[Thad_h]

Hi All,

We have in fact reproduced the problem. Please forgive our slow response as there has been some research going on internally to try and determine the circumstances surrounding this issue, and how we may improve it.

We have seen the issue now, and do intend to improve it in a future release. For those of you who find the lag unbearable, please revert to one of the previous versions for now. It will likley be a few weeks before a fix for this is released, however this fix will work its way into a beta version before a release version. For those of you interested in signing up for the XENA and IO Express Beta program, please email xenabeta@aja.com

Thanks for your patience

AJA Support

[Thad_h]

Butch,

Can you post the exact name of the AJA preset you used? Also, in the project where you are having the problem, do you have your video rendering set to DV or is set to 8-Bit YUV (which I believe is the default) ?

I am thinking that you used our 480i preset which may have its default preview rendering set to 8 bit yuv upper field first. If you are then capturing DV, the captured material may have a different field dominance than the rendered material.

If this is in fact the case, change the video rendering settings to use the DV codec in your Project Settings, and see if that resolves the issue.

AJA XENA Support

[Thad_h]

Butch,

Are your DV files ones that you are capturing via firewire, or are you capturing DV using the XENA from SDI or Analog sources?

What effects are you rendering to see this problem?

AJA XENA Support

[Thad_h]

Hi Boronat,

The issue you’re seeing is not the same as the Master Audio Meter issue that Greg mentioned above. That one causes poor response time from the Keyboard and Mouse, not stuttering video.

If you are having stuttering video on RENDERED segments, there is almost certainly a data bottleneck either in your disk system or on your motherboard.

The just as a hunch, I would ask if you are keeping your project files on your C drive. If you are, then rendered segments will also be placed there, and not on your RAID. This would certainly cause the issue you’re describing. Try placing your project files on the RAID, then delete the rendered segments and re-render them. Adobe will then be storing these new rendered segments on the RAID and your issue should go away.

If this does not solve your issue, I recommend you call our support line for further assistance.

AJA XENA Support

[Thad_h]

Brian,

Really if you are going to be using After Effects primarily and all HD-SDI you should choose between the HS and the XENA 2K or 2Ke. These cards will give you the highest framerates of RAM preview output.

Also the XENA HS is PCI-X only, so if you are looking for a PCI-Express, you should probably opt for the 2Ke.

AJA XENA Suppport

[Thad_h]

Hi Katja,

Do you see the same audio problems when you use any of the AJA supplied applications or plugins? Or do you only see this issue when using Liquid?

AJA XENA Support

[Thad_h]

Norman,

What type of file is it you are trying to play back in CS3?

Also, Im not sure I understand the problem with AJA captured footage in CS3. Are you saying that when you capture AJA footage in CS3 that it will not play back in the timeline of an AJA project? If so, exactly what file type and color subtype are you using when you capture? Also what resolution?

Are the CS3 and CS2 being used on the same system?

Are you using the latest version of the AJA drivers?

AJA XENA Suppport

[Thad_h]

Hi Shawn and Tim,

Thanks from both of you for helping us diagnose this one. As Shawn said, we can now see the problem quite easily, now that we know the audio mixer must be open, and the master exposed to reproduce this problem. We’re looking into it further now.

As shawn specified, hiding the master level meter in the audio mixer is an easy workaround for the time being.

Thanks,

AJA XENA Support

[Thad_h]

No, there is no control protocol on SDI, like there is on firewire, you have to use RS-422.

AJA XENA Support

[Thad_h]

Reggie,

Have you already implemented all the instructions for AE RAM Preview from the XENA FAQ on the support webiste?

If not, this is the FAQ excerpt:

Q: I am using After Effects for compositing and sometimes my preview is not in real time—why is this?
A: RAM Preview should be very close to real-time for HD in After Effects 7. Please ensure you have the following settings for proper RT RAM preview.

1. Make sure that the “Primary Format” of the AJA Preview Panel in AE7 matches the resolution and frame rate of your After Effects Composition.

2. Also, RT RAM Preview is only possible with 8-bit AE Projects and with the “8-bit RGBA 4:4:4:4” setting for the “Output 8-bit As:” found in the AJA Preview Panel Color Options. Other color spaces and AE Project depths require a software transformation of the video data before being displayed—thus slowing down preview.

3. Next, please ensure that the “Resolution” setting for “Time Controls” is set to “Full”. If not set to “Full”,the image that the AJA Preview Panel receives and sends to the XENA board during RAM Preview will not be sent at “Full Resolution” and thus will either be software resized to Full Resolution before sending to the XENA Board for display, or will be center cropped before sending. The latter choice is controlled by the checkbox in the AJA Preview Panel labeled “Auto Resize Image” under the “Primary Format” Setting.

4. If RAM Preview is still not real-time, you can try some of the following – setting your Zoom to “100%” in your AE Composition, making sure the “Frame Rate” of the AE Time Controls” matches the frame rate of the “Primary Format” in the AJA Preview Panel, and muting audio in the AE Time Controls.

Note: in some cases the available bandwidth of the motherboard limits the cards ability to output full frame rate 1080i 29.97 RGBA.

AJA XENA Support