[Michael Holmes]

I’ll try to be more specific about what is happening.

As I said above, I open the Neat Video window, Neat Video “Learns” the noise, and I hit “Apply”. At this point, nothing else can be done in FCP X until the plug-in rendering is completed…..about 75 minutes for a 5 minute clip. The calculations/rendering are not done in the background. It cranks through in real time while everything else stops.

Once this is completed, when I look at the background window, there may or may not be background rendering yet to be completed, depending on editing and color correction I did before applying the Neat Video plug-in. I have background rendering On. Putting this plug-in aside for the moment, my impression is that whether background rendering is completed or not, I can export when I am ready and this isn’t an issue. That has been my experience, at least.

Back to the plug-in. After going through the 75 minute “everything stops” calculations, if I then Export, everything is fine. Even if background rendering is not 100% completed, no problem…….a few minutes and I have an H.264 QT movie, as is the normal case with my simple Projects.

However, if instead, I do anything: Add a transition, adjust Exposure, switch color correction off and then back on, etc., and I then export, the Export will take about the same time that the “everything stops” period took, about 75 minutes or so.

Since the time period is about the same as the “everything stops” period, I am assuming that the plug-in calcs are being repeated. This is an assumption, but it seems like a likely one to me. But an assumption, I have no other explanation.

I hope I did better explaining, I’m not sure: 🙂

The key points are:
(1) This plug-in stops everything while it is applied/calculated/rendered
(2) I can Export next, no problem (background rendering status doesn’t matter)
(3) If I change anything, in any way, the Export suddenly becomes a different animal.

I am starting to think I am the only person who has ever experienced this. Man, I must be doing something really wrong. 🙁

[Michael Holmes]

Sorry, I don’t really have anything else I can use it in.

I’m not sure what you mean by “analysis pass”. The analysis that it does is to “Learn” the specifics of the noise in a selected clip from a single frame. This occurs in a few seconds. Then you can immediately go into rendering.

Specifically, the procedure to use the plug-in is to:
(1) Open the plug-in
(2) Either load a stored preset, are enable the plug-in to “Learn” a new preset from a frame…..it must have a preset “loaded” to operate.
(3) Hit the “Apply” button.

Once it has completed the calculations/rendering, this procedure must be repeated to trigger new calculations.

Neat Video support says there is no way the plug-in can initiate rendering by itself. They have no control over rendering, this is an FCP X decision on when rendering should occur.

Neat Video support has suggested that I try using the effect Distortion–>Trails, since it also uses temporal processing, to see if this is confusing FCP X somehow. I will do this when I finish up on a project.

I am still not inclined to blame the plug-in, since I don’t see how it could take control of operations once I have used it and completed rendering. But strange things can happen. 🙂

I don’t know what else to do at this point, other than try this little test.

[Michael Holmes]

Bret,
Here is what I do:
– Double click on the plug-in in the Effects Browser so the plug-in appears in the Inspector, along with the built-in effects.
– I double click on it in the Inspector so the Neat Video window opens.
– In the clip that needs correcting, I locate a frame where I can select a sample of noise with a constant background.
– I hit “Learn” and the plug-in learns the noise present
– I “Apply” and the noise correction is applied to the entire clip.

At this point, nothing else can be done in FCP X, until the plug-in rendering is complete…..about 75 minutes for a 5 minute clip.

If I then go to Share–> Export w/o doing anything else, the export will take 5 minutes or so. The resulting video is beautiful, noise gone, super plug-in.

Alternatively, if I do anything else, however simple (and this “anything” has nothing to do with the plug-in), and then Share–>Export, the export takes 75 minutes.

I conclude from this that FCP X thinks the Neat Video must be re-rendered, just because an un-related action was taken.

It doesn’t make any sense to me.

[Michael Holmes]

Thanks again for all the help!
I am sure I will be back soon after I am pummeled by Resolve. 🙂

[Michael Holmes]

OK.

One more question and I’ll quite bothering you.
I am scoping out hard drives.
I am using only SATA II drives. I tried SATA III drives in my 2010 Mac Pro in March and I had to return them……lots of problems.

Are you using SATA II drives in the RAID 0 setup?

[Michael Holmes]

Thanks so much for the help, Oliver.

Tedious is not a problem, I expect that. The problem is that the tools seem cumbersome and the results don’t merit the extensive effort.

You don’t see real time as important because you are normally working with a frame at a time……correct?

Based on this information, I will plunge in and demo Resolve Lite. I hope I come back up at some point.

[Michael Holmes]

Oliver,
Let me amend my comments.
If it would be the difference in Resolve running very nicely versus bogging down, I could give up one PCIe slot and install a large SSD card for Events/Projects, to get 6Gbps rather than 3Gbps.

I don’t know if this would be a critical help or not.

[Michael Holmes]

Super review, Oliver.

So, let’s say for monitors I will stick with my HP 2711x right now (calibrated with SpyderPRO4), along with an HDMI cable from the 5770 card to my Panasonic Plasma TV, as a check.

Let’s also say I will expand memory from 16GB–>32GB, and replace hard drive 1 with 254GB SSD for OS/Apps (not super expensive steps).

So, no RAID card, no Quadro 4000, no capture card. Resolve Lite doesn’t require any of this hardware to operate?

Could I reasonably expect to be able to work in real time with Resolve Lite, with Projects involving: dual cams, one Project per song (to make it easier), song duration 10 minutes max, in ProRes? (ProRes Proxy defeats the purpose, it seems to me)

I have been assuming even this would bog down without more GPU cards in an Xpander. If this would work in real time, then I would be enthusiastically on-board.

BTW, all my disk storage now is Hitachi Deskstar 2TB 7200RPM SATA II. I assume this is where things will bog down.

[Michael Holmes]

Thanks, Oliver.
I will check out Magic Bullet Looks 2.

Yes, I think the Resolve round-trip would be the best solution, also…..I’d love to use it. But as I discuss above, the software is free but the associated horsepower to run it in real-time is not. 🙁

Unless I am way off-base on what is needed. I hope I’m wrong.

[Michael Holmes]

(1) Yes, I recognize the masking will be tedious and time-consuming in any case. But the FCP X masking just seems crude and cumbersome to me. I was hoping that there would be some easier tools to accomplish this.

Tracking would be fantastic, even if it doesn’t work perfectly and would need some help. The musicians move around just enough to throw the masking off, and it does more damage than good.

(20 If I read the Resolve Mac Config Guide correctly
https://www.blackmagic-design.com/media/3358646/Resolve%20Mac%20Config%20Guide%20Mar%202012.pdf
I would need a Quadro 4000 card to go along with my 5770 card, a Decklink capture card, and a RAID card as a minimum if I hope to do ProRes in real time.

I run FCP X and Pro Tools HD Native on my Mac Pro 2×2.4 Quad Core now. I process all the audio in Pro Tools and return it to FCP X, for the best sound quality. I already have these PCIe cards now: 5770, Pro Tools HD Native, card for external hard drive bays, and a UAD plug-in card.

So, I don’t see any way to add Resolve to this Mac Pro, except to buy more memory, some SSD, and a Cubix PCIe Xpander unit. I really don’t want to sink any significant $ into this Mac Pro since I am expecting a completely new replacement computer next year: hard wired memory, all SSD, no PCI cards (what do I know?).

So, I am hoping the next version of Resolve will work on a new more powerful Mac next year, alongside FCP X and Pro Tools. In the meantime, I’m reluctant to do anything major.

Please let me know if I am wrong about what I need for Resolve.