When using Media Manager to archive media the key point to remember is that you need to select what you want to manage BEFORE selecting it from the menu. And, I always select what I want to Media Manage in the Browser, not the Timeline.
How to upload a file automatically after Compressor has finished converting a file.
What’s the best video format for archiving materials? This is an easy question to ask, but a hard question to answer. Also, what’s the best way to preserve 1″ and 2″ master video tapes — especially since those machines are increasingly hard to find? This article gets you started in the right direction.
While you can create watermarks in FCP, Compressor provides a much better alternative. This technique shows you what to do.
Final Cut Pro is a QuickTime editor. But what if you want to create WMV files? Well, you are not out-of-luck, but you will need different software. This article describes what you need to know, along with how to resolve problems when creating WMV files.
Sometime between February and June, 2009, all broadcast television stations in the US need to convert from analog to digital transmission. However, this is NOT the same as converting from SD to HD – they are not, necessarily, related. While the current changeover timing is being debated in Washington, here are some answers to your questions.
XDCAM is generating a lot of interest for its high-def quality and small size. This discussion began with a question about using it for archiving – which spawned a lot of additonal thoughts.
Need to get a sequence from a later version of Final Cut back to an earlier version? Here’s how to do it — though, keep in mind, that not everything will transfer.
When you send a stereo audio pair to Soundtrack, STP treats it as a stereo clip. When you send a dual-channel mono pair to Soundtrack, STP treats them as two separate files. This article describes how to switch from one to the other.
QuickTime can make viewing 16:9 anamorphic video a bit difficult because it always displays video using square pixels. In this article, discover the secret to getting QuickTime to show your video correctly.
Video images are not the same as computer images — and what you don’t know WILL get you in trouble. This article explains what you need to know to keep your tapes from being rejected for technical reasons.
Adding DVD chapter markers to a QuickTime movie is reasonably easy. But how do you do this for H.264 compressed video. This article describes what you need to know.
Technical Guru Graeme Nattress presents a lucid, and illustrated, explanation of why colors in DV, Betacam, and DVD are handled differently. If you do any kind of color work, you need to read this article.
Where to store files is always a question. This short tip helps you determine where to store your media and project files for DVD Studio Pro.
Down-converting HD to SD using Compressor provides better image quality than using Final Cut Pro. This article shows you why.
The video scopes in Final Cut, while accurate, don’t show the entire picture. If you use the scopes in your work, you need to read this warning.
In this article Larry handles a question regarding whether a series of continuous time code cuts will translate into the OMF or be ignored.
In this article Larry fields a question from a subscriber having trouble exporting a multitrack and directs him to the suggestion of another subscriber.
When you are ready to lay your final projects back to tape, the best way to do so is to use Print to Video. However, Edit to Tape is required if you need to record at a specific timecode on your tape. But this requires laying Timecode on your tape first. This article explains how.
The article describes how to view and change subtitles in DVD Studio Pro.
As our industry moves quickly to tapeless media and acquisition, properly archiving your footage can make the difference between happiness and heart-ache. In this article, I outline what you need to know about archive formats.
It would be great if we didn’t have to render. But, since we do, what can make it go faster? This article explains what you can do to help and what won’t make any difference.
The best way to display HD video is using a Blu-ray Disc. However, the Mac OS does not support Blu-ray Disc playback, and to create a Blu-ray Disc takes an external burner. This article describes what you need to know to create a Blu-ray Disc. (Keep in mind that this technology is changing constantly – after this article was published, FCP 7 was released which provides limited support for Blu-ray Discs.)
ProRes 422 is a new codec, invented by Apple, that seeks to minimize the massive file sizes of some HD formats. It also has benefits when you are working with HDV or other GOP-compressed video formats. In this article, I show you more about this codec and how to use it.
When your audio mix is more complex than Final Cut can handle, this technique shows you how to export your audio using OMF, while keeping all your clips and handles intact.
Whenever you trash or delete Final Cut preference files, FCP will reset back to NTSC DV 48kHz audio. This reset happens whenever your preferences get trashed. I don’t think Final Cut inherently thinks NTSC, but that when things reset, FCP resets to its default settings which is NTSC.
This technique shows you how to connect a video monitor to your computer. This is great for those situations where you don’t have access to camera or deck.
Monitors for HD video are not cheap. So why not just connect an HD television set via HDMI and let it go at that? In this short write-up, Dan May, president of Blackmagic Design, explains the potential problems with monitoring your HD video using this kind of setup.
Final Cut Pro is two audio channels in, but up to 24 audio channels out. This article shows you how to get more than stereo from FCP.
Increasingly, audio is being recorded in more than two tracks. However, Soundtrack Pro has a problem when dealing with more than two tracks. This article describes the problem, and a work-around that fixes it.
The only problem with creating multiple versions of the same file is the time it takes. In this article, I explain how you can do this faster and easier by automating Compressor, than just doing one file at a time from Final Cut Pro.
Wendy is searching for a universal HD output format to simplify distribution of her projects. In this article, she discovers that’s easier to say than to do.
All DV audio is not created the same. A client had a problem with the NS light lighting; finding the solution took a few days of phone calls. Here’s the scoop.
The debatable “nightmare” of offline editing is discussed, with Larry strongly recommending the creation of DVCPROHD 23.98 fps masters to keep the frame rate and image size constant and greatly simplify the final on-line edit.
Understanding the Media Manager is critical to successfully recapturing media, whether for creating the highest quality final master, or for resurrecting an old project. But the Media Manager is not that intuitive. This article walks you through what you need to know for successfully recapturing your project.
Converting a low-resolution edit into a high-res master is the process of on-lining. Here are a series of tips to keep in mind as you on-line High-Def material.
Confused by all the different video outputs on your deck? This article explains what they mean, what they do, and when to use them.
A reader asks how to create a PAL DVD. In this article, I provide a reference for file conversion, then talk about the Compressor setting you can use to compress your files. (I also include a link to lots more training on DVD creation.)
Here’s a quick tip on how to create still images so they can display in a PAL 16:9 sequence.
Over the last four months I’ve had a long email chat about video formats and the best ways to convert between them. If you are moving files from NTSC to PAL or back, and trying to integrate HD material, this article covers what you need to know.
If there was one “magic format” we would all be shooting in it. Unfortunately, as many of us are discovering as we move to HD, the world is a highly incompatible place.
Print to Video is your best choice when outputting to tape. However, some people find really ingenious ways to avoid it. This article describes what it is, along with a discussion of self-contained vs. reference QuickTime movies.
QMaster allows you to combine multiple computers into a render farm to make video compression run faster. It also allows you to combine multiple processors on one computer to compress video faster. One of these choices works MUCH better than the other. This article explains what you need to know.
Compressor does a really good job of compressing video for the web, or DVD. But, what if you want to change the image size? Well, Compressor does that too – in the Geometry tab. This article shows you how.
Tony asked an interesting question: what’s the difference between RED and DSLR cameras for shooting video. Good question. So I asked two experts: Philip Hodgetts and Noah Kadner. This article provides their answers.
I ran into an interesting problem over the weekend that I want to share with you because the solution is more complex than at first blush. Here’s the problem: I was asked to create a video for posting on line. The video had two components: me on camera talking, and screen shots, both of which were different sizes and formats. This article describes the process of creating a single, compressed file composed of multiple format video.
Even though Soundtrack Pro is, at its core, a surround-sound audio editing system, sometimes you just need mono (single-channel) audio out. The only problem is… how? This quick article explains what you need to know.
In this article, various problems with playback are addressed and answered.
Larry diagnoses a subscriber’s problems with burning DVDs and makes recommendations (altering compression bit-rates, etc.) towards finding a solution.
When compressing an H.264 file, whether in QuickTime, Final Cut Pro, or Compressor, an option you may see is called “Frame Reordering.” This article explains, briefly, what it is and when you should use it.
