[Felix Dames]

With these “Export to Tape” Settings in PremierePro2.0 and a digitalBetaCAM
recorder all equipment synced with bi-level blackburstgenerator:

Current Protocol: Sony RS-422
-> Options:
Sync Record: [Off] (I can’t enable it – after pressing ok it switchs back to [off]) WHY???
Delay movie start: 5 frames
Manual edit timing: 5 frames
Preroll: 5 seconds
Hard record frame control: Non Drop-Frame

and the driver 5.6 it’s now frame accurate!

I did the test with diffrent videomaterial and 5 times in a row with same settings and with the same result!

Frame accurate! Thanks!

Now it seems that I can trust on….

Felix

[Felix Dames]

Hi,

I have the same Problem when do “Export to tape”

with BMD DecklinkPro Driver5.4.2 PremierePro 2.0

All our studio equipment is synced with blackburst generator
of course the decklink card too!

When capturing in PremierePro 2.0 everything is absolute frame accurate!
Premiere Preferences -> Device Control:
Preroll: 5sec
Timecode Offset: 0 frames
Premiere Preferences -> Device Control -> Options:
Protocol: Sony RS-422
Port: Com3
Use VTRs internal Cue: [Off]
Time Source: LTC ( for me it’s not possible to switch to LTC+VITC as told in the BMD manual. After pressing ok for LTC+VITC it’s always switched back to LTC!)
Timebase: 25fps (I work in PAL)

But when I “Export to Tape” it’s not always frame accurate!!!
I only do INSERT edits with nicely prerecorded timecode + black signal on Tape.
The IN point on tape (after recording) is always accurate but the OUT point slides about 1-3 frames! most of the time only 1 frame but sometimes 3 frames! and sometimes absolute frame accurate with exactly the same export settings!!!
Or the OUT point on tape is accurate but the edits in my timeline are not at the same position on tape! Slides about 1-3frames !
My “video hard drive” is an SCSI320 Raid 0 and it is not fragmented! And it’s fast enough to do 125 fps in SD mode PAL!

My Export to Tape Settings in PremierePro2.0:
Current Protocol: Sony RS-422
-> Options:
Sync Record: [Off] (I can’t enable it – after pressing ok it switchs back to [off])
Delay movie start: 5 frames
Manual edit timing: 5 frames
Preroll: 5 seconds
Hard record frame control: Non Drop-Frame

These Setting work for me SOMETIMES (other settings mess up everything and I tried every combination) but I have to do the same edit (export to tape) up to 5-10 time to get it frame accurate and that is horrible when your client needs a master playout which has to be frame accurate! and I always have to run to our equipment room to check back on the digital BetaCAM machine if it’s frame accurate or not and than run back and do the edit again and again… till it’s frame accurate 🙁

I took the time to write down all this because this problem is not new to BMD and I want this bug to be fixed! And I want to bring light to this really dark corner!
I work with decklinkPro now for 1 1/2 years and I tried nearly every new driver since driver v4.7.5 -> 5.4.2 with PremierePro 1.5 and 2.0 and I always have this “Export to Tape” problem! The only time it was ALWAYS frame accurate was with PremierePro1.5 and Driver v5.1.1!
As I started working with BMD DecklinkPro I thought “OK the windows drivers are new and they will work in the future… and they worked with v5.1.1” and now the problem comes up again! This drives my mad because I can’t trust on BMD – I always have to check the frame accuracy after every driver update and that’s why I’m still on driver v5.4.2 and not on driver v5.6 because I have to work with this card and not beta testing! I do not have the time to check that everything is working ok it’s BMD job but it seems that they do their job not very well and that’s why I can’t trust on them!

So dear BMD team you created nice video hardware for a fair price but you failed to write good drivers to trust on.

I like your card and want to work with it in the future so give yourself a “slap” and make the “Export to Tape” frame accurate and I mean ALWAYS frame accurate!
On your website you say how professional your products are but professional is frame accurate!

And by the way in the past I posted this problem 2 times to BMD Support and 2 times to Creative Cow. Now I’m doing it again and hope it is the last time.

So to all other users who have this problem (or not): take the time and write down your settings which work or explain your problem with “export to tape”.

I’m wondering: out there are just some few people having this problem? or do they haven’t noticed it yet?!?

best regards,

Felix Dames

[Felix Dames]

Hi,

you shopuld have bought the speakers Behringer MS-40 they are much cheeper (129

[Felix Dames]

Hi Luke,

nice to know you are working on stable drivers! Thanks!

I am a bit confused about the certification with DELL products like the precision workstation 670 which I own.
https://www.adobeopenhd.com/certified_solutions/
https://www.adobeopenhd.com/certified_solutions/dellohdcertsummary.pdf

I am working with the dell 670 since April 2005! It works fine for me and my clients in SD mode in conjunction with a Sony digital BetaCAM Deck / Sony DV Recorder all over SDI connections with house clock sync generator. Firewire video connections like hdv work too.
My opinion: why shouldn’t it work? The dell presision 670 have the right mainboard chipset Intel 7525 the disk drives (SCSI Raid0) are fast enough and the PCIX bus have two diffrent busses for real 100Mhz per PCIX Slot!

Maby I am wrong and there are limitation or I forgot something importend?!
But then question of the day:
DELL is one of the biggest and largest computer manufactor and the cheapest one, so wouldn’t it be importend for Black Magic Design to support a company like DELL or at least the workstation 670?
And when you are right and that workstation is unsupported why are so many video companies out there who sell the Black Magic Design cards in combination with DELL Workstation 670?

I don’t know?!?

I only started this post to tell people who have problems with BMD products that it could be importened to keep certifications in mind espacially for drivers.

Regards,

Felix Dames

http://www.felixdames.de
http://www.redsun-berlin.de

[Felix Dames]

Question:

Do you have QuickTime files as footage material in your edit?
If you have QuickTime Files as footage there is the problem because Premiere seems not to be compatible with QT files. It is compatible withe the video track but not the audio track and that’s the importend point:
The audio is always getting conformted by Premiere up to 32bit floating point and I recognised that audio after the conform process has a cutting/doubling or crackling sound every 4 minutes but only with QT files (doesn’t matter wich codec) with avi files everything fine and ok.
I don’t know why it is like that but I have had the same problem that’s why i’m useing only .avi’s

PC -> AVI
Mac – QT

Shouldn’t be like this but it seems this is the reality 😉

Felix

[Felix Dames]

Be shure you capture inside PremierePro!

In your project window edit colums to show ‘Media Start’ ‘Media End’ ‘Media Duration’ ‘Capture Sttings’
These are the timecodes of your original tape wich you have captured from Inpoint to Outpoint
The colums ‘Inpoint’ ‘Outpoint’ are the In/Out points you can set in the player window for editing down to timeline.
the ‘Capture Setting’ box shows if there is timecode information for rebatching the clips
if the ‘Capture Settings’ box is not marked there is no timecode information

Felix

[Felix Dames]

I own a Dell Precision Workstation 670 Dual Xeon 2x 3,4 Ghz with Decklink Pro
2 GB RAM
136 GB SCSI Raid 0 with 10000 U/per minute
Nvidia Quatro FX 1400

I can say it is one of the rock solid systems I have ever had !!! I Love it 😉
I do a lot of uncompressed capturing & playout from/to digital Betacam in SD quality
Work with Aftereffects and Premiere…
absolute frame sync & fast! even when disc is defragmented!
It’s also great and fast enough for 3D Rendering
system benchmark with Sisoft Sandra 14000 GFLOP!

But for HD1080 you should use SCSI Drives with 15000 U/per minute
because the 10000 only do: Read:104 MB/sec Write:103 MB/sec only enough for HD720 not for HD1080

Felix Dames

[Felix Dames]

the disc was allmost empty 90% free
don’t understand your question ?!?
this should have nothing to do how full or empty the disc is its scsi320 Raid 0
with 10000 UPM – should be fast enough for everything in SD quality and it’s working fine with the BMD deck control software!!!

Felix

[Felix Dames]

Hi which drivers do you use?
I use v4.8.1 with Decklink Pro on a WinXP system and its impossible for me to get anything out of the SPDIF digital outs!!!
I always have to switch to another soundcard driver to get an audio preview in PremierePro 1.5! that sucks! I bought the Decklink Pro to have this digital audio previews and got nothing for my money!
Question: did you get something out of the SPDIF A,B,C or D???
Or does it seems that my card is damaged?

Felix