Pinnacle Systems NewsCutter - 5.0 User's Guide

Avid® NewsCutter® Products

Input and Output Guide

make manage move | media

™

Avid

Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.

The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,452,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,568,275; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,715,018; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,781,188; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,852,435; 5,905,841; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,930,797; 5,946,445; 5,987,501; 5,999,190; 6,016,152; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,023,703; 6,031,529; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,691; 6,157,929; 6,160,548; 6,167,404; 6,198,477; 6,201,531; 6,223,211; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,317,158; 6,317,515; 6,330,369; 6,351,557; 6,353,862; 6,357,047; 6,392,710; 6,404,435; 6,407,775; 6,417,891; 6,426,778; 6,449,019; 6,473,094; 6,477,271; 6,489,969; 6,512,522; 6,532,043; 6,539,163; D396,853; D398,912. Additional U.S. and foreign patents pending.

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.

The following disclaimer is required by Apple Computer, Inc.

APPLE COMPUTER, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME STATES. THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY PROVIDES YOU WITH SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. THERE MAY BE OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

The following disclaimer is required by Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc. for the use of their TIFF library:

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICON GRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

Portions of this software are based on work of the Independent JPEG Group.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

The following disclaimer is required by Ray Sauers Associates, Inc.:

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

“Videomedia, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.”

“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”

The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code:

The following disclaimer is required by Ultimatte Corporation:

Certain real-time compositing capabilities are provided under a license of such technology from Ultimatte Corporation and are subject to copyright protection.

The following disclaimer is required by 3Prong.com Inc.:

Certain waveform and vector monitoring capabilities are provided under a license from 3Prong.com Inc.

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend

U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks

888 I/O, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, Avid Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, DigiTranslator, DINR, D-Verb, Equinox, ExpertRender, FieldPak, Film Composer, FilmScribe, FluidMotion, HIIP, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, IllusionFX, Image Independence, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Marquee, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaShare, Meridien, MetaSync, NaturalMatch, Nearchive, NetReview, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, RetroLoop, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, the Avid|DS logo, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, VideoSPACE, and Xdeck are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC.

Aaton is a registered trademark of Aaton S.A. Abekas is a registered trademark of Accom, Inc. Acrobat, Acrobat Reader, Adobe, After Effects, and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems, Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Alias is a registered trademark and Alias|Wavefront and Wavefront are trademarks of Alias|Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. Amiga is a registered trademark of Amiga, Inc. Apple, Bento, FireWire, Macintosh, and QuickDraw are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Betacam, Betacam SP, Hi8, I-LINK, and Sony are trademarks and/or service marks of Sony Corporation. Chyron is a registered trademark of Chyron Corporation. Cineon, Keykode, and Photo CD are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company. cleaner and media cleaner are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Discreet Logic Inc./Autodesk, Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. DVDit! is a trademark of Sonic Solutions. Express, V-LAN, and VLXi are registered trademark of Videomedia, Inc. FaderMaster Pro is a trademark of JL Cooper, a division of Sound Technology. Focusrite is a registered trademark of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. GIF is a Service Mark property of CompuServe Incorporated. IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. IEEE is a registered trademark of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Ikegami is a registered trademark and Editcam is a trademark of Ikegami Tsushinki Co., LTD. Jaz and Zip are registered trademarks of Iomega Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Media, are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Norton AntiVirus is a registered trademark of Symantec Corporation. Paintbrush is a trademark of Zsoft Corporation. Panasonic is a registered trademark of Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Limited. Pixar is a registered trademark of Pixar Animation Studios. QuickTime and the QuickTime logo are trademarks used under license from Apple Computer, Inc. RealSystem is either a registered trademark or trademark of Real Networks, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Silicon Graphics is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Sound Forge is a registered trademark of Sonic Foundry, Inc. Sun is a registered trademark and Sun Raster is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States or other countries. TARGA is a trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Video Toaster is a trademark of NewTek. X Window System is trademark of X Consortium, Inc. Yamaha is a registered trademark of Yamaha Corporation of America. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

Arizona Images — KNTV Production — Courtesy of Granite Broadcasting, Inc., Editor/Producer Bryan Foote. Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior. Tornadoes + Belle Isle footage - Courtesy of KWTV News 9 WCAU Fire Story — Courtesy of NBC-10, Philadelphia, PA. Women in Sports – Paragliding — Courtesy of Legendary Entertainment, Inc.

GOT FOOTAGE?

Editors — Filmmakers — Special Effects Artists — Game Developers — Animators — Educators — Broadcasters — Content creators of every genre — Just finished an incredible project and want to share it with the world?

Send us your reels and we may use your footage in our show reel or demo!*

For a copy of our release and Avid’s mailing address, go to www.avid.com/footage.

*Note: Avid cannot guarantee the use of materials submitted.

Avid NewsCutter Products Input and Output Guide • 0130-05728-01 • May 2003

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Accessing the Online Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Avid Educational Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 1 Planning a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Types of Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Project Resolutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Working with Mixed-Resolution Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

NTSC and PAL Image Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Software-Only Avid Editing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Sample Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Video and Film Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Chapter 2 Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Logging Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Logging Preroll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Logging Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Naming Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Double-Checking the Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Adding a Memory Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Preparing Logs for Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Creating Avid Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Importing Shot Log Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Setting the Pulldown Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Converting Log Files with Avid Log Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Converting a Log File to an ALE File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Using Drag-and-Drop Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Logging Directly to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Logging with an Avid-Controlled Camera or Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Pausing a Deck While Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Logging with a Non-Avid-Controlled Camera or Deck . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Logging Film Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Displaying Film Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Entering Pulldown Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Determining the Pulldown Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Modifying the Pulldown Phase Before Capturing. . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Entering Frames-per-Second Rates for PAL Transfers . . . . . . . . . . 65

Entering Key Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Entering Additional Timecodes (Option) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Entering the Ink Number (Option). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Entering Additional Film Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Modifying Clip Information Before Capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

The Modify Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Using the Modify Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Options for Modifying Bin Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Modifying in the Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Exporting Shot Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Chapter 3 Preparing to Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Understanding Digital Video (DV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Preparing the Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Selecting Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Using General Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Transfer Settings for Film Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Selecting Capture Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Creating a GPI Trigger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Deleting a GPI Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Editing an Existing GPI Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Configuring Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Deck Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Deleting Deck Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Setting Deck Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Understanding Drop-Frame and Non-Drop-Frame Timecodes . . . . . . . 93

Setting Up the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Opening the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Setting the Video and Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Selecting Video Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Selecting Audio Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Selecting a Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Selecting a Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Selecting Source Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Setting the Video and Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Setting the Pulldown Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Film Project Pulldown and Transfer Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Selecting a Resolution in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Selecting a Format in the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Selecting a Draft Resolution for DV Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Selecting a Target Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Selecting the Target Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Targeting a Single Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Targeting Separate Drives for Audio and Video . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Interpreting the Time Remaining Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Capturing to Multiple Media Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Selecting the Preroll Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Capturing Across Timecode Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Preparing for Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Selecting the Audio File Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Establishing Sync for Audio-Only Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Checking for a Valid Digital Sync Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Adjusting Audio Project Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Configuring the Sound Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Using the Audio Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Resizing the Audio Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Adjusting the Reference Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Selecting a Peak Hold Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Adjusting Audio Input Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Creating Tone Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Calibrating Input Channels for the Audio I/O Device . . . . . . . . 126

Calibrating Output Channels for the Audio I/O Device. . . . . . . 127

Using the Passthrough Mix Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Resizing the Passthrough Mix Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Monitoring Audio with the Passthrough Mix Tool. . . . . . . . . . . 129

Changing an Audio Level in the Passthrough Mix Tool . . . . . . 130

Adjusting Pan Values in the Passthrough Mix Tool . . . . . . . . . 131

Audio Meters in the Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Using the Meter Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Adjusting Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Using the Console Window to Check Audio Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Calibrating for Video Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Manually Calibrating for Video Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Limitation When Using Consumer Decks or Decks Without

Time-Base Correctors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Capturing from Unstable Time-Base Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Green Line in VHS Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Saving Video Input Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Saving a Custom Default Setting for the Video Input Tool . . . . . . . 145

Adjusting Video Levels Without Color Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Compression Resolutions and Storage Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Screen Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Digital Video Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

JFIF Compression and Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Compression Groups and Image Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Video Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Compression Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Mixing Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Setting Media Creation Resolutions and Selecting Drives. . . . . . . 152

Chapter 4 Capturing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Before You Begin Capturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Adding Clip Names and Comments On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Adding Extra Text Fields in the Capture Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Adding Locators On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Creating Subclips On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

DV Capture Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Capturing and Logging at the Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Capturing from One Point to Another. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Capturing from an IN Point to an OUT Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Setting Both Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Setting Only One Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Capturing On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Autocapture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Capturing with Time-of-Day Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Capturing in Satellite Mode or No Device Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Setting a Timed Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Capturing Audio from a Music CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Capturing to the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Patching When Capturing to the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Batch Capturing from Logged Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Preparing to Batch Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Batch Capturing Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Modifying the Pulldown Phase After Capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

DV Scene Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Setting Up DV Scene Extraction Before Capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Setting Up DV Scene Extraction After Capturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Recapturing Your Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Recapturing Master Clips and Subclips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Recapturing Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Saving Two Versions of a Sequence When Recapturing . . . . 194

Recapturing the Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Other Capture Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Working in Quick Record Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Controlling Decks from the Keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Naming a New Tape from the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Ejecting Tapes with a Button or Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Returning to the Previous Place in the Select Tape Dialog Box. . . 200

Chapter 5 Importing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Preparing to Import Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Working with Mixed-Resolution Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Creating and Using Import Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Importing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Using the Drag-and-Drop Method to Import Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Importing Photoshop Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Importing Single-Layer Photoshop Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Importing Multilayered Photoshop Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Understanding Multilayered Graphics Import. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Importing Multilayered Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Importing Editcam Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Reimporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

The Batch Import Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Selected Clips Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Import Target Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Import Options Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Starting the Reimport Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Chapter 6 Output Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Preparing for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Selecting Video Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Establishing Sync for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Calibrating for Video Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Using the Factory Preset Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Basic Video Output Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Using Test Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Adjusting Phase Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Calibrating the System with Passthrough Signals. . . . . . . . . . 234

Calibrating for Audio Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Setting the Calibration Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Calibrating Global Output Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Adjusting Audio Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Preparing Record Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Frame-Accurate Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Manual Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Recording Bars and Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Enabling Assemble-Edit Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Using the Digital Cut Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Selecting a Deck in the Digital Cut Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Previewing a Digital Cut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Outputting Directly to a DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Performing a Digital Cut to Tape (Remote Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Performing a Digital Cut to Tape (Local Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

DV Digital Cut Delay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Understanding Passthrough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Using EDL Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Chapter 7 Exporting and Exchanging Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Preparing to Export a Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Mixing Down Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Exporting Frames, Clips, or Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Using the Drag-and-Drop Method for Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Using ProEncode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Using AvidLinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Creating Files for a DVD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Exporting Video in DV Stream Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Customizing Export Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Preset Export Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Creating a New Export Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Exporting OMFI and AAF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Exporting Through OMF Interchange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Exporting Through AAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Selecting an OMFI or an AAF Transfer Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Exporting OMFI or AAF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Exchanging Titles in OMFI Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

QuickTime Reference Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Exporting as a QuickTime Reference Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Exporting as a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Selecting QuickTime Codecs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Exporting As an AVI File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Avid Codecs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Using the Avid Codecs for QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Exporting with the Avid DV Codec or an

Avid Meridien Codec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Exporting with the Avid ABVB NuVista Codec

for QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Installing an Avid Codec on Other Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Copying an Avid Codec for QuickTime to a

Windows System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Downloading Avid Codecs for QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Exporting from a Third-Party Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Exporting Tracks As Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Exporting As a Graphics File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Transferring a Project Between Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Methods for Transferring Files Between Avid Editing Systems . . . 309

Compatibility Requirements for Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Transferring a Project and Associated Media Files . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Transferring Projects, User Profiles, and Site Settings. . . . . . . . . . 312

Transferring Projects and Bins Using AFE Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Transferring Media to and from a Video Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Setting Up a Video Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Configuring the Video Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Configuring the Video Server As a Deck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Transferring from the Avid Editing System to the Video Server. . . 317 Transferring from the Video Server to the Avid Editing System. . . 319

Chapter 8 Using the NRCS Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Configuring the NRCS Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Configuring the ENPS Server for Avid Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Configuring the NRCS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Starting the NRCS Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Understanding the NRCS Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Using the Directory Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Opening a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Creating a Shortcut to a Directory (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Removing a Shortcut to a Directory (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Deleting a Story (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Changing the Text Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Editing Story Text (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Rearranging Text in a Story (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Marking Text As Presenter Instructions (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . 336

Marking Text As Closed Caption (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Adding a Production Cue (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Deleting a Production Cue (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Marking Text As Machine Control (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Formatting Text (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Marking Text As Normal (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Adding a Loaded Cue (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Using a Loaded Cue (iNEWS Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Deleting a Loaded Cue (iNEWS Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Finding the Read Time of a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Building a Sequence from a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Script-Based IN and OUT Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Setting Timeline IN and OUT Points Based on Story Timing. . . . . 347

Adjusting the Story Timing (iNEWS Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Adjusting the Story Timing with a Time Marker (iNEWS Only). . . . 350

Adjusting the Story Timing with a Time Pad (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . 350

Using Associated Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Saving Changes to a Story (iNEWS Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Using the Post to Web Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Processing the Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Creating a Web Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Linking Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Using Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

The Story Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

The Text Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

The Clip Tag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Using a Template with Post to Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Posting a Story to the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Sending and Receiving NRCS Mail (iNEWS Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Sending NRCS Tool Mail (iNEWS only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Receiving NRCS Tool Mail (iNEWS only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

Disconnecting from Your NRCS Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Tables

Table 1 Supported Resolutions and Field Dimensions. . . . . . . . . .26

Table 2 Line Endings Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Table 3 Options for Modifying Bin Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Table 4 GPI Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Table 5 GPI Node Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Table 6 Deck Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Table 7 Film Project Pulldown and Transfer Settings. . . . . . . . . .102

Table 8 Audio Tool Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

Table 9 Audio Meter Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Table 10 Luminance Settings for Video Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

Table 11 Video Level Adjustment Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Table 12 Compression Resolution Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Table 13 Scheduled Record Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176

Table 14 Quick Record Condition Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

Table 15 Support for Photoshop Layer Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214

Table 16 Support for Photoshop Special Layer Types . . . . . . . . . .215

Table 17 Video Format Output Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230

Table 18 Luminance Settings for Video Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

Table 19 Available Avid Applications for AvidLinks Export. . . . . . .270

Table 20 DVD Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273

Table 21 Devices for Transferring Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310

Table 22 Default Folder and File Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312

Table 23 NRCS Tool Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331

Using This Guide

The Avid® NewsCutter® products help editors, journalists, Web authors, and other professionals create broadcast-quality output. Users can incorporate production elements from full-speed, high-resolution footage, to multimedia artwork and animation, to computer-generated effects and titling.

The documentation describes the features and hardware of all the NewsCutter models. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.

Who Should Use This Guide

This guide is intended for all Avid editors, from beginning to advanced. You should be familiar with your Windows with recording and producing news broadcasts.

About This Guide

This guide is designed to consolidate all the information you will need to take advantage of the many options that Avid offers. This guide will lead you through even the most complex procedures with task-oriented instructions.

The Contents lists all topics included in the book. They are presented with the following overall structure:

XP operating system, and

• Chapter 1 through Chapter 8 include conceptual information and stepby-step procedures for all aspects of input and output.

• A detailed Index helps you quickly locate specific topics.

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows XP operating system.

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and

Margin tips In the margin, you will find tips that help you

Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, 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 document or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

subcommands) in the order you select them. For example, File > Import means to open the File menu and then select the Import command.

This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

perform tasks more easily and efficiently.

indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Click Quickly press and release the left mouse button.

Double-click Click the left mouse button twice rapidly.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

Right-click Quickly press and release the right mouse button.

Drag Press and hold the left mouse button while you move

Ctrl+key Press and hold the first key while you press the

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. It is especially important to check each step of your workflow.

2. Check the ReadMe installed with your Avid application for the latest information that might have become available after the hardcopy documentation was printed.

If You Need Help

the mouse.

second key.

3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

4. Visit the online Knowledge Center at www.avid.com/support. Online services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Center to find answers, to view error messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read/join online message-board discussions.

5. For Technical Support, please call 800-800-AVID (800-800-2843). For Broadcast On-Air Sites and Call Letter Stations, call

800-NEWSDNG (800-639-7364).

Using This Guide

Accessing the Online Library

The Avid NewsCutter Products Online Library CD-ROM contains all the product documentation in PDF format. You can access the library from the Online Library CD-ROM or from the Help menu.

You will need Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® installed to view the documentation online. The Acrobat folder on your CD-ROM contains an installer for Acrobat Reader. The effects reference guide requires Apple’s QuickTime the latest version of QuickTime from the Apple

To access the online library from the Online Library CD-ROM:

1. Insert the Online Library CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Double-click the Mainmenu file.

To access the online library from the Help:

1. Insert the Online Library CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.

2. In your Avid application, select Help > Online Library.

For the latest product information, see the Avid Knowledge Center: www.avid.com/support

application to view the QuickTime movies. You can download

If You Have Documentation Comments

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How to Order Documentation

Using This Guide

Chapter 1

Planning a Project

This chapter gives a brief description of video formats and resolutions supported by your Avid editing application, and other information that can help you plan your project. This chapter includes the following topics:

• Types of Projects

• Project Resolutions

• Working with Mixed-Resolution Projects

• NTSC and PAL Image Sizes

• Software-Only Avid Editing Systems

• Sample Workflow

• Video and Film Projects

Types of Projects

When you start a project on your Avid editing application, you need to decide on a project type. Select your project type based on your source footage. You can select one of the following options from the New Project dialog box:

• 24p NTSC: For film-originated footage or other 24-fps footage,

transferred to NTSC videotape

• 23.976p NTSC: For film-originated or other 24-fps footage in which

you want to use digital audio, or for footage which has been shot at

23.976

Chapter 1 Planning a Project

• 30i NTSC: For NTSC video-originated footage (30 fps)

• 24p PAL: For film-originated footage or other 24-fps footage,

transferred to PAL videotape

• 25p PAL: For 25-fps film-originated footage or other 25-fps footage,

transferred to PAL videotape

• 25i PAL: For PAL video-originated footage (25 fps)

In these options, 23.976p, 24p, and 25p designate 23.976-fps, 24-fps, and 25-fps progressive media. For these projects, your source footage is captured and stored as 23.976, 24, or 25 full, discrete frames per second. In the 30i NTSC and 25i PAL options, the i represents interlaced frames played at 30 fps or 25 fps. An interlaced frame consists of two fields, each of which contains one-half the scan lines of the frame. Interlaced frames are standard for NTSC and PAL video media.

Project Resolutions

You must capture media to begin a project. Connect your media device to

™

the Avid Adrenaline

™

Mojo

DNA. The Avid installation poster identifies all of the connectors

Digital Nonlinear Accelerator (DNA) or Avid

on your Avid Adrenaline DNA or Avid Mojo DNA. If you have a software only application, you can connect a DV camera or deck directly to your Avid editing system. Alternatively, you can use a Media Station XL system or an Avid Xdeck

™

recorder in an Avid Unity™ MediaNetwork environment to capture media. For more information about these products, contact your Avid representative, or visit the Avid Web site.

Project formats are described as follows:

• Avid video projects capture and store 30i-fps NTSC or 25i-fps PAL

media as digital video that conforms to the ITU-R 601 standard (SDTV or standard-definition TV).

• Avid film projects capture and store 23.976p-fps NTSC or 25p-fps

PAL media. You do your offline editing in an Avid editing application and finishing on a Symphony

™

or Avid|DS system.

Project Resolutions

You cannot create 24p or 25p media or multiple output formats from video footage shot at 30 fps (NTSC) or 25 fps (PAL). The source must be film or HD (high-definition).

• Digital video (DV) is an international standard created by a consortium of 10 companies to serve as a consumer digital video format. Avid editing applications support two DV resolutions: DV 25 and DV 50.

DV, originally known as DVC (Digital Video Cassette), uses a 1/4-inch tape to record very-high-quality digital video. The video is sampled at the same rate as D1, D5, or Digital Betacam scan line). The color information in DV 25 is sampled at the D1 rate 4:1:1 in 525-line (NTSC) and 4:2:0 in 625-line (PAL) formats. DV 50 is defined as 720 x 480, 50-megabit-per-second (Mb/s) 4:2:2 DV.

• MPEG 50 is a resolution specifically intended to support the SMPTE Type D-10 bit stream produced and recorded by devices such as Sony MPEG IMX

Avid editing applications allow you to capture, edit, and play back in the resolution listed in Table 1 , except where noted. You cannot capture DV 50 Avid Adrenaline DNA systems. The Avid Mojo DNA and the softwareonly systems cannot capture DV 50 and MPEG 50.

™

VTRs.

video (720 pixels per

Avid editing applications support DV 50 and MPEG 50 media, but some models cannot capture it in its native format. To capture DV 50 and MPEG 50 media in its native format, use a Meridien-based NewsCutter system (or the Avid Adrenaline DNA to capture MPEG 50) and share the media using an Avid Unity MediaNetwork to access and edit the media.

Your Avid editing applications also support Avid Video Resolutions (AVR). These media resolutions cannot be captured but, if you have access to the media, you can edit them using this Avid editing application.

Chapter 1 Planning a Project

Table 1 Supported Resolutions and Field Dimensions

Resolution

NTSC Per-Field Dimensions

PAL Per-Field Dimensions

DV 25 4:1:1 720 x 480 720 x 576

DV 25 4:2:0 720 x 480 720 x 576

DV 50 4:2:2

720 x 480 720 x 576

(editing and playback only)

MPEG 50 4:2:2

720 x 256 720 x 308

(editing and playback only)

15:1s 352 x 248 352 x 296

4:1s 352 x 248 352 x 296

2:1s 352 x 248 352 x 296

20:1 720 x 248 720 x 296

10:1 720 x 248 720 x 296

3:1 720 x 248 720 x 296

2:1 720 x 248 720 x 296

1:1 (Uncompressed) 720 x 248 720 x 296

35:1p 720 x 486 720 x 576

3:1p 720 x 486 720 x 576

28:1p 720 x 486 720 x 576

2:1p 720 x 486 720 x 576

14:1p 720 x 486 720 x 576

1:1p 720 x 486 720 x 576

Working with Mixed-Resolution Projects

These resolutions appear, along with other Avid resolutions, wherever a list of resolutions appears (for example, in the Video Resolution pop-up menu of the Media Creation dialog box). The exact list depends on whether you are working in an NTSC or PAL project.

For information about input and output, see the following sections:

• “Configuring Decks” on page 84

• “Setting Up the Capture Tool” on page 94

• “Using the Digital Cut Tool” on page 244

Working with Mixed-Resolution Projects

The Avid editing system s allows you to work with mixed resolutions in the same sequence.

The only restriction is you cannot mix clips with different frame rates. For example, you cannot mix NTSC with PAL and you cannot mix interlaced resolutions with progressive resolutions.

NTSC and PAL Image Sizes

The Universal Mastering capabilities of your Avid editing application let you create both NTSC and PAL master tapes from the same project. If you plan to output both formats, consider the following information.

In the Avid editing application, NTSC video uses a 4:3 aspect ratio with a screen display of 720 x 486 pixels. DV and MPEG footage uses a screen display of 720 x 480 pixels. PAL video uses the same aspect ratio, but includes an additional 90 horizontal lines for a total screen display of 720 x 576. During the process of creating a digital cut, the Avid editing application resizes the video image to the appropriate screen dimensions. For example, if you are working in an NTSC project and want to output PAL video, the Avid editing application resizes the NTSC video image to the larger PAL screen dimensions. This is the same process used in other standalone standards converters.

Chapter 1 Planning a Project

Because PAL has more horizontal lines of resolution than NTSC, resizing from PAL to NTSC results in better quality, especially for imported graphics. If you plan to output both NTSC and PAL versions of a sequence, consider using PAL film-to-video transfer and graphics sized for PAL. Your choice will depend on other production requirements, such as audio workflow and hardware availability.

Software-Only Avid Editing Systems

When you configure Avid editing systems that do not use an external Avid Adrenaline DNA or Mojo DNA for a DV camera or deck, you need to select OHCI (for example, from the Video pop-up menu in the Capture tool). The OHCI (Open Host Controller Interface) specification is a standardized way of interacting with the 1394 bus. The IEEE 1394 interface that conforms to the specification can provide a connection between a computer and a DV camera or deck that will operate in a standard way.

The video compression format can be transferred through equipment that conforms to IEEE decks, cables, connectors, and processing boards) is sometimes referred to as FireWire data (both video and audio) directly from a DV camera or deck to an Avid editing system with no conversion loss.

The Avid editing application does not use the default Microsoft driver, but instead uses a custom OHCI driver. Whenever you connect a new DV device (camera or deck), the Avid editing application automatically links the device to the custom OHCI driver. For more information on linking a DV device, see the Avid Using the Avid

Adrenaline DNA Installation Instructions or Avid Using the Avid Mojo DNA Installation Instructions for your Avid editing system.

DV resolutions and OHCI input and output are not available in progressive projects.

1394. This equipment (cameras, video and audio

or i.LINK®. IEEE 1394 connections let you transfer digital

OHCI

Sample Workflow

Figure 1 shows a possible workflow using a standalone configuration. If

you were in a workgroup environment, media can be brought in from, and sent back to, shared storage.

Sample Workflow

1. (Option) Import a log file to create a bin.

2. Connect your equipment. For analog video, use the Avid Adrenaline DNA or Avid Mojo DNA. For the software only model, use the 1394 connection on the Avid editing system.

3. Capture the media in the resolution you want. If you imported a log file, batch capture. Otherwise, log and capture or capture on-the-fly.

4. Perform edits and create a final sequence.

5. Output an analog or digital, NTSC or PAL, master tape.

In a workgroup environment you can send to air or post to Web.

Software only models

Log

DV deck or camera

1394 connection

DV deck or camera

Beta- cam

Source footage: NTSC 30 fps or PAL 25 fps

Betacam, Digital Betacam, or other VTR, DV deck or camera

Adrenaline DNA or Mojo DNA

Avid editing system

Adrenaline DNA or Mojo DNA

Betacam, Digital Betacam, or other VTR, DV deck or camera

Figure 1 Project Workflow

Betacam

25-fps or 30-fps master

Chapter 1 Planning a Project

Video and Film Projects

Avid editing applications offer you a flexible approach to finishing your project, whether it originates as video or film.

For video projects, you can use the offline capabilities of the Avid editing application and the Total Conform capabilities of the Symphony system to produce the highest quality, uncompressed broadcast masters.

For film and 24-fps or 25-fps HDTV (high-definition television) projects, you can use the Avid editing application’s Universal Offline Editing capabilities to capture footage at 24 fps or 25 fps, and edit the content in its native frame rate. Then use the Symphony system’s film-tape-film-tape (FTFT) and Total Conform capabilities to finish and deliver uncompressed NTSC, PAL, 4:3, 16:9, and letterbox formats, as well as frame-accurate film cut lists and edit decision lists (EDLs), all from the same 24p (24-fps progressive) or 25p media.

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