Chris Magid
Forum Replies Created
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Actually…YES…just the move the contents of the OMFI folder on the drive you wish to clean…into the OMFI folder on the drive you will keep.
There are two files which are called msmFMID and msmMMOB…windows will ask you what you want to do with these. Just trash em. These two files keep track of everything in the OMFI folder in which they live. They are the “media databases”.
When you relaunch your Avid, these databases will be automatically rebuilt…and you media automatically relinked.
Not all NLEs work this way. Some require you actively hunt down and relink lost or moved files. This is one of the nice things about Avids.
chris magid
rtvf -
Oak brings up a critical area which Avid needs to address, especially in yet to be released products like Symphony Nitris.
There are a few basic features which must be added to Avid’s native effects architecture. DVE soft drop shadows and transfer modes.
Symphony Nitris will have a DVE of impressive quality with a lot of realtime performance. The potential of the new DVE will be limited without native soft drop shadows and transfer modes. Having to use 3rd party plug ins for these staple visual effects will kill realtime performance and compromise workflow.
This becomes even more critical when working with material with custom shaped alpha mattes. Since the Avid is realitively restricted in layer to layer alpha usage, it is very important that the native DVE can deliver soft, variable blur, drop shadows. These shadows can also be centered and feathered to create a faux single color background glow.
So…SOFT DROP SHADOWS….TRANSFER MODES. How about it? What if I ask nicely.
chris magid
rtvf -
Well..if you are on a recent Mediacomposer, Adrenaline or Symphony the built in Animatte effect can do this very easy.
chris magid
rtvf -
YES
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What resolution is it?
While I do not recomended network sharing as a permanent solution. If you are just giving something a quick look you may be able to just simply share the media drive(s) on your Xpress and just move the project file over.
To get Adrenaline to see regular windows networked shares as media drives, you will need to enter the “alldrives” command in the console of the Adrenaline.
Keep in mind when moving the project file over, you will encounter a few error dialog boxes as there are different settings for Xpress and Adrenaline projects. These typically are no big deal to just click through.
Also, I would recommend nothing but a gigabit ethernet to attempt this over. DV is probably going the highest resolution you will be able to work with. Don’t know what version of Xpress you speak of, but 10:1, 15:1 and like compression levels work well.
chris magid
chris@gortvf.com -
We find that Adrenaline is a great fit for taking motion graphics we created in After Effects with alpha channels and simply stacking them up.
Keep in mind that if even if need to render…Adrenaline will at least let you preview your 16 to 20 layers at a lower frame rate and draft resolution. Not pretty to look at, but it does help you adjust timing and placement before rendering.
Older Avid products and XpressPro will only show black when attempting to play back additional unrendered 1:1 layers. You get 2 in Meridien systems and 1 in XPO. Then lights out.
chris magid
chris@gortvf.com -
Ed,
I hate to offer such a general comment. But yes, I have heard of problems with wacom tablets and Mac Avids. Perhaps some posts and problems in the 12 to 18 month back time frame.
In old days we used one on our ABVB Mac Avid on a PM 9600. Recently we have used them on our XpressPro and Adrenaline PC.
Not a lot of info. But a vague confirmation something may be afoot.
chris magid
chris@gortvf.com -
WHY I AM SICK OF THESE TYPES OF QUESTIONS?
If you are any sort of professional and are in the least bit successful you know how to evaluate options and make decisions. You need to consider the source before taking any suggestions via internet forums seriously. WHY? Because everyone’s situation may be different as they relate to customers, experience, skill, workflow, business structure, etc. Also, opinions will be biased.
Each product has benefits and drawbacks. Their strengths are in very different areas. Neither can be called better or worse. Same goes for Mac vs PC.
Do your homework. Go get demos. Read product literature. Search for reviews from publications. Etc
And if you think you are going to build any sort of professional editing environment for $1200 you are misktaken.
Chris Magid
RTVF -
Oliver…
With ALL DUE RESPECT…and you deserve a lot of it…I have seen and heard the same lingo about future improvements many times from Avid. And in most occasions it has turned out to be empty rhetoric. I was an early MC 9000 ABVB buyer, owned Symphony #7, and ponied up for Adrenaline.
Specifically where the DVE is concerned…Symphony has been the victim of two such past promises…once with Mercedes and then with the Z6. These were billed in writing as next generation and advanced. Adrenaline also launched to similar hype of an advanced super clean DVE. Even in the manditory HQ render mode, Adrenaline results are no where near as clean or smooth as just about any other hardware or software based DVE. Plus it is dog slow when used as such.
Check out the DVE on a Velocity HD, then when you are done wetting your pants revistd the Symphony Nitris…no so impressive huh.
The openGL and software based nature of Adrenaline was the reason for Avid speculating that future versions of the platform would be even more fantastic than the empty hype of NAB 2003. And those changes would be coming QUICK. Well…nothing significant has happened to date.
The dirty little secret is the software…that was the case with the Genie card and Mercedes card which produced much better and more flexible results in other applications, most notably as stand alone products from the original manufacturer, Pinancle.
The current state of the Symphony Nitris DVE speaks to this. That the software ADMITTEDLY is not mature enough or properly coded to get the performance out of the Nitris hardware demonstrates the role of aging Composer code in Symphony Nitris. This is not the fault of hardware…as DS harnesses it to provide stunning results. I do not think Avid has it in them to write exceptional software, especially when compounded by the problem of legacy code.
Anyone who tells anyone that compatibility with other Composer based products forces compromises in the DVE does not know beans about coding, can’t creatively problem solve or is handing out a plain excuse.
A promise to fix it later is empty rhetoric until I see it. Launching another 1.0 product with such problems will be a disaster for Avid. The goal of simply getting something out the door that works and at that is facsimile of 3 year old system is embarassing to the company and scary to users.
As for greater performance…it doesn’t matter how many channels of real time you can pump out, if they are not worth looking at.
Passing out quotes like “we’ll flick that on in v 2.0” makes it sound like it is no big deal. Well, if it was so damn easy why not just flick it on now?
How the F can a product be so underdeveloped…especially one that carries a Cadillac price point and which was supposedly brewing for so long.
The whole architecture reeks of hack.
Symphony Nitris will be nothing more than Adrenaline Plus…just more of what it does and quicker…but nothing new, improved or different.
Give me a call when I scale or move a title or matte key in real time without it turning to crap.
Chris Magid
RTVFchris magid
Renaissance Television & Film
http://www.gortvf.com -
This may actually be an error caused by an offline using firewire control of a deck and an online using rs-422 control of a deck. This is an issue with DV, DV50 and HD100. TC over firewire can have an offset or error.
The solution is to use the more robust, quicker and professional rs-422 control in your offlines. Which means you will have to take in your video over SDI, composite or component.
Some DV decks, and Avid software do not like video and audio to come over fire wire while the deck is controlled via rs-422.
ALSO…do not digitize across timecode breaks…whether using firewire or rs 422. This is an Avid specific issue and relates to all digital formats…including DigiBeta. Do not dump entire tapes in. Make sure your in and out points are withing camera rolls.
Chris Magid
RTVFchris magid
Renaissance Television & Film
http://www.gortvf.com