Can’t export sequence

[Jon Zanone]

Not having used FreeDV, I’m not sure. I do know the ability to allocate more memory to a program died in OS9. Can you be a little more specific on your setup, how much hard disk space you have, what kind of file format are you exporting, etc.

Jon

[Aleric]

I’m exporting as a QT (v 6.5.2 Pro) movie to an external FW drive with 150 GB available. I’ve also tried exporting to the desktop and to the internal drive. The footage was captured by AvidFreeDV from a VCR. using a Canopus ADVC300. Sorry my posting was rather vague, but since I am new to the software and I’m not sure exactly what the error means, I really have no idea what question to ask!

[Jon Zanone]

[Aleric] ” I have over 100GB available”

Do you have 100gb of memory (unlikely), or 100gb of hard disk space? This is a crucial point. How much memory do you have? You can check by clicking on the apple at the desktop level and then going to ‘about this Mac’.

What kind of firewire connection do you have – 400 or 800? That could be an issue as well, although not as likely as lack of memory.

Jon

[Aleric]

I’m using FW400 with 123 GB available, 30GB on my internal drive and I have 1.5GB ram. That seems like it should be plenty. Is there some setting that might need to have its’ size increased?

[Jon Zanone]

How are you trying to export your files (what format are you trying to export to)? How long is the sequence? Avid, for all it’s great features, is woefully inadequate (IMO) at exporting anything other than it’s native files. I’ve had greatest succes in exporting a Quicktime reference (that’s a file that is a wrapper, or container, pointing back to the original OMFI files Avid uses). Then, I use Sorenson Squeeze (there are many others) to take that file and convert it to whatever I need. There is also a 2GB limit (an OS issue, not an Avid issue) when trying to export things lile .avi files. I’m sorry I haven’t answered your initial question, but sometimes it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Jon

[Aleric]

Supposedly, if you are using QTPro, the 2GB file limit doesn’t apply. I have been able to use my other editor to export as much as 10GB at a time with the same settings I used in AvidFree. The sequence I am exporting is 8 min 16 sec long. Truthfully, I’m not even sure that 2034 is an out-of-memory problem. That’s why it is really a needle in the haystack issue, not only do I not know what the problem is, I don’t even know where it’s occuring. Anyway, in the settings, I am designating ‘video’ as the format, no filters and no size changes (720X480). I also tried DVCPro50, Sorenson, Sorenson3, DV/DVCPro and Avid DV. They all failed due the same error. I bought a book from Amazon specifically for AvidFree, I’m really hoping I can figure it out from that. The documentation and tutorials were no help, so the book seems to be my only chance. If I don’t figure this out, I’m not going to buy Xpress, because I can’t tell if that isn’t going to do the same thing.

[Jon Zanone]

Aleric –

I’m not really sure what the issue is at this point, but I highly recommend looking at this link:

https://www.videoguys.com/XDVtips.html#squeeze

It was a great starting point when I was struggling to get a DVD out of the Avid. You mentioned all the formats you tried. Have you tried a quictime reference? For all it’s strong points, Avid’s weakness is it’s limited ability to export different file formats. Using QT reference and Sorenson Squeeze (which comes bundled with XPress Pro HD when bought through a retailer) will give you flawless DVDs in a matter of an hour (especially for your 8 minute sequence) Keep in mind this is a starting point – you’ll have to tweak your data rate and I frame combo to get a product you like.

Although I’m a big proponent of ‘it’s not the took,it’s the way you use it’, don’t give up on Avid yet! Every system will have it’s quirks (FCP is Mac only and with the advent of Intel-based Macs, it sounds like everyone will have to buy a new Mac to get the new upgrades…). Evaluating the XPress Pro based on FreeDV is a little like refusing to buy Corvette because a Saturn had poor acceleration…

Hang in there. I promise you XPro will export your timeline, as long as you follow the guidelines on the link I sent.

Jon

[Aleric]

You’re right, even I’m losing track of what the problem is. I’ll take a look at the link and see if that helps. I should get the book I ordered this afternoon and there’s a copy of AvidFree with it. I think I’ll install that version and see what happens. Got nothing to lose. Since I’m a complete amateur, I was thinking of AvidXpress DV instead of Pro. How much difference is there between them? I’ll probably spend the majority of my time working on family videos and I thought Pro might be a lot more program than I need.

[Jon Zanone]

Well, the biggest difference I can think of off hand is Marquee in title tool, and possibly a more robust multicam.

I guess my question now is, if all you are going to do is home movies, why invest such a large chunk on Avid. Since your on a Mac, why not go with Final Cut Pro? You won’t have as many hardware issues (Avid is very picky regarding hardware configuration), and from what I’ve heard (I’ve not had the opportunity to use FCP) the export option is more seamless than Avid’s. It’s cheaper, too.
Just a thought…

Jon

[Chaz Shukat]

If you are just going to be doing home movies and you have a Mac, why get FCP? That’s a totally professional package. You should have iMovie bundled in with your Mac software. Have you tried that? It’s made for home movies and you should already have it. Costs zero. Sorry if this is too simple an answer and does not address your conversion/export issues.

Chaz S.