[Dave Schweitzer]

If I’m creating content in AE for Avid, I do all my work in a 720×540 Sq pixel comp (so it looks exactly like what it’ll look like on a TV) then before rendering create a new comp at D1 size (720×486) and drop my work comp in there, hitting alt-option-f (mac) to autofit the 540 layer to the 486 comp. Then if filesize is not an issue, I’ll render to Animation w/alpha UNMATTED and import that into Avid. If space is tight, then I’ll render an Avid 2:1 of the full color comp and also render out an ALPHA only, using Avid’s Matte Key filter to do the composite in the Avid Sequence.
This combo should give you excellent results.

[Dave Schweitzer]

What about your effect aperture setting? I’ve read somewhere that Boris defaults to D1 (486), but without a mojo you’re working at DV (480) and I don’t think you can change that in Avid (General setting I believe). So I’d poke around the Boris for a preference that’ll let you work at DV height.

[Dave Schweitzer]

I would export from Avid to a self-contained Quicktime, Same as Source, 601 with Avid codec checked.
Do fun things in AE (you may need to interpret the file as lower field first if 6.0 doesn’t automatically) and export as Animation Lower field first. This will give your text a better chance of looking good – especially if the font is thin.

[Dave Schweitzer]

For Mac OS X:
I highly recommend Cinematize 2 from Miraizon. (.com)
With this program it couldn’t be easier:
put dvd in your drive and launch Cinematize, select the VTS you want to extract – or mark in and out around the specific area, select the Quicktime codec you want to use from all codecs on your system – straight to Avid 2:1 if that’s what you like, and it’ll quickly spit out a quicktime file you can quick import into your Avid for editing.
Of course, it will only do discs without copy-protection, so make sure you didn’t build your dvd with CSS or Macrovision and you’re a go.

For PC:
try google for DVD rip and I’m sure you’ll find hundreds of programs that’ll do it.

[Dave Schweitzer]

You may need to be holding alt to get it to drag to the bin without the old source graphic attached (i.e. just the motion/scaling parameters, not the old graphic).

[Dave Schweitzer]

When you installed DVDSP it should’ve enabled the mpeg-2 output option in QT Pro. If for some reason that didn’t happen, you should be able to take your non-Avid codec QT ref and import it right into DVDSP, letting DVDSP encode either on the build or in the background while you author (check your preferences).

[Dave Schweitzer]

Sorry, I mixed up self-contained and reference QTs when writing to your post. The “source compression” references what Avid labeled the “same as source” check box a few years ago in the quicktime movie output module. What this means is you’re exporting at DV, and not transcoding to another format, which is what you want.
As far as outputting Quicktimes for encoding to MPEG, I am assuming the bluish shade in your blacks is merely caused by using the Avid codec. The Avid codec assumes output will be going to a television (via a dv deck or transcoder) so it sets black at 7.5 for NTSC, but when building your DVD, DVDSP processes the already properly setup video yet again, resulting in ultrablack sitting at 7.5 and black at 15.

So what I do is output QT or QTRefs, same as source, Avid Codec off (0-255). Then I use QT Pro to encode to MPEG2 and import the m2v and aif files into DVDSP, where the final build brings the blacks back up to 7.5. I’ve been very happy with the results.

If you want to read a December 2003 thread on washed out DVD’s: https://www.creativecow.net/forum/read_post.php?postid=107004336211710&forumid=155&archive=_2003|1|0

[Dave Schweitzer]

Make sure you have your settings to use source compression, but UNcheck the Avid DV codec.
This will force the output to use the Apple DV codec, which has 0-255 luminance values rather than Avid’s Studio RGB space of 16-235.
I take these QT Refs and either use QT pro or Sorenson Squeeze to output my mpeg-2s.
And they look fine.

[Dave Schweitzer]

On the Avid Forums there is an interesting discussion of how this works on an internal network, although the bottom line is that it’d be awfully slow over the internet. They use some VNC software to show (also control) the editor desktop on another machine.

https://www.avid.com/community/forums/Forum39/HTML/006574.html

Here’s a suggestion I’ve seen in action, but it requires a second computer hooked up to the internet. Bring in a Powerbook or some equivalent pc, hook up an iSight or some equivalent webcam with a high enough refresh rate, point the camera at your client monitor and chat with the producer while showing the edit. It’s like the producer’s looking over your shoulder (minus the onion breath).

[Dave Schweitzer]

I went down this road a few years ago, and found the older meridien boards won’t work in any thing newer than (hazy memory here) the AGP graphics mac system you may already have. It’s due to the motherboard. Somewhere in the knowledge Base there is a table which shows the Meriden board sets and the Macs they will function in.
A possibility would be to try various processor upgrades (Sonnet worked well for me on an old 9600 system). Maybe order a few different models from a place with a 30-day no questions return policy like outpost.com. It may take a little trial and error.

Good Luck
Dave