If you're mastering to DV then the color will be brought back down to 4:1:1 again. So that would defeat the point of upsampling it and capturing uncompressed.

Other formats like betaSP, digibeta, DVCPRO50, and computer formats can benefit from more color information. So capturing uncompressed can be an advantage in those cases. If you have a choice between mastering to DV and betaSP, DV should be better quality as it would have less generation loss (however, there's a possibility that the people you're giving the DV tape to can screw it up, whereas they may know how to handle betaSP properly).

Dual Xeon 2.66Ghz system
 

I am using a home-built dual Xeon 2.66Ghz HT system with a Matrox RT.X100 since last summer with no problems. What persuaded me to go this route was a Tom's Hardware Guide article, Two Xeon CPUS are better than one Intel P4 Extreme Platform, which is a bit dated now, but still informative.

As I type this, I am watching my Windows Task Manager's Performance tab display 4 CPU Usage History graphs, all equal at about 60% utilization as I use Premiere's Adobe Media Encoder to create an MPEG-2 file with higher than normal bitrates. I occasionally check these graphs and I've never seen lopsided ones.

I also have a Dell Inspiron 9100 laptop 32.GHz HT and in flat out exports, the Dell beats my home-built system. My informal experience tells me that the dual Xeons are better when it comes to running several things at once, such as Premiere, Audition, Virtualdub and Windows Media Encoder.

Note that system builder Tantus Computers bundles the Matrox RT.X100 with their dual processor systems.

my last system i built a dual amd 1800 mp with the rtx.100. compared with my new p4 platform i can't say there was really any difference, RAM helps tons. the only thing that sucked was when one of the processors went out i couldn't find a replacement for it and had to build a completely new system. i'd save the money on your dual board and just buy a hopped up P4 (with hyperthreading) with a fancy cooling system and more RAM.

Res for HDV and PPro
 

I'm having major difficulty getting the correct resolution for my movies. I'm capturing my HDV from my HDR-FX1 cam using PPro 1.5.1 and it comes in looking great!. I do my edits and such, and when I export, the export settings seem to look correct, but no matter what option I choose I still get a squished image.

I also tried this with my camera filming just DV not HDV. Same thing happened both times. All of my movies that I export are squished.

I think it has something to do with the camera not using square pixels and using 1:1.333 ratio pixel.

Anyone know how I can get the correct res out of PPro?

Here's a link to what one of the settings I tried using (I'm trying a lot of them).

http://www.neolinkcomputers.com/stuff/mov_settings.jpg

http://www.neolinkcomputers.com/stuff/mov_res.jpg

dual cpus wont be utilised to their full extent. the RTx100 is over 2 yrs old and back then it had issues with compatible main boards.. these days with PCIx its getin to a point where the RTx is feeling rather dated.

On top of that, with the push of CPU and RAM, FSB speeds and HDD raid configs almost matching scsi speeds, soon enough there wont be a need for this type of HW

dont get me wrong, the RTx does what it does quite well.. but only when its built with compatible HW..

Mackie Control Surface with PPro?
 

Hi all,

Anyone heard anything on the possibility of support for the Mackie Control Universal within Premiere Pro? Are there any plugins available that provide this functionality?

Thom

Just a quick update on the update. Folks are reporting in the Adobe forum that problems with WinXP SP2 have been resolved, but otherwise no indications of any enhancements outside the limited HDV support that the 1.5.1 update was advertised as.

I haven't had time to do any editing lately (I'm miniDV only with XL2), but will comment if I find any changes. Y'all do the same!

Thanks guys. I'll try to see if I can get some footage for the comparison later- and check my oftalmologist.

Pete, thanks so much for you help! I have been trying to work out the problem to no avail :( That and I have been heaped at work. Here is a quick couple seconds sample of the problem. It is pretty simple I am hoping!

www.chasebrammer.com/files/Videos/tester.avi

Thanks for all your help

Have to be rushed and brief again -- sorry.

I downloaded your file; I guess what you're describing is the apparent jump forward by a split second (maybe 2 or 3 frames, it seems like) every couple of seconds? I am pretty sure the problem stems from a hiccup in ripping the vob from the DVD, or PPro's handling of the resulting MPEG file. I think so because I imported your file into PPro and looked at the file properties; every 15th frame has a sample size and data rate that is off the chart...I'll bet it is no coincidence that DVD MPEG2 uses 15 frame GOPs!

Try ripping the DVD again using different software and/or settings from whatever you used originally. Unfortunately, PPro doesn't handle imported MPEG very well -- although I wonder if the 1.5.1 update might be of some help here -- so if you can get a clean AVI or QT file by using a different program, that might do the trick. I don't have a recommendation, but I've seen a number of threads on DVD ripping software that you could search for.

If all else fails, do an analog transfer...hook the DVD player up to your miniDV camcorder using Svideo and audio RCA jacks. Not elegant, but I've done similar before with acceptable results.

Pete -

Wow, thanks for the fast reply! I am really impressed! What software would you recommend for best ripping?

Photo's in Premiere
 

Hello all,

Does Premiere Pro have the ability to drop pictures (Photo's) directly into the timeline, and to play around with them (ie - pan across, and zoom in on them etc).


Many Thanks,
Richard.

Hi Richard,
Yes, that is all very easily done. The default duration is 5 seconds and is entirely customizable. As far as effects and so forth go, a still frame is treated the same as a clip wherever it is possible to do.
Cheers,

Brilliant,

Cheers Pete - sorry it was such a basic question (I figured that your response would be the answer), but, sometimes, you never know.

Thanks Again,
Richard.

Free tutorials at Wrigley Video
 

Check out the free tutorial downloads at Wrigley Video.

If you were using just Premiere I would go with dual route.. I have two RTX.100 systems with single P4's and they work great for what I am doing..

If I did a lot of AE stuff, I would opt for dual. However since the Matrox takes some load a single p4 works slick..

P4 3.6
2GB RAM
(2) 250GB SATA Drives
(1) 80GB IDE System Drive
Asus P4C800-E Mobo
Matrox P650 Video

I haven't had one issue..

Smooth QuickTime Output
 

I have been using PPro 1.5 for about a year now and I have not been satisfied with my quicktime export. Can someone give me some pointers on this?

I can get very smooth looking WMV files that are small in file size, but with quicktime, I haven't been able to produce something that I am happy with. The file size is much bigger in comaprison and there are many artifacts in the movie.

What codecs should I look at?

Thanks.

The Apple QuickTime codec isn't very good, as you discovered. You will need to purchase a third-party QuickTime codec like Sorenson 3 Pro (http://www.sorenson.com/solutions/prod/sv3_win.php) to get similiar quality to Windows Media/RealMedia video. The Sorenson 3 basic codec is included with Premiere Pro, but it just isn't as good as the Sorenson Pro version.

If you would like to see the output of the Sorenson 3 Pro codec for QuickTime files, you can download a trial of Sorenson's Squeeze 4 Compression Suite at http://www.sorenson.com/misc/free_trial.php.

Thanks Christopher. I have tried the Sorenson codec before. I will review my settings before purchasing the pro version. Too bad an upgrade is needed...

...the sorenson codec that came with PPro still didn't look as good as my WMV files.

Did you try MPEG4?

I have no troubles with MPEG 4, but for web viewing and regular Quicktime viewing, the comression artifacts in my Quicktime was not very good and the file was 3 times the size. I thought maybe it was my settings as the WMV versions always look right and the size stay small.

I agree, only use a system that can be confirmed by users that it works. The RTX is VERY picky, and it will not work properly if you just make up a system. You basically need to build something around the RTX instead of the other way around.

I had to purchase a completely new system around around the RTX card as my other machine (also new) was deemed incompatible.

the only version of sorenson that is useable costs top $$$... you almost certainly didn't get that with premiere pro... mpeg4 is marginal at best, but there is great hope for h.264, if someone ever creates a software player that will actually play the files.

if you search the recent archives, you'll find the link for the codec zip file test i posted... you'll see that real media and wmv have the best quality, but you could also look at divx or even xvid, if you can deal with the player issues on the distribution end of things.

that said, you should be able to get smooth playback in qt even if the picture quality sucks... make sure that you are manipulating the frame rate correctly.

<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Eanton : I agree, only use a system that can be confirmed by users that it works. The RTX is VERY picky, and it will not work properly if you just make up a system. You basically need to build something around the RTX instead of the other way around.

I had to purchase a completely new system around around the RTX card as my other machine (also new) was deemed incompatible. -->>>

I so second that.. My first RTX.100 system is a pieced together system and doesn't conform to Matrox standards.. A few hangs here and there.. for very small projects it works.

My new system we bought through a certified Matrox Builder for the RTX.100 and it's a class above the other system in reliability and stability..

Thanks for you input. At least now I know that's it's not completely a result of my settings. I might invest in the Sorenson Pro sometime. My playback is smooth, it's just the compression that didn't look right.

Dan, I'll look into your Codec tests. That sounds interesting.

Thanks again.

XL1s capture problems in premiere
 

When using Premiere Pro 1.5 and my XL1s through a firewire connection, I cannot use Premiere's capture window, and I get a message saying "Can't Activate Recorder. Try Restting Recorder". I know that my camera is connected to my computer (Windows gives me a message saying that a Canon XL1s camcorder is connected to my system), and Premiere tells me that my camera is "online" when I set up the device control. (Which, according to Premiere, means that Premiere can see and control my camera). Any suggestions?

Adobe Plugin Suggestions
 

Im running adobe premiere but dont have any plugins. Right now Im using it for cutting live concert footage together but am also shooting a fairly intensive documentary which will require alot of color correction to match cameras together when needed. I will also be using it for short films shot on the xl2 where the end effect is the "film look." Just wanted to know if you all had any suggestions on what to start with, what are the "must have" pluggins for premiere? Thanks!

Color Finesse is very good for matching cameras from what I've seen of it. About $600USD.

I'm not trying to be funny here, but did you put the XL in VCR mode? Some times it's the simple things that bite us.

Dan

2 Questions about the Premiere timeline/video tracks
 

Hi there

I am using Premiere 6.0. I have two simple questions....

I have two video tracks for an interview. Video track 1 is the full uninterupted video of the interviewee. Video 2 is the video of the interviewer, broken up in clips for only when he is asking questions.

I have to:
1) now add video effects to all the clips in video 2. There are a lot of clips. Is there a way to add the same video effect (just like a brightness & contract adjustment) to them all at the same time?

2) I want two add two emtpy video tracks Between video 1 and 2, so I can add an effect onto video 1. Is there a way to do this, or do I have to move all the clips in Video 2 up, manually, one at a time?

Thanks.

Hi Ronald,

1) You can copy and paste effects from 1 clip to another. Simply right click on your first clip with the effect, then choose copy. Then right click on your second clip, and choose paste attributes. Another dialog will appear asking what attributes you wish to paste. Of the top of my head I think that effects is an option, so choose that.

2) First add your 2 more video tracks. Then use the group tool, select your clips in track 2 and then click and drag them to track 4.

I don't have Premiere 6 in front of me at the moment, but from memory I think thats how to do it.

Hope this helps,

Ed's pretty much dead-on. In a situation where you have to add effects to clips, it is easier to do it to the entire clip, then cut it up, rather than cut and paste to 50 smaller chunks.

Yes, it is in VCR mode. I should also point out some other things I've noticed since yesterday. I tried it with my Dad's GL2, and I had the exact same problem. However, I downloaded a dedicated capturing program (Scenalyzer 2.1), and that works, which seems to pretty strongly imply a Premiere problem rather than a FireWire problem or a camera problem.

How to show/burn timecode in Premiere?
 

Hi there,

I'm on Premiere 6.0

Is there a simple way to show the timecode of some video you are editing, burned into the video? Perhaps in the bottom of the video, where the bottom black bar is (for widescreen video)?

This would help with editing and getting our EDL for out online masters.

Premiere will just read whatever timecode is on the source video, correct and automatically put together the EDL that represents your project file?

thanks.

From memory you can paste all the effects that you've copied to multiple clips - selected using the dotted rectangle tool.

Jon

As far as I am aware Premiere does not support burnt in timecode (BITC). I remember there being a work around/ plug in that someody produced, But I don't know where it is...

Try a search for BITC or burnt in Timecode.

The only machine that I am aware that does BITC in real-time and does it extremely well is a Lightworks Touch. But then again you are looking at aboout £16,000 for one...

Sony Vegas (another NLE) can do it as well, it is kinda real-time.