I have a project that need 3 to 6 multi cam view at the same time.
They shot with the Panasonic 3000 at DVCPro HD 720p/59.94
We digitize the footage at DNxHD 145 to a 720p/59.94 Avid Project.
When multi grouping the takes and trying to play back all 3 cameras we get a jitter on the playback, both on the computer and external monitor.
We are using Symphony Nitris version 3.5 (not DX) on an HP station.
Can Avid do a multi stream in 720p/59.94?
I tested the DNxHD 145 in a 108i/59.94 project and was able to get 3 real time streams. I have been told that some people got up to 9 cameras on 1080i
 do we need a newer system ? (DX? MAC ?) or do I have to cut in SD NTSC and online
-side note – I am able to play 10 DVCPro Steams in final cut…, and hope we can do the same in Avid.

Thank you,

Ronen




.HP XW8200, WIN XP SP3 XEON 3.4 x2 WITH 2.75GB RAM
we are using SCSI drives

Are there colored lines in the sequence? Yellow will point to the processor causing the dropped frames and blue with point to the drives. Red means frames were dropped.

I would say that the xw8200 is the issue, its just not that powerful by modern computer standards. Maxing the RAM to 4 Gig might help a little. 2.75 gig is very low for a multi-stream HD project. What GFX card is in the 8200? A low powered GFX card can also be the cause for a drop in performance like this.

Hi Bob,

thank you for your quick replay,

we are using Nvidia QuadroFX1400 graphic card, and the older version Avid Vedio RTR raid. (we also have another setup with the 12 drive avid raid scsi 320 - same thing on that machine)

the problem is in watching the multiclip in the source monitior . in another test, I put 3 streams on the time line and use the PIP effect to 'create' multi-cam . I did got a red color bar on the timeline.


any suggestions ?

Ronen

Can you upgrade your CPU? The xw8200 must be 3 or 4 years old now and simply isn't powerful enough. Maxing out the RAM and upgrading the GFX card to a FX3500 should improve performance.

My other suggestion is to use the deck to change the frame rate to 1080i/59.94. In a 1080p/29.97 project type you should be able to digitize DNx45. This is one of the two offline HD codecs available.

When the project is done open the bin with the sequence in a 720p/59.94 project. Select sequence and Clip > Modify > Format and select 720p/59.94. The sequence can now be redigitized.

You should test to make sure this works.

if we upgrade the CPU, which approved by Avid workstation should we get ? is there any page regarding the latest system requirements (PC or Mac) for the old version symphnony Nitris (Not Dx)

IF going with the graphics card which one of the  the FX3500 is approved by Avid?

Thank you,

Ronen

The 8400 is the last CPU for the classic Nitris. 

The Avid Configuration Guidelines and Slot Configurations  and the HP XW8400 Dual Quad-Core Processor based Workstation support pages have details on the proper configuration for a Nitris Classic with an xw8400.

As we and others have experienced, and posted elsewhere on this forum, there is a significant speed gain to be had in upgrading a SN "Classic" on a xw8200 / xp 32bit to a xw8400 / vista business 64bit. So far, all memory crunches we previously encountered are gone, and interface is snappier, etc. The Vista 64 allows 4GB ram to be devoted to Avid - a huge improvement.

- Keith

Thank you all !!


If any of you guys have some free time to check  - if you can get 3 streams of real time multi cam (split screen) playing with no jitter or freeze picture, that would be wonderful.

Project type: 720p/59.94 DNxHD 145 .

I test it on Media Composer G5 with internal drives and got the same issue., So I was just wondering if 720p is part of the problem.

I'd say a G5 is actually slower than the xw8200. What were the colored lines aside from Red? It might only be a dot, but there should be blue and/or yellow lines.