Canon HDV and Adobe Premiere
 

Just got my A1 this morning! Sweet! Waiting for the battery to charge, but I'm wondering, what (if anything) do I have to download to enable the 25f capture from the camcorder?

And can I download it from adobe?

Regards all,

Giles B

P.S. anything else you guys reccomend I do to prepare my camera... E.g. I've read a lot about turning off AGC, things like that....

Giles you have probably already done this by now (just seen your post). But there is a new preset at the Adobe site for PP2 and your pal 25f. Once installed as per instructions your option becomes available in the 'new project' area.

Cheers,

Adobe Premiere 3.0 and Canon XH A1
 

Is anyone using Adobe Premiere 3.0 for PP ?
I notice that if I choose to export as 1080 24p, it takes a Gig of space for a couple of minutes of shoot. Is there anyway to compress, but not loose quality.

Also I noticed that, if I shoot in 24F mode, panning produces very choppy pictures (even if my shutter speed is more than 1000), although still videos are excellent. How to avoid this?

Thanks
Sundar Ramamoorthy

Faster shutter makes for even more choppy video (strobe-like effect). Try a slower shutter, like 1/48 - 1/60 or so. The slight motion blurr will tend to smooth out the motion.

Learn from what works in the movies: you do not see fast pans or tilts, and when you do, they tend to look terrible.

If you like pans, tilts and fast motion then 50i/60i is your friend. If you want 24p then you must compromise on the motion in your "motion pictures". Of course we'd all like 50p/60p but that's a whole different budget!

Adobe Premier Pro 3
 

Isn't PPro3 still a pre-order? It's listed as a pre-order on adobe.com.

maybe he means premiere elements 3?

You can download a free prerelease of Premiere Pro CS3 from http://labs.adobe.com

does it have any advantages over premiere pro 2.0?

Due to licensing, there is no HDV support with the PPro's CS3 free prerelease. So I haven't bothered with it, although I am looking forward to the real release of the new suite this summer because of the inclusion of the ex-DV Rack monitoring and capturing software, time re-mapping, and a few other enhancements/ features to all of the software titles.

Sundar, check your export codec and settings. There's soooo many different ways to encode, from HDV (~12GB per hour) to uncompressed (1.2 GB per second).

Brian Brown

I started framserving with DebugMode in PP2 to save space. No problems yet. Works fine with PP3 too.

I'm using Cineform in the PP3 Beta so don't need the HDV function. Frameserving to Tmpgenc Express.

I'm finding PP3 to be much better in handling memory. PP2 would slow to a crawl with Cineform and crash often. PP3 is working fine.

I am also very much looking forward to it (Adobe OnLocation) - the DV-Rack renamed Adobe-style. It should be pretty sweet. Of course, it will not have the camera controls of Canon Console software, but the later is a $600 package, which makes OnLocation even more appealing!

A1 capture with Premiere Pro 2.0
 

The first time I connected the A1 through the firewire and then into premeire pro 2.0 I captured with no issues. Ever since then I have been having a major issue. I can capture the image but when I close the capture tool it seems like the clip is indexing and continues to index forever and I cannot see the actual picture. Does anyone know a solution for this? Thanks

Let it finish indexing. It'll take a while, but once it's done you're in business.

I tried that..actually let it index overnight and nothing happened. any other ideas? I can't be the only one with this issue am I?

lots of hardrive space free?

yeah i have over 500 gig available. its weird because a few times it worked and then most times it does'nt. i can capture dv footage easy but something is up with hdv. any other ideas? thanks

I think what PP2 is doing is "conforming" the audio. I've captured 5 minutes of HDV footage from A1 to PP2 yesterday. It took about 1GB of disk space and indexes reasonably quick - about a minute.

Ran into the same problem just now on my machine. There is a thread on this in the Adobe forums. The solution (at least for some of us) is to create a new user on the machine with Admin privileges and use PPro with that user. With Admin privileges, file permissions shouldn't be an issue.

This points to the problem somehow being linked to the user's profile on the computer. As of yet, noone seems to know what file or setting causes the issue.

Capturing Problems in Premiere Pro, Vista
 

Hi, everybody. This forum seems to have the best personal insights and technical knowhow about the XH-A1 and workflow in general, so I'm hoping someone can help me out.

I shot some HDV 24F footage on the A1. I went to capture this with Premiere Pro 2.0 in 32-bit Vista Premium (using the HDV preset provided by Adobe for 24F footage.) But it's a no go.

Here's the details:

It says "Capture device offline" at the top, but when you visit Device settings it says the status is "Online".
I can control the camera using the device controls in PPro, but I cannot record. The record button is grayed out.

My capture settings are:

Capture Format: Adobe HD-SDI
Video Standard: NTSC
Brand: Generic
Type: HDV Device
Timecode Format: Auto-Detect

On the camera itself, I made sure to change the PLAYBACK STD to "HDV" and the HD-DOWN CONV to "OFF."

I am also able to capture .M2T files with Vegas 7, so it's not an issue with the Firewire cable or connections on the camera or computer.

Out of curiosity, I downloaded the new Premiere Pro CS3 Beta, and tried the same thing, and it gave me a kink: it tried to use "DV Capture" as the Format and let me hit the Record button - but didn't actually attempt to record anything. So that was a bust, too.

If anyone can give me any pointers on what to do to get this work, that would be great.

K

Keith,

Have you tried using the Adobe HDV capture format instead of HD-SDI? Unless you're actually capturing HD-SDI, which I'm assuming you're not because you have an A1, then I believe the Adobe HDV profile is the way to go. I've only worked with the A1 once, so I could be completely wrong, of course =P but I have captured from an A1 to PPro2 on Vista x64 using the Adobe HDV settings successfully.

I have same problem that my computer not recognizing the device but I found a way to get it working. First I turn the dial to (EXT CONT) instead puting it to (VCR PLAY) and when my computer try to install new device that's the time I turn the dial to VCR PLAY and it will recognize your camcorder. Try it out it works fine for me.

[QUOTE=Steve Withers;682365]Keith,

Have you tried using the Adobe HDV capture format instead of HD-SDI? Unless you're actually capturing HD-SDI, which I'm assuming you're not because you have an A1, then I believe the Adobe HDV profile is the way to go.


I agree with Steve, you opened a wrong project settings, try HDV project.

Export to Tape from Premiere Pro 2.0: Any work-arounds?
 

Anyone find a solution or work-around for the problem of the A1 capturing only 4 minutes or so and then stopping? I've read many counts of others who are having this problem, even before I experienced it myself. But, like others, when I try to export a timeline to tape from PP 2.0, it captures beautifully for, oh, about 4-4.5 minutes, and then stops, with a message saying something to the effect of "check Firewire connection."

My archiving system relies heavily on being able to export client projects back to tape, as I don't have the cashflow or desire to be buying a new hard drive every few projects. I just started editing my first HDV projects from the A1, and this limitation is thowing a major monkey wrench in my workflow.

Dave

Yes I have the same problem too this last weekend using the camera and PPro2. I though that it was me doing something wrong. I wish that somebody can do something to help us. I'm wondering if the canon hv20 is avoiding this problem. I would let you know as soon I with the hv20. Other question is if the Cs3 version is taking care of this issue with a1.

Please submit defects to Adobe and Canon! If they see enough maybe it will get fixed.

I did more research with this issue and I found that this is a problem posted in the Adobe PPpro forum with no good final results. Adobe people says that is a canon issue. I also try my hv20 but is still doing the same problem after 6.5 minutes of expoting.

My other option will be to try my A1 whith the Cineform Hd Link export tape tool. I hope to have good results.

In an Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 forum an Adobe employee claimed that it's fixed in CS3. Of course, that means *paying* hundreds of dollars for a defect fix (unless you planned to upgrade anyway). I replied to my current defect report to Adobe with this info and my concern about having to pay so much for a defect fix.

Thanks for the info
I'm totally agreed with you larry, if they can not make it work in the existing version where they are charging you for a software that is supposed to be including this feature, they should not charge hundreds of $ for upgrades to people who already paid for that.

Ugh. Just got this response from Adobe. What a crock! Because I own the Production Studio Premium that is what I need to upgrade (for $799!). I sent a very pointed response to them, asking for an escalation.


*** Notes to Customer ***
05/24/2007 18:53:49
______________________________________________
Hello Larry,
Thank you for contacting Adobe® Web Support for assistance with Adobe
Premiere Pro 2.0®
I understand that the issue with your Canon XH A1 has been clarified and
that you are aware that this particular issue is to be remedied on
Premiere Pro CS3.
The simple answer to your question is yes. You will need to upgrade to
Production Studio CS3 to have the compatibility with the Canon XH A1.
I do apologize for any inconvenience this situation may be causing you
and if there are any other questions you may have about this please feel
free to contact us.
You may call us at (800) 642-3623. We are available from 6:00 am to
5:00 pm Monday - Friday, Pacific Time.
Kind regards,
Erik H.
Adobe Web Support

Necessary System for HD editing with the Canon XH-A1?
 

Hello,
I've just purchased a Canon XH-A1 and need to bring the rest of my system up to snuff for HD editing.
Currently I use Premiere Pro 2 waiting for the immenent upgrade to 3.0
I have a Pinnacle 500 interface (but I don't think it works with Pro 2.0 or 3.0), but I am building a New Computer with the following specs:
Intel Dual core 6600+ cpu
Motherboard with 1066 FSB-etc.
2 gig 6400 DDR-ram
7000 series Nvidea Graphics
Large SATA drives

My questions are:
Is the computer spec'd above sufficient?
Do I need to configure a Raid-0 ?
Do I need more than 2 gig ram? (I read that intel doesn't support above 3 gig? Is that right?)
Will I need a special interface to import HD or will the Firewire suffice?
How do I output signal to a HD TV monitor for accurate viewing during editing? What interface is recommended (lower price is preferred)?
For a playback deck, the Canon HV-10 or HV-20? Either/Or?
Does the playback deck/camera need to be a Canon or will any HD camera do?
Does the playback device need to have the same DIGIC DV ll compression or once the tape is encoded will it transfer from any playback device such as a JVC HD camera?

I guess that is it for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am venturing into some unknown territory and my last major upgrade was several years ago and so, although I've been reading a lot, I'm not totally familiar with all the advances made and the options available.

Thanks,

rich

well I can spit out some info on the pc side. this system will handle hd but you may have a slight lag from time to time but your rendering time will be what will prolly drive you nuts on bigger projects. No doubt if you can set up a raid 0, you will notice much more improved performance. I have no idea of your budget but being that hard drives are so cheap these days I would recommend a single boot/program drive. Then I would raid 0 two other drives as your data/workload partition. Make sure you set your settings to cache and run each project on this raid array and not the boot drive. Rest of your hardware should be ok (yeah u use the onboard firewire port for capturing and it will be fine). Also here's where you really could help your editing performance is to splurge on aspect hd. I believe that you can get a completely free 2 week trial, install it and watch how smooth pp2 operates with it.

I would get this setup before I buy another cam for capturing :)

Hi Mark. I would like to know some details of your setup:

1.with motherboard you have with the intel QX8600
2.which case
3.if you work with the RAID controller included in your mobo or with an external one
4.if i can build a RAID array with disks of different capacities (i already have 2 of 250g for scratch and i would buy another of 750g to make a RAID of 1tb 250gb)
5.havent you experienced some problems in the playback with the nvidia card and aspect hd?

thanks!!!

Aspect HD v.5
 

Thanks Mark for the tip on Aspect HD. I've read some on it and it sounds like a great program. The Pinnacle DV500 was mostly render free, and I definetely want a fast solution in that regard.
Are you saying, you think I should use the XH-A1 as my capture camera instead of buy the HV10? Or, that between aspect HD and another camera, you would go with the software?
Also, do you have a suggestion for output to a HD TV for monitoring purposes?
thanks

rich

Hey Rich,
I am in a similar boat, although I haven't pulled the trigger on the camera yet. Probably will this week. I do have one at work and I am using the quad core with XP Pro currently. That works excellent for video, especially if you do any After Effects or similar motion graphic applications. Premiere CS3 will take advantage of the quad as well. I'll be doing premiere cs3 at work soon. I think July 2nd is the release. I'll let you know how it runs. I'm going to try and match my system at work... quad core with 4gb or more of RAM here at home, but I agree that the RAID will really help. I do not have that at work and wish I did. Depending on who I buy from I think I'll do a RAID 0 with 2 500gb 7200rpm SATA II Drives and a 10,000 RPM Cheetah as the boot drive. Good luck with your setup, please keep us informed on what you do, I won't be too far behind, but I will actually have to get the camera and the Firestor paid for, and recover, before I can edit at home.

Jeff

Hernan:

Recently upgraded to the new intel P35 chipset (asus P5K deluxe board), and yeah I do notice it's a tad bit quicker than my previous (975x chipset). I would definitely recommend it for any editing machine (or the slightly better X38 enthusiast chipset, which will be out later this summer). I use the areca sata controller (not sure model number off the top my head but its the $500 one). Performance is out of this world much more powerful/faster than any onboard solution and ive tested out many. but obviously you have to pay for the boost that some may feel is unnecessary. not sure what you are asking for the raid sizes :(. and no problems with my video card that I've noticed.


Rich:

Yeah if budget only allows for either the extra "capture" cam or aspect, I'd definitely get aspect for that machine. it'll make editing a much better experience for you. And yeah many of us are anxiously awaiting CS3 and I'm sure it'll be a tad bit bulkier (and when I say that I mean needing a little more pc muscle to push it) so the aspect route will help out future wise as well.


PS. I'm hearing a july 2 release date? :)

Rich, since you already are familiar with Premiere Pro 2, you might consider a Matrox RTx.2 system. My colleagues who are using this accelerator board report very pleasing results...and there are several vendors offering upgrade prices for those who already have an Adobe product.

Doug,
That is a real time editing board correct? Sounds interesting. If you by chance have the names of any of those venors it would definitely be appreciated. Thanks

So what are people using as an NTSC display? I use PP2 and unlike DV there is no real time output via firewire through camera when playing back timeline. I have been using one of my monitors (dual setup) as a playback screen but I would prefer to output to a small HD tv. Am I missing something in PP2 to playback to an NTSC monitor through camera?

canon xha1 & adobe premiere pro 2.0
 

Hi Guys,
I am a total newbie, I am a pro stills photographer going into video in a small way, I have a canon xha1 am using a custom built pc with Adobe premiere pro
2. my problem is I can only seem to shoot in sd modes to be able to capture the footage, I have tried all the permutations that I can see when trying to capture. I can't find any downloads by either canon or adobe to get round this. Can someone please help?