SYSTEM

IN / OUT

OUT

Running the External Tests

To run the External/User Interaction tests:

1. Start the diagnostics as described in “Starting Avid System Test

Pro” on page 48.

The Avid System Test Pro Quick Start dialog box appears, explaining how to run the Standard diagnostics by using the default settings.

2. Click OK.

3. Click the External/User Interaction tab in the main window.

4. Loop back the Meridien I/O box connectors as explained in the previous sections.

5. Click the Start button in the toolbar in the main window. The External/User Interaction diagnostics run with the status

shown in the Item status boxes in the main window.

6. Answer any pop-up dialog box questions that might appear.

7. Do one of the following:

• If the tests pass, choose Quit from the File menu and consider

that your Avid system is working properly.

• If any test fails, the Error Log window opens, showing which

board failed the test. First check the setup instructions in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 to make sure the system is set up properly. Then, see the Error Condition topic in the diagnostic Help for possible solutions to the problem.

If you have tried the solutions and the diagnostics still fail, contact your Avid Reseller.

Understanding the Error Log Window

When an error is detected during a test, a dialog box appears, informing you an error has occurred. Choose Error Log from the Window menu (see Figure 4-10 that have occurred since the application started or since the error log was cleared. Each entry lists the failing board, the failing test, and the time of the failure. If you double-click on a failure, a more detailed error window opens.

Figure 4-10 Error Log Window

The information in the Error Log window can be saved in text (.TXT) format by choosing Save Error Log from the File menu. Once the error log has been saved, you can open the saved file with any text editing application and print it.

) to display information on all errors

Avid StorEx

Avid StorEx is a general-purpose, hard-drive exerciser program that verifies the operation of SCSI hard drives connected to a SCSI accelerator board or a Fibre Channel (F/C), PCI-based Avid system.

The program also provides test status information that is helpful for troubleshooting a drive problem. Your local Avid Reseller might instruct you to use StorEx as part of the process of troubleshooting a problem with a hard drive.

StorEx requires a working Avid system in order to function properly. The F/C controller and the SCSI accelerator board must be functioning and be able to accept commands and return results.

StorEx is installed with the NewsCutter software. StorEx is located on the system hard drive in the C:\Program Files\Avid\Utilities\StorEx folder.

Running Avid StorEx

Before you start Avid StorEx, check to see if the F/C drive enclosure is set to ID 0. It must be set to ID 0 for StorEx to run properly.

To run Avid StorEx:

1. Quit all applications that are running on your NewsCutter.

2. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Avid, point to Utilities, and then click Avid StorEx.

The Avid StorEx Disk Test window opens.

3. Select the devices you want to test by clicking the check box for each device in the Test display (see “Test Display” on page 63

4. Choose Preferences from the Options menu, and select the preferences you need for the selected tests.

Avid suggests that you use the default settings in the Preferences window. You should not choose any destructive tests without first talking to your Avid Reseller.

5. Start the testing by clicking the Start button in the toolbar (see

“Toolbar” on page 62

(see “Menus” on page 62).

6. When the test is complete, you can view the status in the Console display (see “Console Display” on page 64

7. If you have any failures, contact your Avid Reseller.

) or by choosing Start from the Testing menu

Avid StorEx Disk Test Window

The Avid StorEx Disk Test window provides information on the devices available for testing and the results of each test (see

Menu Toolbar

Test

display

Console display

Figure 4-11

Figure 4-11 Avid StorEx Disk Test Window

The window is divided into four areas:

•Menu

• Toolbar

• Test display

• Console display

Menus

The StorEx menus are at the top of the display and provide the following functions:

• File — Allows you to quit the program by choosing Exit from the

File menu.

• View — Allows you to define what you want to see in the Console

display. The available choices are:

- Toolbar

- Tests (also select by pressing and holding Alt+1)

- Console (also select by pressing and holding Alt+2)

• Testing — Allows you to control the testing. The available choices

are:

- Start

- Pause

-Stop

- Default Tests

• Options — Allows you to open the Preferences window (see “Test

Preferences Window” on page 64) and to define the type of error

that causes the test to stop:

Toolbar

- Stop On Hard Error

- Stop On Any Error

• Help — Lists the StorEx revision level.

The toolbar is a VCR-like user interface that provides control over the running of the diagnostic. When you first start the diagnostic, only the start portion of the toolbar is active. Each button is explained in

Figure 4-12

Start

Stop

Stop on Hard Error

Test Display

Pause

Stop on Any Error

Summary

Figure 4-12 Avid StorEx Toolbar

The Test display (see Figure 4-13) appears by default in the Avid StorEx Disk Test window when you start StorEx. The Test display shows the SCSI buses and attached disks found by StorEx during the scan of the SCSI buses, the device status boxes, and the check boxes. T o open the Test display, choose Tests from the View menu or press and hold Alt+1. To close the Test display, choose Tests from the View menu or press and hold Alt+1. The Test display allows you to:

• Show the system devices attached to the adapters found by StorEx when it starts.

• See the status of the devices on the system in the status box.

• Select the devices you want to test by clicking the check box.

Status box Check box

SCSI bus

Target ID

Device number

Figure 4-13 Avid StorEx Test Display

The target ID is actually the physical disk address of the disk on the SCSI bus set by switches at the rear of the disk drive.

The device number is a number assigned by StorEx that helps to identify the drives in the display console printout. The device numbers have nothing to do with the SCSI bus to which the disk is attached.

The Test display is shown in Figure 4-13 with the status box and check box on the right side of the display. The Test display is really a window within the window and can be sized independently. If you make the window smaller without resizing the Test display, you can cut the status box and check box from view . If you want to make the window smaller, you should resize the Test display to the smaller size first, and then resize the window.

Console Display

The Console display shows a record of the output from StorEx. To open the Console display, choose Console from the View menu or press and hold Alt+2. To close the Console display, choose Console from the View menu or press and hold Alt+2.

Test Preferences Window

The Test Preferences window opens when you choose Preferences from the Options menu (see Figure 4-14 window controls the way testing occurs. The window has two tabs, Tests and Options.

). The Test Preferences

Tests Tab

When you click the Tests tab, a display appears that allows you to choose the tests that you want to run on the selected hard drives.

The tests are divided into two types: nondestructive tests and destructive tests.

• Nondestructive tests only read the data that is on the hard drive. They do not write any data to the hard drive.

• Destructive tests write data to the hard drive and then read that data. The data is then compared to the original data to verify that the write and read functions of the hard drive are working correctly. These tests destroy any data and file system structure on the hard drive.

Figure 4-14 Avid StorEx Test Preferences Window — Tests Tab

The nondestructive tests include:

• Sequential Read — Reads data from every sector on the drive, starting at the first sector and ending at the last sector. The test verifies data integrity without destroying data and checks for error correction code (ECC) errors.

• Random Read — Randomly reads data from sectors on the drive for a specified amount of time (see “Options Tab” on page 67

). The test simulates normal drive activity without destroying data and checks for ECC errors.

• Single Sector Read — Reads the data from single, randomly

selected sectors on the drive for a specified amount of time (see

“Options Tab” on page 67

). The test exercises drive head positioning, produces a large amount of SCSI bus control traffic, and checks for ECC errors.

• Converge/Diverge Read — Reads each sector on the drive,

beginning at the opposite ends of the drive (the first sector and the last sector) and moving toward the center. It then repeats the test, reading from the center to the ends. The test checks the seek ranges of the drive, ensures that all sectors are read, and checks for ECC errors.

The destructive tests include:

• Sequential Write/Read — Writes data to every sector and then

reads the data from the sector just written and compares it to the original data. The test starts at the first sector on the drive and ends at the last sector. The test verifies the write and read capability of the entire drive.

• Random Write/Read — Randomly selects a starting sector, writes

data to a random number of sectors, and then reads the data from those sectors and compares it to the original data for a specified amount of time (see “Options Tab” on page 67

). The test most

closely simulates the normal drive working environment.

• Single Sector Write/Read — Randomly selects a single sector,

writes data to the sector, and then reads the data from the sector and compares it to the original data for a specified amount of time (see “Options Tab” on page 67

produces a large amount of SCSI bus control traffic.

Clicking the Default button selects the default test setting, Random Read (nondestructive test only).

). The test is seek intensive and

Options Tab

You can select only one test out of all the available tests. The test you select is performed on all the devices selected for test in the Test display. There is no option for assigning a different test for each device. If a destructive (Write/ Read) test has been chosen (or mistakenly chosen), there will be one last warning issued before the destructive test begins.

When you click the Options tab (see Figure 4-15), the display area is divided into three panels: Reporting, Data Pattern, and Test Control. Each panel contains test options that you can select before you run Avid StorEx.

Figure 4-15 Avid StorEx Test Preferences Window

— Options Tab

The three panels are:

• Reporting — Allows you to create a log file containing all the

information shown in the Console display. Creating a log prevents the loss of the results of a test run. The default log file name is StorExNT_mmdd_hhmm.txt, where mmdd is the month and day and hhmm is hour and minute. This information is stored in the folder from which StorEx is executed.

Generate Log File is the default for all tests.

• Data Pattern — Determines the data patterns used for all write

tests. The data pattern selections are:

- Random writes a random data pattern to the hard drive by

using the operating system random-number generator to create unique and unpredictable data.

- All Zeroes writes all zeroes to the hard drive.

- All Ones writes all ones to the hard drive.

- Pseudo Incrementing

- Alternating 1’s and 0’s The default is Random.

Control Buttons

• Test Control — Allows you to choose the number of times the test

executes and the number of minutes per pass the test runs.

- Number of Passes sets the number of times that all the tests are

run.

- Minutes per Pass sets the number of minutes that any random

test runs if no errors are encountered.

The default is 1 pass and 60 minutes.

The control buttons allow you to OK your selection, cancel your selection, or return all selections in the Test Preferences window to the default state by clicking the Default button.

CHAPTER 5

Troubleshooting

When you are installing NewsCutter and using it for the first time, you might encounter some problems. This chapter describes some of the common symptoms, the possible causes, and solutions to them.

Table 5-1 No Display After Power-On

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

The VGA interconnect cable is not connected to the system VGA port.

The monitor is connected to the system VGA port instead of the TARGA 2000 board set.

The TARGA 2000 board set might be dislodged.

Connect the VGA interconnect cable to the system VGA port. See Chapter 2

Connect the monitor to the T ARGA 2000 board set.

Remove the cover according to the

computer manufacturer’s instructions, and check that the circuit boards are seated properly.

Table 5-2 Display Colors Are Incorrect

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

Unsupported resolution Right-click on the desktop and view

the Settings tab. NewsCutter recommends 1024 x 768, 75 Hz, with True Color in the Color Palette.

Bent pin on a cable connection Make sure cable connections do not

have bent pins.

Defective cable Check all cables and make sure they are

working correctly.

Record the problem before attempting to correct it.

Table 5-3 Cannot Initialize TARGA Board Set

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

The TARGA board set is installed but not seated correctly in the PCI slot.

The system was started using Windows NT VGA mode instead of the Truevision-supplied display drivers.

NewsCutter has stopped execution and has a condition that is preventing it from restarting.

The device driver failed to load. Execute LOADDRV in

Be sure that the TARGA board set is installed correctly in your computer .

Start the system, using only Truevision display drivers.

Contact your Avid Reseller for assistance.

C:\T ar ga2KDV\Misc\Install folder. (This is the Avid default location.)

Table 5-3 Cannot Initialize TARGA Board Set (Continued)

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

Vertical blue line appears across monitor.

Error message 1. The base memory address could

This could be either a T ARGA board set or a cable problem:

1. Remove the VGA loopback cable and plug your monitor directly into the TARGA VGA connector. If the blue line still exists, the problem is the TARGA board set. If the line disappears, try reconnecting the cables before deciding that the loopback cable is defective.

2. Shut down and turn off your system.

3. Remove and reseat the TARGA board set and make sure all parts are connected properly; then reinstall. Try restarting the system to recheck the symptom. If the line still exists, the problem is with the TARGA hardware.

be conflicting with another device. Check the system resources.

2. Remove the TARGA board and make sure all the components are seated properly. Try restarting the system to recheck the symptom. If the error still exists, the problem is with the TARGA board set.

Table 5-4 UI Monitor Does Not Display Selected Resolution

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

The monitor is not able to support the selected resolution.

The monitor is not adjusted correctly.

You have an incorrect monitor cable.

Check your computer manual to be sure that your monitor supports the resolution you want to use. Avid recommends 1024 x 768, 75 Hz, with True Color in the Color Palette.

The monitor might need adjustment. The controls that allow adjustment of the vertical and horizontal planes might need to be moved. Check your video monitor manual for more information.

Make sure you are using the cable supplied with your monitor.

Table 5-5 Security Failure

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

NewsCutter requires a hardware security device called an application key. The application key is not attached securely or is missing from the parallel port on your system.

Check to see that the application key is installed. See “Installing the

Application Key” on page 26.

After NewsCutter was installed, the system was not restarted before running the application for the first time.

Restart the system.

Table 5-5 Security Failure (Continued)

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

Parallel port is not enabled. 1. Make sure that the Parallel Port is

enabled in the system BIOS; see the

manufacturer’s documentation. Open the Administrative Tools Windows NT Diagnostics and choose IRQ/Port Status. Look for ParallelPort0.

2. Determine if Sentinel.SYS is present and enabled in the Control Panel\ Devices folder. If not, restart the system and check again.

A new copy of Windows NT was installed after NewsCutter was installed.

Reinstall the NewsCutter application according to the Avid NewsCutter Release Notes, and make sure you restart the application for the first time.

Table 5-6 MediaDrives Not Recognized by System

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

SCSI cable is loose. Check the SCSI cable connections.

One or more SCSI devices are assigned the same SCSI address.

Hard disk drives are not partitioned and formatted correctly.

The last drive on the SCSI chain is not terminated.

Make sure that each SCSI device has a unique address.

Ensure that the drives are formatted correctly. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Disk Administrator; see your Windows NT documentation.

Make sure that the last drive on the SCSI chain has an active terminator.

Table 5-6 MediaDrives Not Recognized by System (Continued)

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

An external device is turned off or was not ready when the computer was started.

MediaDrive is producing errors or is acting erratically.

Turn on any external devices before starting Windows NT, and wait 10 to 15 seconds for each drive to come up-tospeed.

Check the Event viewer for drivespecific errors. The Event viewer is located in the Administrator Tool Group. For information that explains how to use the Event viewer, see your Windows NT documentation.

Table 5-7 Cannot Read NewsCutter CD-ROM

Possible Causes Possible Solution

You have not typed the correct command or drive letter to install NewsCutter.

The CD-ROM is not recognized by the operating system.

Make sure you have typed the correct command to install NewsCutter. See the Avid NewsCutter Release Notes.

Double-click My Computer and look for the CD-ROM. If the icon is not there, you might have a configuration problem. See the

manufacturer’s documentation.

Table 5-8 Video Deck or V-LAN Not Recognized

Possible Causes Possible Solutions

Video deck not configured. Check the deck’s manual on remote

serial control.

Serial port on NewsCutter not configured.

Serial adapter kit (Rosetta Stone) not configured.

1. Select the serial port in the NewsCutter application’s Project window Settings list.

2. Ensure that the NewsCutter system board serial port settings are configured for RS-422. See the documentation that comes from the computer manufacturer.

1. Check that the serial adapter kit (Rosetta Stone) is used to convert the RS-232 to RS-422. The adapter attaches to the NewsCutter , and then the serial cable connects the adapter to the V-LAN.

2. If the LEDs on the serial adapter are not lit, the adapter might be connected backwards.

Table 5-9 No Video on Playback Monitor

Possible Cause Possible Solution

Sequences or clips do not appear (or intermittent playback occurs) on the Playback monitor.

1. Make sure the sequence or clip has a video image.

2. Check monitor power.

3. Check monitor cable connections from the Meridien I/O box.

4. Check for proper output settings in the Video Output tool.

5. Try an alternate output, such as composite, S-Video, or RGB.

6. Restart the application and check for initialization of the external monitor.

7. Run the Avid System Test Pro diagnostics (see Chapter 4

Table 5-10 Sequences or Clips Do Not Appear in the Source or

Timeline Viewers

Possible Cause Possible Solutions

Sequences or clips are not valid, Media Offline is displayed.

1. Single step through the clip, frame by frame. Mark an IN point and an OUT point and create a subclip. T ry to play the subclip.

2. Quit the NewsCutter application and run the Avid System Test Pro diagnostics (see Chapter 4

3. Ensure that the TARGA 2000 display driver is activated.

CHAPTER 6

Setting Up Workgroups

This chapter describes the connection between the NewsCutter and the playback device. The playback device is an optional component used with the NewsCutter to create a workgoup environment. Required settings between the two systems are also provided. Avid provides specific connection kits for certain playback devices. For details, see the release notes that come with the specific playback connection kit.

Video Transfers

Media transfers to a playback device are possible using audio, video, and serial RS-422 connections. The NewsCutter controls the media transfers between the NewsCutter and the playback device, in much the same way as it controls a video deck. The playback device functions similarly to a video server.

Cabling the NewsCutter to the Workgroup

Table 6-1 lists the connections needed to use the NewsCutter and

playback device for both ingest and playback. See Figure 6-1 illustration representing the connections.

for an

Table 6-1 Workgroup Cable Connections

Connection From Connection To Cable Type Comments

Playback device UI monitor 15-pin VGA cable The cable is typically shipped with

the monitor.

Playback device Black burst generator

(or house reference signal)

Playback device Audio — Avid

Meridien I/O box

Playback device Video — Avid

Meridien I/O box

Avid Meridien I/O box

Powered speakers or audio amplifier and speakers (customer supplied)

BNC video reference cable

3-pin audio connectors

BNC video cables Cables are customer supplied.

Configuration dependent

Cables are customer supplied.

A pair of audio cables are required for each channel.

All cables are customer supplied. For details, see Chapter 3

Connection can be: Composite Component Serial digital I/O (SDI)

All cables are customer supplied. For details, see Chapter 3

Powered speakers need an adapter to convert the 3-pin audio connector to an audio jack connector.

Speakers that operate through an audio amplifier are wired to the amplifier.

All cables are customer supplied. For details, see Chapter 3

Avid Meridien I/O box

Black burst generator (or house reference signal)

BNC video reference cable

Cables are customer supplied.

Table 6-1 Workgroup Cable Connections (Continued)

Connection From Connection To Cable Type Comments

Avid NewsCutter Avid Meridien I/O

box

Avid NewsCutter UI monitor 15-pin VGA cable The cable is typically shipped with

Avid NewsCutter External

MediaDrives

Avid NewsCutter Playback device 9-pin serial cable Avid provides a serial cable with the

Meridien digital media cable

68-pin SCSI cable Avid provides a SCSI cable with

Meridien digital media cable is supplied with the Meridien I/O box.

Chapter 2

diagram for the connection.

the monitor.

Chapter 2

diagram for the connection.

each MediaDrive. For details, see

Chapter 3

comes with the drive.

serial adapter (Rosetta Stone). For details, see Chapter 3.

provides a connector

and documentation that

Connecting the NewsCutter and Playback Device for Ingest

The ingest of material from the playback device to the NewsCutter requires audio, video, and a serial connection between the NewsCutter and the playback device. The NewsCutter controls the ingest media in much the same way as it controls a video deck.

Figure 6-1

playback device to the NewsCutter, see “Transferring from the

NewsCutter to the Playback Device” on page 82.

shows the connections. To ingest material from the

UI monitor

Playback monitor

Playback device

Speakers Speakers

Audio

Meridien I/O box

Network

Video

BB1 BB2 BB3

Black burst generator

UI monitor

External MediaDrive

Avid NewsCutter

Figure 6-1 Audio, Video, and Serial Connections

Setting Up the Playback Device for Ingest

To enable the playback device for ingest, select these general settings

from the playback device’s user interface:

• Select BVW as the deck protocol.

• Select the playback device COM port used for the serial connection.

Serial connection RS-232 to RS-422

Network

• Select the video I/O settings to match your hardware connections.

• Select the audio I/O settings to match your hardware connections.

Setting Up the NewsCutter for Ingest

Before attempting to transfer material from the playback device to the NewsCutter , you must first configure the playback device as a deck on the NewsCutter:

1. Click the Settings button in the Project window. The Settings Scroll list appears.

2. Double-click Deck Configuration. The Deck Configuration dialog box appears.

3. Click Add Channel. The Channel dialog box appears.

4. Choose Direct from the Channel Type menu, and choose a port from the Ports menu.

5. Click OK.

A message appears, asking if you want to Autoconfigure the channel.

6. Click No.

NewsCutter does not currently support the Autoconfigure function for the playback device. If you choose Yes for Autoconfigure, NewsCutter will configure the playback device as a deck.

7. In the Deck Configuration dialog box, click Add Deck. The Deck Settings dialog box appears.

8. Choose the appropriate playback device from the menu, and then click OK.

The dialog box closes and returns you to the Deck Configuration dialog box.

9. Click Apply.

Transferring from the NewsCutter to the Playback Device

To transfer a sequence from the NewsCutter to the playback device:

1. Add the TapeID heading to the Project bin window:

a. Click the Fast Menu button and choose Headings. The Bin

Column Selection dialog box appears.

b. Select TapeID and click OK. NewsCutter adds the TapeID

column to the bin columns.

See the NewsCutter Help for information on saving the TapeID column as a default setting or as a site setting.

2. In the TapeID column, type the name of the sequence on which you want to perform a digital cut to the playback device. The name on the playback device is restricted to 15 characters when using the BVW controller setup. The playback device will truncate any names longer than 15 characters. For seamless integration, you should not use special characters or spaces when naming the sequence.

3. Choose Digital Cut from the Clip menu. The Digital Cut tool opens. (See Figure 6-2.)

Figure 6-2 Digital Cut Tool

Play Digital Cut button

Mark IN box

4. Select Entire Sequence.

5. Select Record to Tape.

6. Choose Mark In Time from the Record to Tape pop-up menu.

7. Establish a mark IN time in the Mark IN box in the Digital Cut tool. The mark IN time must be equal to the preroll time. The default preroll time for the playback device is 1 second.

8. Click the Play Digital Cut button.

Transferring from the Playback Device to the NewsCutter

After you connect the playback device and select the appropriate settings, you can record media from the playback device to the NewsCutter. Some playback devices allow you to drag clips from the

playback device’s user interface into the Record tool in the NewsCutter application.

Not all functionality is the same in each playback device’s user interface. For details on how to transfer media, see the documentation provided with the playback device.

When the playback device is playing media, click the Record button in the Record tool to record from the playback device to the NewsCutter.

APPENDIX A

Servicing the Avid Meridien I/O Box

This appendix summarizes the audio and video interface connections on the Avid Meridien I/O box. In addition, it provides a procedure for replacing the internal boards in the Meridien I/O box.

Avid Meridien Connectors

Figure A-1 identifies the audio connectors on the Avid Meridien I/O

box. Use the table following the figure for a description of each connector.

1 2 3 4 5 76 8 9

Figure A-1 Avid Meridien Audio Connectors

Table A-1 Avid Meridien Audio Identifiers

Number Label Function

1 AUDIO IN MIC Microphone audio input, female connector

2 AUDIO IN CHAN 1 Channel 1 audio input, female connector

3 AUDIO IN CHAN 2 Channel 2 audio input, female connector

4 AUDIO OUT CHAN 1 Channel 1 audio output, male connector

5 AUDIO OUT CHAN 2 Channel 2 audio output, male connector

6 AES/EBU IN AES/EBU digital input, female connector

7 AES/EBU OUT AES/EBU digital output, male connector

8 S/PDIF IN S/PDIF digital input, phono (RCA) jack

9 S/PDIF OUT S/PDIF digital output, phono (RCA) jack

Figure A-2 identifies the video connectors on the Avid Meridien I/O

box. Use the table following the figure for a description of each connector.

1 2 3 4 5 6

16 15 14 13 12 1117 9 8

Figure A-2 Avid Meridien Video Connectors

Table A-2 Avid Meridien Video Identifiers

Number Label Function

1 COMPONENT Y IN Video Y component input, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video output of decks, satellite feeds, or routers.

2 COMPONENT R-Y IN V ideo R-Y component input, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video output of decks, satellite feeds, or routers.

3 COMPONENT B-Y IN Video B-Y component input, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video output of decks, satellite feeds, or routers.

4 COMPONENT Y OUT Video Y component output, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video input of decks or routers.

5 COMPONENT R-Y OUT Video R-Y component output, BNC connector. Connects

to analog video input of decks or routers.

Table A-2 Avid Meridien Video Identifiers (Continued)

Number Label Function

6 COMPONENT B-Y OUT Video B-Y component output, BNC connector. Connects

to analog video input of decks or routers.

7 SYSTEM IN/OUT Audio and video I/O connector from the NewsCutter.

8 LTC OUT Longitudinal timecode output, male connector. Master

clock is used to synchronize the NewsCutter to the house master clock (SMPTE for NTSC, and EBU for PAL).

9 LTC IN Longitudinal timecode input, female connector. Master

clock is used to synchronize the NewsCutter to the house master clock (SMPTE for NTSC, and EBU for PAL).

10 SLAVE CLOCK OUT Clock output, BNC connector. Used to synchronize other

Broadcast components.

11 S-VIDEO OUT Super composite video output, 4-pin connector. Connects

to analog video input of decks or routers.

12 COMPOSITE OUT 3 Composite video output, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video input of decks, monitors, or routers.

13 COMPOSITE OUT 2 Composite video output, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video input of decks, monitors, or routers.

14 COMPOSITE OUT 1 Composite video output, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video input of decks, monitors, or routers.

15 S-VIDEO IN Super composite video input, 4-pin connector. Connects

to analog video output of decks, satellite feeds, or routers.

16 COMPOSITE IN Composite video input, BNC connector. Connects to

analog video output of decks, satellite feeds, or routers.

17 Video Reference (REF) Black burst input, BNC connector. Synchronizes decks

and V -LAN VLXi controller that are part of the system.

Figure A-3 identifies the optional serial digital interface board BNC

connectors on the Avid Meridien I/O box. Use the table following the figure for a description of each connector.

Number Label Function

For instruction on installing the optional serial digital interface board, see

“Serial Digital Interface Board Installation” on page 91

1 2 3 4

Figure A-3 Avid Meridien Serial Digital Interface Connectors

Table A-3 Avid Meridien Serial Digital Interface Identifiers

1 SERIAL DIGITAL IN Composite video input, BNC connector. Connects to

digital video output of decks, satellite feeds, or routers.

2 SERIAL DIGITAL OUT 1 Composite video output, BNC connector. Connects to

digital video input of decks, monitors, or routers.

3 SERIAL DIGITAL OUT 2 Composite video output, BNC connector. Connects to

digital video input of decks, monitors, or routers.

4 SERIAL DIGITAL OUT 3 Composite video output, BNC connector. Connects to

digital video input of decks, monitors, or routers.

Avid Meridien I/O Box Board Replacement

Use the Avid System Test Pro diagnostics to confirm that the audio or video I/O boards in the Meridien I/O box need to be replaced (see Chapter 4).

To replace a Meridien I/O board:

1. Turn off the Avid Meridien I/O box; do not remove the power cord.

2. Put on an antistatic wrist strap and connect it to a metal ground point on your Meridien I/O box (your power cord should be plugged in to ensure a proper ground).

To avoid static damage to your circuit board, be sure to take the proper antistatic procedures before handling the board.

3. Loosen (but do not remove) the captive thumb screws on each side of the defective board. Figure A-4 screws.

The video I/O board (bottom) has two thumb screws on each side.

shows the location of the thumb

Thumb screws Thumb screws

Figure A-4 Avid Meridien I/O Box Thumb Screws

4. Use the captive screws to pull the board out of its slot.

5. When you are replacing the board, make sure the board edges (or the metal base of the audio board) are in the guide rails before you slide it into the Meridien I/O box (see Figure A-5

6. Firmly push the board completely into the slot. This will seat the board into its connector.

7. Tighten the thumb screws.

Guide rail Guide railBoard connector

Figure A-5 Circuit Board Connector and Rails

Serial Digital Interface Board Installation

The A vid Meridien I/O box does not ship with a serial digital interface board installed. If you have purchased the optional board, install the board according to the following procedure.

To install the serial digital interface board:

1. Loosen (but do not remove) the two captive thumb screws on each side of the video I/O board (bottom). Figure A-4 location of the thumb screws.

2. Use the captive screws to pull the board out of its slot.

shows the

3. Remove the video I/O board blank panel by removing the two blank panel screws (see Figure A-6). Save the screws to secure the serial digital interface board.

Serial digital interface board connector

Figure A-6 Video I/O Board Blank Panel

4. Position the serial digital interface board BNC connectors through the front panel of the video I/O board (see Figure A-7

5. Insert the serial digital interface board connector into the connector on the video I/O board.

Video I/O board blank panel

Blank panel screws

Serial digital interface board

Figure A-7 Avid Meridien Serial Digital Interface Connector

Video I/O board front panel

6. Secure the serial digital interface board connector panel to the video I/O board front panel with the screws removed earlier.

7. Replace the video I/O board in the Avid Meridien I/O box by aligning the video I/O board edges in the guide rails before you slide it in (see Figure A-5

8. Firmly push the video I/O board completely into the slot. This will seat the board into its connector.

9. Tighten the thumb screws.

Do not overtighten the thumb screws.

APPENDIX B

Supported Serial Control Video Decks

Avid NewsCutter systems support a variety of edit, record, and play decks using serial control protocol. This appendix provides lists of specific decks known to be supported by the NewsCutter system. Other decks not listed in this appendix might also work but have not been qualified by Avid. For the most up-to-date list of supported decks, check the Avid Customer Service Knowledge Center section of the Avid Web site at

www.avid.com/services/faqs/decks/supported_decks.html

General Deck Selection Recommendations

A vid r ecommends that you choose decks with a serial r emote interface and timecode-reader capabilities. Some decks have built-in timecode readers, while others require an optional upgrade kit from the deck manufacturer.

Supported decks are presented in the following categories:

• Edit decks — Decks that support frame-accurate logging,

recording, and digital cut to tape

• Record decks — Decks that support frame-accurate logging,

recording, and crash record

• Play decks — Decks that support frame-accurate logging and

recording

Direct Serial Decks

The following sections list the direct serial video decks that Avid software supports by manufacturers, models, and format. The NewsCutter controls the video deck through an RS-232 COM port. This connection requires a serial adapter that converts the NewsCutter RS-232 protocol to RS-422 protocol for the video deck. See

“Controlling a Video Deck” on page 42

for more information.

Avid’s direct serial control operates only with decks that support the Sony serial SBV protocol. Some decks might not be able to perform an auto edit with direct serial control.

Edit Decks

Table B-1 lists direct serial edit decks.

Table B-1 Direct Serial Edit Decks

Manufacturer Model No. Format Comments

Ampex CVR-70, -75 Betacam SP Broadcast -

BTS BCB-70, -75 Betacam SP -

PCB-2800 Betacam SP -

Table B-1 Direct Serial Edit Decks (Continued)

Manufacturer Model No. Format Comments

Fostex D-25 DAT Setup 308 should be set to 001

(PCM-7050).

D-30 DAT Set for Sony protocol (BVW settings).

JVC

Panasonic

BR-S822 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

AG-7750 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

AG-DS550,

S-VHS -

-DS555, -DS850,

AJ-D650, -D750 DVCPro Set ID Sel on the deck to DVCPro.

Sony BVU-950 U-matic SP Broadcast Requires optional timecode board

(part number BKU-905).

DSR-80, -85 DVCam -

EVO-9850 Hi 8mm -

VO-9850 U-matic SP Industrial Requires optional timecode board

(part number BKU-705).

BVW-70, -75 Betacam SP Broadcast -

PVW-2800 Betacam SP Post Production -

UVW-1800 Betacam SP Industrial -

DVW-A500, -500 Digital Betacam Setup 208 must be set to 9-pin

protocol. Enable remote control by clicking the Remote 1 (9p) button on the VTR front panel. In digital cut, the cue track is armed with audio track A1.

SVO-5800 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

Table B-1 Direct Serial Edit Decks (Continued)

Manufacturer Model No. Format Comments

Tascam DA-60MKII DAT Requires SY-88 synchronizer board.

DA-98 8 mm -

DA-88 8mm Requires SY-88 synchronizer board.

Record Decks

Table B-2 lists direct serial record decks.

These decks do not accept the auto edit command from a NewsCutter.

Table B-2 Direct Serial Record Decks

Manufacturer Model No. Format Comments

JVC BR-S622 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

Panasonic AJ-D640 DVCPro -

Sony EVO-9800 Hi 8mm -

VO-9800 U-matic SP Requires optional timecode board

(part number BKU-704 or BKU-705).

Play Decks

Table B-3 lists direct serial play decks.

Table B-3 Direct Serial Play Decks

Manufacturer Model No. Format Comments

Ampex CVR-60, -65 Betacam SP Broadcast -

JVC BR-S525, -522 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

Panasonic AG-7650 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

AG-DS540,

-DS545, -DS840,

Sony DSR-60 DVCam -

BVW-60, -65 Betacam SP Broadcast -

PVW-2600, -2650 Betacam SP Post Production -

UVW-1600 Betacam SP Industrial -

BVU-900, -920 U-matic SP Broadcast -

S-VHS -

V-LAN Decks

The following sections list the V-LAN video decks that Avid software supports by manufacturers, models, and format. The NewsCutter RS-232 COM port is connected directly to the V-LAN VLXi deck controller. For more information, see “Connecting a V-LAN VLXi

Controller and GPI Devices” on page 43.

Avid does not recommend that you use decks with a parallel remote interface. Although many parallel decks are V -LAN compatible, they might not perform as expected in all situations.

When you are connecting a video deck to a V-LAN, make sure that you download the latest version of the V-LAN driver for your specific deck. You can obtain the latest version of any V-LAN supported deck from the Videomedia Web site at

www.videomedia.com

Edit Decks

Table B-4 lists V-LAN edit decks.

Table B-4 V-LAN Edit Decks

Manufacturer Model No. Format Comments

Ampex CVR-70, -75 Betacam SP -

VPR-3, -6, -80 1-inch -

BTS BCB-70, -75 Betacam SP -

PCB-2800 Betacam SP -

Fostex D-25 DAT Setup 308 should be set to 000

(NATIVE).

JVC CR-850 U-matic Requires optional timecode board.

BR-S822 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

KRM-M8600U MII -

DS-DT900 DAT -

Table B-4 V-LAN Edit Decks (Continued)

Manufacturer Model No. Format Comments

Panasonic AG-7750 S-VHS Requires optional timecode board.

AG-DS550,

-DS555, -DS850

AJ-D650, -D750 DVCPro Set ID Sel on the deck to DVCPro.

AU-650, -65,

-W35H

Sony BVH-2000, -2700,

-3000

BVU-800 U-matic SP Requires TC-20 timecode board.

BVU-820, -850,

-870

BVU-950 U-matic SP Requires optional timecode board

BVW-50, -70, -75 Betacam SP Early 50 record and edit models had

DVR-18, -28 D2 -

DVW-A500, -500 Digital Betacam Setup 208 must be set to 9-pin

S-VHS -

MII -

1-inch -

U-matic SP -

(part number BKU-905).

problems in digital cut.

protocol. Enable remote control by clicking the Remote 1 (9p) button on the VTR front panel.

EVO-9850 Hi 8mm -

PVW-2800 Betacam SP -

UVW-1800 Betacam SP -

VO-9850 U-matic SP -

PCM-7030,

-7040, -7050

DAT -

100

Pinnacle Systems NewsCutter Setup Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Figures

Tables

Using This Guide

Who Should Use This Guide

About This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

Using the Help System

If You Need Help

Related Information

If You Have Documentation Comments

How to Order Documentation

Introduction

NewsCutter System Features

Meridien I/O Box Indicators

Example System Layout

Checking the Installation Materials

Rack-Mounting Kits

Setting Up the NewsCutter System

Connecting the Keyboard and Mouse

Installing the Application Key

Connecting the VGA Interconnect Cable

Connecting NewsCutter to the Meridien I/O Box

Avid MediaDrive Connection

Evaluating Drive Types

Data Rate Calculations

Optional NewsCutter Connections

Network Configuration

Fibre Channel Workgroup Configuration

Connecting Audio and Video Devices

Avid Meridien I/O Box Connections

Audio Interface Connections

Video Interface Connections

Serial Digital Interface Connections

Connecting the Reference Signal

Controlling a Video Deck

Connecting a V-LAN VLXi Controller and GPI Devices

Video Local Area Network

General-Purpose Interface

Master Clock Connection

Running the System Diagnostics

Turning On the System

Avid System Test Pro

Starting Avid System Test Pro

Quick Start Dialog Box

Understanding the Main Window

Understanding the Avid System Test Preferences Window

Running the Standard Diagnostics Suite

Running the External/User Interaction Diagnostics Suite

External Diagnostics Audio Cabling

External Diagnostics Component Video Cabling

External Diagnostics Composite Video Cabling

External Diagnostics Serial Digital Video Cabling

External Diagnostics S-Video Cabling

Running the External Tests

Understanding the Error Log Window

Avid StorEx

Running Avid StorEx

Avid StorEx Disk Test Window

Menus

Toolbar

Test Display

Console Display

Test Preferences Window

Tests Tab

Options Tab

Control Buttons

Troubleshooting

Setting Up Workgroups

Video Transfers

Cabling the NewsCutter to the Workgroup

Connecting the NewsCutter and Playback Device for Ingest

Setting Up the Playback Device for Ingest

Setting Up the NewsCutter for Ingest

Transferring from the NewsCutter to the Playback Device

Transferring from the Playback Device to the NewsCutter