Avid Media Composer and Film Composer Release 10.5 Release

Known Bugs

24p and 25p Projects

➤

QuickTime export from a 24p PAL video (Method 1) project exports audio at a nonstandard sample rate.

When you digitize material in a 24p PAL video (Method 1) project, audio is normally slowed (for example, audio is slowed to 42.336 kHz if the sample rate set in the Audio Project Settings dialog box is

44.1 kHz).

If you perform a QuickTime export from such a project using the project rate as the audio sample rate, audio is exported at the slower, nonstandard sample rate. It is not converted back to the standard sample rate.

➤

For 24p audio-only sequences, switching the output format doesn’t switch the hardware.

For example, assume that you are working in a

24p NTSC project, with black burst set to NTSC. With an audio-only sequence in the Timeline, open the Digital Cut tool and select Local.

Choose a PAL output option. You receive a warning message about switching black burst to PAL. Manually change the black burst to PAL and start the digital cut. The reference and 3D hardware does not switch to PAL. You can perform the cut, but the hardware is still synced to the wrong video format.

➤

A digital cut cannot end in the middle of a frame.

If you are creating a digital cut in a 24p NTSC project, and your sequence ends on a B or

C frame, you receive a warning message. You can still create the digital cut, but the OUT point will be off by one field.

Workaround:

Choose a different OUT point.

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➤

When you change the pullin of a sequence in a PAL 24p or 25p project, the pullin letter does not appear in the Pullin Bin column.

The sequence is correctly updated with the new pullin.

Audio

➤

For a sequence containing rendered audio effects, if you consolidate the sequence by using the “Do Audio Sample Rate Conversion” option in the Consolidate dialog box and then export the sequence to OMFI Version 1 or OMFI Version 2, an error message informs you that the composition contains mixed audio sample rates.

This message is incorrect; all the material in the sequence is at the same audio sample rate. If you have problems exporting this sequence, rerender it and then export it again.

➤

Audio might export at a rate different from the rate reported in the

Audio Project Settings dialog box.

If you export audio while a digital input sync mode (AES/EBU or

S/PDIF) is set in the Audio Project Settings dialog box, the resulting export file might be created at a sample rate other than the one currently displayed in the Audio Project Settings dialog box.

The following scenario demonstrates how this problem can occur.

In the Audio Project Settings dialog box, with an AES/EBU or S/PDIF audio source connected to your system:

1. Choose Video Sync from the Sync Mode pop-up menu.

2. Choose an audio sample rate that is different from the digital rate for the source.

For example, choose a sample rate of 44.1 kHz when the digital rate for the source is 48 kHz.

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3. Choose the appropriate digital option (AES/EBU or S/PDIF) from the Sync Mode pop-up menu.

The sample rate is forced to the digital rate of the source (for example, it reverts from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz). This is normal behavior for the Audio Project Settings dialog box.

4. Export audio with an export setting that uses the project rate as the export sample rate.

For example, choose Project Rate as the sample rate in the Audio

Format tab for an AVI export.

The audio exports at the sample rate you chose before forcing to the digital rate (that is, the sample rate you chose in step 2).

n

If you switch back to Video Sync in the Sync Mode pop-up menu of the Audio

Project Settings dialog box, the sample rate displayed stays at the forced digital selection but the export still uses the sample rate you chose before forcing the digital rate.

➤

In a mixed Macintosh and Windows environment, you might encounter the following error message during OMFI Version 2.0 export of a clip containing Sound Designer II

™

audio: “Exception:

CANT_EXPORT_MEDIA_AS_SD2 An error occurred during export.”

Workaround:

In mixed Macintosh and Windows environments, use

AIFF-C audio format.

➤

If you plan to use Pro Tools

®

on the same system as

Media Composer, Film Composer, or Avid Xpress, note that Pro

Tools uses different versions of the following files:

• DigiSystem_INIT — Stored in the Extensions folder

• Default AudioSuite plug-ins — Stored in the DAE folder in the

System folder

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If you plan to use Pro Tools on your Media Composer, Film Composer, or Avid Xpress system, you will need to keep separate copies of these files and copy them to the correct location before you start the application. For the default AudioSuite plug-ins, you should keep separate copies of the entire DAE folder (located in the System folder).

After you replace the files, you must restart the system for

DigiSystem_INIT to take effect.

➤

Clip gain information is not carried forward from previous releases on segments that include automation gain.

If you transfer a sequence from Media Composer or Film Composer Release 10.0 or later to an earlier release, save the sequence, and transfer it back again, the original additive clip gain on segments with automation gain will be lost.

➤

Audio fades are not extracted from the OMFI file when pan/vol is on the clip. When you import this OMFI file into another system, the dissolve will be unrendered.

You might want to perform an audio mixdown of the clip before exporting.

Compatibility with Other Products and Releases

➤

If you open a project from a previous release, you might see windows that are inappropriately sized and you cannot resize them.

The size of the windows is specified by the project’s workspace settings, and some windows might not allow you to resize them.

Workaround:

Create new workspace settings for the current release.

➤

You might have problems running Apple System Profiler before running Media Composer or Film Composer.

Workaround:

Start Apple System Profiler after loading

Media Composer or Film Composer.

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➤

If you eject a local drive from a system that has Avid Unity

MediaNet volumes mounted, when you select Mount All from the

File menu, the following error message appears:

“Mac Error -65 (r/w requested for an off-line drive).”

Consolidating

➤

Consolidating a sequence with a group could result in the sequence referencing two different groups.

When you consolidate a sequence that contains a group clip that has the default clip selected for all tracks and you deselect the option

“consolidate all clips in a group edit,” the Avid system creates a master clip (.new) and a group clip (.new). The sequence references the .new group clip for the default clip and the original group clip for any other clips in the group.

➤

You might receive an inaccurate warning message after consolidating and performing a sample rate conversion.

If you consolidate a mixed sample rate sequence while performing a sample rate conversion, and then export the sequence, you might see a message warning that the sequence still contains mixed audio sample rates. If you click Continue and complete the export, all the clips are correctly exported at the sample rate you selected for the conversion, and the sequence works correctly in other applications. However, the sequence retains inaccurate mixed sample rate labels on the clips.

➤

Consolidate ignores the “Lock Bin Selection” setting for a consolidated clip.

If you select the “Delete original media files when done” option in the

Consolidate dialog box, the system ignores the “Lock Bin Selection” setting for a consolidated clip and deletes the media.

➤

Consolidated master clips have inaccurate locators.

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Controllers

➤

Media Composer or Film Composer hangs if you choose another controller in the Controller Settings dialog box when the JL Cooper

MCS

3

controller is connected to the system.

When the JL Cooper MCS

3

controller is connected to the COM 1 port, if you select COM 1 as the port and Avid Controller as the device in the Controller Settings dialog box, the Media Composer or

Film Composer application cannot find the specified device and hangs. If this happens, you must quit Media Composer or

Film Composer by using the Task Manager and then restart

Media Composer or Film Composer.

Workaround:

Make sure that the device you select in the Controller

Settings dialog box is the device that is connected to the system.

Digitizing

➤

Batch digitizing in a 24p NTSC project continues beyond the logged

OUT point, and the system incorrectly adopts the pulldown setting from the batch digitized clip for subsequent digitized clips.

If you log a clip in a 24p NTSC project and then batch digitize the clip, the system keeps recording beyond the logged OUT point. The length of time the system continues recording after the OUT point is proportional to the length of the logged clip. The longer the clip, the longer the system continues to record after the OUT point.

Once you have batch digitized a clip, the system uses the pulldown setting from that clip for subsequent digitized clips. This might result in a digitized clip that has incorrect pulldown. For example, if you batch digitize a clip with C as the pulldown setting (C as the value in the Pullin bin column), a subsequent clip that you digitize will be created as if you had set the IN point on a C frame, regardless of where you actually set the IN point.

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These problems only exist when you are batch digitizing video.

Audio-only batch digitizing does not show the same errors.

Workaround:

You can force the system to revert to the pulldown setting that you will need for subsequent digitizing by batch digitizing a short dummy clip with the appropriate pulldown setting.

➤

You might see digital input/output conflicts when you output a test pattern from the Video Output tool and then click the V (video)

Channel Selection button in the Digitize tool.

This problem might occur if you do the following:

1. Open both the Video Output tool and the Digitize tool (with a video source connected).

2. Output a test pattern from the Video Output tool.

3. Click the V Channel Selection button in the Digitize tool.

A subsequent attempt to output a test pattern results in the following error message, “Exception:Meridien Processor Board Resource is already committed.”

A subsequent attempt to play a clip in the Source monitor and then output a test pattern results in the following error message,

“Exception:VideoOutputWindow:Add Test Pattern

CANT_ACCESS_VDM.”

Once either of these errors occurs, you must restart the application.

Workaround:

Click in the Timeline after you output a test pattern from the Video Output tool and before you click the V Channel Selection button in the Digitize tool.

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➤

Digitizing across timecode breaks does not always capture the frames around the timecode break.

This happens on products that use RS-422 for deck control. When you select “Use control track for preroll,” sometimes the system misses as many as 9 frames before the timecode break and 12 frames after the timecode break.

Workaround:

Manually set mark IN to the first frame of the clip after the timecode break, or record on-the-fly with the timecode track turned off.

➤

When you digitize using external timecode (also known as linear timecode, or LTC), the digitized media might be one frame off.

This can happen when you use External Timecode mode while digitizing in

Media Composer or Film Composer.

Workaround:

If the digitized media is consistently one or two frames off, you can select the Latency for External Timecode Mode option in the Digitize Settings dialog box to compensate for the latency. This option ensures that digitizing starts on the correct frame. Note that the option is deselected by default.

➤

Due to a limitation with the Macintosh system, when “Optimize for batch speed” is selected in the Digitize Settings dialog box, the maximum number of clips that you can continuously digitize before a preroll occurs is 10.

➤

You cannot preserve vertical blanking information for S-Video passthrough and capture.

Workaround:

If you need to preserve vertical blanking information when you digitize, use SDI, composite, or component. For more information, see “Preserving Information in the Vertical Blanking

Interval” in the Avid Media Composer and Film Composer What’s New for

Release 10.5 or the Help.

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➤

The Eject Tape button does not work if it is mapped to certain buttons.

The Eject Tape button does not work if you map it to the Tab key or to any of the buttons under the Source or the Record monitor.

Workaround:

You can map the Eject Tape button to other keys in the

Keyboard palette or to any button in the Tool palette.

➤

Autoconfigure chooses the JVC

®

BR-D85U deck instead of the JVC

BR-D750U deck.

If you autoconfigure decks when the JVC BR-D750U Digital S deck is connected, the system incorrectly chooses the JVC BR-D85U deck. If you double-click the deck in the Deck Configuration dialog box, the system displays a message warning that the deck configuration does not match the deck attached to the system. You can close the message box and then select the JVC BR-D750U deck in the Deck Settings dialog box. The system then functions correctly with the deck.

However, the message warning that the deck configuration does not match the attached deck will reappear whenever you create a new project.

➤

The Avid application does not report a missing video signal when you digitize from a DAT deck and select the Video Track button in the Digitize tool.

If you are digitizing audio from a DAT deck by dropping a logged clip in the Digitize tool, and you then select the Video Track button in the

Digitize tool, the application does not produce an error message stating that there is no video signal.

Workaround:

Do not select the Video Track button when you are digitizing audio from a DAT deck.

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➤

You might experience sync problems while digitizing or making a digital cut.

Workaround:

Increase the preroll time in the Deck Settings dialog box.

➤

Not all frames in the Timeline are updated after redigitizing a sequence and the clips.

➤

Switching input sources prevents the Waveform and Vectorscope monitors from adjusting properly.

If you have a bad signal coming in through a Serial Digital Input (SDI) format and you switch the input settings to a different format (Composite or Component), the

Waveform and Vectorscope monitors do not adjust properly to the new signal.

➤

Digitizing with Macrovision

®

copy-protected tapes causes sync problems.

➤

If the video input signal is interrupted, it is possible for the internal

Vectorscope monitor to display incorrect data once the signal is restored.

This does not affect the signal being digitized. The signal could be interrupted when cables are disconnected, or when signal generators or decks are turned off.

Workaround:

Click the V button in the Digitize tool off and then back on, and the Vectorscope monitor should correct itself.

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Editing

➤

The Final frame of a consolidated clip using multiple media files might be displayed incorrectly.

If you create a consolidated clip that is made up of material from multiple media files, the bottom half of the final frame of the clip might appear as black or gray.

➤

Choosing Undo after editing video into an audio-only sequence causes audio track monitoring to become deselected.

If you edit video into a sequence that has only audio tracks, and then choose

Undo to undo the edit, the audio tracks and track monitoring become deselected.

Workaround:

Select the audio tracks and track monitoring.

➤

Site and Project settings cannot be linked by workspace name.

The following User settings also cannot be linked by workspace name: Bin

View, Deck Preferences, Digital Cut, Export, Import, Script, and Title

Style.

➤

If you select the Scroll While Playing option in the Timeline

Settings dialog box when working in 24p and 25p PAL projects, your system might display distorted video in the Record monitor.

Workaround:

Deselect the Scroll While Playing option in the Timeline

Settings dialog box. The Timeline Settings dialog box can be accessed by clicking Timeline in the Settings scroll list of the Project window.

➤

You cannot move a bin out of the Trash when no other bins exist in the project.

Workaround:

Create another bin in the project, and then move the bin out of the Trash.

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➤

When copying information from the Info window, you must close the Info window after each copy.

If you leave the Info window open, each time you use the Paste command it will paste the first information you copied.

➤

You need to close the MCS3 Controller Settings window before changes take effect.

You can select other windows when the MCS3 Controller Settings window is open. This can make it a little confusing to realize that the

MCS3 Controller Settings window needs to be closed before any changes take effect.

Workaround:

Close the MCS3 Controller Settings window before you try to use updated settings.

➤

If you set the desktop to display custom patterns, the bins might become transparent and reveal the patterns on the desktop.

Workaround:

Turn off custom desktop patterns or force a redraw of bins as needed.

➤

Comments created during logging disappear when the bin view changes.

In each new view in which you would like to see the Comments column, you can type Comments in the column heading area of the bin and the comments will appear. The Comments column also appears in the Headings dialog box at the bottom with the custom columns. To type in the column heading area, you must find or make some room between columns or after the last column; you’ll see the text insert a cursor at locations where you can type.

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➤

Partially covering the Source monitor with a group clip causes the

Source monitor and the Client monitor to display a single frame instead of the grouped frames.

Remove the window that is covering the Source monitor and click the

Source monitor. Both the Source monitor and the Client monitor display the grouped frames.

➤

The display of accent characters (set from the Apple Key Caps window) in the bin is different from the display in the Timeline.

➤

The Reverse Match Frame function is not working correctly with motion effects.

➤

There might be a hue shift noticed in certain colors when Avid graphics are being drawn on video.

Since the graphics are not displayed during play, it will not affect the output of your digital cut and will be noticeable only when parked on a frame. Examples of Avid graphics include mark IN, mark OUT, and sawtooth marks denoting the beginning or end of a clip.

Effects

➤

Frame processing in the Scratch Removal effect does not work correctly in all circumstances.

Frame processing in the Scratch

Removal effect acts like field processing (in order to move one frame ahead, you must move the frame offset by two) when the following conditions apply:

• Frame processing is on by default.

• You are using positive frame offsets.

Workaround:

If possible, use negative frame offsets (move the Frame slider to the left). You might then have to turn off frame processing and then turn it back on for the effect to behave correctly.

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➤

If you select “Filter Based on Resolution” in the Media Creation dialog box and select a drive on which to store audio, you cannot select the audio drive in the Render dialog box as a location for saving precomputes.

Workaround:

Deselect “Filter Based on Resolution.”

➤

Pixel artifacts might appear in dissolves and rolling titles during

PAL to NTSC multiformat output on systems using the Meridien III digital media board set with the Genie 3D effects card.

If you output an NTSC version of a PAL sequence that contains dissolves or rolling titles, and if your Client monitor is in underscan mode, you might notice bad pixels flicker across the bottom left corner of the image during the effects. The problem occurs only in multiformat output going from PAL to NTSC, and only on systems that use the Meridien III digital media board set (Meridien II digital media board with Meridien III daughter card) and the Genie 3D effects board.

Workaround:

Render the effect before you output the multiformat version of the sequence.

➤

The highest useful value for Border softness on 2D peels is 12.

Promoting to 3D does not increase the effective range.

Workaround:

Limit peel softness to 12.

➤

Motion effects keep their old clip names in the Timeline after relinking.

If you relink a sequence that contains motion effect clips to new master clips, the motion effect clips appear in the Timeline with their old clip names even though they have relinked successfully to the new media.

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➤

The ExpertRender at Position command does not always recognize a partially completed render.

If you attempt to use the ExpertRender at

Position command on a partially rendered effect, you might receive the message, No Effects to Render.

Workaround:

Use the following procedure:

1. Click the Timeline Fast Menu button, choose Render Ranges, and choose Partial Only or All.

2. Move the position indicator on top of the red line that indicates the unrendered part of the effect.

Now, when you choose ExpertRender at Position, the

ExpertRender

™

dialog box displays one effect to render.

➤

In 3D Warp, setting the horizontal parameter to 15 when using external defocus shifts the entire image down.

Workaround:

Do not use the highest horizontal value (15) for an internal defocus effect, or use an “FG only” defocus effect.

➤

When the Marquee

®

plug-in window goes behind the

Media Composer or Film Composer window, the Timeline continually refreshes.

Workaround:

Bring the Marquee plug-in window to the foreground, or close Marquee.

➤

Rendering a large sequence with many effects might result in the system canceling the render.

If you begin to render all effects in a sequence that includes a large number of complex effects, the Avid system might not have enough memory to render all the effects. A message box appears, warning you that there is insufficient memory to complete the render; the render is then canceled.

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Workaround:

Simplify the render by first rendering nested effects.

You can also break up long effects by using the Add Edit function.

However, using Add Edit might affect the appearance of effects that use Spline or Acceleration, so you should use this workaround with caution.

➤

3D borders appear uneven at small sizes.

In 3D effects, setting the border width to a small value might produce borders with uneven edges.

➤

A long video mixdown with unrendered effects causes an

Insufficient Memory error.

A video mixdown with many unrendered effects (such as a 15-minute sequence with 176 effects) will abort with a message that states “Insufficient Memory error. Keep or discard?” If you choose Keep, the mixdown up until that point is good. This problem does not occur with Render In/Out or when rendering a long effect.

Workaround:

Render the effects before creating the mixdown, break up the video mixdown into smaller segments, or upgrade the system memory.

➤

You might experience problems when rendering effects-intensive sequences with collapsed tracks. Your system might continuously render the sequence.

Workaround:

Increase the memory allocated to the Media Composer or Film Composer application.

➤

At the start of an unrendered 3D effect with a drop shadow, there is a one-field delay before the shadow appears.

Workaround:

Render the effect.

➤

The Matte Key effect might cause a slight luminance level drop to the background media under the matte key.

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➤

The luminance level will drop slightly in non-real-time keys when

Crop or Position parameters are adjusted.

➤

The 3D

Drop shadows that travel independently of their object do

not play smoothly.

➤

The Stamp effect will not work on the first keyframe of an effect.

➤

Certain 3D effects display highlights and shadows as black-and-white lines.

FilmScribe and EDL Manager

➤

When you change options in EDL Manager, save as a template, and reopen the template, the options might appear to be selected incorrectly.

The options are, in fact, set to your selection, but the user interface does not reflect them accurately.

Workaround:

Close the Options window and reopen it.

➤

On the Windows ME operating system, the scroll box that allows you to scroll up and down does not appear in the FilmScribe Cut

List tool or in EDL Manager.

This appears to be a user interface display problem only.

Workaround:

To scroll, click the bar where the scroll box should appear and drag the mouse.

➤

Error in FilmScribe Help.

In the Avid FilmScribe Help and in the Avid

FilmScribe User’s Guide, there is an error in the description of how to access a pop-up menu in a bin. The Help says that you must Ctrl+click the sequence in a bin on a Macintosh system. The correct key sequence is Ctrl+Shift+click.

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You can access the Help topic by clicking the following topics in the

Avid FilmScribe Help: Working with FilmScribe>Working with the

Cut List and Change List Tools>Getting Sequences>Using the

Sequences Menu. The note at the bottom of the page should read:

You can also open the Sequence menu as a pop-up menu in a bin. To do this, use the right mouse button to click the sequence (Windows) or Ctrl+Shift+click the sequence (Macintosh).

Hardware

➤

The 888 I/O

™

audio meters do not always display accurately. The meters could show a signal that is not present.

Help

➤

Some toolbar buttons in the Script window do not have context-sensitive Help.

Context-sensitive Help is not fully implemented for the toolbar buttons for the Script window. Information on the functions of all of the toolbar buttons is available in the “Using Script Integration” chapter in the Help system or in the editing guide for your Avid system.

Import and Export

➤

OMF cross-platform export of crawling titles causes blue background to appear.

If you export an unrendered crawling title from an Avid for Macintosh system to an Avid for Windows system (or vice versa), the color of the title text is changed and the title background is blue.

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Workaround:

Render the title before export, or re-create title media after import.

➤

There is a limit on the length of a sequence that can be exported as

MPEG-2.

This limit applies to exporting an MPEG-2 file as well as using the Create DVD command. For Macintosh, the limit is

30 minutes. For Windows 2000, the limit is 7.5 minutes.

Workaround:

Export the sequence as a QuickTime movie using either the Same As Source or QuickTime Reference movie format, and create the MPEG-2 file in Media Cleaner EZ.

➤

When you perform a Batch Import with QuickTime files, the

Current Settings button in the Batch Import dialog box shows the

OMFI tab instead of the Image tab.

Workaround:

Use the Import Settings dialog box in the Settings scroll list to set up the batch import. Then perform the batch import as usual.

➤

When you select “NTSC Has Setup” and “Use Windows Compatible

Filenames” in the General Settings dialog box and then change the sample rate and import audio, the Avid system creates a duplicate bin.

It is empty and has a size of 1K.

Delete the duplicate bin. If you try to use it, an error message appears.

If you rename it and try to use it, it remains a copy and you cannot have it open at the same time as the bin of which it is a duplicate.

➤

You cannot change the frame size or other settings when using an

Avid codec to export a QuickTime movie.

Avid codecs are designed to provide a fast export or import at the native frame size. (If necessary, you can change the resolution, but the export will take longer.) If you change the frame size or other setting and then use an Avid codec to export a QuickTime movie, you cannot

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do a fast export or import and the codec might issue the following error message, “Unable to export bin.”

Workaround:

Use a different codec. Alternatively, export the file by selecting the Same as Source option and change the setting in another application, such as Cleaner 5.

➤

The first file of an imported PICT sequence might be corrupt when you import the sequence to Media Composer on a Macintosh system.

This problem occurs when you import the sequence to

Media Composer on a Macintosh system.

Workaround:

If you experience this problem, import the sequence starting with the second file of the sequence.

➤

Several export options do not appear if QuickTime 5.0 Minimum installation was used on the Avid system.

The options that do not appear include those for exporting DV Stream, MPEG-1, MPEG-2,

QuickTime, and QuickTime reference. This problem happens only if you install QuickTime 5.0 on your system and select the Minimum installation option.

Note that the Avid software installer automatically installs

QuickTime 4.0 unless it detects a later version. If it detects a later version, it leaves the newer version intact and proceeds with the rest of the installation. QuickTime 5.0 is supported by this release but is not shipped with the release.

Workaround:

If you have QuickTime 5.0 installed on your system and you notice that the export options are missing, reinstall QuickTime 5.0 and choose the Recommended installation.

➤

When you import material, your file might be larger than the 2-GB limit for file size.

Workaround:

If the imported file is a sequence of files (such as a

TARGA

®

sequence), you can break the files into groups and import

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the groups. Once the groups are imported, you can make the imported clips a sequence or subsequence, which you can then edit into other sequences.

➤

You cannot create a DVD from a sequence with no audio tracks.

If you select a sequence with no audio tracks and choose Create DVD from the File menu, a message box appears telling you that your sequence needs at least one audio track. You cannot create a DVD from a sequence with no audio tracks.

Workaround:

Add an audio track to your sequence. The track does not need to contain any information but must be present for you to create a DVD.

➤

The Cleaner EZ software installer installs a DV codec that causes video tearing during export and import.

The Cleaner EZ software included with your Avid application installs a DV codec named RadDVCodec. If you export a file as a DV Stream and then reimport the file into the Avid system, the video will display tearing.

Workaround:

Remove the RadDVCodec file. Removing this file does not have any adverse effects on the Cleaner EZ application. Both

Cleaner EZ and the Avid application will use the QuickTime DV codec.

To remove the RadDVCodec file:

1. Navigate to Macintosh HD:System Folder:Extensions.

2. Delete the file RadDVCodec.

3. Restart the system.

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➤

You cannot change the frame size when using an Avid codec to export a QuickTime movie

.

Avid codecs are designed to provide a fast export or import at the native frame size. If you change the frame size and then use an Avid codec to export a QuickTime movie, you cannot do a fast export or import and the codec issues the following error message: “Unable to export bin. Exception: Parameter Error! This export format may require audio or video tracks.”

Workaround:

Use a different codec. Alternatively, export the file by selecting the Same as Source option and change the size in another application, such as Cleaner 5.

➤

Cleaner 5 displays error messages when using the Send To command with items already in the Batch window.

If Cleaner 5 already has a clip in its Batch window, and you use the

Send to Cleaner command from the Avid application to add another clip, Cleaner displays the following error messages:

• “Unable to open file; image format not recognized.”

• “Unable to make an alias to movie.”

This problem does not occur when you use Media Cleaner Pro

Version 4.0.2

Workaround:

Click OK to these error messages. The clip is added to the batch and can be processed successfully.

➤

The sequence loses audio sync when creating DVD files with an

AudioSuite effect and sample rate conversion.

If you want to create DVD files from a sequence that includes a rendered AudioSuite effect, and the audio sample rate of a sequence is different from the audio project setting, the automatic sample rate

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conversion does not work correctly. The processed file has a doubled audio track, one of which is delayed and creates an echo.

Workaround:

Do the sample rate conversion before you create the

DVD files.

➤

You cannot export a PAL film sequence that uses synced subclips as a QuickTime reference movie.

If you digitize video and audio separately into a PAL film (Method 2) project, create subclips with video and audio using autosync, and then create a sequence using the subclips, you might not be able to export the sequence as a QuickTime reference movie. In addition, you might not be able to export an individual synced subclip as a QuickTime reference movie.

Workaround:

You can export successfully if you do one of the following: t

Export video only or audio only.

t

Disable the audio tracks before export.

t

Mix down the audio tracks before export.

t

Select Premix Audio Tracks in the Export Settings dialog box before export.

➤

The Send to Cleaner command doesn’t appear in the Send To submenu of the File menu.

The Send to Cleaner command does not appear in the Send To submenu of the File menu when you are logged in to your system with a user name other than the user name used when you installed

Cleaner 5. The command appears correctly when you are logged in to your system using the same user name used when you installed

Cleaner 5.

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➤

Moving the target folder used when creating DVD volumes prevents further DVD export.

Under certain circumstances, moving the folder that is the target for a

DVD export prevents any further export from taking place. This happens when you create a new folder as the target for your DVD export by browsing to a new location during the Create DVD process and then use the Macintosh Finder

™

to move that folder to another location. The system displays an error message when you attempt to save to the folder again. You cannot save to that folder or to any other folder.

Workaround:

Create the target folder for your DVD exports outside of the Media Composer or Film Composer application before you begin the Create DVD process, and do not move the folder to another location until you have finished all DVD exports for the current

Media Composer or Film Composer session.

➤

Clip names longer than 32 characters are truncated when imported in a log file.

If you export a log file with clip names longer than 32 characters, and then reimport the log file, the system changes the clip names. Each reimported clip name consists of the first 32 characters of the original clip name followed by the tape name.

➤

Insufficient memory errors might occur if you attempt to play media after importing a QuickTime movie with a resolution different from the native file.

Workaround:

Exit and restart the application.

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➤

The system runs out of memory after importing moving mattes from

After Effects

®

.

If you attempt to import these files into Media Composer or

Film Composer without first quitting After Effects, you might run out of memory during the import.

Workaround:

Quit After Effects before importing.

➤

Avid ABVB NuVista Codec for QuickTime configuration doesn’t hold settings.

Do not use the Avid ABVB NuVista codec unless you are exporting to a system that uses AVR resolutions. If you need it, click anywhere in the Quality slider and then set things up as you want them in the resulting dialog box. When you save and export, the selections you made are remembered.

➤

Some unsupported file types might stall the system during import.

If you try to import an unsupported file type, such as an .aud file

(MPEG-2 audio file), QuickTime might take several minutes to analyze the file type. During this period, the system appears to be frozen. After several minutes a message appears, saying the file is not a supported format.

➤

An exported graphic at 1:1 resolution is creating corrupt media.

In an

NTSC project, load a 2:1 clip. Mark a one-frame duration, and export the frame at 1:1 resolution. Reimport the same graphic at any resolution, and you see either green and magenta artifacts or a black screen with an SFCONS_VIDEO_TIMEOUT error.

➤

The padding for sequential PICT files is wrong.

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➤

When you export an OMFI graphic to a drive with insufficient disk space, the system freezes.

Workaround:

Export to a drive with adequate storage space.

➤

Batch importing a duplicate of a master clip causes the original master clip to be offline.

Workaround:

Unlink the duplicate before batch importing it.

➤

When you export a file larger than 2 GB, a system error occurs.

Workaround:

Ensure that the file you are exporting does not exceed the 2-GB limit. If the error occurs during a video mixdown, try to mix down in smaller segments.

➤

Audio fades are not extracted from OMFI when pan/vol is on the clip.

When you import this OMFI file into another system, the dissolve will be unrendered.

Workaround:

You might want to perform an audio mixdown of the clip before exporting.

➤

The position indicator will not be used if you export by pressing the

Option key and using the drag-and-drop method.

Option+drag does not use the position indicator and will always use mark IN and mark

OUT, even if Use Marks is disabled.

➤

Media Composer and Film Composer do not support QDesign

Music audio.

If you try to import audio formatted with the QDesign

Music codec, QuickTime crashes.

Workaround:

Choose Import Video Only, or cancel the import.

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➤

If you import an OMFI composition with video media and change the resolution on import, you might encounter problems if you delete the media clip and then attempt to reimport the file to the same bin.

If you attempt to reimport the same file to the same bin (or to a different bin while the first bin is open), the system imports the composition but not the media.

Workaround:

Close the bin, open another bin, and import the file to the new bin. You can also try quitting and restarting the Avid application and then reimporting the file.

➤

If you set Autodetect Sequential Files to ON in the Import Settings dialog box, folders ending in digits larger than 1 will not appear in the Select Files to Import dialog box.

Workaround:

Set Autodetect Sequential Files to OFF in the Import

Settings dialog box, or rename folders so they do not end in digits larger than 1.

Installation

➤

Some installer log files (such as MC.app.log) are too large to be opened by the SimpleText editing application.

SimpleText cannot open a file larger than 32K.

Workaround:

Open the file in another text editor, such as the

BBEdit Lite or TexEdit.

MediaLog

➤

On the Windows ME operating system, the Shuttle Control box that allows you to shuttle the deck does not appear in the Logging Tool window.

This appears to be a user interface display problem only.

Workaround:

To shuttle the deck, click the bar where the Shuttle

Control box should appear and drag the mouse.

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Monitors

➤

You cannot change the monitor resolution while Media Composer or

Film Composer is running.

Workaround:

Quit the Media Composer or Film Composer application before changing the monitor resolutions.

Multicamera Editing

➤

Entering Multicamera edit mode can take a long time when the sequence contains many edits.

The amount of time it takes to enter Multicamera edit mode is directly proportional to the number of edits you have in the sequence being edited. For example, a sequence with 3000 edits takes approximately

15 seconds.

➤

When a multicamera group clip is loaded in the Source monitor, and the Source monitor is partially obscured (by a bin or other window), the Source monitor and Client monitor display a single frame instead of the grouped frames.

Workaround:

Remove the window that is covering the Source monitor and click the Source monitor. Both the Source monitor and Client monitor display the grouped frames.

➤

Playing a sequence that includes real-time motion effects in

MultiCamera mode results in an error.

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Output

➤

Audio tracks do not appear in the Digital Cut tool after you use the

Autoconfigure command to configure an audio only deck.

Workaround:

Manually configure the deck using the Deck

Configuration settings, or close and reopen the project. Either of these actions will cause the audio tracks to appear in the Digital Cut tool.

➤

Preset buttons for video control sliders in the Video Input or Video

Output tool might not be highlighted (green) when you open the

Video Input or Video Output tool for the first time.

When you open the Video Input or Video Output tool for the first time, or open the Video Input or Video Output tool after creating a new project and new user, the Preset buttons for the video control sliders might not be highlighted as they should be.

Workaround:

Click an individual Preset button to highlight it.

➤

Timecode drifts slightly when outputting simultaneous timecode.

A limitation in the way the system calculates timecode rates results in a slight drifting of timecode values when you output drop-frame and non-drop-frame timecode simultaneously. For a sequence 1 hour long, the two sets of timecode drift apart by approximately one-quarter of one frame. The problem is relatively more noticeable in 24-fps output than in 29.97-fps or 23.976-fps output.

➤

The Digital Cut tool does not remember window position.

When you perform an archive to tape, the Digital Cut tool automatically moves to the upper left corner so that it can’t overlap the

Record monitor in the Composer window.

Workaround:

When the archive to tape is complete, move the Digital

Cut tool back to the position where you want it.

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Play

➤

Playing media with an Avid Unity Fibre Channel controller installed but not connected causes errors.

Workaround:

Choose one of the following: t

Connect the controller to an Avid Unity system.

t

Install a fiber-optic cable connecting one port of the controller card to the other (a loopback cable) until the controller can be connected.

t

Remove the controller until it can be connected.

➤

When you play a clip in a bin, the clip flickers to black before starting to play.

If you set a bin to Frame view or Script view, select a clip, and click Play, the clip displays black briefly before it starts to play.

➤

Playback from a bin is not smooth when the bin is displayed in the

Bin monitor.

If a bin is displayed in the Bin monitor, and you set a bin to Frame view or Script view and play a clip, the clip does not play smoothly.

➤

Video and audio underrun errors might occur when playing a sequence with the Scroll While Playing option set.

The more information that the system has to scroll (larger Timelines) increases the chances that the system will not respond to a video or audio request.

Workaround:

Deselect the Scroll While Playing option in the Timeline

Settings dialog box. This option is deselected by default.

➤

The monitor displaying the Source and Record monitors and

Timeline might not refresh quickly

.

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StorEx

➤

StorEx might hang if you open it after starting and quitting

Media Composer or Film Composer.

Workaround:

Reboot your system and open StorEx before starting

Media Composer or Film Composer.

System

➤

When you restart Media Composer or Film Composer after previous use with a MIDI controller and a USB floppy drive, an “already enabled” OMS message appears.

Workaround:

When you use a MIDI controller and a USB floppy drive, and then you exit Media Composer or Film Composer, restart the Macintosh system before restarting Media Composer or

Film Composer.

➤

If you receive the following message when starting the Avid system, the Avid application will not start: “Exception occurred while initializing Media Stream Manager, exception: MSM no directory specified.”

Workaround:

You need to delete two files as follows.

1. Locate the Avid application folder and open it.

2. Double-click the SupportingFiles folder

3. Double-click the Avid_MediaFiles folder.

4. Select the msmFMID.pmr and the msmMMOB.mdb files, and then press the Delete key.

5. Restart the Avid application.

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➤

The 3D diagnostic tests fail on Macintosh systems with the

Meridien I board set.

The 3D diagnostic tests fail on Macintosh 9600, G3, and G4 systems that use the Meridien I board set with 3D. Although video looks correct, the diagnostic tests report checksum errors. This does not mean that there is a problem with the 3D hardware, only that the diagnostic tests do not function correctly.

Timeline

➤

When you start to play on a stamped keyframe, a purple flash appears on the odd field.

If the position indicator is on a stamped keyframe, when you click the Play button, the odd field plays as purple. If you move the position indicator off the stamped keyframe and play, no purple appears.

Titles

➤

If you move an existing project and title from an earlier version of

Media Composer (Release 8.1.3) to this version, a VDM error occurs when you open the title.

Workaround:

In the Record monitor, open the sequence with the title in it. Place IN and OUT points at the beginning and end of the title clip, and then choose Re-create Title Media from the Clip menu.

➤

Adding a Defocus effect to a title results in blocky artifacts.

This problem occurs under the following circumstances:

1. Open a title in the Effect Editor and promote it to 3D.

2. In the Defocus pane, choose Key Only or FG & Key, and adjust the sliders to blur the key.

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The title blurs, but the graphic channel beneath comes through as a blocky outline.

Workaround:

Replace the graphic channel with a solid-color graphics image.

➤

If you start to play from a point within a rolling title that contains keyframes, you might receive a Rolling Title Underrun error message.

Workaround:

Start play before the rolling title or remove the keyframes in the title.

➤

When you import a Photoshop

®

.psd title file, you receive an

Exception: No Error message.

The file does not import.

Workaround:

Save the Photoshop file as a PICT file when saving and exporting from the Photoshop application.

➤

Editing or saving a large, multipage file can take a few minutes.

➤

Playing a long, complicated, rolling title can cause an exception error.

Workaround:

Try reducing the complexity of the rolling title.

➤

You cannot revise a title after exporting it as OMFI Version 1 or 2.

➤

In the Effect Editor, if the Acceleration parameter is set to 100 (fast), dragging the scroll bar through the Timeline over a keyframe might cause an error message.

Workaround:

Avid does not recommend setting acceleration for rolling titles or other DSK titles with vertical motion, due to anti-aliasing effects that cause flicker.

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➤

When you import an OMFI Version 2.0 file with rolling titles, the icons for the rolling titles are blank

.

➤

Some italic text in titles can become truncated.

Workaround:

Click the Right, Left, or Center Justification buttons to eliminate truncation of text. You might have to create several text blocks to resolve this problem with multiple lines of text in your titles.

➤

Some 3D titles might not crop properly.

The first letter of the title might be clipped.

Workaround:

Open the left crop bar and adjust until the first letter is no longer clipped.

➤

Mixing different fonts, different sizes, and different styles might realign the vertical placement of a title.

➤

When you play a sequence with several rolling titles close together, you might see an error message.

Workaround:

Render the rolling titles, or try moving the titles further away from each other.

Utilities

➤

Media Composer and Film Composer do not support

MSM media

when you use OMF utilities from Media Composer or

Film Composer Release 7.1.

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Workgroups

➤

A Macintosh client on an Avid Unity MediaNet system might not recognize an ALE file that was created on a Windows NT

®

or

Windows 2000 client.

For example, if you export a group of clips in a bin as an ALE file from a Windows NT client onto an Avid Unity

MediaNet workspace and then try to import the same file into a

Macintosh client, the system might display the following error message, “the file format of 'filename.ale' is not supported for import.”

Workaround:

This happens because the Avid Unity file system does not save the resource fork information associated with the file. To fix the problem with the file:

1. Copy the file from the Windows NT client to a network drive not connected to Avid Unity.

2. Copy the file to the Macintosh client and perform the import as usual.

➤

QuickTime reference movies with added filler might not be shared correctly on an Avid Unity MediaNet.

This can happen if you use the

Add Filler or Load Filler commands to add filler to a sequence and then export the sequence as a QuickTime reference movie. The

QuickTime reference movie points to the filler data on the local drive, which prevents the movie from being encoded with Avid

ProEncode

™

.

Workaround:

On Windows 2000 systems, enable sharing for the folder that contains the filler.

Workaround:

On Macintosh and Windows NT systems, create a filler file (using Adobe

®

Photoshop or another application), copy it to an

Avid Unity workspace, import it as a clip, and use it for filler. In this case, you cannot use the Add Filler or Load Filler features.

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➤

When you use a Macintosh system on Avid Unity MediaNet, the name of a bin cannot exceed 27 characters.

If you enter a name longer than 27 characters, the system displays the following error message,

“Mac Error -37 (there may be no bad names in the final system!)”.

➤

A system that is not a workgroup client might see media on a workspace drive that was not created by that system.

If you mount a workspace drive on a system that is not a workgroup client, you can then create media on the system and store it on the workspace drive. In this circumstance, the Media tool might display media on the workspace drive that was created by the workgroup clients as well as media created by the current system.

For more information on limitations when mixing workgroup and non-workgroup systems and storage, see the Avid Unity MediaManager

Release Notes.

➤

Invisible Macintosh directories appear as folders in the Project window.

When you share a folder using Macintosh file sharing, the Macintosh system creates invisible directories called “Network Trash Folder” and

“NetworkInfoSettings.” If you use file sharing to share one of your

Avid project folders, and then open that project in your Avid application, the invisible directories appear as folders in the Select

User and Project dialog box and in the Project window. You should not use these folders to store any Avid files since you will be unable to access them from the Macintosh Finder. Do not rename the folders or place Avid bins inside them.

➤

Projects might not close correctly if a bin has been opened over the network and a network error occurs.

If you open a bin on another system and modify its contents, and then a network error occurs where you can no longer access that bin file on

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