Avid Xpress DV
 

Hi. This question is for Avid Xpress DV users. I've been using this software for about 4 months and it's great but I' get audio hardware under run errors. Does anyone have a solution to this problem? Plays about 10 frames before I get the error.

Have a Dell Precsision 220, 256mb Ram, 866 Mhz processor using 32mb Nvidia video driver.



40 GB IDE Hard Drive.

To help solve this problem, could you post your system specs.

avid Xpress DV
 

Audio and video underruns can be hard drive related.
Do you have a seperate drive for your audio and video storage? No?
That could be it.
Yes you do? What kind is it? IBM has had problems with some deskstar drives.

Are you on Avid approved hardware? There have been reported problems with
some configurations.

OR, many times
rebooting takes care of underruns. (the app is very large and still a little buggy).
I've gotten audio underruns before and I'm running a fibechannel drive on my
Xpress Deluxe, rebooting takes care of it.

If it persists, . . . begin the reinstall of ALL.

jacques

avid xpress dv
 

I've had good results using the XL-1 and Avid Xpress dv non-linear editor with one exception... sometimes when digitizing video, I get an error message that says record aborted due to discontinuity of time code (when there isn't) or that material is too complex. Quite a problem when it happens on the shot you direly need.
Does anyone have a "fix" or workaround for the problem I've described?
Thanks,

Gary

Gary...
I'm seriously considering buying an XL1s and Avid Xpress DV. Did you buy a turnkey system? I'm considering buying the software and capture card and "dropping" it in my P111/1GB/250mB/20GB.. (now don't laugh)....eMachine from Best Buy. I'll be buying more RAM and a Firewire Drive. Do you have any knowledge/thoughts regarding this route.

Guy,
I don't really know how xpress dv would work under the scenario you describe with your emachine. Avid sales or customer service MIGHT be able to help you @ 800-894-5654.
I went with the windows NT platform when I bought it nearly 2 years ago, as I was told that was the most stable operating system for Xpress dv. And to that end, it has NEVER crashed during normal editing work. You might also try the community forum under Avid pronet.
The computer/technical side is the toughest for me to master... I do much better in the journalism and photography areas, so I wouldn't do well in setting up a system like you are doing. I found that even with a turnkey system like I bought, there are still issues to work out, like the one I described. Avid offers ONE month of free technical phone support. I used that heavily and was pretty well set up when that expired.
As a sidenote, I understand the new XL-1s performs better with the Avid than the XL-1. Would I do it again (buy the Xpress dv and XL-1)? Yes.

Gary Almquist
Almquist Digital Video
308-772-4634

AVID has reported that they found that when using the XL-1 with Xpress DV the Xpress would report erroneous discountinous timecodes in the area of 41 minutes on the tape. I didnt see anything on their website about a patch though.

I built my system myself and run Win2k. It has worked very well and hasnt crashed. I dont think that you would have too much trouble putting it on your emachine. If you want some great help with Xpress DV check out the World Wide Users Group.

http://wwug.com/forums/avid_xpress-dv/

They can pretty much answer all of your questions about Xpress DV.

Any AVID Xpress DV3 users here?
 

I was wondering if there's anyone here using the new AVID Xpress DV system? Or at least anyone familiar with it. Since it is somewhat competitive in price (FCP- $1000; XDV- $1300) and features with Final Cut Pro v3, it seems likely that advanced amateurs and professionals will find it attactive.

We have three AVID systems -- an "old" Mac based Media Composer 8000; an NT based Xpress; and an NT based MC 1000. We've traditionally edited our DV material on our non-DV systems but since we've always used DV for inserts or "B" roll material, the awkward codecs and resulting degraded video has not presented a major problem. Our current project is fully mastered on MiniDV and will be released initially as QuickTime movies on CD-ROM (it will eventually be aired.)

We are purchasing an XDV3 system to do all our editing, off-line and on-line, of our current project. If we didn't already have three AVID sytems, the choice would probably be FCP3 since it has been recommended even by our avid AVID gurus. We're going with XDV3 based on total comaptability with our existing systems.

Not much to add at this point. Just an exploratory inquiry. If you've been using XDV - what are your thoughts?

I have an additional question for Avid Express users. I used to edit on the Avid Media Composer. Are the controls similar between the two? Same icons, same screen structure? Major differences?

Thanks for letting me piggy-back my question here!

If you're familar with Media Composer, Xpress DV will be no problem since the interface is the same. The only differences between Media Composer and Xpress DV are the same between the non-DV Xpress and MC - the keyboard is not as customizable and more keystokes are requred. Although I've heard XDV is much more flexible than the standard Xpress.

Editors I've switched (forced) to work on the old Xpress after getting used to MC complain at first but soon get the hang of it. I suspect the same is true of XDV.

OK, here's a question, since you brought up XDV and the price has gotten down. I have one shot to do this right, and forget about "building the system around the card" that's not how the IT department does it around here. they pick the platform. I have the singular option of rigging out one IBM Netvista M41, this is a 1.6GHz P4 and we are putting in 1.5 gig of RAM.

Now they are saying "what card do you want" and initially I was all set to go a Matrox RT2500, it is real time, and comes with a full version of Premiere 6.0 (plus a few other chochkas), which is cool cuz they were about to spend $537 US for Premiere itself. This "Pro Pack" is $779 at videoguys.com a/k/a "The Electronic Mailbox." One thing useful about the RT2500 is that it comes with a breakout box so you can plug your analog devices right in thru the A/V or S-video jacks. Great for capturing aircheck tapes or old work.

But the Avid setup is $1300 and these guys are including a free Firewire card. (not with any kind of analog hookups like the breakout box above, I am sure) And the Avid claims real-time (preview) without invoking extra hardware, just like the new version of FCP (Final Cut Pro for those of you not familiar with Apple) .

So now we can get into the Avid system, which is more "professional" plus has an interface that'll be more friendly to a guy who has put in as many hours as me editing in FCP on the Mac side. But... Premiere has a handy export to Web feature (useful cuz that's where lots of my work ends up) and that breakout box can be a real time-saver in converting those old promo tapes.

So, what the dealie-yo? What can the real-life users of both systems (Avid & Premiere/Matrox) tell me that I am not learning from the advertising?

I'd go for AVID over Premiere any day Mike, especially as you are an experienced editor. If you were just starting out then Premiere would be the go.

Your Elura or your Panasonic deck will do the same as a breakout box.

Premieres 'Save for Web' function is just a lite version of Cleaner Pro, and really isn't that crash hot.

I'd go the Avid and get Cleaner Pro for creating for the web.

I agree with Adrian. Although a valid comparison can be made between FCP3 and XDV3, there's no comparing Avid to Premiere. Avid is simply a more robust system. The fact that you can interchange, not just EDLs, but entire projects (which include all data for sound mix, effects, color correction settings, etc.) between any version of Avid Media Composer, Xpress, and XDV3, is, alone, a huge plus.

We just installed XDV3 on a DELL we've been using mainly as a graphic station and have not run into any problems... yet. This, inspite of the fact that our video card, audio card and CPU are not among the AVID "approved" systems. This is both a plus and a minus - AVID rushed XDV3 into the market without sufficient testing. They were spooked by FCP3's popularity. So who knows what bugs are hiding inside that version waiting to be unearthed?

On the other hand, if you are committed to Macs and have a G4, it doesn't take much thinking to go with FCP3. The stregth of FCP3 lies in its color correction versatility. If you're going straight to the web with QT movies, FCP3 is the simplest and hassle-free way to go. If we didn't already have three AVIDs, we would have gone with FCP3.

Thanks Adrian and Ozzie. I use FCP almost daily on the Mac side, and would be an "ambassador" for the product any day. (Kind of like people have seen me in this forum about the Frezzi Mini-fill light, just letting everyone know that I think it was money well spent) I try to do everything I can on the Mac side anyway, be it scanning. photo-editing, page layout for print jobs, etc. and FCP is a staunch workhorse.

But, now that IT is finally agreeing to replace my wheezing old Pentium 2 Windows NT machine on the PC side, I need to equip the new one once, and equip it right. Truthfully, it is I whom am a little bit "spooked" over "untested" systems...I already know that XDV3 is not approved for the Athlon processor or Windows XP (neither being a problem, since I know we are going for a P4 and Win2KPro) but am apprehensive about what else may get ugly. Not that I am any big fan of Premiere, having used it just a little bit--I'll take FCP's user interface over Premiere's any day. But what is really imperative is absolute reliability and turn-key simplicity of implementation...y'know, kind of like a Mac. :-) One thing I knew confidently was that when I installed the FCP disk on my new mac, I would be editing immediately with no fussing around.

The concern is firstly that I do not have the time or the technical knowledge to play Doctor Komputer, and additionally that the IT support staff is fine if you need help with Lotus Notes, MS Office or the Windows OS, but anything much past that I am on my own.

The Elura is fine for transcribing VHS tapes (EXCEPT the copy-protected ones, more on that in another thread) but is kind of time-consuming (double work really), and a true breakout box can save time in capturing analog directly to the NLE. But of course, one can add a Hollywood Bridge for a couple hundred.

The fact that whole projects can be transferred among Avids may be helpful going forward if I want to move a job between machines and I ever have the ocaasion to get XDV3 for the Mac.

Does anyone know what kind of color correction tools and wide-
screen options exist in Xpress DV? I've been using Premiere and
After Effects lately. I'd be interested to look at Avid sometime,
but I need to have color correction and black bars options. I
shoot my stuff in regular 4:3 and then adding black bars to get
a 16:9 picture. I need the option to move the footage
"underneath" the black bars to get the correct framing... Can
the Avid package do this?

Thanks!

You've got them both to varying degrees. There are several ways of getting a 16:9 ratio - either by placing a black horizontal wipe on the top and the bottom of the frame (which I think is what you are asking); or, if the image is imported as square pixels, XDV can translate them to the digital non-square pixel environment.

Color correction is limited, certainly not as much as can be achieved with Symphony or FCP3, but adequate. There are third party plug-ins that can do a very good job but not in real time. XDV's color correction can be compared favorably to Premiere. I'll be able to tell you more about color correction in a day or two since there's a scene that's blue, dark and lacking color. I'm trying to salvage that scene with XDV and FCP3. I'll let you know who delivers the goods.

As always you are here to deliver the goods, thanks Ozzie! I'll
have a look at XDV some day. Please do let me know how your
"problem" has been solved. Thanks again!

I'm jumping in late here and I'm gonnas try to answer as many as possible. I'll include a linka t the end for more info.

1) XDV will not run on an RT2500, Pro-One or Storm. You have to use a cheap OHCI FireWire card like the Pyro DV

2) XDV fully supports 16:9

3) The color correction tools are more then Premiere, but not as extensive as those found in the DV Storm

4) The interface of XDV3 is very similar to higher end Avids. If you have edited on a composer, you will pick up XDV instantly.

5) Athlons. They work. Avid is being over conservative here. Make sure you get one based on the newest via chipsets

6) Other system recommendations: 512 + megs memory, Matrox G550 or Radeon VE graphics card. Dedicated ATA100 drive for video

7) Avid did not rush XDV3 to market. It is rock solid. What Avid is guilty of is poor quality control on UPGRADES that initially shipped. These issues have since been addressed.

8) FCP vs XDV. I'm not going to go into this in detail, since much of it is subjective. What I will say is that every real-time effect in XDV stays real-time. You can use the controls to manipulate them and they stay real-time. Many FCP real-time features stop being real-time when you start messing around with them.

9) XP is not yet supported, but it is coming. My guess is that we'll have it in June.

That's it for now. I've got a more in depth review of XDV3 on our website loaded with screen grabs http://www.videoguys.com/XDV30.html

Gary

Thanks, videoguys!
 

Gary, that's a great reply, very organized. And the in-depth review is helpful. You may have noticed I mentioned your site in an above post, I have gotten a lot of my info about XDV (and others) from your website.

I love it:"you have to use a cheap OHCI FireWire card..." well, gosh, with requirements like that...:-) Actually I do have a couple of cheap OHCI cards laying around, just intuitively thought for sure I'd have to use something more sophisticated. Just proves that not everything is solved by spending more money, at least not on hardware.

You've seen my proposed hardware above, a P4 with 1-1/2 gigs of RAM. It is what my IT boys have come up with to replace my antique PC. If I can simply slam Avid XDV and a cheap OHCI card in that box and instantly turn it into a screamin' workstation, then that's what the Dr. ordered. As for FCP vs. XDV, that's like a Ford vs. Chevy thing. I use FCP all the time, and am comfortable with it, but I'm sure I'll get just as comfy with the Avid with repeated use. The one important thing is that it works right out of the box, first time every time. That to me is FCP's biggest claim to fame...I have had 100% productivity and 0% heartaches.

BTW, it certainly won't hurt to get more Avid hours under my belt, it will stand me in good stead in case I have to go to outside studios that may not have heard of FCP.

Gary,

Since I was the one that said it, I feel the need to clarify my statement.

Here's what I said: "This is both a plus and a minus - AVID rushed XDV3 into the market without sufficient testing. They were spooked by FCP3's popularity. So who knows what bugs are hiding inside that version waiting to be unearthed?"

Here's my clarification -- Avid is traditionally VERY conservative with what hardware their systems will be allowed to work. In the case of XDV3 Avid has approved only a handful of systems. I presume this is due to not having had enough time to test the software with more system configurations. Why the rush? I can only guess competition had something to do with it. This is proving to be a backdoor blessing since it CAN run on many more systems than Avid has sanctioned. It even runs on my VAIO SR17. It runs on at least three systems I've tried it out on, none of which contain any of the specified hardware. I wish Avid had taken a little more time testing the software to give all us PC users more "approved" options.

So far, we have found no bugs in XDV3. It is a solid and stable system. And we bought it from you guys. Thanks.

Graphics Guy> Your proposed system looks great. Make sure they put in one of the graphics cards I suggested.

Ozzie> Actually you hit on a very big internal struggle within Avid. The design engineers know it works and it runs great on a very wide range of systems. I just spoke with the VP in charge of XDV. He just put it in an Athlon box he built in his basement!! The other VPs and suits are terrified at the thought of opening up the spec. Not becuase they aren't confident in the product, but because they aren't confident in the PC industry in general. They fear poor integration could tarnish the Avid name.

XDV rocks and it's rock solid. For those out their who are out growing Premiere, it's the way to go. If you plan on pursuing a career in editing, it's a no brainer. If your a student - check out the new $499 student pack!! If you are a beginner and you don't want to spend time configuring, but you are prepared to spend time learning and honing your editing skills, XDV is a great choice. It's also by far and away the most powerful and stable system for long format (over 90 minute) productions.

Gary

Gary, Matrox G550 or Radeon VE card, right? If they give me a hard time (you know these IT guys and their not-invented-here syndrome) will the stock card on the IBM work? I don't even know what card it comes with. Actually, I just heard that they are now considering a higher model of IBM, so I guess we'll have to check what card that comes with, once we know the exact model of computer.

As for the Pyro DV & Avid combo, I'll try to get them to request a quote from you directly.

Wow, too bad we are not students! :-)