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Adrenaline won’t capture across timecode breaks — help!
I am capturing 30 hours of HDCAM footage from a JH-3, footage that has already been logged slate to slate. Almost every time the deck hits a timecode break (not much of a break), capture stops with a “discontinuous timecode” error. These breaks are at the end of takes and I don’t care about them — is there anyway to force the Adrenaline to chill out and accept the capture?? This is KILLING me (at $100/hr).
Thank you, somebody!
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8 Replies
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Make your out points before the TC break.
Or instead of logging and batch capturing, just capture live….which will take a very long time and be expensive with all the hours of footage you have at $100/hr.Avid Media Composer Adenaline HD
Sony HDV Z1 Camera
Sony DVCAM -
Set it to capture across timecode breaks in the capture preferences and do not log it. Just mark in at the head of the tape and let it fly. The Avid will make a new clip after each break (after it can get a pre roll) and continue digitizing.
One thing that will mess this up is if the timecode after the break is earlier code than what precedes the break. Your Avid will think you are attempting time travel and will stop with an error message.
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Thanks for your help! Okay, so…
Nnnnnhgh. All that slate-to-slate logging (already named with scenes and takes) goes down the toilet? I have to subclip and log the media again? Oh, the mighty Avid…..
“THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA” –
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How do I make the out-points befor the TC breaks on footage that’s already been logged? Are you suggesting revisiting each entry again, with tape in the machine? Wouldn’t that be nearly the same as relogging from scratch?
“THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA” –
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Use the Modify timecode before capturing to “add” 180 frames to the head and tail. Or whatever number of frames you want to preserve for your preroll. Then batch capture. You can do this across multiply selected clips.
If the production was shooting single camera with on board audio then there was no real reason to shoot time of day. If there were multiple cameras, double system sound without a ClockIt type device, then time of day is the way to go.
Michael
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Hi, thanks. It is actually not time-of-day tc. Seems to be natural on/off camera breaks (there’s not black, no signal breaks) are enough to stop the Adrenaline.
As far as your suggestion, I already tried deincrementing the out times, but there is no consistency how far the next slate is in after the break — sometimes a few frames, sometimes 20 seconds. Start times not a problem, since always on the slate.
Darn it — FCP handles this easily, you just tell it to ignore breaks. Yes, there can be sync issues, but who cares when the breaks are at the end of clips. I wish there was some way to force the Adrenaline to keep the material. Oh well, there goes all my logging. Stewing…
(But thanks as always for the support!!)
“THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA” –
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[BRussell] “darn it — FCP handles this easily, you just tell it to ignore breaks. Yes, there can be sync issues, but who cares when the breaks are at the end of clips. I wish there was some way to force the Adrenaline to keep the material. Oh well, there goes all my logging. Stewing…”
Well in all fairness, this isn’t totally accurate either. Most NLEs (maybe all) don’t actually record the TC signal. They grab the first frame and make comparisons from which they generate interpolated code. If the in and out TC matches, then the interpolation is accurate. If you choose to let FCP ignore TC, the warning indicates that batch captures will be wrong. For example, if you have 5 TC breaks in a clip and you tell FCP to ignore the TC breaks, all portions of that clip after the first break will have the wrong TC. If you are working offline/online this is disasterous, because you cannot consolidate and batch capture accurately.
On the plus side, Avid does a far better job of pre-rolling across TC breaks (FCP won’t) and automatically breaking clips into new segments at TC breaks. Have you tried the latter approach? I don’t remember if this works with batch capture/digitize, but maybe it does now.
Unfortunately you are encountering a known issue with Sony camcorder recordings.
Sincerely,
OliverOliver Peters
Post-Production & Interactive Media
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
Hi there. Ah, so this is Sony F900 issue, okay. I wondered why continuous timecode across shots was being read as TC breaks. They aren’t really breaks, but the camera is causing a lag or drop or field mismatch or something… sometimes.
Yeah, actually I knew that’s what FCP did — or basically what it did — just from experience. TC can can be off after breaks. I didn’t know that it was because FCP interpolated rather than tracked TC. Interesting. But regardless, at least there is a mode where you can force FCP to capture across breaks; because slate-to-slate, I don’t care if the TC after the break is off. On the Avid, all my logging is useless, Avid doesn’t give me an option to use my logging successfully. I’ll have to do it all again with the captured media.
In answer to your question, no, Avid does not capture across breaks in batch capture, only capturing on the fly, which is what I’m doing now. It does do it efficiently, I must say — no halts or errors. FCP is always full of halts and errors. Most reels are turning out to be about six or so clips.
Discreet Edit, which I used to use a lot (and loved it) seemed to actually record timecode. I have a memory of changes in TC being reflected in media. Edit was pretty solid with TC. It was really solid with a lot of things. I appreciate Avid’s solidness too. I LOVE its media management and real-time. What I like least though is all the old-school expensive proprietary crap (I keep hearing the term “Avid Mafia”) — the fact that I need to rent an Adrenaline just to capture HD, case in point. In FCP I could capture with Decklink or AJA — I’m looking forward to getting into Cineform someday (AJA). Oh well, in the meantime, I wouldn’t want to edit this show on FCP. FCP 5 disappointed me, as did 4.5, as did 4…. other than multicam, Apple still hasn’t tackled the two core weakness of FCP — REAL real time and media management (database accuracy in general). I ramble.
Cheers!“THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA” –
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