A. If you're new to Avid systems you are probably feeling a
little frustrated about Avid's strict systems requirements. You must remember
that Avid has priced this product very competitively to make it affordable for
professionals, DV filmmakers, event videographers and even enthusiasts &
hobbyists. Initially they have kept the
certified systems list very small in order to insure that your system will
have the same rock solid stability and performance that all Avid editors
demand and expect. As Avid and their dealers become more experienced with
Xpress DV on a wider variety of systems a broader compatibility list is being
created. A good example of this is Avid's new
Hardware Compatibility Feedback. These are non-certified systems that
dealers and end-users have reported back to Avid are working without any
problems.
We do have some very specific compatibility
issues / system recommendations that we would like to address in the FAQ.
1. Avid does not recommend Athlon systems. While some users are reporting good
success with these systems, many more are having problems. If you are going to
get an Athlon, make sure you or your dealer install all the latest BIOS
upgrades and chipset patches prior to installing Xpress DV
3. Make sure you use a certified graphics card, we recommend the following
dual head cards: Matrox G550 or ATI Radeon 8500 VE
4. You want plenty of memory. 256 MB is the minimum, for best results put in
512 MB.
5. If you plan on putting Xpress DV on a laptop, stick with the tested and
approved models. Unlike a desktop, laptops are loaded with proprietary
technology.
3. Buy Xpress DV from an authorized dealer who can review your system
specs with you and offers you free tech support if you run into problems.
A. For Windows, release 3.5 runs on Windows® XP
Professional. Release 3.0 runs on Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack
2. Release 2.x runs on Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack
1 plus a Hotfix included on the Xpress DV CD-ROM or Service Pack 2. Release
1.x runs on Windows NT® 4.0 with Service Pack 5 or Service Pack 6a.
A. Xpress DV 3.5 is supported only on Windows XP Pro.
Users have reported success with XP Home but Avid will not offer technical
support with XP Home.
A. The PC version of Avid Xpress DV 3.5 utilizes
DirectShow as its digital input and output mechanism. The version of
DirectShow that is available for Windows 2000 does not offer the performance
or frame accuracy required for a power digital video application like Avid
Xpress DV. Similarly, Avid Xpress DV v3.5 requires the more reliable FireWire
drivers of Mac OS X. In addition, the multi-tasking capabilities of Mac OS X
are required to support the number and performance of software real-time
effects in Avid Xpress DV.
Avid Xpress DV v3.5 is optimized for Apple's powerful G4 Velocity Engine, and
therefore cannot be used on any G3 Macintosh system.
A. In general, any machine that has an Intel CPU and Intel chipset will be
fine. AMD CPUs also work but try to avoid VIA chip sets as they are known to
cause problems.
A. Includes all elements in basic package plus
additional software: Avid DV FilmMaker's Toolkit, Avid IllusionFX™ Pack,
Image Stabilization AVX plug-in, Full version of Boris FX and Boris GRAFFITI,
and Elastic Gasket.
A. The official requirements from Avid are:
In addition, the
authors of this FAQ are providing our recommended base system. You will notice
that we are recommending a more powerful system then the minimum.
While Xpress DV will run perfectly on the minimum system specs,
we feel that our base system specs will give you the
extra power you'll crave once you start using Xpress DV 3.5.
1.9 Q. What kinds of drives can I
use for media? Top
A. 7,200RPM ATA100 type drives, 7,200RPM or faster LVD160
SCSI drives, and 7,200RPM FireWire® drives
1.10 Q. Can I use Iomega’s new Peerless FireWire™ drives for media? Top
A. Even though the throughput of those drives would be
sufficient for DV media, Xpress DV excludes removable drives for media
use. This may change in future releases.
1.11 Q. Will Xpress DV work with my
brand/model camera or deck? Top
A. The current Avid officially supported list of DV devices
is always available at Avid’s web site. Click
here
(pdf file)
to view the list.
1.12 Q. What resolution does Xpress DV
use? Top
A. DV25 is the only resolution at this time. For NTSC it is 720x480 (4:3) or
854x480 (16:9). For PAL it is 720x576 (4:3) or 1024x576 (16:9).
1.13 Q. Does Xpress DV support
DVCPro25? Top
A. Yes, version 3 does support Panasonic’s AJ-D250, AJ-D250E and AJ-D455 via FireWire.
1.14 Q.
Is there a demo version of Xpress DV? Top
A. At this time no. There is, however, an excellent Product demo CD that you
can request from Avid. Visit Avid's Xpress DV web site for more information. If you would like to see Xpress DV in action contact your local Xpress DV
dealer. However, don’t just “use” your local reseller for a demo then
buy it on-line. That’s really not fair to the reseller, is
it?
1.15 Q.
Can I edit 16:9 footage with Xpress DV? Top
A. Yes, Xpress DV can edit in 16:9 format. When you record to tape
it will be in an anamorphic (stretched vertically) format. In order to have it
fit on a 4:3 format with a letterbox you will need a 16:9 converter or you will have to resize your sequence's
height to the proper aspect ratio.
1.16 Q.
Where can I get a custom keyboard for Xpress DV? Top
A. You can buy the
Bella EZ keyboard
for Xpress DV from
many on-line retailers. There is also the
Logic Keyboard for Xpress DV. In addition, you can ask your local Avid dealer to order you a regular
Xpress keyboard.
1.17 Q.
Does Xpress DV have real time audio scrubbing? Top
A. Yes.
1.18 Q.
Does Xpress DV have Match Frame Function? Top
A. Yes.
1.19 Q.
Does Xpress DV have a built-in titler? Top
A. Yes, a basic Title Tool. For more elaborate
titles, including rolls and/or crawls (which the title tool cannot achieve), consider a third party plug-in CG.
1.20 Q.
What 3rd party AVX plug-in CG's are available? Top
A. Currently, the following:
Boris Graffiti
Inscriber TitleMotion
Pinnacle Title Deko
All the above have downloadable demos which employ some
type of protection when any title is rendered such as a red X, jail bars, etc.
until the plug-in is registered. Photoshop® can be used for title work
too but obviously will be run outside the Avid application.
1.21 Q. What audio effects are real time and which
ones are rendered? Top
A. Audio EQ and level adjustments are RT. All Pro
Tools® Audiosuite™ plug-ins are rendered but since it's audio the render times
are extremely fast.
1.22
Q. What video effects are real time and which ones are rendered? Top
A. All
video effects that are bundled with Xpress DV 3.5 have real-time preview. Most
3rd party plug-ins (including the IllusionFX™ package) will have to be
rendered with the notable exception of the real time effects included with
Boris Continuum Complete AVX.
The ability to display real time
preview depends also on the systems power. Multiple effects (nested) could ask
to much of the processor thus not showing or stopping the play out in real
time. The lines in the timeline (blue, yellow and red broken bars) indicate
the processor's ability to play back the real-time effects.
Red bars mark the ranges where the
system was unable to display frames.
Yellow bars mark the ranges that caused difficulty for the system during
playback.
Blue bars mark the location of frames that caused difficulty for the system
because of disk speed limitations.
1.23
Q.
Can audio & video tracks be locked on the Xpress DV
timeline? Top
A. Unlike other NLE's, Xpress DV
doesn't allow the user to drag clips around on the timeline without first
telling the program to allow it. This assures that your clips will stay where
you put them until you decide they need to be moved, giving you an additional
level of protection and control not available in other programs. This is done
by selecting one of two "segment mode" buttons (yellow arrow or red arrow at
the bottom of the timeline.) This means that the Xpress DV timeline is locked
by default. However, there are two other ways that clips or tracks on the
timeline may also be locked.
The first of these, called "sync lock" is used to keep audio and video clips
"locked" (synced) together, and is performed by clicking to the immediate left
of the track indicator button (V1, A1, etc.), and is indicated by a " / "
(chunky forward slash). To sync lock all tracks at once, click to the left of
the TC1 button, near the bottom of the timeline. Sync lock keeps your clips
synched when adding or deleting clips, or portions of clips, to and from the
timeline.
The second type of lock is called a "track lock" and is used to keep any
modifications from taking place on a locked track at all, rendering the track
"read only." When a "track lock" is engaged, you cannot add to, delete from,
move, or in any way alter the material on the locked track, neither can you
delete the track itself.
To enable a track lock, highlight the track(s) you wish to lock, right mouse
click on the timeline, then select Lock Tracks from the menu to lock them,
Unlock Tracks will unlock selected locked tracks.
1.24 Q.
Does Xpress DV have color correction? Top
A. Yes. As of version 3.5 there is a color correction
function which allows for previous, current and next frame windows, reference
frames, before and after splitscreens, patent-pending NaturalMatch color
matching, safe color warnings and advanced vectorscope & waveform monitors.
1.25 Q.
Does Xpress DV have Boolean searches of bins and media? Top
A. Yes.
1.26 Q. What are the differences between Media
Composer® and Avid Xpress DV 3.5? Top
A. Media Composer has the following features that
Xpress DV
doesn't;
Analog video
capture
(can be achieved with a
DV/Analog converter)
Standard Finishing
Images: 1:1, 2:1, 3:1
Standard
Single-field Finishing Images: 2:1s, 4:1s, 15:1s
Standard Offline
Images: 10:1, 20:1
Standard
Progressive Offline Images: 14:1, 28:1, 35:1
Optional
Single-field Finishing Images: 2:1s
Multicam
Resolutions (Interlace): 4:1m, 10:1m
Multicam
Resolutions (Progressive): 3:1m, 8:1m
RT Hardware 9
stream Multicam
Uncompressed 1
Stream
Uncompressed 2
Stream
Multicamera
Grouping
Autosync™
AutoSequence™
24 Audio Tracks for
Editing/Mixing
24 Picture Tracks
24 FPS Editing
Digitize to
Timeline
2 Rows of info on
Source and Composer Montiors
2 Rows of buttons
on Source and Composer Montiors
Down Stream Keyer
FilmScribe™/
Matchback
In/Out Points
phantom marks
JKL Trimming
Replace Edit
Extend Edit
Ganging Clips
Clip grouping
Script-based
Editing (available with PowerPack)
3D Warp
3D Effect Promote
Animatte Effect
Paint Effect
Film Mask Effect
Film Dissolves
Rolling Titles
Crawling Titles
1.27 Q. What third-party plug-ins are available for
Xpress DV? Top
A. Avid maintains a list of developers that make plug-ins for Avid
here. For
more info visit the individuals companies' website. Some of the more popular
are:
3Prong - ColorFix -
Advanced Color Correction; demo available
3Prong - DirtFix -
Drop-out and Dirt Patching; demo available
3Prong - FlickerFix -
Flicker Reduction; demo available
3Prong - SpeedRamp -
Motion Effects; demo available
AVID - Pan and Scan -
imports high-resolution stills for panning and scanning (as of Xpress DV 3.0,
it is offered free when you register the software on the AVID website)
Boris - Boris
Continuum Complete - Filters, Effects, Time Re-Mapping, etc.
Boris - Boris Red - 3D
Compositing, 2D/3D titling and effects; demo available
Boris - Boris Graffiti -
2D/3D title creation; demo available
Boris - Boris FX - 3D
special effects
ClearEffect -
Spotlight - highlight or obscure an area of video
ClearEffect -
Magnifi - target, zoom and output any user defined area
of video
ClearEffect -
dVeloper - image clarification tools
ClearEffect -
dPlex - universal de-multiplexing tool
Digital Film Tools
- Composite Suite - 15 visual effects
Digital Film Tools
- Fast Blur - free blur plug-in
Digital Film Tools
- 55MM - simulate camera filters, specialized
lenses and optical lab processes
Digital Film Tools
- ZMatte - blue/green screen keyer
Genarts - Sapphire
Plug-ins - 193 image processing and
synthesis effects;
demo available
Genarts - Sapphire Essentials - 50 of the more popular Sapphire plug-ins
available at a reduced price.
Inscriber - Title
Motion - 2D title creation; demo available
Inscriber - Title
Motion Pro - 3D version of Title Motion
Pinnacle Systems -
TitleDeko Pro - 2D/3D title creation
Pinnacle Systems -
Hollywood FX - 3D transitions, effects, composites and animations
Pixélan - Spicemaster,
custom 2D effects and dynamic mattes; demo available
Profound
Effects - Elastic Gasket, allows the use of most After Effects plug-ins in Avid;
demo available
Profound
Effects - Move, imports high-resolution stills for scan and pan;
demo available
Profound
Effects -
Swim - a distortion / refraction style effect
Profound
Effects -
Transfer - apply common transfer modes between tracks
Red Giant Software -
Knoll Light Factory - lens flares and light effects (available with the
PowerPack)
Stage Tools - Moving
Picture, imports high-resolution stills for scan and pan; demo available
Ultimatte - blue/green
screen keyer
2.
Integration
2.1 Q. Can networked drives
be accessed in Xpress DV? Top
A. Yes, they can be
accessed for import/export functions and also for recording to. Open the
Console and type "alldrives". You should now be able to see your mapped
network drives as media drives. You may need to have administrator privileges
in order to access them.
Avid has Unity LAN Share, which allows up to 10 Avid Xpress DV systems to use
shared media storage.
2.2 Q. Can I use
RAID-0/striping for Xpress DV? Top
A. Certainly you can but why put that kind of risk on your
media when a single ATA100, LVD160 or Firewire drive provides more than enough bandwidth
for DV media? Anytime you put a RAID on a system the chances of failure
go up exponentially by the more drives you have in the array. It’s not
worth the risk in the FAQ team’s opinion.
2.3 Q.
I have a dual monitor system. Why can't I see motion
video playback on my right computer monitor, even though I see stills in
pause? Top
A. Motion video playback only works on the left computer
monitor with the Matrox G450 and G550 video cards. Move the Composer and
Pop-up Source windows to the left monitor. In release 3.5, the left monitor is
the default for these windows. Though previously ATI Radeon video cards could
provide playback in either monitor, under Windows XP you are limited to
playback on the left monitor. The Matrox Parhelia card can display overlay on
either monitor.
2.4 Q. Can I install Xpress
DV and Premiere on the same system? Top
A. Yes.
2.5 Q. Can I install Xpress DV and Final Cut Pro on the same system?
Top
A. Yes.
2.6 Q. I’m seeing delay
between what is showing on the computer monitor versus what I see on my
NTSC/PAL external monitor. Why? Is this normal? Top
A. The delay is normal. The delay is caused by the
amount of time it takes a DV device to convert the digital signal (which you
see on the computer screen) versus what you see on the external monitor.
Version 3.5 allows you to adjust the delay of your desktop playback to sync it
with your external monitor with both audio and video. In your settings, go to desktop delay and adjust
it until your desktop and external monitor are in sync. Many users report 8 or
9 frames to be the amount to adjust.
When desktop delay is activated there will be a delay
in the play function and that there will be an offset between the output on
the monitor and the location of the timeline indicator, thus editing on the
fly will need frame correction afterwards.
2.7 Q. Is there a method for
obtaining in-sync video and audio between both the computer and client
monitor? Top
A. Yes. Get a Matrox G-450 video card
(G-550 may work as well). Use the G-450 to power your main monitor from
the right port on the card. Use the supplied Matrox
VGA/S-video/Composite cable on the other port, and connect it to your client
monitor. To use a dual-monitor setup, use a PCI video card and connect your
secondary desktop monitor to that card. Many
motherboards need the bios to "Recognize PCI video first". Otherwise,
the Matrox/AGP card will be the only card recognized. This is true for
the Intel i850 motherboard, for example.
In the Matrox settings, make sure your
monitor is set at 1024x768 32-bit TrueColor, and both the Use This Device as
Primary Monitor and Extend My Windows Desktop Onto This Monitor are both
checked. On the Dual-Head option tab, make sure the DualHead Clone or DVD-Max
radio button is selected. Check both Use Dualhead Clone and Use DualHead
DVD-Max boxes. On your secondary PCI video card, make sure Use This Device As
Primary Monitor is NOT checked, and Extend My Windows Desktop Onto This
Monitor is checked. Resolution and bit depth should match the Matrox
card. Reboot your system.
This will play the video overlay in
real-time to your client monitor. The resolution and color levels may be
suspect but this method can be useful for real-time in-sync playback.
This method is not possible with the ATI Radeon video
cards, you will not get real-time video overlay out through the S-VHS port
when in Avid, only stills.
2.8 Q. I installed the
Xpress DV software and launched the application. It tells me that a dongle was not found. What’s a
dongle? Top
A. The dongle is your system key and is plugged into
a USB port. A dongle works primarily the same way a serial number works
but on a higher level. When launched, the Xpress DV software reads the
dongle and the features available for your particular system. If the
dongle is not connected, the software will not launch. If the dongle is
removed while the application is running, a dongle not found error will occur. The
Xpress DV application “looks” for the dongle approximately every two
minutes. Every dongle has a unique system ID that is registered with Avid under the registrant’s
name.
2.9 Q. Can I run other
applications like Microsoft Office on my system? Top
A. Yes and no. You may install and run other applications on your system. However you
should not run those applications while the Xpress DV application is
running. This will cause less CPU time for Xpress DV and cause
slowdowns. Install at your own risk. This is not to say that you
shouldn’t install other types of software. Some software will actually
enhance your Avid. Applications such as Photoshop, After Effects, Corel
DRAW!, and Sound Forge, just to name a few, will allow you more creativity and
more options in your editing. Trying to run your business on the same
computer should be avoided, however. Remember this is a creative
workstation not an office machine. Why risk bringing your money making
computer down by catching a virus via e-mail?
2.10
Q. Can I run anti-virus
software on my Xpress DV system? Top
A. If you insist on
using your Xpress DV system to get your e-mail, then it would be highly
recommended.
2.11 Q. My Maxtor
FireWire drive is not being seen when I boot my computer. What should I
do? Top
A. Shutdown. Disconnect the drive. Connect just the problematic drive. Reboot.
Disconnect FireWire cable from back of drive--but still connected to the back
of the computer. Take out power cable from the drive and let the drive
spin down and turn off. Power drive back on and let is spin up.
Reconnect the FireWire cable and Windows should launch the New Hardware
Wizard.
2.12 Q. I've just installed
Xpress DV 3.5 and my video looks very pixelated. How do I fix this?
Top
A. You need to adjust a your settings. Go to Settings >
Video Display
and make sure your Real Time Effects settings are on "High Quality".
2.13 Q. I've just installed
Xpress DV 3.5 and I can't get any video to my NTSC monitor through FireWire. How do I
fix this? Top
A. First, check your setting under "Video Display" and
ensure that you have "send video to DV device" checked. Next, turn off
real-time playback from your timelime by clicking the green button to turn it
blue. This sends the video out through the FireWire cable. You will need to
render effects for them to show up when real-time playback is disabled.
2.14 Q. What different Analog to DV converters are
available? Top
A. There are various devices that can be used. Avid keeps an updated list of
supported converters
here (pdf). Some of the common ones are:
Laird LTM Series
Formac Studio DV and
DV/TV (Macintosh only at this time)
Canopus ADVC-100
Data Video DAC-2
Miranda DV
Bridge
Promax
DA-Max+
Dazzle
Hollywood DV Bridge (not recommended with Xpress DV)
Sony
DVMC-DA2 (discontinued)
2.15 Q. How do I check and set DMA mode for my hard
drives? Top
A. To view the DMA mode used by your drives, you need to open the
Device Manager (Control Panel > System select the Hardware tab and press the
Device Manager button) and view the properties of the IDE ATA/ATAPI
controllers. Double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers entry to expand it,
the right-click on the Primary IDE Channel and Secondary IDE Channel entries
(one at a time) and select Properties from the menu.
Now select the Advanced Settings tab. The Current Transfer Mode will be
listed. To change, click the selection arrow on the Transfer Mode drop-down
box. Remember, DMA is best, but sometimes a CD-ROM won't function properly in
DMA mode. So if you find that your CD-ROM uses PIO mode, you can check to see
if it will use DMA, but if you experience problems, change it back.
2.16 Q. What sound cards will work Xpress DV? Top
A. Avid doesn't have officially supported soundcards.
Generally, consumer level cards work with Xpress DV. Users have reported
success with the following cards;
SoundBlaster Live
SoundBlaster Audigy
SoundBlaster Extigy
Hercules Game Theater XP
Some sound cards may require the workaround in FAQ 3.26 to
operate with Xpress DV.
2.17 Q. How do I set-up and configure the Matrox
Parhelia video card?
Top
A. Prior to installing the Parhelia card, Matrox
recommends installing Service Pack 1 for Windows XP. Required to installing
the card, you must install MS .Net framework (available on the Matrox install
cd) as well as Service Pack 1 for .Net (available from Windows Update>Windows
XP). It is also recommended to set the AGP Aperture Size to 64 or higher in
your system's BIOS (more info here:
http://www.pcmech.com/show/video/171/2/) and Assign IRQ to VGA enabled .
1. Physically install the Parhelia AGP card. Note that output #1 is located
closest to the motherboard and output #2 is the other (this is reversed from
previous Matrox cards). Connect the DVI to CRT adapter to output #1 and
connect your left-hand monitor to the connector. Plug the CRT/S-Video dual
adapter to output #2, connecting your right-hand monitor to the CRT connector
and your NTSC monitor to the S-Video plug.
2. When booting into Windows XP, ignore the 'New Hardware Device Found/Install
Wizard' messages and cancel out of them. Download and install the v1.0.3
drivers (or later, if applicable) available for the Parhelia from the Matrox
website. Reboot.
3. Upon rebooting, the Parhelia card will enter the initial setup. It will
display an 'A' on one CRT monitor and a 'B' on the other. Initially, set the
'A' to the left monitor, and the 'B' to the right-hand monitor.
4. Run the Matrox Power Desk utility. The following is an example initial
setup which you can later tweak to your preferences:
Multi-Display Setup: 2 displays, Stretched mode + 1 feature
display
Monitor and TV Adjustments: Adjust to personal preference
Quality and Performance Settings: Adjust to personal
preference
Video Playback Settings: Check 'Use Overlay' and 'Use
PureVideo/DVDMax'. The rest adjust to personal preference.
The rest of the categories depend on your personal preferences and are to be
adjusted to your preferences.
5. To run in 'Media Composer'/Right-hand Video Playback' mode: Simply swap the
CRT cables with each other (e.g.: Right-hand monitor into output #1 and
left-hand monitor into output #2). Upon rebooting, the Parhelia will detect
the new configuration and display the 'A' and 'B' setup mode again. Choose 'A'
for the left-hand monitor and 'B' for the right (same as up above). Windows XP
will continue to have the 'Start Button' on the left side, however, video
overlay (playback) will only be possible on the right-hand monitor. Upon
starting Xpress DV, you will have to move the Composer and Source monitors to
the right-hand display.
3. Operational
3.1 Q. The track
selections are grayed out in the Record Tool. Why? Top
A. Turn off deck control and they will be accessible.
3.2 Q. I’m not able to do an
Audio Punch In. I try but it’s not working. Top
A. This happens for the same reason as the previous
question, turn off deck control in the Record Tool and then Audio Punch In
will work.
3.3 Q. I want to add some CD
Audio to my project. Can I use the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW in the
computer? Top
A. As long as your CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW supports digital
audio extraction (most modern ones do), insert the CD into the drive, select
File | Import, change the file type to Audio, direct the finder to the CD
drive, select the track(s) you want to import, click OK. The import will
take place in two stages. First is the audio extraction and then there
will be a sample rate conversion from 44.1 kHz to your project’s sample rate,
32 kHz or 48 kHz as applicable.
3.4 Q. I can’t seem to be
able to add keyframes to the audio tracks in the timeline. What am I
doing wrong? Top
A. Turn on Audio Clip Gain in the Fast (hamburger) Menu in
the timeline.
3.5 Q. I just created a title
in the title tool and saved it. It appeared in a bin. However, when I double
click the title and it opens in the clip window, it is black. Nothing is
there. What happened to my title? Top
A. In the Avid application, select the "Clip" pull down menu
at the top of the boot screen. Make sure that "Render-on-the-fly" is
selected.
3.6 Q. My Xpress DV
interface/program seems buggy. Top
A. Try trashing the MCState file and restarting the Xpress
DV application:
Drive:\Program
Files\Avid\XpressDV\supporting files\MCState.
3.7 Q. Where is the countdown
in the Digital Cut? Top
A. For whatever reason, countdown is not accessible with Digital Cut. There
are, however, 3 countdowns in the Xpress DV goodies folder on the
installation disc
3.8 Q. I have eight video
tracks and I want to add more. The system is not allowing me to do
so. Why is this? Top
A. Xpress DV 3.* is limited to 8 video tracks and 8
audio tracks. The workarounds are by doing a video mixdown and/or nesting.
3.9 Q. Should I
defragment my media drives? Top
A. It is not recommended to defragment your media
drives. The Xpress DV application can handle fragmented drives.
3.10 Q. I can't hear Audio
scrubbing when I scrub the timeline. Why? Top
A. You'll need to activate the "cap lock' key on your
keyboard. You can also scrub audio by holding the "shift" key while
moving in the timeline. You may experience degraded scrubbing on slower systems.
3.11 Q. How are motion effects
rendered? Top
A. You have a choice of how motion effects are
rendered. You can set Xpress DV to default to anyone of the following,
and still be able to change the settings before creating each effect;
Duplicated fields:
Lower quality, quick. Will cause jaggies in most
footage with edges.
Both fields: Lower
quality, quick to render. Rendering motion effects with this setting will
usually cause very jerky motion.
Interpolated fields
:Best quality, slower. This setting will work best for
most all work.
VTR Style:
Causes the image to wiggle up and down a little just
like a Sony BVW-65 or BVW-75 during slow motion playback, the intended effect.
3.12 Q.
Does Xpress DV have Avid's "archive to tape" feature? Top
A. No, not as of version 3.5.
3.13 Q.
What happens if I break or lose my application key (dongle)? Top
A. A non-functioning dongle will be replaced free. Contact Avid’s Customer Response Team at 800-800-AVID (2843) in the US or the
Response Team for your country. A deposit on a credit card will be
needed in advance of shipment, which will be refunded when you return the
broken one. In the case of a lost dongle, Avid will replace your dongle
for a fee. You cannot run the Avid software without it.
3.14
Q. Ever time I double click a
clip in a bin it opens up into a new source monitor. Is there anyway to
prevent this? Top
A. Once you have at least one source monitor open you
can drag a new clip onto it to open it. Some people find this method
helps reduce screen clutter. Or, if you prefer to use the double click
method, you can go your user settings, select "Bin", and change "Double Click
Loads Clip In; New Pop-up Monitor" to "Double Click Loads Clip In; Existing
Pop-up Monitor".
Also, holding the ALT key while double-clicking the
clip will open the clip in the active pop-up monitor will work for a single
use. Another method is to go to Toolsets >
Source/record editing and your clips will automatically open in the source
window.
3.15 Q.
How do I move my
project from Xpress DV to another Avid system such as Media Composer or
Symphony®? Top
A. In order to move a project from Xpress DV to another
Avid system you NEED to digitize with accurate timecode. Save your project and
copy your project file from Drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress DV\Avid Projects\
(plus \"User Name" if opened as private)
to a floppy or CD. Take any imported elements with you such as QuickTime™
movies or
graphics.
On the new system copy the project file into the
appropriate folder. Be sure to un-write protect all the folders and bins that
you copy over. Launch Avid and open your project. Select all the clips you
want to digitize and choose Clip > Batch Digitize. Avid will prompt you for
the appropriate tapes and record the material you have selected. Select
imported elements and choose Clip > Batch Import and navigate to the location
of the graphics to import. Also, you could select your sequence and choose
Clip > Batch Digitize to digitize only those clips used in the sequence.
Finally, select your sequence, choose Clip > Re-link and follow the
instructions. Your sequence will then re-link to your digitized clips and
imported graphics. You will need to render any effects that aren't real-time
on the
destination system
Consolidating a project and moving those media files from
Xpress DV into Media Composer or Symphony will NOT work, these programs use
different codecs for media creation and are not compatible.
However, with the DV option upgrade, a Media Composer or
Symphony system would be able to use media digitized with Xpress DV.
3.16
Q. Does Xpress DV have a built in Waveform/Vectorscope? Top
A. When in Color
Correction mode a waveform/vectroscope is available, though it will not
display real-time waveform playback.
Many editors and motion graphics artists doing broadcast work rely heavily on
their waveform monitor/vectorscope not just to keep their video looking great,
but to meet broadcast legal levels and colors.
If real-time monitoring is desired
simply plug in your hardware Vectorscope/waveform
monitor into the analog output of the DV device connected to your Xpress DV
system.
3.17
Q. How do I edit 16:9 material on
Xpress DV? Top
A. Click on the Composer Window to highlight
it. Pull down Bin and select 16x9 monitors.
3.18
Q. How do I effectively delete media from old projects? Top
A. Under the Tools menu, click on Media Tool. Highlight the desired project.
Highlight all drives. Make sure to
check Master Clips, Precomputes, and Media Files. Click Ok. A new window will
have opened with all the media associated with that particular project. CTRL+A to highlight all and delete.
3.19
Q. How do I delete unwanted Effects? Top
A. Open Media
Tool. Check all drives and current project. Check Precomputes and
leave Master Clips and Media Files UNCHECKED. Click Ok, a new
window will open. Keep it open and visible. Open the bin with the sequence(s) and highlight them. In the hamburger menu (lower left corner
of the bin window) select "Select Media Relatives". Any clips in the
open bins, including the media tool bin that are used in the sequence will be
highlighted. In the hamburger menu of the media tool bin select "Reverse
Selection" The precomputes that are not associated with that sequence
are now highlighted. Hit delete and enjoy some more free space.
3.20
Q. My system seems sluggish and very slow to commands. What can I do to speed it up? Top
A. Make sure you have
the required amount of RAM – 256MB. If you do, then you may want to try
setting your playlength command. Open the console and type the word playlength followed by a whole number (ex. playlength 2). What this does
is sets the amount of the timeline loaded in RAM to be played back behind and
in front of the position indicator. The whole number represents
minutes.
3.21
Q. How do I create special characters in the Title Tool? Top
A. Minimize Xpress DV. Navigate to Start|Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Character Map. Select a font.
Select the character you wish to use. Press select. Press copy. Minimize
Character Map. Maximize Xpress DV. Press CTRL+V to paste the character
in the Title Tool. An alternative method for some special characters is
to memorize the ASCII number. If you know the ASCII number, hold down
the ALT key and type the number on the numeric keypad (the numbers above the
letters won’t work), then release the ALT key. Viola, your special
character in the current font! Some common ones are:
|
© = Alt 0169 |
® = Alt 0174 |
™ = Alt 0153 |
|
¼ = Alt 0188 |
½ = Alt 0189 |
¾ = Alt 0190 |
|
· = Alt 0183 (small
bullet) |
¢ = Alt 0172 |
|
|
• = Alt 0149 (large
bullet) |
° = Alt 0176 (degrees) |
|
When using the character map, note the keyboard shortcut in
the lower right corner so maybe next time you won’t need the character map
again.
3.22 Q.
What can I do about projects with source material in both NTSC and PAL? Top
A. You'll have to choose one or the other then have the
tapes of the opposite color system converted.
3.23 Q. How do I digitize
and edit Beta footage? Top
A. You need to use a
converter box like the DataVideo DAC-2 (Component) , Laird DV Signal
Converter (Component, Composite, S-Video),
or the Canopus ADVC-1000 (Composite, S-Video). This will convert you beta
footage to DV and let you output the DV footage back to Beta via Component,
Composite or S-Video, depending on the inputs of your transcoder. You can then
use a 9-pin serial cable connected to a
RS-232 to RS-422 converter such
as the Addenda RS 2/8 between the Beta deck and your computer
for deck control and to
import the timecode into Xpress DV. If you're using a UVW-1400 Beta deck you
can use an Addenda RS-2/U for deck
control as the UVW-1400 does not use 422 control. Check your manufacturers guide for
further compatibility issues.
In the Deck Configuration Setting, click Add Channel, choose Direct on Com X
(where X is the appropriate communications port number), then click OK. When
asked if you would like to configure the channel now, make sure the converter
cable is connected and the deck is powered on, then click Yes. Xpress DV
should find the make and model of your deck and load the appropriate
template. Close the Deck Configuration Setting. Now in the Record Tool,
select the newly added deck in the deck dropdown menu right below the
transport controls. You will now have control of the RS-422 deck.
3.24 Q. Avid can't see my camera, what can I do? Top
A. Make sure
your camcorder is either connected to one port on your firewire card, or
daisychained off of your firewire hard drive. Only one port on your firewire
drive can be used.
1.
Keep the camcorder OFF when you launch your
computer.
2. Launch the application.
3. Open an existing or new project.
4. Open the "Record Tool."
5. Turn on your camcorder.
6. Do an "Autoconfigure" in the "Record Tool."
7. Your camcorder will most likely use the "Generic..."
setting and you should be all set. If it doesn't, look for the closest model
number to your camera.
3.25 Q. How do I blur text
in Avid? Top
A. You will make a matte key out of the title and
effect in 5 steps.
1. Make a 3 video track sequence, put the video clip on
V1 and put your title on V2.
2. Go into effect mode and double click on V2 to expand
it, select the track with the alpha matte (it will be the 1.3), manually make
an in an out point at beginning and end of track and copy the track.
3. Now collapse the title track by double clicking on
it again and hit remove effect.
4. Highlight V3 only and place your time marker on the
first frame of the title. Paste the matte onto V3. Apply the same blur effect
to V2 and V3.
5. Apply the matte key effect to V3 (may need to be
inverted).
You can find a tutorial that follows these steps
here.
3.26 Q.
My sound card won't work with Xpress DV. What can I do?
Top
A. There are 3 workarounds.
1. Install the card with "drivers only", with no
extra software for it to run.
2. Go to :\Program Files\Avid\Avid Xpress DV\SupportingFiles\DeviceMgrDLLs and
rename DSoundADM10.dll to something like DSoundADM10.dl_. Then select your
sound card as default audio device in the control panel.
3. As of version 3.5.4, Xpress DV also supports certain
pro level audio cards (eg. M-Audio) for playback only.
In order to utilize these cards, the following steps
are recommended:
Install XP with an onboard or consumer grade soundcard. Install Xpress DV with
that device as the system default for audio playback (Control Panel>Sounds and
Audio Devices>Audio>Sound Playback>your card or onboard device. After
installing and running Xpress DV, install the new audio card. Go back to the
Control Panel, and select the new device for playback as outlined previously.
Upon starting Xpress DV, the new card will be selected for for playback via
DirectSound drivers and can be confirmed via the Console. You must keep the
onboard or consumer device installed in the system in order for this to work
and is only for playback only.
If these methods don't work then you may need to get a consumer level sound
card or us on-board sound.
3.27 Q. How can
I digitize analog footage?
Top
A. There are 4 ways;
1. Dub your footage to a DV tape and digitize from it
with your DV deck or camera
2. Hook up your analog source to your DV camera or deck
and use it to pass the signal through to Avid.
3. Get a transcoder with DV out that you can hook up your analogue source to.
(see FAQ 2.14 for a list of transcoders)
4. Get a Canopus ADVC1394 card, you can digitize both
DV via firewire or analog via RCA's in.
3.28 Q.
When I press play
a white border flashes on and off around the composer window and the
timeline will not play. What can I do?
Top
A. Make sure no windows are overlapping the composer
window.
3.29 Q.
When using DV scene extraction
I am limited to 100 subclips being created. My tape has more subclips than
this, what can I do?
Top
A.
1. Record all of your material and don't use scene extraction.
2. Once it's finished, click on your master clip in the bin.
3. Go in the bin menu and select DV scene extraction. You can then create your
subclips with no limits.
3.30 Q.
How do I see what commands can be entered into the console?
Top
A. Open the console and type "showcmd". This will show
hidden commands not normally listed. "help commands" will give you a list of
ALL console commands. "help <cmd name>" ("help alldrives" for example) will
sometimes yield additional info on a specific command.
Caution. Typing certain commands or nonsense
into the consol might render your system useless to the point of having to
uninstall/reinstall XDV.
4.
Import/Export
4.1 Q. What is a codec? Top
A. Codec,
an abbreviation of COmpressor/DECompressor, is any technology for compressing
and decompressing media. Codecs can be software, hardware, or a combination of
both. Some examples of codecs are Avid AVI, Avid DV, DivX, Sorenson and
Cinepak.
4.2 Q. I want to export my
footage from Xpress DV to use in Adobe After Effects®. How do I do this? Top
A. If After Effects and Xpress DV
share the same system, the best way to export footage to it is to use
QuickTime reference. QT Reference is a very small file that is simply a path
linked to your OMFI media files. Open it up in any application that uses
QuickTime (After Effects, Cleaner, etc.) and it will playback the media from
your OMFI folder.
If you need to move your footage to another system for AE you can export a QT
movie. Using the Same as Source setting will give you the best quality but a
large file size. You can check your options to access various codecs
installed on your machine.
Another option for moving footage from Avid to After
Effects is the AE plug-in "Automatic Composition Import" from
Automatic Duck.
This allows you to import an OMFI file from Avid into After Effects which will
re-build your Avid sequence in AE.
4.3 Q. What resolution should
I use in Adobe Photoshop for graphics I'm going to be importing into Xpress
DV? Top
A. Even though Avid is 720x480 (NTSC) you should use
720x540 (NTSC) when creating graphics in Photoshop. The reason for this is
that Avid uses non-square pixels while Photoshop uses square pixels, so to
compensate for the difference you need to increase the vertical size of the
graphics.
To see an example of this, create a perfect circle in Photoshop at 720x540
(NTSC) and import it into Xpress DV. It will retain it's shape.
Create a perfect circle in Photoshop at 720x480 and
import it into Avid, the shape will be warped as a result of Avid having to
squish the pixels to make the graphic fit it's non-square pixel aspect ratio.
For PAL use 768x576.
4.4 Q. What resolution should
I use in Adobe After Effects for graphics I'm going to be importing into
Xpress DV? Top
A. For NTSC
use
NTSC DV, 720x480 at 29.97 frames a second. For Pal use PAL
D1/DV 720x576 at 25 frames per second.
4.5 Q. What specifications
should I use when rendering in After Effects for importing into Xpress DV? Top
A. Make sure your compositions are 720x480 at
29.97fps for NTSC or 720x576 at 25fps for PAL. For best quality render with these specs;
NTSC
| Render
Settings |
Output
Module |
| Quality:
Best |
Format:
Quicktime |
| Resolution:
Full |
Video Output:
Checked |
| Field Render: Lower
Field First |
Format
Options: Compressor;
1. choose codec
2. Channels - RGB or RGB + Alpha
3. Depth - Millions of Colors
4. Color - Premultiplied |
| 3:2 Pulldown:
Off |
| Framerate: Use comp's
framerate (should be 29.97fps) |
Audio Output: Checked
(if using audio)
48.000 KHz, 16bit, (match to your Avid project
settings),
Stereo or mono
|
PAL
| Render
Settings |
Output
Module |
| Quality:
Best |
Format:
Quicktime |
| Resolution:
Full |
Video Output:
Checked |
| Field Render: Upper
Field First |
Format
Options: Compressor;
1. choose codec
2. Channels - RGB or RGB + Alpha
3. Depth - Millions of Colors
4. Color - Premultiplied |
| 3:2 Pulldown:
Off |
| Framerate: Use comp's
framerate (should be 25fps) |
Audio Output: Checked
(if using audio)
48.000 KHz, 16bit, (match to your Avid project
settings),
Stereo or mono
|
4.6 Q. What
codec should I use when rendering in After Effects for import into Xpress DV?? Top
A.
For most media, use the Avid DV codec. The Avid DV codec can be installed on
any system that needs to render clips for importing into Avid, saving time and
retaining quality. The material is created in the Avid DV native resolution,
so the quality will be preserved when re-importing it back into the Avid
Xpress DV application.
Chapter 19 of the Avid Xpress DV 3.5 User's Guide details how to install the
codec on other systems.
However, if the media contains fine gradients or quality is of the utmost
importance, use the Animation codec, which is uncompressed, at 100%.
However, this method utilizes more disk space and takes longer to import into
Xpress DV.
4.7 Q. I
can't export an AVI from Xpress DV that is larger than 2GB. How
do I fix this? Top
A. The 2GB file limit exists in Win98/98SE/ME, and is a limitation of the
FAT32 file system. Windows XP supports file sizes up to 1000GB.
It seems that it is only AVI that has the 2GB limitation. The 2GB+ AVI format
is called OpenDML AVI. Quicktime and MPEG files can both be exported from
Xpress DV and be larger than 2GB.
If you are running FAT32 under Windows XP, upgrade your media drives to the
NTFS file system. There is a utility called convert.exe that can convert a
FAT32 volume to NTFS without repartioning. It is found in the winnt\system32\
folder.
Go to Start|Run then type "cmd" (without the quotes) and click OK which will
bring up a DOS-style window. In that window at the C:\ prompt, type "Convert
<drive letter> /FS:NTFS /V" (without the quotes) and press Enter. From that
point, as long as there's enough free space on the drive, it's automatic and
no user intervention is required. When the process is complete, type Exit at
the C:\ prompt and then press Enter.
After upgrading your media drives to NTFS they would not be
available to Windows 98/ME under a dual-boot set-up.
Check the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information.
4.8 Q.
When I try to import an AVI, I either get audio
but only white video or get an error message and a QuickTime prompt
for downloading software which fails. What can I do? Top
A.
Xpress DV doesn't recognize the codec used to encode the AVI file.
You need to encode the AVI with a codec that Xpress DV understands and will be
able to import, such as the Avid AVI codec, or an uncompressed AVI.
If it's not possible to re-render the AVI with the proper codec then you need
to convert it.
Some freeware or shareware programs for converting are;
Rad Video
Tools
aDvanced DV File Converter
The best solution is to use QuickTime files when importing into Xpress DV.
Avid is optimized to work with QuickTime and will import these files with less
trouble than with AVI's, the DV codec is available for rendering files in the
QuickTime format.
4.9 Q. Does QuickTime Reference work over a network?
Top
A. Yes it does. In the export options, check "Use Network Media References"
and "Add Shares for Media Drives" to
be able to read a QuickTime Reference file on a networked computer.
4.10 Q. How do I make a DVD from my sequence?
Top
A. DVD's are created using MPEG2 files for video and
wav files for audio. MPEG2 files can be export from Avid but users have found
the process to be quite slow and the results not ideal.
The best way to create an MPEG2 file is to export a QuickTime Reference file
from Xpress DV and encode it in a third-party application. Some third-party
applications that can make an MPEG2 file to create a DVD from are;
TMPEG
Canopus Pro-Coder
Discreet Cleaner
XL
Mainconcept MPEG Encoder
Heuris MPEG Power Professional
Cinema
Craft Encoder
4.11 Q. When I choose "create DVD" from Xpress DV
it exports a *.m2v and *.wav file, why?
Top
A. DVD's often have more than one audio track for the
same video track (e.g. directors commentary) and having a separate audio file
enables you to select the audio track you want played at a given time. When
you create a DVD with your authoring program these two files will be merged
into one properly formatted movie.
4.12 Q.
Should I import items with RGB or 601 color levels?
What's the difference? Top
A. In video, black is 7.5 IRE and white is 100 IRE.
Translated to a scale of 0 to 255 used for graphics applications, 7.5 IRE = 16
and 100 IRE = 235. For video, any luminance levels that fall outside of this
range may result in "crushed" blacks or "blown-out" whites.
For non-video graphics, black is generally 0 and white 255. When you import
such an image or animation with the RGB option, Xpress DV will scale the
values of every pixel so that in the imported file, black becomes 16 and white
235, the normal video range. This would be the option used for most work done
in After Effects, Photoshop, etc.
If you have a file already in video color space, the 601 import option tells
Xpress DV to leave the values alone.
If you have an alpha channel with black areas at 0 and white areas at 255 and
import with RGB values, Xpress DV will compress the values into the 16-235
range, preventing your matte from specifying fully opaque or fully transparent
pixels. The 601 option is therefore appropriate for importing mattes.
For more detailed information check Adam Wilt's website.
Setup
and
Codec Problems
4.13 Q.
I've received a *.wav file that was created in Pro-Tools that
Xpress DV
can't import. What can I do?
Top
A. Pro-Tools exports a broadcast *.wav which has a
timecode stamp in it that Xpress DV cannot handle. Rename the *.wav file
with a .bwf extension. That's the Broadcast Wave File extension on a PC
Avid, it will allow the file to be imported.
4.14 Q.
I've received an OMF that was created in a third-party
application (Pro-Tools, Nuendo, Logic, etc.)
that Xpress DV can't import. What can I do? Top
A. The OMF must be converted to the
OMF 1 or 2 spec that Avid and other NLE's utilize. To do so, use either
DigiDesign's Digital Translator or
AVTransfer.
4.15 Q.
I want to import a graphic for a duration longer than
60 frames. How do I do this?
Top
A. Enter into the console the following command "cmd_setImportSlideLength
xx" where xx is the desired length of your import. Then import the file as you
normally would.
This import duration will remain at this new length
until you change it via the same method or close Xpress DV. Upon restarting
the program, the import length will return to the length as listed in the
settings.
4.16 Q. I tried to import an
audio file but I get a message saying that Xpress DV won't import an 8 bit
audio file. What can I do?
Top
A. You need to convert the file to 16 bit. You can do
this with a third party application or use Windows built in sound recorder.
To navigate to the Sound Recorder follow
Start>All
Programs>Accessories>Entertainment>Sound
Recorder.
Pull down File|Open, navigate to the 8 bit wav, and open it.
Pull down File|Save as, then click the Change next to Format.
Select PCM and the appropriate Stereo or Mono, 48Khz (or 32Khz if your project
is 32K), 16 bit setting. Then choose a new name such as "My wav file-16" to
denote it as the 16 bit version and click Save.
Now you will be able to import the newly created 16 bit
wav.
5.
Error
Messages
5.1 Q. Assertion Failed Top
A. Try creating a new user or try
trashing MCState and Site_Settings.avs files from the Settings Folder inside
Avid Xpress.
5.2 Q. Error: No desktop
video resource Top
A. This
will occur when trying to playback video. Make sure your screen resolution is
set to at least 1024x768,
that your color is set to 32 bit and the refresh rate set to 75Hz.
Other
screen resolutions will work but these settings should ALWAYS work.
5.3 Q. Exception: DIOConsumer
- Digital Out Video underrun Top
A. This may occur when trying to do
a digital cut of a long sequence. This may be caused by a shortage of memory.
The solutions are to increase your memory to at least 512MB or crash record on
your recording device instead of doing a digital cut.
5.4 Q. Exception: 'omfiHPDOMAIN_INIT_FAILED'
An error occurred validating the media directory Top
A. Trash your media databases.
For Windows, Click Start|Search|For
Files and Folders. In the name box, type *.mdb and have it search all
local hard drives. When the search is complete, delete all of the *.mdb files
that are inside an “OMFI Media” folder. Repeat the process for *.pmr
files. Once that is complete, relaunch Xpress DV.
For Mac, choose File>Find... while
out in the Finder. Choose "Local disks" in the "Search in:" selector at the
top of the dialog. In the name box, type .mdb and change the "file name"
selector to "ends with". When the search is complete, delete all of the .mdb
files that are inside an "OMFI Media " folder by selecting the file and
choosing File>Move to Trash. Repeat the process for .pmr files. Once that is
complete, empty the trash (Finder>Empty Trash...) and relaunch Xpress DV.
Xpress DV will take a few extra seconds to open as it rebuilds the media
databases.
5.5 Q. ADM_PLAY_NOT_ARMED Top
A. This error occurs when you scroll
along the timeline using JKL keys. It may be caused by using an unsupported
video card or if your hard drive DMA mode is not set properly. Install a
supported video card and ensure DMA mode is set properly.
5.6 Q. DIG_DV-CORRUPT_FRAME Top
A. This error occurs when trying to digitize media and it a
hard drive problem. To correct ensure that the hard drive you are digitizing
to is in DMA mode and is ATA100 enabled.
5.7 Q. AECIFS Manager - Load Library failed on
AECIFS
Top
A. The AECIFS Manager is part of LanShare of which most
XDV systems are not attached to. And if that is the case, you can simply
disregard the error. However, if the error really bothers you, open the
PortServer setting and uncheck "Connect to LanShare on Launch". Now the next
time you launch XDV, there will be no error.
On the other hand, if you are connected to LanShare and see this error, you
are not connected to the PortServer and your shared media will not be
accessible until you work out the connection problem.
5.8 Q. Could not Initialize
Authorscript
Top
A. This occurs when trying to export an MPEG or use the "Create DVD" function
and can be caused by installing a DVD authoring program after installing Xpress
DV. Either re-install Xpress DV or follow these steps;
1. Locate the following five DLL files inside the
Avid Xpress DV folder:
AuthorScriptLibWin.dll
ltkrn11n.dll
ltimg11n.dll
ltfil11n.dll
LTDIS11n.dll
2. Create a new folder anywhere on the system.
3. Move the five DLLs from the Xpress DV folder
to the new folder. Make sure the files are no longer in the main Avid Xpress
DV folder.
4. In the new folder, make copies of all the
DLL files. To make the five copies all at once, you can shift-click the
five DLL files so that they are all highlighted at the same time. Then go the
Edit menu and choose Copy.
5. Now paste the copies into the Avid Xpress DV
folder. Directly after choosing Edit, Copy in Step 4, go to the main
part of the Avid Xpress DV folder. Choose Edit, Paste. This will paste
the five copies into the Avid Xpress DV folder. Do not move the original
files back into the Avid Xpress DV folder; it will not resolve the problem.
5.9 Q.
Exception:win32_mixer_get_details_error
Top
A. This
occurs when you start Avid Xpress DV and may be because your sound card is not
supported or isn't running with updated drivers. To fix this problem, update
the drivers for your motherboard and/or sound card.
5.10 Q. Audio Hardware Underrun?
Top
This information is taken from the official Avid
Support Page.
A. Audio Hardware Underrun errors can occur at various
times, and the error does not necessarily indicate a problem with audio. It
usually means that one of the drives being used for media is spinning too
slowly to capture/playback media at a fast enough rate. It could also indicate
problems with the audio card on the computer.
If using IDE drives, make sure your drives have ultra DMA
mode enabled. You can find out how to check DMA status in FAQ
2.15.
If you get the error when recording media, try recording to
another drive. If you get the error when playing back media, try playing back
media from another drive. If changing drives gets rid of the error, then the
problem exists with the initial drive.
On the desktop, right-click the volume control speaker icon
in the lower right corner of the Task bar and choose Adjust Audio Properties.
Select the Audio tab. For Sound Playback and Sound Recording, check to see
that the chosen driver is not Yamaha SXG. If it is, change that to another
option. Make sure the "Use only Preferred Devices" option is selected. Press
Apply, then close the window.
Right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose Properties.
The Display Properties window will open. Select the Settings tab. Make sure
the Colors category has 32 bit True color. Click the Advanced button (the
resulting window options will depend upon your display/graphics card). Make
sure the Refresh category is set to 75 Hertz (usually this category is on the
Monitor tab.)
Shut down and disconnect any peripheral devices. Restart
the computer and try to record/play media again.
Reboot.
5.11 Q. Where can I find out what my error message means?
Top
A. Avid has a support page with many error messages listed
that can help you resolve them. Follow
this
link and be
sure to choose Xpress
DV in the selection box at the upper right.
6.
Miscellaneous
6.1 Q. How do I spell Avid Xpress DV? Top
A. Just like that. Not Express DV or DVExpress
or even DVXpress. It's Avid Xpress DV.
6.2
Q. Are there books to learn
more about Avid editing? Top
A. There are four books which are all excellent resources for the Avid editor wishing to learn more. Although none of the books
discuss Xpress DV directly, all four are great resources. Newbies and
seasoned editors alike can pick up any of these books and learn.
The Avid Handbook, Techniques for the Avid Media Composer and
Avid Xpress - by Steve Bayes
The Avid Digital Editing Room Handbook - by Tony Solomons
Avid Editing, A Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Users - by
Sam Kauffmann
Video Editing with Avid - by Roger Shufflebottom
Avid also had a training CD and book specifically for Xpress DV. You can get more info
here.
6.3
Q. What are other on-line sources for Xpress DV information? Top
Forums
World
Wide Users Groups
Avid.Com Communities
Creative Cow
DV
Magazine
DV
Doctor
Technical Information
Avid
Xpress DV Tech Notes
Avid Knowledge Centre
Avid Manuals and Guides at the Knowledge Center
DVD FAQ
DVD HQ - Configuring
TMPGEnc for High-Quality MPEG2
Zerocut
- Avid
and Matchback, Pulldown, EDL's, etc.
24P
- White papers for film and 1080p/24
Adam Wilt
- DV, DVCAM & DVCPro FAQ, timecode, editing, codec's,
etc.
DV-L Email List
- Pertaining to all things DV
