What do you guys use to play back video? - 10/9 - got a DeckLink card

[RiffWraith]

I could have sworn there was a thread on this already, but a search yielded zip. :eusa_think:

Importing vid files directly into a project works well, but not if memory load is already pretty high. Chaingang works, sorta, but I am slowly findiing that it does not work well enough.

What do you guys use, and how well does it work?

Thanks!

[Softy]

I could have sworn there was a thread on this already, but a search yielded zip. :eusa_think:

Importing vid files directly into a project works well, but not if memory load is already pretty high. Chaingang works, sorta, but I am slowly findiing that it does not work well enough.

What do you guys use, and how well does it work?

Thanks!

I edit video on a separate machine (machines actually, Media 100 and FCP), then slave the Nuendo machine to it with timecode. Actually this is taken apart right now, awaiting installation/debug of the RME HDSPe/TCO stuff. That sort of thing works great. But it's multiple machines. I know that's probably more complicated than what you probably want to do. But you asked. :D

[Daryl]

I use an Intensity card.

D

[RiffWraith]

I edit video on a separate machine (machines actually, Media 100 and FCP), then slave the Nuendo machine to it with code. Actually this is taken apart right now, awaiting installation/debug of the RME HDSPe/TCO stuff. That sort of thing works great. But it's multiple machines. I know that's probably more complicated than what you probably want to do. But you asked. :D

I think your answer was more complicated than the solution...LOL


I use an Intensity card.

You mean the BlackMagic I. card? How does it work - plug into PCI slot, anlog monitor > 25-pin VGA connector, and video plays through the card to the monitor? Any issues? How's the sync? Any vid file plays fine, or only certain codecs? How do I send sync info/TC/MTC to the computer that houses the card?

Thanks!

[Daryl]

You mean the BlackMagic I. card? How does it work - plug into PCI slot
PCIe only.



anlog monitor > 25-pin VGA connector, and video plays through the card to the monitor?
HDMI only, unless you get the Pro model.


Any issues? How's the sync? Any vid file plays fine, or only certain codecs?
QT files (not H264) play very well. No spiking, unlike with the onboard QT window.



How do I send sync info/TC/MTC to the computer that houses the card?

I've never tried this, as I only have one PC in this studio.

D

[Sam]

I run a Blackmagic HD extreme, on my main DAW, playing out all sorts of video mostly just native HD 1920x1080 (I spec delivery to me in ProResHQ codec nowdays)

I play this out over HDMI to my Panasonic panel which deals with all framerates and formats nicely (a lot of hardware/monitors in the low end cannot do 23.98 natively - without doing a pulldown to 29.97 which looks jerky). No computer monitor I know of can do 23.98 either - many have HDMI input but only deal with 25 and 29.97 fps - I learned this the expensive way!!! As most of my work is in the HD land of 1080p23.98 I had to for out the extra for the HD extreme over the Intensity as back then the intensity could not run 23.98fps (not sure if this is still the case) and a top line Panasonic LCDTV (the mid and lower ranges dont do 1080p23.98 with 100hz scanning)

I have found the ProRes codec to be very VERY efficient to decode on my windows machine - about equal to photo-jpeg of the same framesize - but looks stunning....the data rate of a 1920x1080 proresHQ QT file is high - a bit over 1gb per minute...but my machine handles this nicely off an ordinary SATA drive....

I suppose I havent had very many hugely mem intensive situations though as I usually dont have more than a couple of omnishperes and some other smaller VSTi's going in my mix sessions...so I cant really give you insight there

[RiffWraith]

Wow - this is complicated. :icon_eek3:

Just got off the phone w/tech support.

First off, I was hoping to use one of my old PCI-only computers to do this, but that's out of the Q as the new cards are PCI-e only. Unless I get an older one off of ebay? Secondly, I don't think I want to pop this into my main DAW; I am already using a crap-load of CPU as-is...Daryl: how much resources does your card use?

The intensity pro (for $200 - not bad at all) looks good, but can not accept sync. Go figure.

The deckink (for $300 - not bad either) has a breakout cable, and according the the rep should accept 29.97 fps NTSC TC via the 9-pin RS-422 connector on said cable. Ok, great. Problem is - where do I get the TC from? Hmmm. :eusa_think: I have a MOTU MIDI Timepiece, which is fed from my DAW, and spits out MTC generated by Cubase, which right now feeds Chaingang. But the DLink will not accept MTC. The MOTU has SMPTE out via 1/4" cable (not going to work), and then it has an 8-pin round RS-422 connector. So, theoretically, I would need an adapter cable like this:

http://www.cescom.com.au/products/CE-0018/CE00018A.jpg

Assuming that the round connector shown is actually 8-pin, and assuming all the pins match.

Then, I have to figure out if I need sync, and if both the MOTU and DLink need to referenced. I have a blackburst generator, and the MOTU does in fact have a BNC vid sync in, and then I am going to assume that the DLink card will also take sync, either from the BBurst gen., or from wordclock sent from the MOTU. Do I then need to send sync to Cubase as well?

Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers. :icon_biggrin:

[LEX]

Wow - this is complicated. :icon_eek3:

Just got off the phone w/tech support.

First off, I was hoping to use one of my old PCI-only computers to do this, but that's out of the Q as the new cards are PCI-e only. Unless I get an older one off of ebay? Secondly, I don't think I want to pop this into my main DAW; I am already using a crap-load of CPU as-is...Daryl: how much resources does your card use?

The intensity pro (for $200 - not bad at all) looks good, but can not accept sync. Go figure.

The deckink (for $300 - not bad either) has a breakout cable, and according the the rep should accept 29.97 fps NTSC TC via the 9-pin RS-422 connector on said cable. Ok, great. Problem is - where do I get the TC from? Hmmm. :eusa_think: I have a MOTU MIDI Timepiece, which is fed from my DAW, and spits out MTC generated by Cubase, which right now feeds Chaingang. But the DLink will not accept MTC. The MOTU has SMPTE out via 1/4" cable (not going to work), and then it has an 8-pin round RS-422 connector. So, theoretically, I would need an adapter cable like this:

http://www.cescom.com.au/products/CE-0018/CE00018A.jpg

Assuming that the round connector shown is actually 8-pin, and assuming all the pins match.

Then, I have to figure out if I need sync, and if both the MOTU and DLink need to referenced. I have a blackburst generator, and the MOTU does in fact have a BNC vid sync in, and then I am going to assume that the DLink card will also take sync, either from the BBurst gen., or from wordclock sent from the MOTU. Do I then need to send sync to Cubase as well?

Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers. :icon_biggrin:

Why not send MTC over MOL?

LEX

[RiffWraith]

Why not send MTC over MOL?

LEX

MTC from where to where? The DLink card will not accept MTC...

[LEX]

From Cubase. I believe Cubase will generate MTC as a master.

LEX

[Softy]

I think your answer was more complicated than the solution...LOL



Well I'm not so sure in this case. But hey, that's generally the case with me anyway. So what? :wink:

[kdm]

If you are running video strictly on a slave PC, you can use MTC over MidiOverLan as Lex suggested. Chaingang can receive MTC, as can most DAW apps if another will work with the Decklink, though I could never get Chaingang to sync correctly.

You could use another copy of Cubendo - same version preferably and use VST System Link - it locks better than MTC, but that's a second copy of Cubase/Nuendo - a bit pricier than Chaingang, but it works.

[RiffWraith]

Ok, hold on.

Forget Chaingang; it is out of the equation here - the plan is for me to not use it anyomre.


If you are running video strictly on a slave PC, you can use MTC over MidiOverLan as Lex suggested.


Right - I generate MTC from Cubase as I do now. But where do I send the MTC to? I can't send it to the DLink card; are you suggesting I install another copy of Cubase on the vid-only PC, and have the DLink sync off of Cubase internally?

[Sam]

I would do yourself a favour, if you have a spare PCIe slot - and grab an Intensity pro. Stick it in your main DAW and see if you need to go down the slave route - it could work out a lot cheaper an simpler for you!! If you are prepared to work with SD video you will barely notice the hit when using the correct codec....just my 2c

[Softy]

I would do yourself a favour, if you have a spare PCIe slot - and grab an Intensity pro. Stick it in your main DAW and see if you need to go down the slave route - it could work out a lot cheaper an simpler for you!! If you are prepared to work with SD video you will barely notice the hit when using the correct codec....just my 2c

Yeah, that's what I would try if I didn't have to have the separate video machines for some other reason. Simplicity is a wonderful thing.

[kdm]

Right - I generate MTC from Cubase as I do now. But where do I send the MTC to? I can't send it to the DLink card; are you suggesting I install another copy of Cubase on the vid-only PC, and have the DLink sync off of Cubase internally?

The Decklink card doesn't need to sync to MTC, only the host app's transport needs to, of course.

As Sam suggested, the easiest route is to get an Intensity for the main system - it doesn't save ton of cpu overhead, but it's enough to make a difference, esp. if you run PJpeg files at 75% or so. Do it all the time here - works great and looks great.

If you want to go the slave PC route, your choices are:

1 - Chaingang via MTC (out apparently, and I don't blame you)
2 - Cubase via System Link (don't think you'll get Decklink support with anything but the full version of Cubase here - upside is Syslink works very well if you have the same version on each PC; downside - more $$)
3 - Another DAW app with Decklink support, via MTC sync (Sonar might work, but it's still more $$).

The cheapest option is to run the card on your host system as suggested. You can always add/setup a slave later if needed.

[Daryl]

Secondly, I don't think I want to pop this into my main DAW; I am already using a crap-load of CPU as-is...Daryl: how much resources does your card use?

The card doesn't really add very much to the ASIO Performance. I'll try to quantify that later today. CPU is not an issue, as I have plenty to spare.

D

[paulwr]

If you are running video strictly on a slave PC, you can use MTC over MidiOverLan as Lex suggested. Chaingang can receive MTC, as can most DAW apps if another will work with the Decklink, though I could never get Chaingang to sync correctly.

You could use another copy of Cubendo - same version preferably and use VST System Link - it locks better than MTC, but that's a second copy of Cubase/Nuendo - a bit pricier than Chaingang, but it works.

Hey, did Cubase 4 come with a new key? I'm still on SX 3 so I don't know....... if you have an older version of Cubase with its own key and it is recent enough to handle video or communicate MTC like you need, this is no extra $$, right?

-Paul

[kdm]

Paul - not sure about a new key - I did get one with the US crossgrade offer a while back, but that's was a Nuendo users' deal, not an upgrade of my copy of SX. You could use an older version via MTC (not System Link) if it handles the video formats you need, but I kind of doubt SX will cover enough for some.

[Michael Allen]

RiffWraith

I use a Declink card and It's true that it doesn't add much load to the cpu but what I noticed was an increase in ram usage. If I load a 500mb quicktime into Cubase and use the inbuilt video playback ram increases by about 10mb (i guess it streams directly from the disc) but when switch to the Declink card for playback ram usage increases by 500mb.

If ram usage is an issue for you then this is worth noting

michael

[RiffWraith]

Cool - thanks for the replies.

Well, B&H actually has a return policy, so I may just buy it, pop it in, and if it doesn't work out, I can return it.

Cheers.

[RiffWraith]

Picked up a PCI DL card off of ebay.

So the card is going in one of my older computers, and I am probably going with a sequencer on that machine. Let's assume Cubase for now.

I can sync Cubase on the slave to Cubase from my main DAW, no? I have a MOTU micro express hooked up USB to my main DAW. I am thinking I will send MTC from the MExp to my MOTU Timepeice via MIDI cable (or use the 1/4 AMPTE jack), and then go Parallel out of the Timepeice to the slave computer. That should work, no?

And LEX - if you are reading this...a while back you sent me to some company that makes high-end monitor cables. I believe they are in CA. Do you remember who?

Thanks! :)

[kdm]

If you have digital I/O between both, you can use VST System link if you have Cubase/Nuendo on each system, but they should be the same version. Better than MTC, which doesn't scrub (unless you use the step by measure key commands).

I had a Decklink PCI card for sale - wish I had known you were looking.

[RiffWraith]

Just got off the phone w/MOTU tech supprt. The guy says that sending MTC via MIDI cable from the MExp to the TPeice, and then down a parallel cable to my XP/Dlink computer will work just fine. Coolness if it does.
Don't think I have digital I/O between both....:eusa_eh:


I had a Decklink PCI card for sale - wish I had known you were looking.

Blah - sorry - I would have much rather given you the money than some guy off of ebay whom I don't know.

[kdm]

.... wait.... you got a MOTU tech support guy on the phone?????

sorry... old joke.... heh.

Yes, MTC will work - it isn't super accurate, but it works well enough, unless you are scrubbing/spotting events. If you don't have an audio card with SPDIF, AES or ADAT in the video slave PC, system link isn't an option.

[RiffWraith]

.... wait.... you got a MOTU tech support guy on the phone?????

sorry... old joke.... heh.



Ha - yeah - took me 30 min. of redialing. Why do they not have a hold cue? Can't afford it??? :icon_rolleyes:

So, I got it working. Installed C4 on the XP slave, launched C4 on Vista, created a new project, yanked the dongle out and put it in the XP computer so I would be able to launch C4 there, set up the sync setup options, and off I go. There is a 1.5-2 sec. delay between transports. They seem to play in sync, but the slave takes about 1.5-2 sec. to get moving. When it does, it jerks forward to where the master is. This normal?

--edit--

Ok, changed some stuff in the application part of the sync setup panel, and now the slave responds almost immediately. Under 1/2 sec - good enough.

But what about tempo? Whether I put the slave in tempo track, or fixed, the slave plays at whatever tempo is selected - not the tempo of the master. Ok, I can change the tempo on the slave to match, but what if there are tempo changes in the project on the master? Do I have no choice but to export the tempo track, and import it into the project on the slave?

--edit 2--

Wait - hold on a sec - if the only reason I am using Cubase on the slave is to get the video to play out of the DL card, then does it matter if the slave Cubase tempo changes or not? I am thinking it doesn't; time is time, and as long as the video plays at the same speed/framerate consistantly...actually, uhh yeah - the slave Cubase changing tempo wouldn't be good; if it did, that would mean that each time I adjusted the tempo of a cue on the master to match the video, the tempo/speed of the video would change too - not good. So it's good that the slave Cubase always stays at the same tempo. Right. Right???

[RiffWraith]

I am back. :icon_eek3:

So, if anyone wants to tackle the last post ^ feel free. :eusa_angel: :icon_biggrin:

So, I have vid playing in the BM vid player which i see on my VGA monitor, but I can't get vid to play out of the card to my monitor. For now, I hooked up the RGB out of the card's breakout cable to the component in of my TV. The TV sees the card; right now I get black. As I reboot the computer, my TV goes to a blue screen, which of course, is normal when it doesn't see a vid signal. As the OS starts to load, I am back to black. But no vid when I open the BM vid player. I tired sending blackburst to the genlock in of the card, thinking reference might help, but nada.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[The Guru]

A few thoughts...

Is there anything in BIOS that needs to be enabled for that card/ disabled for others?

Is the TV set to the correct input?

[RiffWraith]

Is there anything in BIOS that needs to be enabled for that card/ disabled for others?


Yeah - thought of that, but there is only one entry in the bios regarding video - AGP on/off; nothing regarding video cards, or PCI slots.


Is the TV set to the correct input?

"As I reboot the computer, my TV goes to a blue screen, ....As the OS starts to load, I am back to black. "

Thanks for trying. :icon_cool:

[kdm]

So, I have vid playing in the BM vid player which i see on my VGA monitor, but I can't get vid to play out of the card to my monitor. For now, I hooked up the RGB out of the card's breakout cable to the component in of my TV. The TV sees the card; right now I get black. As I reboot the computer, my TV goes to a blue screen, which of course, is normal when it doesn't see a vid signal. As the OS starts to load, I am back to black. But no vid when I open the BM vid player. I tired sending blackburst to the genlock in of the card, thinking reference might help, but nada.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Never used the BM player and don't have the card's config in front of me, but there is a control panel for decklink cards to setup the output format (at least on the DL Extreme cards - probably not the same for the HDMI/Intensity cards) - I think it's installed in a Decklink/BM directory and is just a .exe. Once that is configured correctly for the RGB outs (or whichever you use), it should work out of Nuendo/Cubase to your TV monitor.

As far as tempo on the video slave, no, you don't need tempo mapping there. You are mapping to video, not the other way around. Video just follows System Link/MTC.

[RiffWraith]

....but there is a control panel for decklink cards to setup the output format....


Right - it's deckcp.exe. There are 2 options: 1) SDI or Component 2) SDI or Composite. When I switch between the two, my screen flickers. Which is what it should do...I just can't see the video file that is playing.

Thanks. :icon_cool:

[The Guru]

On some MB's one slot is mandatory video. Is there a second video card?

On my TV, if I connect to the video terminals, I have to set it to recieve on those inputs. On my set, it's below ch. 1. If not set, the screen changes as you say, IIRC.

[RiffWraith]

There is the standard AGP card, which goes VGA and/or DVI to my computer monitor. Then, I have added the BlackMagic PCI card. It is this card that goes - for the time being - to my TV, via the analog component (Y, Pb, Pr) output. Eventually it will go to a computer monitor, but then I have to figure out the easiest way to convert component video > DVI. That will come later; one thing at a time for now. These are the only two cards in the computer that handle video.

So right now, I am trying to send the video that is playing in the BlackMagic player (that I see on my VGA mon.) out of the BlackMagic breakout cable to the tv - again, via the analog component (Y, Pb, Pr) output, and analog component input on the TV. I do not have anything with an SDI input, so I can not check that. The TV is set to component, and is seeing sync from the card, but not the image that is playing in the BlackMagic player. This is where I am stuck. Taking the VGA card out will serve only one purpose - making it impossible to see the computer GUI, and hence make it impossible to open the BlackMagic player and load a video; I really don't think that taking the VGA card out is going to do anything anyway.

Cheers.

Ok, for shits and giggles, I copied the BlackMagic player's .exe to the start menu folder, so that it would boot with Windows. Then, seeing as it's the only app loaded, the GUI is in focus, and being that the player auto loads the last loaded video, all I would need to do is press the spacebar to play. Did that - nada.

[The Guru]

Jeff, what if you enter the card in the search engine at nuendo.com and see if there's anything similar. At least see who seems to know what they're talking about and send a PM. :eusa_think:

[The Guru]

http://nuendo.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=19317&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=black+magic

[The Guru]

This seems a good step by step.

http://nuendo.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=154261#154261

[RiffWraith]

Thanks, bro. :icon_cool:

Works now... Woohoo!

Unfortunatley, this:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41R5q1YRugL._SS400_.jpg

did not. Looks like I am going to have to get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158127

But at least now I know the card works, and that I can get video out of it.

Cheers.

[The Guru]

What was it, Quicktime? :eusa_eh:

[RiffWraith]

Was what QT?

[The Guru]

The reason it wouldn't work. :icon_rolleyes:

Posting the fix would help others in the future, no? :iconyfcys3:

[RiffWraith]

I am not sure I understand. The reason it didn't work, is because I wasn't doing it the way that was described in the N thread. There is no 'fix'. :spank:

[The Guru]

Weren't doing what like what was described, Tadurkski? :icon_rolleyes:

[RiffWraith]

Not until I saw the post on the N forum, no. :icon_rolleyes:

[The Guru]

You speaka da Ingalaish, no?

[RiffWraith]

Not your brand of English - evidently not.

[paulwr]

sometimes it is good to know what not to do..... what to avoid.
If there was just one or two things you had off from the now working scheme, it might be nice to point it out as a potential pitfall for others to be aware of.

Great thead in any case. I'll refer to this info when I decide to go to a dedicated video monitor setup. The box in Cubase is fine for now, though.

-Paul

[RiffWraith]

Well, it wasn't really that I had things off from the now working scheme; it's just that I followed the steps in the N thread, the important ones being:

6. go to Windows Control Panel, select Intensity, select type of Output (HDMI&NTSC/PAL (Y Out) & S-Video) for composite Video Y out.
7. Launch Nuendo, Devices, Video, Video Player, select:
Playback Method Pulldown: QuickTime Video
Outputs Pulldown: Black Magic Video Output

Before, I was trying to get vid from the BM player to the TV - still not understanding why that doesn't work, tho...

[paulwr]

The card doesn't really add very much to the ASIO Performance. I'll try to quantify that later today. CPU is not an issue, as I have plenty to spare.
D

I've just been given 23.976fps file and it robs so much cpu that I can barely compose. I'm used to working with 29 drop frame which is never a problem. With 23.976 I have cpu spikes all over the place. Cubase 3.1 right now, with XP x64. I'd like to upgrade the o/s to W7 x64 if it doesn't mess up video for me. All else should be fine. I want to keep all the video on the DAW if at all possible, and be up and running smooth again in two days.

It was mentioned Intensity Pro card handles the 23.976 frame rate I believe. Are you using the Pro version? If so, do you have experience running the 23.976 frame rate? And all important, which version of QT are you using?

Since you are Nuendo, maybe it won't apply to me 100%, but I think Intensity Pro will work with Cubase. Maybe I'd need to upgrade to ver 5, though.

Thanks,
-Paul

[paulwr]

One more thing about QuickTime........ in Windows7, now that the Windows Media Player will handle .mov files, is it viable to run Cubase in W7 and for video select the Windows Media Player instead of QT? I'd love to sidestep QT if it is possible.

Thanks,
-Paul

[Daryl]

It was mentioned Intensity Pro card handles the 23.976 frame rate I believe. Are you using the Pro version? If so, do you have experience running the 23.976 frame rate? And all important, which version of QT are you using?

Thanks,
-Paul
I'm only using the Intensity, not the Intensity Pro, as I don't need the extra features. I'm not sure what version of QT I'm running. I'll check in the studio tomorrow and post back.

One thing that you need to know. If you intend to continue with Cubendo, there is a new video engine coming out, first in Nuendo and then in Cubase. Unfortunately it is based on Quicktime, so you won't be able to escape it in the long run.

I feel your pain with QT. My current machine is the first that will actually run it without glitches. Even then, when I did a school year 9 film thing a couple of days ago I had one crash, caused by resizing the window of Quicktime. :icon_rolleyes:

D

[TAFKAT]

One more thing about QuickTime........ in Windows7, now that the Windows Media Player will handle .mov files, is it viable to run Cubase in W7 and for video select the Windows Media Player instead of QT? I'd love to sidestep QT if it is possible.

Thanks,
-Paul

Windows Media Player supports .mov files ?

Cool.. :D

I distinctly remember a build of Nuendo that would allow ITB playback of vid , no matter what format , no matter what vid engine was selected , but I think they broke it in a later build. I have a sneaking suspicion they did it by embedding QT alternative and then removed it. I personally remember sitting in with a Post client with an avi and .mov on the timeline and the session moved between the 2 effortlessly using the default DS vid engine. I need to get the finer detail, but that client ahs now moved exclusively to QT via Decklink so I never followed up further.

There was some discussion about it on N.com a while back when a user noticed that it no longer worked as per the previous build , but of course it was dismissed, as per usual, and the Jedi Mind Tricks kicked in that he must have had QT alternative on the system at some point .

Worth checking out by those with some video in front of them in different formats and N4/C5

[paulwr]

I'm only using the Intensity, not the Intensity Pro, as I don't need the extra features. I'm not sure what version of QT I'm running. I'll check in the studio tomorrow and post back.

One thing that you need to know. If you intend to continue with Cubendo, there is a new video engine coming out, first in Nuendo and then in Cubase. Unfortunately it is based on Quicktime, so you won't be able to escape it in the long run.

I feel your pain with QT. My current machine is the first that will actually run it without glitches. Even then, when I did a school year 9 film thing a couple of days ago I had one crash, caused by resizing the window of Quicktime. :icon_rolleyes:

D

Yea, there is nearly always something goofy with QT, at least on PC's. I used to accuse them of sabotaging it on purpose for pc users particularly!

I can assume since you have the older Intensity card, not the Pro, that you are not playing back 23.976 frame rate, correct?

Maybe Sam will chime in. He seemed to have knowledge of that.

Thanks,
-Paul

[Daryl]

I can assume since you have the older Intensity card, not the Pro, that you are not playing back 23.976 frame rate, correct?


Thanks,
-Paul
I only ever work to 25 fps

D

[Daryl]

And all important, which version of QT are you using?

Thanks,
-Paul
Quicktime Version 7.5.5

D

[paulwr]

Quicktime Version 7.5.5

D

Thanks. I'm using 7.6.5

I downloaded the free Mpeg Slipstream Clip Converter, and just converted the file that drove my system nuts at 23.976dfps to 25fps and all is fine. CPU has completely relaxed from spiking like crazy from an average 33-36% to about 6%. I don't know all the export settings that well, and have a little funkiness to the picture, but not bad, and plenting good enough to compose to.

http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-win.html -they also have a "QuickTime alternative" that is a trimmed down version of QuickTime, but that has MPEG-2 capability if you check the 'additional plugins' option. I may try it in place of the current Quicktime.


Does Blackmagic Intensity Pro actually offload all the video cpu cycles of the DAW to itself on the card? Still something worth getting? I wouldn't mind having a separate video display, but won't bother right away if it isn't something that improves cpu resources.

-Paul

[Daryl]

Does Blackmagic Intensity Pro actually offload all the video cpu cycles of the DAW to itself on the card? Still something worth getting? I wouldn't mind having a separate video display, but won't bother right away if it isn't something that improves cpu resources.

-Paul
It's sort of a "no, but it doesn't matter" answer. There is no processing on the card itself, which is a shame. However, the CPU doesn't go nuts like it would if I was running QT with the on-screen-window. I also don't have to worry about crashes when running a big picture, so it was well worth the expense, and the loss of a PCIe slot.

D

[paulwr]

It's sort of a "no, but it doesn't matter" answer. There is no processing on the card itself, which is a shame. However, the CPU doesn't go nuts like it would if I was running QT with the on-screen-window. I also don't have to worry about crashes when running a big picture, so it was well worth the expense, and the loss of a PCIe slot.

D

Within Cubase, it seems I need to run the picture at 320 x 240 to be able to work smoothly. Curious how large a picture size you are comfortably running with the Intensity card. I'd like to add wide format monitor to view high resolution video sometimes, especially for clients and potential client guests.

Thanks,
-Paul

[Daryl]

Within Cubase, it seems I need to run the picture at 320 x 240 to be able to work smoothly. Curious how large a picture size you are comfortably running with the Intensity card. I'd like to add wide format monitor to view high resolution video sometimes, especially for clients and potential client guests.

Thanks,
-Paul
I'd have to check, but I think that mine's about twice the size of yours. :icon_eek3:

D

[paulwr]

I'd have to check, but I think that mine's about twice the size of yours. :icon_eek3:

D

LOL...... good one!

Would be good to know the largest screen size that runs smoothly for you while composing.

Thanks,
-Paul

[Sam]

Hey Paul,

I have a decklink HD Extreme card, and I run ProRes HQ QT's at 1920x1080 out of Nuendo 4 @ 23.98, 25 and 29.97fps. Video comes off a separate SATA HDD - pulling video off a MAC formatted drive accessed by MACDRIVE slows it down....

I am usually mixing stuff so latency is set to 1024, but I have run smaller little composition projects at 256 or so from memory....

I hear the new engine will buffer/render the video on the card itself so hopefully that will help the low latency performance for you...

Good luck mate....

[paulwr]

Hey Paul,

I have a decklink HD Extreme card, and I run ProRes HQ QT's at 1920x1080 out of Nuendo 4 @ 23.98, 25 and 29.97fps. Video comes off a separate SATA HDD - pulling video off a MAC formatted drive accessed by MACDRIVE slows it down....

I am usually mixing stuff so latency is set to 1024, but I have run smaller little composition projects at 256 or so from memory....

I hear the new engine will buffer/render the video on the card itself so hopefully that will help the low latency performance for you...

Good luck mate....

If I can double the size of video from 320x240 and run it on a separate monitor like Daryl, I'll be fairly happy about it for composing. For viewing finished work from QT only, large picture isn't really a problem anyway.

Thanks,
-Paul

[olamo]

If I can double the size of video from 320x240 and run it on a separate monitor like Daryl, I'll be fairly happy about it for composing. For viewing finished work from QT only, large picture isn't really a problem anyway.

Thanks,
-Paul

I dropped the idea of using Intensity for now, and got a matrox x4 (using 3x) output graphic card instead - 2 x 20' and one 24 wide. Run most projects in 1024 x 576 for 16:9 PAL and blow the video up on a 1900 x 1000 lcd monitor. So far it works alright..

Ola