Avid DS Nitris 7.0 User guide

make manage move | media

™

Avid

®

Avid

®

DS Nitris

™

Version 7.0

Capture and Output Guide

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. 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.

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 Avid DS Nitris application uses JScript and Visual Basic Scripting Edition from Microsoft Corporation.

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, Adrenaline, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid,

Avid DNA, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, AVIDstripe, Avid Mojo, Avid Unity, Avid

Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign, Digidesign

Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator,

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, Nitris, 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, Xdeck, and XSI are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in

the United States and/or other countries.

All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

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 DS Nitris Capture and Output Guide • 0130-05574-01 • September 2003

3

Contents

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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

Using the Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Customizing the Pen or Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Accessing the Online Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

If You Have Documentation Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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

Avid Educational Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Avid DS Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

E-mail Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Web Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

FTP Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Mailing List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 1 Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Workflow: Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Preparing to Capture Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Configuring the External Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Opening the Capture Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Selecting the Capture Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Selecting the Capture Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Specifying the Capture Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Specifying Audio Input Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Specifying Video Input Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Previewing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Monitoring Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Logging and Capturing Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Performing a Live Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4

Logging and Capturing Clips from Tape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Capturing Clips On-the-Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Capturing Material from File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Capturing from File by Dragging to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Capturing from Layered Adobe Photoshop Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Capturing from DPX Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Importing Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Creating Linked Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Relinking a Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Batch Capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Recapturing at a Different Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Capturing Clips from the Avid Explorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Capturing Clips from the Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Creating a Batch Capture List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Batch Capturing Without Interaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Using Scripts to Capture Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Creating a Script for Capturing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Running a Script for Capturing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Importing from SOFTIMAGE|XSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Importing .gen Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Importing a Composite Tree through AAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Managing Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Adding a New Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Renaming a Tape and Changing the Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Purging Media from Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Recapturing from Tape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Deleting a Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Chapter 2 Conforming AAF and AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Workflow: Conforming AAF and AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Conforming AAF and AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Exporting AAF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Exporting AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Transferring Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

5

Importing AAF and AFE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Creating a Sequence and Master Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Recapturing Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Transferring Audio Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Completing the Conformed Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Creating Real-Time Graphics from Conformed Titles . . . . . . . . . . 101

Conforming AAF Sequences with MediaManager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Setting Up MediaManager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Checking a Sequence into MediaManager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Conforming a Sequence with MediaManager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Chapter 3 Conforming OMF, EDL, and ALE Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Workflow: Conforming OMF, EDL, and ALE Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Conforming OMF Compositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Opening an OMF File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Conforming an OMF File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Exporting an OMF File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Conforming EDLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Avid EDL Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Opening an EDL File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Setting EDL Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Conforming an EDL File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Modifying an EDL File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Exporting an EDL File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Printing an EDL File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Proofing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Conforming ALE Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Importing an ALE File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Logging Clips from an ALE File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Chapter 4 Outputting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Workflow: Outputting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Preparing for Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Processing Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Selecting an Area to Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

6

Monitoring Audio Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Configuring the External Device for Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Calibrating Video Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Specifying Downconvert Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Specifying the Sync Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Outputting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Outputting to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Outputting to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Exporting AVI or QuickTime Reference Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Exporting Reference Movies to ProEncode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Using This Guide

Congratulations on your purchase of an Avid DS Nitris system. You can

use your system to create broadcast-quality output incorporating every

possible production element from full-speed, high-resolution footage, to

multimedia artwork and animation, to computer-generated effects and

titling.

n

The documentation describes the features and hardware of all 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 DS Nitris users, from beginning to

advanced, who need to capture, conform, or output material. It provides

comprehensive, task-oriented instructions for:

• Capturing material from external devices and files

• Conforming projects transferred from other systems through AFE,

AAF, OMF

®

, EDL, and ALE files

• Outputting material to external devices and files

Using This Guide

8

Symbols and Conventions

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the

Windows XP operating system.

Avid DS Nitris documentation uses the following symbols and

conventions:

Symbol or

Convention

Meaning or Action

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 document or on the unit

itself when handling electrical equipment.

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands)

in the order you select them. For example, File > Import

means to open the File menu and then select the Import

command.

t

This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple

arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions

listed.

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

more easily and efficiently.

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

variables.

Courier Bold

font

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Bold font Bold indicates a user interaction.

Symbols and Conventions

9

Using the Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard

In Avid DS Nitris, you can use a two-button mouse (with wheel) or a pen

and tablet. The left and right mouse buttons perform different operations.

Unless otherwise stated, use the left mouse button.

The mouse and pen operate slightly differently. All the procedures in this

guide are documented for the mouse. You can, however, easily use a pen or

the keyboard. The following table shows the terms relating to the mouse,

pen, and keyboard.

This Term Means This with a Mouse Means This with a Pen

Click Quickly click and release the

left mouse button. Always use

the left mouse button unless

otherwise stated.

Tap the tablet once with the tip of

the pen, or touch the pen to the

tablet with enough pressure to

click.

Double-click Click the left mouse button

twice rapidly.

Quickly tap the tablet twice in the

same screen pixel or press the F5

key to go from single to double-

click.

Right-click Quickly click and release the

right mouse button.

Press the top portion of the switch

on the side of the pen or press the

F6 key to go from left to right-

click.

Drag Click and hold the left mouse

button or the wheel while you

move the mouse.

Press the pen to the tablet while

moving the pen.

Alt+key,

Ctrl+key,

Shift+key,

etc.

Press and hold the first key while you press the second key. For

example, “Press Alt+F1” means to press and hold the Alt key

while you press the F1 key.

Using This Guide

10

Customizing the Pen or Mouse

By customizing the pen, you can adjust the click pressure, switch

functions, and other features. For information on customizing the pen,

refer to the documentation provided with your Avid DS Nitris system.

You can also customize the mouse. For example, you can select left-

handed configuration or change the double-click speed. For information on

customizing the mouse, refer to the Windows online Help.

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using Avid DS Nitris:

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 for the latest information that might have become available

after the documentation was published in one of two locations:

- If release notes are available, they ship with your application.

- If ReadMe files are available, they are supplied in your Avid

application folder. ReadMe files are also available from Help.

3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your

hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

4. See “Avid DS Customer Support” on page 12.

5. For Technical Support, please call 800-800-AVID (800-800-2843).

For international enquiries and support services, contact your local

Avid Reseller. Support offerings may vary per location.

Accessing the Online Documentation

The online library contains all the Avid DS Nitris documentation in PDF

format. If it was installed on your workstation, you can access it from the

Help menu in Avid DS Nitris.

If You Need Help

11

n

You will need Adobe

®

Acrobat

®

Reader

®

installed to view the

documentation online.

To access the online library, do one of the following:

t In Avid DS Nitris, select Help > Online Library.

t Insert the Drivers CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive, and select

Online Library from the main menu.

To install Adobe Acrobat Reader:

1. Insert the Drivers CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.

2. Select the appropriate workstation and select Utilities.

If You Have Documentation Comments

We’d appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have about the

Avid DS Nitris documentation.

Please e-mail your documentation comments to:

dsdocs@avid.com

Include the title of the document, its part number, 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 Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). If you are

placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local

Avid representative.

Avid Educational Services

For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications,

courseware, and books, please visit www.avid.com/training or call

Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).

Using This Guide

12

Avid DS Customer Support

The following sections describe various Avid DS Customer Support

options.

E-mail Support

The e-mail address for Avid DS Customer Support is:

dssupport@avid.com.

You can use it for sending bug reports, usability questions, and avidds.cab

audit reports for system analysis. All e-mails are logged in the support

database and assigned a case number. Send one support request per e-mail.

n

It is mandatory that you include your SID number in the body of your

e-mail message for verification of your maintenance contract and case

logging, otherwise, response will be delayed.

Web Support

The Avid DS Customer Support and Download sections at

http://www.softimage.com/avidds provide quick access to a wide range

of resources from the Avid DS teams and user community. Downloads,

including presets, drivers, and Quick Fix Engineering (QFE), provide the

latest solutions for use with your Avid DS Nitris system. Online

documentation, tutorials, and Knowledge Base articles ensure that you get

the most out of your work with Avid DS Nitris. It's like having a dedicated

Avid DS Customer Support engineer sitting at your desk!

FTP Support

For troubleshooting purposes, an FTP server is available for uploading

large files for Avid DS Customer Support personnel to examine. You can

upload a project's archive, media files, or other large piece of data. Simply

zip the files to upload and use a short name for easy retrieval, such as

archive.zip or Case274877.zip. You can use a Windows Command Prompt

or an FTP application to upload files to our server.

Avid DS Customer Support

13

Command Prompt Commands

Once the file upload is complete, send an e-mail to [email protected]

to inform Avid DS Customer Support as there is no automatic notification

when a file is uploaded on the FTP server. Please provide the complete and

exact file name (case sensitive) to retrieve.

Mailing List

Although the Avid DS mailing list is frequently monitored by Avid

employees, it is not part of the official support channels. You are invited to

send your support requests to any of the above channels when required.

If you have an e-mail account, you can join the worldwide network of Avid

DS users exchanging ideas. The mailing list has proven to be quite useful

for users, with a constant stream of new subscribers.

To subscribe, send an e-mail to [email protected] with the

following text in the body of your message: subscribe ds. You can get

further information on using the automated list server by e-mailing

majordomo@softimage.com with “help” as your message.

You can also go to http://www.avid.com/support/forms.html, which is a

great source of information, available on the Avid web site for Avid DS.

Command Description

Site access ftp ftp.softimage.com [Enter]

Folder access cd incoming [Enter]

User name anonymous [Enter]

Password “your e-mail address” [Enter]

Transfer mode bin [Enter]

Upload command Put “path:\file name” [Enter]

Using This Guide

14

Chapter 1

Capturing Material

This chapter describes how to prepare to capture material, specify the

capture quality, and capture and log material so that you can edit it in

Avid DS Nitris. This chapter includes the following topics:

• Workflow: Capturing Material

• Preparing to Capture Material

• Logging and Capturing Material

• Capturing Material from File

• Creating Linked Clips

• Batch Capturing

• Using Scripts to Capture Media

• Importing from SOFTIMAGE|XSI

• Managing Tapes

Workflow: Capturing Material

You can capture material for your project from different sources, such as

tape or file. The following illustration shows you the process of capturing

material:

Chapter 1 Capturing Material

16

Configure inputs and quality settings.

3

2

1

Log or capture material from...

Preview material.

Adjust level of incoming audio signal.

Preview video material.

Select video/audio input, quality, and storage.

Configure the VTR or other external device.

4

If required, batch capture from the timeline or Avid Explorer.

File

Tape

AFE, AAF, OMF

®

, EDL, or ALE file.

Preparing to Capture Material

17

Preparing to Capture Material

Before capturing media, you must configure settings for your workstation.

Configuration includes specifying the external device and the input signals

coming from the external device, selecting the capture quality, storage

location for the captured media, and other settings, and monitoring audio

levels.

Use this checklist to help you prepare to capture.

These tasks are described in the following sections.

c

Avid DS Nitris requires that the deck and the Avid Nitris DNA be

genlocked to the same timing source when capturing. If you’re

capturing a format that allows either tri-level or black burst sync

(such as 1080i 59.94), you can use either sync source, so long as it is

supported by the deck.

n

If you are capturing material from file, configure the capture settings in

advance through the Capture Settings view and capture through the Avid

Explorer. For more information, see “Capturing Material from File” on

page 43.

❏ Configure the external device

❏ Select the capture mode

❏ Specify the capture quality

❏ Specify audio input settings

❏ Specify video input settings

❏ Preview material

Preparing to capture

❏ Select the capture target

Chapter 1 Capturing Material

18

Configuring the External Device

Before capturing from an external device, such as a deck, you need to set

options for the device.The first time you work with a new device, you need

to set parameters in the Deck Configuration view. The Deck Configuration

view lets you save your settings as a preset. You can then select the preset

in the Deck Configuration view or select it from the Device pop-up menu

in the Capture Tool.

To configure an external device:

1. Connect the external device to your Avid DS system, as described in

the setup guide for your system.

2. Open the Deck Configuration view by doing one of the following:

t Select View > Multi-Instance Views > Deck Configuration.

t In an Avid Explorer panel, open the Views folder and click Deck

Configuration.

The Deck Configuration view opens.

Preparing to Capture Material

19

For information about options in the Deck Configuration view, click

the Help button in the Avid Explorer toolbar.

3. Do one of the following:

t In the Deck Configuration view, click the Fast Menu button and

select Add New Deck Preset.

t In the Avid Explorer toolbar, click the New button.

An icon named Deck Preset is added to the Deck Presets list. The

name is selected and ready to be renamed.

4. Type a name for the preset.

5. From the Manufacturer list, select the name of the manufacturer of the

external device.

6. From the Model list, select the model number.

Deck presets

list

Fast Menu

button

Chapter 1 Capturing Material

20

Some models include a frame rate (23, 24, and so on). Make sure the

template matches the playback rate of your deck.

7. From the COM Port list, select the COM port that connects the serial

cable from the external device to your system.

The serial cable should be connected to either COM1 or COM2.

8. From the TC Mode list, select the type of timecode you want to use for

input: Auto, LTC, or VITC.

Auto lets the external device determine which timecode to read.

n

If your external device cannot find a timecode when previewing material,

your TC Mode setting may be incorrect.

9. When outputting to tape, you must specify the edit mode by selecting

Auto or Assemble from the Edit Mode list.

10. From the Edit Field list, select the field on which the output starts.

Deck Settings uses the Edit Field setting that is set on the external

device.

11. In the Preroll text box, enter the amount of time that you want the

external device to play before Avid DS Nitris starts to capture or

output.

12. If you’re experiencing an offset between the external device and your

system, you can compensate by adding or subtracting frames in the

Play Bias and Record Bias text boxes. The Play Bias option offsets the

timeline whereas the Record Bias option offsets the VCR timecode

entry point.

n

When you first connect the external device to your system, you should

perform several capture and output tests to verify that the timecodes are

accurate.

13. Make a selection from the Input and Priority lists.

The input you select will depend on the audio hardware connected to

your system.

14. Use the Audio Physical Patching matrix to assign the audio outputs

from the external device to the audio inputs on your workstation—see

“Using the Physical Patching Matrix” on page 22.

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Avid DS Nitris 7.0 User guide

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