Lumiere Happiness? at DVinfo.net

Sharon Pieczenik · February 27th, 2007, 05:03 PM

Wondering if anyone has used Lumiere to capture 24p.
Does it get around the subclipping/drop-out issue?
The file type that it converts to...is it quality?
Any info about using Lumiere and people's experiences would be great.

Thanks,
Sharon

Tim Dashwood · February 27th, 2007, 06:08 PM

I've used it extensively to capture 720P24...but not happily.
Lumiére HD most definitely WILL NOT help with the capturing over start/stop breaks. When Lumiére crashes, that is usually why.

You mentioned the subclipping/drop-out issue. I'll try to sum it up.
Every NLE (PC or Mac) will have problems with a break in a transport stream, and they all treat breaks a little differently.
Some NLE's cache only the captured video frames, disregarding the broken GOPs, but this usually leads to out-of-sync audio after a start/stop break. FCP uses a different approach and simply creates a new clip at every GOP break, which will always maintain audio sync. However, you lose about 6 seconds for preroll after the break.
FCP is especially sensitive to tape dropouts and that is why I always recommend only JVC's ProHD stock and a head cleaner. Keep all other tape away from your heads!

One last word of warning: Please search this forum and do your research before investing sight-unseen in Lumiére HD. Remember, Lumiére HD had its time and place when there was no native FCP solution. Most of the functions of LHD can be found with the combination of free software like Apple's CapDVHS and Mpegstreamclip.

Sharon Pieczenik · February 28th, 2007, 01:21 AM

Hi Tim,

I have been using JVC tape so that shouldn't be the issue.

Another question...so is GOP not just considered by final cut from starting record to stopping...I don't think I am explaining this right, but when I capture video, final cut makes subclips even when the camera has been rolling on a very similar picture for a long time (i.e. two polar bears wrestling in the snow). Let's say that I run the camera for a straight ten minutes, could a GOP be two minutes within that ten minute segment? That would make sense to me as to why it keeps subclipping. However, if the whole ten minute segment is the GOP then I am still confused.

Please help and thank you.

Tim Dashwood · February 28th, 2007, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharon Pieczenik

Hi Tim,

I have been using JVC tape so that shouldn't be the issue.

Another question...so is GOP not just considered by final cut from starting record to stopping...I don't think I am explaining this right, but when I capture video, final cut makes subclips even when the camera has been rolling on a very similar picture for a long time (i.e. two polar bears wrestling in the snow). Let's say that I run the camera for a straight ten minutes, could a GOP be two minutes within that ten minute segment? That would make sense to me as to why it keeps subclipping. However, if the whole ten minute segment is the GOP then I am still confused.

Please help and thank you.

Hi Sharon,

A JVC ProHD GOP (Group of Pictures) is only 6-frames long. The problem is that the frames depend on each other and if there is a slight dropout or loss in data for any reason FCP considers it an error and aborts the capture. Other m2t capture utilities won't necessarily do this, but avoiding the problem during capture cause other issues like sound suddenly being 6 frames out of sync. (That is why we recommend that you never capture over start/stop breaks in Lumiere/HDVxDV/CapDVHS/VirtualDVHS, etc.)

Assuming your heads are clean, you used the "ProHD" tape, you have enough system resources, a good firewire connection and fast enough (HFS formatted) hard drives, you should not have any problems capturing a whole clip of any length. Unfortunately many people are still having this issue and Apple doesn't have an official answer, and JVC can't give support for Final Cut Pro. We thought it was a TC REGEN/REC issue at one point, but I don't think that has a bearing either. So what can I say?

If it is any consolation, I have been able to capture long (15 minute) 720P24 clips from tape without issue. The caveat is that I've never placed anything other than ProHD stock in that HD100, and I run a head cleaner after every 10 to 15 tapes.

February 27th, 2007, 05:03 PM	#1
Sharon Pieczenik Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 118	Lumiere Happiness? Wondering if anyone has used Lumiere to capture 24p. Does it get around the subclipping/drop-out issue? The file type that it converts to...is it quality? Any info about using Lumiere and people's experiences would be great. Thanks, Sharon

February 27th, 2007, 06:08 PM	#2
Tim Dashwood Wrangler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 3,637	I've used it extensively to capture 720P24...but not happily. Lumiére HD most definitely WILL NOT help with the capturing over start/stop breaks. When Lumiére crashes, that is usually why. You mentioned the subclipping/drop-out issue. I'll try to sum it up. Every NLE (PC or Mac) will have problems with a break in a transport stream, and they all treat breaks a little differently. Some NLE's cache only the captured video frames, disregarding the broken GOPs, but this usually leads to out-of-sync audio after a start/stop break. FCP uses a different approach and simply creates a new clip at every GOP break, which will always maintain audio sync. However, you lose about 6 seconds for preroll after the break. FCP is especially sensitive to tape dropouts and that is why I always recommend only JVC's ProHD stock and a head cleaner. Keep all other tape away from your heads! One last word of warning: Please search this forum and do your research before investing sight-unseen in Lumiére HD. Remember, Lumiére HD had its time and place when there was no native FCP solution. Most of the functions of LHD can be found with the combination of free software like Apple's CapDVHS and Mpegstreamclip. __________________ Tim Dashwood

February 28th, 2007, 01:21 AM	#3
Sharon Pieczenik Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 118	Hi Tim, I have been using JVC tape so that shouldn't be the issue. Another question...so is GOP not just considered by final cut from starting record to stopping...I don't think I am explaining this right, but when I capture video, final cut makes subclips even when the camera has been rolling on a very similar picture for a long time (i.e. two polar bears wrestling in the snow). Let's say that I run the camera for a straight ten minutes, could a GOP be two minutes within that ten minute segment? That would make sense to me as to why it keeps subclipping. However, if the whole ten minute segment is the GOP then I am still confused. Please help and thank you.