[Jeff Pulera]

If you have an additional Thunderbolt port available, Black Magic also offers the UltraStudio Mini Monitor – works the same as the part Greg listed, but is a tiny external box with SDI and HDMI output ports, and connects to Mac via Thunderbolt. Clean and simple, no card to install.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

It’s been many years since I’ve tried what you are doing, and many years since using CS4 of course…but as I recall, what you are seeing is normal behavior.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

You didn’t say at first that the lower third was animated .mov video, that changes things ????

Glad you got it sorted. Didn’t make sense to me why someone would provide you with a lower third still with a matte…

Thinking about it now, perhaps apply the matte (with no video below), then EXPORT as a video with alpha channel, then whenever you need to apply the lower third you’d no longer need to mess with a matte, lower would have alpha embedded.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Max,

What format is the image you were provided? Have you tried it in Premiere yet? I ask because when simply opening an image in an image viewer, if the files does have alpha channel transparency, those areas will simply appear as black. So without seeing the image, hard for me to say what to do with it. Can you possibly attach it so we can test it out for you?

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

“nobody really uses NTSC or PAL anymore as they are analogue standards. ”

This is true in that NTSC and PAL actually refer to specific industry standards of SD video, so those labels do not apply to HD video formats. However, people still use those terms really to refer to frame rates of what they are shooting. So “NTSC” means 29.97 frames per second while “PAL” refers to 25fps.

Aside from the potential light flickering issue, if you want to create DVD or Blu-ray of what you shoot, then shoot at a frame rate supported for that media, in the country that you wish to distribute those discs, to ensure best playback compatibility and quality.

If your footage will only ever be viewed on computers/web sites (YouTube, etc.) then frame rate is not a big deal, as the computer will play anything so do what you prefer then.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Jackie,

Did you make the ERP videos? I work in Milwaukee, so I guess we’re neighbors ????

Have a good weekend

Jeff

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Jackie,

On the timeline, you can use the “I” and “O” shortcuts to mark IN and OUT points at the playhead, or use the brackets below Program monitor using mouse to select. Then in Export Settings, check Source Range at the bottom and you can choose Sequence In/Out for the export range, rather than Entire Sequence.

Thanks

Jeff

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

You can mark IN and OUT points and the Export IN to OUT – no need to chop up your work.

Thanks

Jeff

[Jeff Pulera]

I don’t believe USB-C can be added to a computer – you either have it, or you don’t. But there is nothing wrong with using USB 3.0 if that’s what you have, which will exceed the needs of most users. If you choose a drive with USB-C, it will include cables to connect to your USB 3.0 port, no worries there.

Consider this – if you have a RAID drive pushing say 400MB/s, both USB-C and USB 3.0 are capable of much faster transfer, so with either interface, you would basically get the same result running a speed test.

If you have an 8, 16, or 24-drive monster RAID system…then yeah, you may get beyond the capabilities of USB 3.0 and that’s where Thunderbolt or USB-C come into play and provide better results. But regardless of the top speed the drive is capable of – how much bandwidth do you actually need? Unless you are editing HD and 4K UNCOMPRESSED, you are not going to need massive bandwidth for compressed formats anyway and the capacity of the connection interface will never be fully utilized.

Kind of like driving a Ferrari around in a school zone, it would just be idling the entire time.

As for redundancy, regardless of RAID mode used, never a bad idea to have a backup on another drive. One can get a SINGLE (inexpensive) large drive, say 8 or 10TB, and use that for backup of the RAID contents and then keep it off premises in case of fire/flood/theft/lightning strike or whatever.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Try and export to an intermediate codec first, such as Cineform or DNxHD. If that comes out okay, then convert that file to an .mp4 format.

Or – render the timeline (to green) then Export with “Use Previews” checked. Make sure the preview render codec is something decent first, not “MPEG”.

Thanks

Jeff

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers