[Tom J]

[RoRK]
“see what the FPS setting is for sequentially files and the timebase under project settings”

You know I didn’t even think of that, good idea…

I also have Procoder 2.0 before GV grabbed them. I should look into upgrading huh?

“are you outputting for an Alcorn Macbride system?”

Nope, been there, done that ;~). Love their manual though… :>)

I’m going to mess around a bit with the frame blending again with different FPS settings in both MAX and AE and see what I can come up with.

Thanks for the help,
Tom

[Tom J]

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the delay… :>) I will answer everyone here…

[Steve Roberts]
“I think it’s the m2v codec. Maybe it’s a problem with the codec’s GOP”

— That is kind of where I was heading with my reference to “file size issue over the network”. But then again, that is another issue altogether I know. I tried to research GOP limitations with Main Concept, but after thinking about it, I have many projects with much larger .tga sequences that have rendered just fine.

“Did you try rendering to a different codec, such as Photo-JPEG”
— yes I have. I’ve tried Quicktime, .png, etc. originally out of Max with no luck.

“Did you try importing the jerky clip back into AE”
— I have not yet, but I will try that for sure just to be safe.

“Is there a 30/29.97 mismatch somewhere?”
— I re-rendered, looked 3 times, and everything matches. Nothing different in my workflow at all.

[Dave LaRonde]
“I’d render out of AE in a lossless codec, then use a different application to do the conversion to m2v.”

— I agree that AE fails miserably with Mpeg2. Though it would really hurt our workflow here if I were to render lossless out of AE then use another program like Premiere for m2v conversion. Plus Darby is right, the files are huge and hard to manage. However I did try this just to double check everything by importing into Premiere Pro CS2 and the Quicktime Movie resembled the same results. When I imported the .tga sequence directly into Premiere, it rendered out fine. But I need AE for my comps (effects, etc) and output templates for this custom setup.

[Darby Edelen]
— Our settings are pretty much the same that you have listed, with a couple of differences because this project is used for a custom application (non-broadcast).

Our settings are:
8.0 mbps constant (HPHL)
Progressive
4:3 square
No filters and No Audio

[RoRK and Steve]
— I thought about the settings like I mentioned earlier, but I am at a loss because all applications have the same output settings and my finals are rendered out of AE with the templates that I have created for all my renders.

— You are correct, it is about every 21-22 frames or so. Which makes me think about a FPS issue, but I can’t seem to find it.

Again the projects are nothing new. Workflow hasn’t changed, my original attempt to fix things was to remove my prefs file(s) but that didn’t help. Everything appears to be leaning towards Mainconcept.

Can you folks recommend another m2v package (encoder) that is customizable with similar settings like Mainconcept???

Thanks for hanging in here, appreciate the help…

Tom

[Tom J]

Hi there,

I meant to say earlier that I have tried frame blending enabled for the .tga files but with no luck. Hope that helps ya.

Thanks,
Tom

[Tom J]

Hi there,
Just a quick suggestion. Have you considered a Canopus converter? I’ve been using the original ADVC100 for quite some time now and I love it. There is now the ADVC110 which is pretty much the same unit (same great hardware & codec) just a different box basically.

Anyway Canopus is now owned by Thomson/Grassvalley, here are the specs:

https://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC110/index.php

You should have no problem at all using this unit to bring footage AND audio into Premiere Pro.

Hope that helps,
Tom

[Tom J]

Hey there,
Yep you were correct. It was the Poster Frame. Like I said, it was late :>)

I didn’t think that the footage was dark enough for Encore to add the frame but obviously it was. After thinking about it, I adjusted the in point for the Poster Frame so that my menu image wouldn’t be too dark.

Thanks again for the help,
Tom

[Tom J]

You know I thought about the Poster Frame. But this clip actually doesn’t start or fade in from black. There is content in the frame.

Then again, the clip is dark with most of the content in the lower left of the first second of video. Perhaps it’s dark enough for Encore to add the frame (thinking “why have a black chapter for the viewer”).

It makes sense, but again this clip starts with content visible so… I’ll double check it later tonight and get back to you.

Thanks,
Tom

[Tom J]

Ok so not only did Photoshop start behaving badly, but PPro upon opening the saved project crashed everytime. Something along the lines of “Sorry but Premiere has encountered an error and needs to shut down. We will attempt to save your file”. Then it closed. Note: I did see for a split second what appeared to be the DVD Layout Preview window before closing.

Luckily this project was an easy one to recreate with 12 chapters.

So I first tried to dump my Prefs and Cache, etc. and that didn’t help. In fact, things got worse. I then unistalled the entire suite and re-installed it (man was that fun…)

I recreated the sequence, reloaded the DVD Template that I created the first time, and Voila! Everything works. And “YES” in case someone is wondering, the check box for “allow DVD with Menus” or whatever it’s called, was checked originally.

Alright enough babble, I just thought explaining my situation would help future Grazers here :>)

Thanks again for the help,
Tom

[Tom J]

Are you serious, you’ve got to be joking. A .psd file that cannot be edited without some sort of trouble, that bites. Talk about a workflow hurdle. I mean I know they are pre-made templates, but that’s just it, they are templates, one would think you should be able to modify them to some extent.

[Steven L. Gotz] “They can, but you have to be very, very careful not to disturb anything. Just change – one for one – images and text.”

I have tried this to no avail. And all I did was change the text, images and placement of menus. That’s it…

So lets say I choose to modify one, and keep the layer structure in tact. In my previous versions I have paid close attention to the naming conventions for each layer and item. How do I use just 2 of the 4 menus that are in some of these templates. I.e. Play All / Movie, Scene Selection. vs. Play All, Scene Selection, Credits, etc.?

I just want to use the first two menus and discard the others. Do I have to keep them in the file and turn off their visibility where they are at or can I delete them?

Thanks for the feedback and help,
Tom

[Tom J]

I totally agree about a systems integrator and engineer. There are many variables to consider and to potentially let one slip you by without a systems integrator / engineer could be painful.

Just some thoughts about actual product that you may or may not have considered.

I agree with the “Videssence” units they are a nice product. Personally though I use Kino’s – Diva’s, Flatheads, 4bank, and the ever awesome Blanket Lite (but it is expensive). The other units though are not too expensive all things considered. So it depends on your location, cyc, space, power, etc.

As for protection for your equipment and to condition the power for the space, Furman is high on my list.

https://www.furmansound.com/

But to save some cash, https://www.tripplite.com/ isn’t half bad either.

I am not sure what headsets you are after (i.e. talent, crew or both), but currently where I am at, we use an entire line of Clearcoms. I-Stations, Biscuits (wall boxes), party line wired and wireless belt packs and IFB’s.

https://www.clearcom.com/Products/products_index.html

But another route would be RTS by Telex which is also popular:

https://www.telex.com/Intercoms/Default.aspx

Remember, an integrator / engineer will save you and your client from plenty of headaches.

There’s some of my quick .02, hope that helps,
Tom

[Tom J]

Hey there,
For this particular job I am creating mpeg 2 files with the Main Concept encoder. But as far as getting AE to render correctly, I can’t get any job to render out in any configuration using the render engines on each node. I am beginning to wonder if it’s not a strange permissions issue with the damn NAS. I have been back and forth on this and no luck at all getting AE Render engine to run right.

Perhaps it’s time to call some colleagues at Adobe, because in order for me to fix this. The AE logs need to be a bit more descriptive. YEAH RIGHT! Like that is ever going to happen… :>P

Thanks for the help, if you have other ideas as to why AE RE would tank suddenly, chime in… Thanks…

Tom