Trying to understand the Meridean codec settings and ingest ratio setting

[Carl Amoscato]

Hi Chris,

“In AVIDs ingest settings, does the use files resolution or compression work?”

After selecting File>Import, you get the Select Files to Import dialog box. In the Video Resolution drop down, select the compression ratio you want to bring the file in as. For example, if you’ve created an animation at 3:1 in AE, and you want to bring it into Avid at 3:1, select 3:1 in the Video Resolution drop down box.

If the compression ratios and codecs all match (i.e. you rendered out of AE using the Meridian codec at 3:1, and you’re importing the file as 3:1) it will go faster than if you’d used a different compression ratio or codec.

“If i export out of AE a file using the Meridean compressed 3:1 interlaced setting, do i need to also tell tell the Avid ingest settings that the source is interlaced…. and vice versa if its progressive?”

Yes. In the Select Files to Import dialog box, click Options, and set the File Field Order to the correct setting for whatever your AE render is: upper, lower, or non-interlaced.

“Im in PAL land, so should the export Meridean Compressed settings be RGB 0-255?”

Sorry, I’m NTSC, so I don’t know the answer to this for certain, and I don’t want to guess and give you bad information.

“How do i make sure that the levels remain the same when exporting from the AVID timeline and working in AE… ?”

You have to pay attention to the all the paramaters you get when you select Options on export out of Avid, when you create your composition in AE, when you render out of AE, and when you select Options again on import back into Avid.

For example, if you screw up aspect ratio, color space, field order, or frame rate in any of those steps, then it will cause you a problem. The key is knowing what you’re working in, and making sure you stay in that for the entire process. Again, I’m NTSC, so I’m not certain what all the paramaters should be for PAL.

“Does the file size decrease if i was to use the Meridean uncompressed codec instead of the Animation codec?”

I believe it does. The way to test this without wasting a lot of time is to export a 5 second chunk of video and see what the difference in size is.

Hopefully this got you pointed in the right direction.

good luck,
Carl

[Chris Huggett]

Hi Carl

Thank you so much for your response.

So if im reading you correctly, if i export out of AE at 3:1, then import at 3:1, would then my file will really be 6:1? What would be my reason then, of using compression in AE export.

I did do a test last week of importing an AE compressed 3;1 file and selecting, the OMF tag in the import settings and choosing Use files resolution”, then changed the ratio to 20;1 and when i brought it in, the picture looked fine and was not pixelated like i expected, however in the files settings in the bin, it did say that the ratio was 20:1. Maybe im doing something wrong.

At work, we archive all our animation onto a server.We have been using QT Animation to export all our files, and unfortunately we are chewing up space quickly. Thats why i thought we could use a compressed format, and archive our work this way.

I will test the other stuff today and see what happens. Thanks again Carl and others.

Chris
https://www.acclaim.tv

[Carl Amoscato]

Hi Chris,

“So if im reading you correctly, if i export out of AE at 3:1, then import at 3:1, would then my file will really be 6:1? What would be my reason then, of using compression in AE export.”

I honestly don’t know if you add extra compression with each export/import, and we use QT movies rather than OMF, so I’m not an expert on the OMF import settings.

As far as why you’d do it, it saves time on the import into Avid. If your file is rendered out of AE using the Animation codec, Avid has to convert it to the Meridian codec when you import it. If you render out of AE with the Meridian codec and the same compression ratio as you import it into Avid, Avid doesn’t have to convert it, it only has to import it, which takes less time.

good luck,
Carl