Kris Anderson
Forum Replies Created
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Hi Frank.
Here’s one way of working that might help.
Go to your ‘settings’ tab and select AMA settings. Turn AMA off. AMA is useful but only if you have your source media connected at all times. Avid reads it directly off the SxS card so you’re correct in assuming it’s not an imported file.
Quit and re-start Avid (just the software, not the whole machine) to complete the AMA switch off.
The go to ‘File’ -> Import and direct yourself to the location of your XD Cam footage. Alternatively, you can select ‘file’ -> Import XDCam Proxy which will give you a lo-res version to work with for offline editing purposes. When you’re done and ready to online just batch import your clips or sequence at high res.
Hope that helps.
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DNxHD is more than fine in my experience. When I online these reality shows I will be conforming at 185x. I’ve done some tests, batch imported the sequences from the XDCam discs and it really looks good. Plus it’s something I can leave running over night instead of needing someone to sit in the suite feeding tapes.
For what it’s worth, I don’t notice any real slow down in performance with any of the resolutions available in Avid, but if you’re going to be cutting a long form program then the lo-res proxy workflow would be the way I would go with it.
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I wouldn’t go to all that trouble.
Stick with one project, the native format that your footage was shot on,make your 60i master and then get it converted to 50i at a dubbing house. You’re going to feel a world of pain if you try and do it inside MC.
I’d be surprised if a broadcaster accepted an XDCam master. Most I deal with insist on HDCam SR for HD material.
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You only need to have the footage stored locally (or attached in some way) while using AMA. If you import using XD proxies (lo-res) Avid imports/converts them, but they’re very small files. I was amazed how quickly a whole disc could be brought in when we first looked at going XD. My assistant did 12 x 23gb XD’s in an hour the other day. Used to be Digi Beta’s or HDCam in real time but never again…. tape is definitely dying as an acquisition format.
The only thing I don’t like about the XD proxies is that along with lo-res video, which is fine, I also get lo-res audio (8 bit) but that will be fixed in MC5, lo-res pics but access to hi-res audio.
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I am currently doing a reality tv series with a huge volume of XDHD material in MC4. All I do is hook up the deck via firewire, import lo-res proxies (takes about 2-4 minutes per disc, cut sequence and then batch import for hi-res online. AMA only works well if you have the source discs connected or copied permanently so Avid can see them the whole time.
Try turning off AMA (you will need to re-launch MC after doing this) and use “import XDCam” function. Just another option for you.
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Interesting.
How does it connect to the host CPU, say, a Mac Pro, and still give you the extra PCIe lanes? If this works I can see one of these in my suite with a Red Rocket card and a few other bits and pieces. As it is, my Mac Pro is maxed out with a fiber card for the Unity, Avid DX card and local storage RAID card.
If this is cost effective and works as it says then it’s a godsend, especially for Mac owners.
Can anyone offer any more info?
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Can you not just hire an Avid rig for the job? They aren’t that expensive. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until June for MC5, as Job said.
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The idea of a pcie expansion slot is a false economy. All you are doing it taking the finite lane allocation and dividing it into more slots. You might have more slots but you still have the same bandwidth. Most cards these days want at least a x4 slot. Start to split that up on an expansion chassis and you will start to notice the performance of your other cards slipping.
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I’m guessing you want to do it Pan and Zoom style? In which case, you can’t. Best to export it to After Effect, do your blow up and then re-import the finished shot.
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Just a side note too… iTunes has it’s own auto-updater, so even if you switch automatic software updates off at a system level, iTunes will still do it’s own updating. You’ll need to go into the iTunes preferences panel and disable it. Sneaky little bugger it is.