Avid DS

New DS tutorial available

Igor Ridanovic — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:30:32 GMT

I uploaded a new DS tutorial to Tips and Tutorials.

It talks about the general concepts of premultiplication. The part two will be heavier on DS specifics.

Avid DS 10.3.1 update is here...

M-Edit — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:49:23 GMT

...but did it make me happy?

I don't do Stereoscopic (yet)
I don't do RED (yet)
I don't use any OFX's (yet)
I don't do much conforms (maybe never)

But I DO import h264 files.

So again, did this update make me happy?

Well, I guesss the answer is NOOOOOOOOOO.

I'd hoped that the 3D-DVE's "lost features" would
have been restored like it worked in v7.6.

I'd hoped that they would have fixed the problem
with importing Quicktime's which contains multiple
"soundtracks". Which also worked in v7.6.

Yeah "small" things like that...

...but I guess they have their own small things
to take care of.

//mike

MC 5 / AFE / DS v8.4

jef — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:02:26 GMT

Hi all,

We are thinking of putting MC v5 on our v8.4 DS systems to help with file import / conversion.

I understand that currently MC v5 does NOT make a usable AFE. I understand that is being worked on. When this is corrected, do we think the AFE will be compatible with v8.4 or will it only be good for v10.x?

Lots of unknowns, but I gotta ask.

Thanks,
Jef

DS 10.3 install/setup help

avidgrant1 — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 02:47:41 GMT

I apologize on my lack of knowledge on the DS system, but my friends system arrived with a major lack of pre-install/ configuration from the unnamed reseller he bought it from. I now need to fix it and get it to work for him so he does not have any down time. I have since installed the raid that came with it (AVID RAID SR) and thats all well and good, however i cannot seem to get the system to start the actual DS application. I keep getting a "Avid DE could not find the project indexer..... this may be due to improper services startup or invalid security settings." I have confirmed in the VIE application under the DS support console, application tab, that the avid project indexer, media indexer and service protocol are all stopped. I cannot restart them. I have also looked in the services tab... they are set to automatic, but are not running and cannot be started from there either, in fact i get a error "Could not start the Avid project indexer serviceon Local Computer. Error 1068: the dependency service or group failed to start. I am not a DS tech, so I am sorry if these are elementary items, but any assistance would be greatly aprreciated.

Avid DS 10.3.1 is released

Vincent Maza — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:45:37 GMT

Hi Avid DS users,

We’re pleased to release Avid DS 10.3.1, a free update for all registered Avid DS 10.3 owners. This new version gives you even more tools for editing stereoscopic 3D material and support for the latest RED camera file format and color science.

With 3D projects, you can now manipulate stereo 3D content for each eye independently—in real time—with new convergence tools, giving you better control in the 3D space. You also get more tools to complete all necessary 3D adjustments within Avid DS, allowing your facility to take on any 3D stereo project. For RED projects, you can now work with 2816 x 2304, 2.4:1 anamorphic format sequences, and get improved RLX file format support.

For more information, stop by the Avid DS product page.

In addition, The Foundry just released FurnaceCore, a new set of OFX plug-ins that work with Avid DS 10.3.1. These incredibly powerful tools are great for everyday compositing for film and video projects, and are available from The Foundry. Here’s a quick description of the plugs from The Foundry:

The plug-ins include grain tools, automated dirt detection and removal, slow motion using our advanced motion estimation technology, motion blur, flicker reduction, and a tool to match color grades between shots.

I will be monitoring these forums, so feel free to ask any question; I am also planning to host a live Q/A session sometime next week; I will post the time and date in the next couple of days.

Thanks,

Vincent, Marketing Manager I Post Production, Avid

Video Storage is not realtime

OnlinePostProduction — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:41:02 GMT

Hi, We've recently bought an Avid DS with 2 x 2.5tb RAID SCSI drives. Everything works well apart from my video storage states its not real time, I've moved the pth away from the C drive (which it was set to as a default) and onto one of the RAIDs. It still claims that its not realtime even though these are SCSI RAD drives though.... I'm quite new to the whole DS config (smyphony man myself) so this is quite new to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated as i'm struggling to find out what i'm doing wrong! Thanks Tom

DS "Gnarchive" Utility App keeps freezing/failing

autolux — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:55:51 GMT

Hey All,

I just started using this app for backups and for the first couple of shows it was really amazing. Now for the last 3 shows I've attempted to archive Im getting "delayed write error," and this morning it's frozen completely and I cannot force quit. I am archiving to an external HD and Im at this point out of ideas. The first project moved was over 300 gigs with no problem so I can't figure out why it suddenly doesnt like the others. Anyone got any suggestions cause I really want this app to work.

Grassy Ass Amigos

reverse s-log lut

Doug Woods — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:12:11 GMT

Hi, does anyone know where I can find a reverse s-log lut to allow me
to view Sony F35 s-log 444 RGB tapes linearly in DS? Where making
dailies for an MOW being shot locally.

No help from Sony.

DS 10.3 z800

thanks for any info

Doug Woods

Senior Editor

PowerPost

Halifax, Nova Scotia

902 240 0138

audio trimming

joeydanna — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:48:43 GMT

Is there any way to have DS *not* link tracks when i trim audio? for example if i have a VO track and a music track, but both clips start at the same frame, when i grab the front of the vo track to trim it, it will trim the music track too

please tell me theres a preference to turn that off, its been driving me insane...

Field of View...

M-Edit — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:27:10 GMT

Avid, please do something about the "Field of view/Camera zoom"
stuff that isn't working in DS10. And yeah, we're on 10.3 now, but
it hasn't worked in any of the 10.x incarnations. We can't use any of
our archived 3D-DVE preset stuff due to this.

"Camera zoom" works when watching in Direct view" but nothing
happends on the output. And after changing the zoom level
you can see that the wireframe doesn't correspond to the size
of the actual object any more.

Dolly and the other controls work, but that don't give you the
perspetive "distorsion" that you might want.

So, please, please, please, look into this.

//mike

Feature Request: More than 8 Channels of Audio

Brian_Holter — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:59:11 GMT

Dear Avid-

This request is old (over two years old), I have heard it from many people, but I realized today as I was forced to clone a tape due to my DS' inability to capture more than 8 channels of audio that I have never requested this feature on the official Avid forum.

We need to be able to work with more than 8 channels of audio. This needs to be taken care of, soon. Profit Margins are lowering around the industry to the point where extra "passes" that we used to be able to eat the cost of are no longer acceptable. This is especially true when I have FCP in the other room that can ingest and output 16 channels of audio. My experience is that clients dont want to pay for a second pass. When you explain this to management they suggest you use FCP. That's not an FCP "threat", its more of an explanation of my situation each day.

So, we need more than 8 channels of audio on DS. Please work on this. Also, there is no need to limit yourselves to only 12 channels. Lets bring 16 channels to the DS. If you need a case study of how i would use 16 channels of audio I would gladly provide that for you.

Thanks-

Brian

Avid DS - Tip Of The Day

sqitaos — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:09:02 GMT

Figured I'd start a thread on tips and suggestions regarding everything from proper install to maintenance of your Avid DS system and HP workstation. This could cover everything from programs to avoid installing, good and bad practices for starting/restarting your workstation, proper installation methods and when to update your applications and drivers. In times of trouble, some of these tips might be a quick and simple fix, saving you all sorts of grief, unnecessary install/uninstalls and downtime in your edit suite.

TIP OF THE DAY: SYSTEM RESTORE

Turn on System Restore at the OS level. This helpful little tool will get you back to a place where your system was behaving normally before you decided to do an upgrade/update that didn't quite go well. It will also remember your last good configuration in the event that you screwed something up at the OS level. In trying out new versions of Quicktime and third party applications such as these, I have found System Restore to get me right back to where I was when noticing adverse affects.

Start>Program Files>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore

Sean S.

Red workflow from FCP to DS

hensil — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 06:08:40 GMT

What is the work flow for onlining Red project edited on FCP pro? I tried importing FCP edl into DS but the sequence could not link to the raw Red files. Also FCP changed the clip names in the edl and I found it very difficult to find the original Raw files to replace. I hope there is a easier way to online on DS.

Henry

DS Large frame/memory problems

joeydanna — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:06:48 GMT

Has anybody else noticed that even when running in XP 64, when you work with a frame size large enough to make DS's memory footprint approach 2 gigs, it just becomes impossibly, unusably slow? This is on an 8600, with 4 gigs of ram, running in XP 64. It never seems to use more memory then 2 gigs, it just pegs there and slows down

Z800 Acting up

Geo77 — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:24:14 GMT

My all new Z800 with 6 gb ram ds 10.3 acts up on me while working on regular HD projects. It freezes about 10 sec every time i click on a effects including colourcorrection... but then it works fine after that. Also i encountered another issue.. the system wouldnt let me click on `the play button.. everytime i clicked on a play button the the step forward button gets activated... the wierd thing is after several tries of pressing the play button it works fine.... feels like its haunted or something..!! i tried reinstalling the software few time ... same kind of issues ...

Has anyone encountered similar kind of issues in Z800

Link RED files setting problem

David Nielsen — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:03:46 GMT

Hi,

I have link all my RED files in my DS 10.3. First off all is it possible to link from more that one source?

My biggest problem is that i have linked my RED files with the wrong setting, is it possible to relink a change the setting for all files?

Pleace help...

A other thing... is the Red rocket card playing the files realtime? And no rendering? What about effects?

Next version number...?

M-Edit — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:33:02 GMT

Okey, so there are rumours "out there". that
there a new DS-version pending.

And while we wait, why not have a
"What-will-the-next-DS-version-be-named"-quiz.

Not terribly exiting but at least it might raise the
posting frequency here on the forum a notch.
Been awfully low lately, after the NAB marketing
flooding.

So here are the alternatives:

1) 10.3.x (something)
x) 10.4
2) 10.more...

And I guess there are a couple (maybe even a bunch)
of you out there, that already now the answer?
Well, consider yourself banned from this quiz.

This is strictly for "the completely uninformed",
like myself.

Well, then, come on and start posting "your thoughts".

//mike

Preserving shot order when using Media Composer to DS

autolux — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:34:47 GMT

anyone know how to preserve the order that footage was shot when using MC to transcode footage to bring to Ds. When I get all the clips in DS, they are all jumbled together and have to be organized. There has to be an easier way??

Thanks in advance

No audio when I send to AFE

autolux — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:58:31 GMT

Hello,

Ive used MC to transcode footage from a drive like I've done a thousand times. This time, after I export the footage as an AFE and bring it into Nitris, there is no audio. The audio is there is MC, but not when I bring it to Nitris. Any ideas?

Thanks

effects tree raster size

joeydanna — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:36:59 GMT

Is there a good workaround to be able to set an explicit raster size for a tree node?

For example, even though i am working in SD, i would love to be able to set a graphics or a composite node to a specific size (not just "auto - which adjusts if you animate things in and out of frame)

Storage Question

Brian_Holter — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:11:14 GMT

Hi everyone-

I am curious about unsupported storage configurations. At our facility we have a 300TB and growing SAN volume that I need to get our DS' connected to. I know enough about our SAN to use it, but not enough to understand connections to it, or the type of SAN it is, so I rely heavily on our IT guys who run the SAN. What I do know is that it is an xSAN and we connect to it from Apple Mac Pro's using dual 4GB fiber connections.

I want to connect to the SAN from our DS' using a fiber connection. My plan would be to create a folder for each DS on the SAN volume and setup that folder as an indexed storage folder (to avoid the DS' indexing the entire volume). I tried this out using a Mac running Windows Vista and DS software and was able to get playback from a 2K file - so I know it can work (at least a little) - but our DS' apparently do not have the necessary slots available to add a fiber card.

The DS' we have are: 3 XW8000 v8.4, XW8200 v10.3, XW9300 v10.3 and XW8400 v10.3.

My questions are:

If I upgraded our hardware to Z800 systems, would I have the necessary slots available to add a fiber card?

What fiber card would this be (if any of you have any experience with this)?

Would setting up multiple folders on the SAN as indexed folders for each DS work?

Also I know this would be unsupported, but the reality of my situation is the FCP stations at my facility are growing due to their ability to connect to this storage, and I need the DS' to be able to do this to justify hardware upgrades.

Thanks for any help-

Brian

New Avid products release limitation...

M-Edit — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:26:24 GMT

From the Avid DS support site on Jun 10, 2010 4:30:00 PM
"Avid Media Composer and Symphony 5 are not tested or
qualified with Avid DS."

Hmmm...

...drifting apart seem to be a common reason for divorce.

Well, with the below (or above) Survey-thread in mind,
let's hope that it's like the old saying "that it has to
get worse before it gets better".

//mike

Avid Ds liciense form is not working

Geo77 — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 01:24:59 GMT

Hello all,

Just upgraded my xw 8600 to z800.. wanted to request for a license transfer from xw8600 to z800... the license request form seamed to have problem loading.. i need to get this system up in running ASAP .. any thought?? whom do i contact for a temp license

Raw files setting when importing .r3d files in DS?

hensil — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 07:23:48 GMT

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I am editing a Red project on DS 10.3. I am always confused as to what should be the setting of the raw files when importing in DS.

My main issue is color management when bringing in the .r3d files into DS. I have no idea as to what should be the Color Matrix and Gamma Curve. Should I change the other parameters like ISO, Exposure, Contrast and others. If I bring in the files as default without changing any parameters the clips looks very flat.
Is it possible to apply the original setting from Red One camera to the files when importing them in DS?
Henry

Prores quicktime linking

joeydanna — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:18:14 GMT

Has anybody had luck linking to SD prores quicktime files?

For some reason when i link them, they come in vertically squished about 10% - even though quicktime says they are exactly 720x486

Changing the pixel ratio in the import options doesnt seem to help.