Avid NewsCutter 2.0 User guide

a

tools for storytellers®

Avid

®

NewsCutter

®

Site Preparation Guide

Release 2.0

2

Copyright and Disclaimer

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. 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; 5,063,448; 5,077,604; 5,245,432; 5,267,351; 5,309,528;

5,325,200; 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;

5,583,496; 5,584,006; 5,627,765; 5,634,020; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,701,404; 5,715,018; 5,719,570; 5,724,605;

5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,731,819; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,180; 5,754,851; 5,781,188; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678;

5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,883,670; 5,889,532; 5,892,507; 5,905,841; 5,912,675; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,930,797;

5,946,445; 5,966,134; 5,977,982; 5,986,584; 5,987,501; 5,995,079; 5,995,115; 5,999,190; 5,999,406; 6,009,507; 6,011,562;

6,014,150; 6,016,152; 6,016,380; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,023,703; 6,031,529; 6,035,367; 6,038,573; 6,052,508; 6,058,236;

6,061,758; 6,072,796; 6,084,569; 6,091,422; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,130,676; 6,134,379; 6,134,607; D352,278;

D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; 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 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.”

3

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

Code:

The following notice 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.

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

AirPlay, AudioVision, Avid, Avid Xpress, CamCutter, Digidesign, FieldPak, Film Composer, HIIP, Image Independence, Marquee,

Media Composer, Media Recorder, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, Open Media Framework, Pro Tools, Softimage, and

tools for storytellers are registered trademarks and 888 I/O, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AutoSync, AVIDdrive,

AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, Avid Production Network, AvidProNet, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, AVX, DAE, D-Fi, D-FX, D-Verb,

ExpertRender, FilmScribe, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, Matador, Maxim,

MCXpress, MEDIArray, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, MediaShare,

Meridien, NaturalMatch, OMM, Open Media Management, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Sound Designer II, SPACE,

SPACEShift, Symphony, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, and VideoSPACE are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.

BROCADE and SilkWorm are registered trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or other

countries. Compaq is a registered trademark of Compaq Corporation. IBM and IntelliStation are registered trademarks of International

Business Machines Corporation. Videomedia, V-LAN, and VLX

i

are registered trademarks of Videomedia, Inc. Vixel is a trademark of

Vixel Corporation. Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks contained herein are the

property of their respective owners.

Footage

Arizona Images — KNX-TV Production — Courtesy of Granite Broadcasting, Inc.,

Editor/Producer Bryan Foote.

Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service, Harpers Ferry, VA.

WCAU Fire Story — Courtesy of NBC-10, Philadelphia, PA.

Paragliding — Courtesy of Legendary Entertainment, Inc.

Renaissance Cruises Aegean I — Courtesy of Sondra Byington — Reel Art Productions, Irving, TX.

Avid NewsCutter Site Preparation Guide • Part 0130-04771-01 Rev. A • December 2000

4

5

Contents

Using This Guide

About This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Related Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Avid NewsCutter Site Preparation

Avid System Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

NewsCutter Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Avid Unity for News Workgroup Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Fibre Channel Workgroup Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

NewsCutter Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Avid Meridien I/O Box Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Cabling Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Component Weights and Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Site Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Power Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Source Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Synchronization Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Printing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Telephone Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Environmental Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Networking Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

6

Fiber-Optic Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Ethernet Hub. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Patch Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Pin Assignments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Serial Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

VGA Monitor Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Keyboard and Mouse Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

RJ-45 Jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

GPI Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

SDTI Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Regulatory and Safety Notices

FCC Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Canadian ICES-003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

European Union Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Australia and New Zealand EMC Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Taiwan EMC Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

7

Using This Guide

This guide provides site requirement information for the Avid

®

NewsCutter

®

system.

About This Guide

The guide provides specifications for your Avid system components in

the following areas:

• Connectors

• Environmental

• Physical (dimensions and weight)

• Electrical

Use this guide if you are responsible for preparing a site for

installation.

8

Symbols and Conventions

This 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.

n

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations,

and strong suggestions.

c

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to

your computer or cause you to lose data.

w

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.

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 release notes supplied with your Avid application for

information on accessing the Avid Web site and the Avid

Knowledge Center.

9

4. For customer support, contact your local Avid Reseller, or contact

Avid Customer Support directly:

• Broadcast customers — call 800-NEWS-DNG (639-7364).

• Postproduction customers — call 800-800-AVID (2843).

Related Information

The Help system and the following documents provide more

information about NewsCutter:

• Avid NewsCutter Getting Started Guide

This guide explains the basic concepts and terminology of

NewsCutter as well as how to create a project; work with bins;

record source material; and compose, edit, and trim a sequence.

• Avid NewsCutter Setup Guide

This guide provides installation and configuration instructions as

well as suggestions for troubleshooting problems that might arise

with system hardware.

• Avid NewsCutter User’s Guide

This guide provides complete information on all editing tasks,

such as recording footage, viewing and marking footage, editing,

trimming, importing, exporting, and generating final output. This

guide also provides a glossary that defines and explains many

industry terms.

• Avid NewsCutter Effects Guide

This guide describes techniques for using digital video effects,

titles, third-party plug-in effects, mattes, keys, and layering

options.

10

• Avid NewsCutter Release Notes

This document describes new features, hardware and software

requirements, software installation instructions, and summary

information on system and memory requirements.

• Avid NewsCutter Upgrade Instructions

This document explains how to upgrade the hardware and

software in NewsCutter systems in accordance with the latest

feature and performance enhancements.

• Avid NewsCutter Quick Reference Card

This folded card lists convenient keyboard shortcuts

• Avid Products Collaboration Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for transferring

project files, audio files, and graphics and effects files between

various Avid products.

The most recent update of the Avid Products Collaboration Guide is

provided online. Check the release notes supplied with your Avid

application for information on accessing online documentation.

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

T[email protected]

Please include the title of the document, its part number, revision, and

the specific section you are commenting on in all correspondence.

11

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.

12

Avid NewsCutter Site

Preparation

This guide provides information about requirements for the site where

the Avid NewsCutter system will be installed. Electrical and physical

specifications on the system components are also included. Connector

information and pin assignments are given if customized cabling is

required.

Avid System Layouts

This section provides typical system layouts. Diagrams of the Avid

system components identify the rear interface connectors. The exact

orientation of the equipment depends on:

• Available space in the work area — This document provides the

dimensions of the equipment (see “Component Weights and

Dimensions” on page 27). However, Avid recommends

additional space for access and ventilation.

• Length of the cables — Avid does not recommend excessively long

cables. See “Cabling Guidelines” on page 24 for cabling

information.

• User preference — Whether the monitor, video deck, and system

are on the left or right side is up to the user. The order from top to

bottom in the rack can also differ due to accessibility of the

controls or viewing indicators.

13

NewsCutter Layout

Figure 1 shows all standard and optional NewsCutter components

except for a video reference source (such as a black burst generator).

Set up your system components, especially the User Interface (UI) and

Playback monitors, video deck, and keyboard, in positions that give

you easy access to them.

Figure 1 Sample NewsCutter Layout

NewsCutter has the following features:

• Internal hard drive with an NTFS partition; primary drive that

contains the operating system.

• 3.5-inch diskette drive; reads and writes to 1.44-MB diskettes.

• CD-ROM reader; required for loading software. Avid software is

distributed on CD-ROM.

• Fast and wide SCSI connector; for connecting SCSI media drives.

Media drives must be formatted as NTFS.

VLX

SCSI IDSCSI ID

Slots Slots

ActAct

WideWide

DualbusDualbus

FansFans

Pwr 2Pwr 2

Pwr 1Pwr 1

l

O

44.1 kHz

48

PULL DOWN

AUDIO SYNC

VIDEO SYNC

POWER

kHz

Video deck

MediaDock

Speaker UI monitor

Playback monitor

NewsCutter

Speaker

Keyboard

Meridien I/O box

Mouse

Amplifier

V-LAN VLX

i

Industry-standard rack

(optional)

14

• Ethernet network interface; required for Avid network

connections.

• High-resolution monitor (1024 x 768); required for viewing the

media edits.

• Windows NT

®

Workstation Version 4.0 operating system with

Windows NT service pack.

Avid Unity for News Workgroup Layout

NewsCutter can work as a standalone system or as part of a broadcast

network such as an Avid Unity

™

for News workgroup.

The Avid Unity for News workgroup environment consists of the

following functional components:

• Supported Avid editing systems (such as NewsCutter).

• Avid Unity MediaManager server to track and manage Avid Unity

media files. When connected to an F/C network, a workgroup

client uses the MediaManager server to share Avid Unity files

with clients within the workgroup.

• Avid Unity TransferManager server to manage the transfer of

media files to and from another workgroup’s TransferManager

server (typically, over an Ethernet network). The TransferManager

server also allows you to transfer media files from a feed (ingest)

device or send finished sequences to a playback device.

n

The TransferManager server is not required equipment in a MediaNet

environment. However, you must connect a TransferManager server in your

workgroup if you want to share media files with other workgroups in the

MediaNet environment.

• Avid Unity MediaNet file server and storage subsystem.

• A Fibre Channel (F/C) network that connects the Avid editing

systems, MediaManager server, and TransferManager server to

the file server and storage subsystem.

15

n

An optional Fibre Channel connection kit is available for connecting

NewsCutter to the Avid Unity MediaNet environment.

• An Ethernet network that is used as a general-purpose

communications network connecting all the system components.

An Ethernet network can also be used by the TransferManager

server to transfer media files between workgroups.

The purpose of the workgroup is to enable collaborative workflows by

allowing multiple NewsCutter editors to share media files and other

project data.

Figure 2 shows a typical shared-storage workgroup configuration that

includes the necessary connections if you are planning to transfer

media files over a network to an optional playback device. The

playback sequences are cued and sent to air by the optional Broadcast

Control System (BCS). The BCS controls the playback devices using a

serial connection.

16

Figure 2 Sample Layout for an Avid Unity for News

Workgroup Environment

n

For information about setting up NewsCutter in an Avid Unity for News

workgroup environment, see the Avid Unity Workgroup Setup Guide.

Avid Unity

l

O

l

O

l

O

Still store

Playback

Broadcast Control

System

MediaNet file

server and

Avid Unity

storage

Fibre Channel switch

NewsCutter systems

Character

generator

Local network

hub or switch

Serial connections to

playback devices

device

MediaManager

server

TransferManager server

to another workgroup

(see Figure 1 for

a typical layout)

17

Fibre Channel Workgroup Configuration

An optional Fibre Channel connection kit is available for 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 in NewsCutter.

NewsCutter Connectors

The NewsCutter system is a computer with specific peripheral boards

installed for converting the incoming video and audio, analog or

digital signals into digital format for storage. The Windows NT

operating system, Windows NT Service Pack, and NewsCutter

application software come preinstalled. This disk-based, nonlinear,

random-access system is designed for editing news stories,

promotional material, and other broadcast needs.

Tab le 1 provides a description of each system or peripheral board

connector. Avid customers sometimes request pin assignments for

customizing their interface cables. See “Pin Assignments” on page 34

for information on which signals are on which pins.

18

Table 1 NewsCutter Connector Identifiers

Connector Name Connector Function

Digital media board

(M port)

Interface between NewsCutter and the Avid

Meridien

™

I/O box (Avid proprietary cable,

shipped with NewsCutter)

VGA VGA output from standard VGA board, 15-pin

DB-connector; connects to VGA interconnect cable

Network Network interface, RJ-45 network jack

SCSI SCSI port, fast and wide interface, 68-pin female

DB-connector; connects MediaDrives

PS/2-style Two PS/2-style connectors (keyboard and mouse),

6-pin

Parallel Parallel port, 25-pin female DB-connector; connects

application key and local printer

COM1 and COM2 Two serial ports, 9-pin male DB-connector;

connects the serial adapter for remote video deck

control

Fibre Channel Rx and Tx

(option)

Fibre Channel adapter board, receive and transmit

optical interface connectors (needed for Avid

workgroup configurations)

The Fibre Channel adapter board also has two

9-pin female DB connectors.

SDTI board (option) Serial Data Transport Interface board; contains

receive and transmit male multi-pin connector that

connects to female multi-pin connector on

breakout box, which connects to a video deck

through a cable.

19

Avid Meridien I/O Box Connectors

The Avid Meridien I/O box provides all the audio and video input

and output connections for the NewsCutter system (including

four-channel audio with the second audio interface installed). Figure 3

identifies the audio connectors. See Tab le 2 for a description of each

connector.

Figure 3 Meridien I/O Box Audio Connectors

1

2

3

4

5

7

6

8

9

10

12

11

13

14

15

16

17

18

Table 2 Meridien I/O Box 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

20

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

10

a

AUDIO IN MIC2 Microphone audio input 2, female connector

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

12 AUDIO IN CHAN 4 Channel 4 audio input, male connector

13 AUDIO OUT CHAN 3 Channel 3 audio output, male connector

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

15 AES/EBU IN 2 AES/EBU digital input 2, female connector

16 AES/EBU OUT 2 AES/EBU digital output 2, male connector

17 S/PDIF IN 2 S/PDIF digital input 2, phono (RCA) jack

18 S/PDIF OUT 2 S/PDIF digital output 2, phono (RCA) jack

a. Numbers 10 through 18 require the installation of a second audio interface.

Table 2 Meridien I/O Box Audio Identifiers (Continued)

Number Label Function

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Avid NewsCutter 2.0 User guide

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