Hi guys,

i have some footage generated by an HDV Sony Camera and my client delivered it to me on an Hard disk as ".mov Files". This is what MediaInfo says about one of them:

Complete name: F:\EL CASO KEVIN\AVOGADO 1\00_0001_0000-00-00_000000.mov

Format: MPEG-4

Commercial name: HDV 1080p

Format profile: QuickTime

Codec ID: qt  

File size: 431MiB

Duration: 2min 15s

Overall bit rate: 26,7 Mbps

Encoded date: UTC 2014-10-06 04:26:27

Tagged date: UTC 2014-10-06 04:26:29

Writing library: Apple QuickTime

com.apple.proapps.originalFormat: HDV 1080p25

com.apple.proapps.reel: VIDEO

com.apple.proapps.clipID: 00_0001_0000-00-00_000000R975466938R3444

com.apple.quicktime.creationdate: 2000-11-29T00:02:18-0300

Media/UUID: D77A7D56-314A-463E-AFF6-B76A5502E070

Video

ID: 1

Format: MPEG Video

Commercial name: HDV 1080p

Format version: Version 2

Format profile: Main@High 1440

Format settings, BVOP: Si

Format settings, Matrix: Personalizzato

Format settings, GOP: M=3, N=12

Codec ID: hdv7

Duration: 2min 15s

Source duration: 2min 16s

Bit rate: 25,0 Mbps

Width: 1.440 pixel

Clean aperture width: 1.416 pixel

Height: 1.080 pixel

Clean aperture height: 1.062 pixel

Display aspect ratio: 16:9

Clean aperture display aspect ratio: 16:9

Frame rate mode: Costante

Frame rate: 25,000 fps

Standard: Component

Color space: YUV

Chroma subsampling: 4:2:0

Bit depth: 8 bit

Scan type: Progressivo

Scan order: Top field first

Compression mode: Con perdita

Bits/(Pixel*Frame): 0.643

Stream size: 403MiB (94%)

Source stream size: 406MiB (94%)

Language: Inglese

Encoded date: UTC 2014-10-06 04:26:28

Tagged date: UTC 2014-10-06 04:26:28

Color primaries: BT.709

Transfer characteristics: BT.709

Matrix coefficients: BT.709

I have tried to Ama link them in my Avid MediaComposer 7.0 and i can hear the audio but the video is just a green screen. So i have tried to import them, but again I can hear the audio but the video is a black screen.

I can see them correctly in QuickTime player.

Does anybody knows what is the correct workflow and if it is a codec issue -and if so where to download the right codec- or have any advice to save me?

Hope to find some good advice!

Thank you so much!

Mario

My specs: PC based on Intel i7 Cpu, Ram 18 Gb; Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit Service Pack 1; Avid MediaComposer 7.0 Interplay edition

Most probably a codec issue. which version of Quicktime are you using? How did your client capture the video to HDD (which codec/application did they use?).

MattB:

Most probably a codec issue. which version of Quicktime are you using? How did your client capture the video to HDD (which codec/application did they use?).

Thanks for the reply Matt

I have quicktime 7.7.6

My client has given his footage to a studio in Argentina and he does not know exactly ho they captured it. He only knows the computer was not a macintosh. I do not know if they used FCP on a Hackintosh or vegas or who knows what. The only infos I have are those i got from Mediainfo and I wrote them above.

I would see if you client can go to the studio in Argentina that did the original capture and find out some more details of codec/capture software that they used.

Having said that, I was under the impression that if if Quicktime Player can play something then Avid should be able to AMA link it, I may be mistaken. Check what AMA plugins you have installed - the QT one should be installed automatically with MC, but you never know.

Definitely sounds like a FCP-related thing (or other software that uses Apple's HDV codec).  When Apple's Pro Apps create MOV files in certain formats - especially HDV, XDCam, DVCProHD, and maybe a few others, they do so in a way that requires certain extra QuickTime components that are difficult to obtain without having FCP or a related app installed.

If you're able to obtain the files in another codec, maybe ProRes (though these would be much larger), that may be preferred.  There may also be ways to obtain the Pro Apps QuickTime components and use them on Windows somehow.

Another option, one I haven't used, is the use of the Calibrated{Q} XD Decode product.

HDV files are native for MC and should fast import.  I don't think AMA even works for them.

The vast majority of my work is still HDV. Most of the time I just drag and drop them from Windows Explorer right into the bin in Avid. Have you tried just importing one of the .mov HDV files?  What happens?

Most of the time HDV files have the file extension .m2t, that's what my camera external recorders save the files as. If the .mov files won't import, you could try changing the file extension to .m2t and see what happens.

One other thing, for fast import to work your MC project settings need to be for "thin raster"  There are old threads on the forum about importing HDV files.

And that example file name is really long...  Wonder if that could cause problems for you.

Hope this helps.

If your client can get you the actual HDV files, that would be the first choice. 

Second -- Do try Roger's suggestions.

Barring that, whenever I've gotten files like yours (and it's been pretty rare) FCP has always been involved somewhere in the process.  Your simplest solution may be to borrow a mac and transcode to something sensible like DNxHD.  It will probably be fairly slow and there may be a color shift as you'll be forced to use quicktime either directly or under the hood.

Hi guys,

thanks for your help, but none of your advices solved the problem...

My client told me that they used Fcp to import the footage and they throw away the original clips. So now this is the footage i must work with.

I have the Calibrated XD and in fact i can see the clips correctly in quicktime.

The problem is in Avid: it plays the audio but the video is green (if I AMA linkl) or black (if I import). If I change the extension in m2t and I import the clip, avid says: This type of MPEG file is not supported. If i try to AMA link the m2t file, avid plays audio but video is green.

How possible that Quicktime plays well the clip and Avid cannot?

Any help or advice?

Thank you so much

If the AVid QT AMA plugin won't support the format and it won't import then it's not a compatible codec for MC.

Your only option is to convert outside MC and then ingest.

If QT will play it an you have QT Pro then you could export as a new codec (Avid DNx even) Then AMA

Or use a 3rd party app to convert.

To the customer. Not keeping the source media is madness. You always leep the source media. And expecting a legacy FCP output to be a new source is fine as long as you stay in legacy FCP.

Hi Pat,

thank you. I also think that not keeping source media is madness, but that's it.

I started to export the clips as dnxhd, but i was hoping to find a different solution to save space on hard disk, given that a 14 mb mov as i have it now becomes 107 mb in dnxhd. do you have any precise advice on which dnxhd codec i could use to keep quality and not generate huge files?

thanks