Proper Fast Import Settings Question

Avid Media Composer

Proper Fast Import Settings Question

Posted by Romeo Rubio on June 15, 2011 at 9:45 pm

I posted something a little bit ago asking about the process of getting material off DVDs and preparing them for work in Avid (someone else will be doing the editing). I did some test and was able to get material off of the DVDs using Mpeg Streamclip, now the individual wants me to advise him on setting up the composer settings for proper editing of the footage. I don’t work in Avid so I am not totally sure on what to tell him. Below are the settings I used in Streamclip and then the write-up I will give him for Composer settings set-up. I don’t have access to Composer so I’ve just been gleaning information off of the internet. Please let me know if any of it is wrong.

The DVDs themselves all seem to be 4:3 or 16:9 image letterboxed within a 4:3. In Streamclip I use these settings with both types:

Avid DV Codec, In the Options I choose ITU_R 601, Resolution DV50 NTSC
Sound: Uncompressed
Frame Size 720×480
Field Dominance: Lower Field First
Deinterlace Video is checked

I should also note that with this setting, the exports have very, very thin black bars on the left and right sides (not pillarboxing). When I change the Frame Size setting to 640×480 (4:3), appearance wise, I get the same exact export without the thin black lines. Which one should I choose?

As for the settings in Avid this is what I wrote up for him.

In Image Settings
Image Tab

In the OMFI/AAF tab

For the Project Settings, will Avid auto detect it or should he manually input it?
If the later should it be:

Project Type: 480p
Color Space: YCbCr 709
Aspect Ratio 4:3
Raster Dimension: 720×480

Thanks

Michael Kammes replied 14 years, 10 months ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
3 Replies

Michael Kammes
June 16, 2011 at 4:35 pm

Here is my guide for it, works great:

https://michaelkammes.com/encoding/avid-is-self-aware-fast-import/

~Michael

.: michael kammes mpse
.: senior applications editor . post workflow consultant
.: audio specialist . act fcp . acsr
.: michaelkammes.com
.: twitter: @michaelkammes
.: facebook: /mkammes

Hear me pontificate: Speaking Schedule .
Romeo Rubio
June 16, 2011 at 6:49 pm

Michael, your article was one of the things I was actually referencing initially to come up with the workflow. The pictures I used were the ones from the article… So basically the only differences in my setup is the codec used and of course the project setting since the material isn’t HD. What would you recommend encoding the mpeg2 files into? Avid DV 50?
Michael Kammes
June 17, 2011 at 2:57 am

Maybe I should watermark my images, eh?

I’m willing to bet the bars are because you are encoding at 720 x 480, which is NTSC DV, but NOT full frame NTSC SD video which is 720 x 486. 3 lines of resolution on each side will give you the bars.

You may want to try using an more full bodied & rich flavored Avid codec. Avid 1:1x will be best, but is a much larger file than your DV50 file, by about 3-4x…and probably overkill for a DVD rip. Meredien Compressed (2:1 or 3:1) will work as well. There is also an Avid MPEG2 50Mbit codec which would also work. You’ve got some options.

When you start a project, select 30i NTSC, color space should be YCbCr 601, and raster should default top 720 x 486.

Good Luck!

~Michael

.: michael kammes mpse
.: senior applications editor . post workflow consultant
.: audio specialist . act fcp . acsr
.: michaelkammes.com
.: twitter: @michaelkammes
.: facebook: /mkammes

Hear me pontificate: Speaking Schedule .

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