REVIEW - AVeL LinkPlayer 2 (Part 1)

-FOR CONSUMERS/PRODUCERS- When we first received our AVeL LinkPlayer 2 from IO-DATA a couple of weeks ago, the plan was to wait on an important firmware update before posting our review. Unfortunately, that major firmware update was delayed, and IO-DATA released an incremental firmware update instead. Thus, we decided to split our review in two parts. In Part 1 we will review the unit as of the December 29th firmware, and in Part 2 we will update our review to include additional features and bug fixes addressed by the next firmware update (expected by the end of January, 2005).

WHAT IS IT? - The AVeL LinkPLayer 2 is the first DVD player compatible with HD file formats such as Windows Media Video HD and DivxHD. In addition, it is a full featured network media player.

PACKAGING & BUILD QUALITY - 5/5
The AVeL LinkPlayer 2 comes in retail quality packaging, complete with English manuals, an easy setup guide, and an installation CD. It includes a standard A/V cable, power cable, Ethernet cable, remote control, and a D4-component cable. The build quality of the LinkPlayer is impressive; the unit feels solid and is relatively heavy, especially when compared to most of the DVD players on the market. Four raised round feet allow placement on top of another device without causing ventilation problems. The DVD mechanism opens and closes smoothly and is extremely sturdy.

CONNECTIVITY - 2/5
The LinkPlayer lacks any type of DVI or HDMI port, which is pretty inexcusable in this day and age. Furthermore, the included D4 to component cable is too short to be of any use, so we were forced to use RCA couplers and our own component cable to reach our display. On the plus side it does have a USB port so you can plug in your digital camera, memory card reader, or even an external hard drive.

INSTALLATION AND SETUP - 5/5
A consumer electronics device should be 100% plug-n-play, and the LinkPlayer is no exception. The LinkPlayer works with or without the "LinkServer" software, so it can be used with or without a computer. Operating the LinkPlayer without a computer only consists of plugging in the power and A/V cables, powering on the unit, and picking the video mode appropriate for your TV (480i/480p/720p/1080i) using the "TV Mode" button on the remote (this is clearly indicated in the easy setup guide). IO-DATA went with 1080i as the default video mode, which was extremely smart given that most people will be buying this player with their HDTVs.

The remaining setup steps are just like any other DVD player, you choose the aspect ratio of your TV and choose the output of the digital audio out ports (either Dolby Digital or Stereo). The unit does not have a built in Dolby Digital decoder, so you will need an AV receiver to hear 5.1 surround.

The LinkServer software was equally simple to install. Just pop in the CD, accept all the defaults, and you are done. If you have a router, just plug the LinkPlayer into the router and it automatically picks up an IP address and recognizes any computer on the network running the LinkServer software. By default the LinkServer software will look for media files in the "standard" folders ("My Music", "My Pictures", and "My Videos"), but it is trivial to change the default folders and add additional "watch folders" as well.

Finally, updating the firmware on the LinkPlayer is about as easy as you could expect; simply click "firmware update" in the setup screen, and it automatically looks for new firmware over the Internet and installs it. In fact, I would say this is the first consumer electronics device that allows firmware updates by even the most novice of users. The only catch is that the LinkPlayer must be connected to your home network (and thus to the Internet) for the firmware update feature to work.

FEATURES - 4/5

The LinkPlayer is as close to a HTPC (Home Theater PC) replacement as we have ever seen. It plays nearly every audio and video format you can think of, including many you probably have never heard of. Video formats include MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, DivX, XviD, and WM9, among others. Audio formats include MP3, AAC, WMA, PCM, and Ogg Vorbis. Photo formats include JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PNG. Note that these are all without the aid of a PC, they can be played from a DVD+R or DVD-R data disc!

Of course the most important feature is the ability to read and playback HD files smoothly (720p or 1080i), even from a DVD. We are happy to report it does this with flying colors. We had no problem with playing back Windows Media 9 HD (WMVHD), DivxHD, and MPEG2 HD files at bitrates up to 10Mbps, 5Mbps, and 20Mbps respectively. Playback from DVD, even at 20Mbps, was smooth as butter.

Unfortunately, if you are looking at buying commercial WMVHD DVD's, such as the popular IMAX series available at Amazom.com, hold your horses. These DVDs include DRM (a copy protection scheme) and Windows Media 9 Professional Audio (5.1 audio), both of which the LinkPlayer does not yet support. IO-Data indicates these features are being added in the next firmware release expected in January.

In any case, as a standalone DVD player, the LinkPlayer is unmatched. No other DVD player can playback HD files, period. Furthermore, very few DVD players can even recognize half the file formats the LinkPlayer supports.

Of course, the LinkPlayer is also a network media player, which means you can play media files stored on your computer via the LinkPlayer, in effect turning the LinkPlayer into a conduit between your computer and your TV. It will even recognize your Windows Media Player or iTunes music database (we only tried Windows Media Player), and list music by genre, artist, or album.

The LinkPlayer is flexible as well. If you don't like the interface and/or features provided by the default LinkServer software, use the server software provided by Momitsu instead (http://www.momitsu.com/dvd_880n_mmc.html). This adds features to the LinkPlayer such as basic web browsing, Internet Radio, RSS news, and a better interface. Since the server software is basically just a glorified web server, expect to see various 3rd party incantations of the server software over time.

Finally, for the advanced user, there is an additional piece of software appropriately named "Advanced Server". The key feature added by "Advanced Server" is the ability to playback file types incompatible with the LinkPlayer. For example, we have .m2t files (MPEG2 Transport Streams) from our JVC HD10U HDV camcorder. Although the LinkPlayer can playback some .m2t files natively, it has problems with the files that come from our camera. With the Advanced Server, it will "transcode" these files in realtime into an MPEG2 format compatible with the LinkPlayer, and voila, the file magically starts playing. In essence, almost any file you can play through Windows Media Player can be played via the Advanced Link Server. The only caveat is that the quality may drop considerably, simply because of the bitrate limitations of the transcoding software (8 Mbps). This feature is especially important for people who work with HDV professionally, because with the Advanced Server the LinkPlayer can playback both Cineform .AVI's and .M2T files.

PERFORMANCE - 3/5
Unfortunately the HD component output of the LinkPlayer can best be described as soft. SD and upconverted material looks great, and while native HD material doesn't look bad by any stretch of the imagination, it just doesn't have that HD "ultra-real" look. The reason for this is unclear, but the initial consensus is that the included D4 cable may be to blame. As such, we have ordered a replacement D4 cable from JVC (http://www.jvcservice.com/store/ProductDetail.asp?Part=QAM0465-001), and when that arrives we will do A/B comparisons between the old and new cables.

To further explore this issue, we did a quick test with a couple of WMVHD files. We would switch between 480p and 720p output on the LinkPlayer with the same file, and then ask people in the room which one looked "better". The result was that nobody could tell the difference (ourselves included). Then, I stood about 4 feet from the screen (where the difference between HD and SD should be obvious), and switched back and forth between the different output modes. Again, I couldn't tell the difference. Mind you, this is on a very nice HD projector (Sanyo PLV-70) on a 100" screen, and HD on this setup typically looks pristine. So the question is, is the 480p output on the LinkPlayer (along with the PLV-70's scaler) just that good, or is the 720p output on the LinkPlayer just that bad?

Another performance related issue is the excessive "overscan" of the outputs on the LinkPlayer. We are accustomed to perfect geometry and screen alignment with HD devices (such as HD Receivers, progressive DVD players, etc.), but the LinkPlayer produced an image that was "too big" for the screen, even at 720p (the native resolution of our projector).

Finally, there are known audio issues with certain A/V receivers, although we were not able to confirm these problems. IO-DATA claims these issues will be resolved in the next firmware release.

Having said all of that, compared to 99% of the DVD players on the market, the picture from the LinkPlayer is outstanding. It produces a great SD and upconverted picture. It is just unfortunate that the HD output isn't as nice as we had expected, and hopefully that will be resolved by switching out the cable.

VALUE - 5/5
At a street price of $250.00, the LinkPlayer is a steal. Sure, you can get a DVD player for $50, but keep in mind this is the first player of its kind on the market. A market entry price of $250 is insanely low, in my opinion. By comparison, the Kiss unit coming out in the Summer of 2005, based on the same Sigma chip, is already listed at $350.00 for pre-order. Also, other players on the market (such as players from Momitsu and V. Inc.) that simply upconvert from 480p to 720p, are in the same price range as the LinkPlayer.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
The remote control that comes with the LinkPlayer is weak to say the least. It has a very short range, and you must point it directly at the IR pickup to get it to work at all. Most people with HD systems likely have universal remotes that will quickly replace the LinkPlayer's remote, but in any case we had to mention the included remote is pretty bad.

OVERALL - 3.5/5
Feature-wise the LinkPlayer is unmatched among DVD players and network media players, and most likely it will play every type and resolution of file you throw at it. Furthermore, it is your ONLY choice for playing back native HD material without the aid of a computer. However, the performance issues really knocked the score down. I want to stress that if the "retail" WMVHD issues and the HD performance issues can be resolved, then this score becomes at least a 4.5/5. Overall it is a great piece of equipment, and well worth $250.00.

Please visit us again for Part 2 of this review, where we will see if firmware updates and a new cable resolve some of the negative issues covered in Part 1.

by Ben Buie -Read Full Article-

HDSource in Your Language

-FOR EVERYONE- Due to the large number of Japanese and German visitors to the site, we have added Altavista's Babelfish translation to HDSource. Look for the Babelfish translator icon at the bottom-right-hand corner of the site, click on your country's flag, and the page will be translated for you automatically.

Regards,

Ben Buie, Editor in Chief
HDSource


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I-O DATA's AVEL LinkPlayer 2 - The Eagle has Landed

-FOR CONSUMERS/PRODUCERS- Our new toy arrived last week -- a brand spankin' new Avel Linkplayer 2 courtesy of IO-DATA. This is the first HD capable DVD player available in North America, which is great news for both consumers and producers. It is compatible with all the major HD formats, including WMVHD (Windows Media) and DivX HD. Producers finally have a low cost distribution outlet for their HD content (as opposed to HDTV and theaters), and consumers can finally playback HD content without a HTPC (Home Theater PC).

We will be spending a substantial amount of time reviewing this unit, really putting it through its paces. However, we will hold off on our full review at least until the next firmware upgrade (1st of the year), because we want our review to represent the full capabilities of this device.

Happy Holidays, Santa's already been here.

by Ben Buie -Read Full Article-

HD on DVD - Red vs. Blue

-FOR CONSUMERS/PRODUCERS- There is much talk of the two competing next generation DVD formats, BluRay vs. HD-DVD. Both are "blue-laser" based formats, with BluRay holding much more data on a single disc. With Sony behind BluRay, the just announced endorsement from Disney, as well as support from 60% of the movie studios, I think that ship has sailed. The more interesting argument to me is: have we really maximized the potential of current "red-laser" DVD's?

Compression technology is improving every day, and there is no reason we shouldn't be squeezing every bit of data we can onto red-laser DVD's. Windows Media 9 HD and DivX HD have been around for well over a year, and they squeeze HD video down to sizes smaller than standard definition MPEG2 (DVD Video). Look at MP3-CD's, for example. People are putting hundreds of songs on regular CD's using the MP3 format, and they didn't wait around for someone to re-invent the CD. The manufacturer's got the idea and started building MP3 playback capability into their CD players. So, what comes first, the chicken or the egg?

Let's face it, when these blue-laser DVD's become readily available (probably a year from now at best), we aren't talking cheap technology. You can bet the players will be expensive, and more importantly the burners, content, and media is going to be really expensive. Keep in mind Sony has a hand in the tape backup and storage business, and if they make BluRay players, burners, and media too cheap they could stand to undercut their storage business seriously. True, the potential for a single optical disc holding 25GB per side is astounding, but it will come at a premium. Thus, we could be looking at 2 to 3 years before BluRay (or HD-DVD) is affordable.

Contrast that with the current red-laser DVD situation. Producers can use the same exact burners and media, the encoding software is free, and players will start at less than $300.00. Will an 8Mbps Windows Media HD file look as nice as a 19Mbps HD MPEG2 file? Not necessarily, but the difference in quality is not "bad vs. good", it is more like "really good vs. great". Keep in mind this is with compression technology that is over a year old, so it will only get better.

The problem is that everyone is caught in the blue headlights. Manufacturers are worried about creating products that could be made obsolete by BluRay. For example, V Inc. announced a Windows Media HD capable player a year ago, and it never materialized. Producers are worried that the new HD compression formats don't do justice to HD, even though the formats blow the pants off of the standard definition video they currently deliver on DVD. Consumers don't know what to think. Finally, the movie studios are worried of the potential dangers in backing compression formats that allow their films to be delivered in HD quality at such small file sizes.

If consumers, producers, and manufacturers really start to get behind these new compression formats we could see several HD-capable DVD players in six months or less. The technology already exists, and there is already one player compatible with both Windows Media HD and DivX HD available in the USA (we are reviewing it next week).

Why can't the technologies co-exist? If nothing else HD playback capability on red-laser DVDs could be a low-cost alternative to BluRay DVD players for at least another 5 years.

Look, nobody is saying BluRay won't be great. I'm just not excited about waiting ANOTHER 2 to 3 years for HD DVD's.

by Ben Buie -Read Full Article-

Building an HDV Editing Rig

-FOR PRODUCERS- In our business there is nothing worse than a computer that can't keep up with you (or won't hold all of your data), and so we recently went about the process of building a new HDV editing workstation from the ground up. Our previous rig was VERY modest by industry standards, namely an Athlon XP 2000+; ok, let's be honest, it was just plain slow. As such, this was a welcome upgrade.

Our goals were to achieve true full-framerate editing performance in Vegas at "preview" quality, and to cut our rendering times in half. A secondary goal was to allow for a simple yet cheap upgrade path 6 - 12 months down the road. Finally, we wanted to stay under $750.

The first question was whether to buy or build. Being an IT Consultant in my other life, I know the headaches that can be caused by "home-brew" PC's. However, for specialized applications like video editing it is hard to get the exact mix of components you need from an OEM computer, aside from spending a ton of cash. Thus, we decided to build our own.

The components involved in building your own editing workstation include:

-Case
-Power Supply
-Motherboard
-CPU
-Case Fans
-Memory
-Storage
-Video Card
-DVD Burner
-Other

CASE -- You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a decent case ($30 - $50). The key requirement for video editing is the number of internal drive bays, the more the merrier.

POWER SUPPLY -- This is VERY important, maybe the most important and overlooked component in your entire system. Most home-made PC's suffer from inadequate power (usually the power supply that came with the case), which results in random instability. Our personal suggestion is the Antec TruePower True430 ($100 street) or higher. Not only does it provide stable power at full load, but it also regulates the fans in your system so your rig becomes whisper quiet.

MOTHERBOARD -- Choosing a motherboard is the hardest part of building your computer because the remainder of your components will be largely dictated by your motherboard. Be aware that some of the newest Intel motherboards (925X, 925EX, etc.) require brand new memory, video cards, etc. Thus, we needed a "hybrid" motherboard, one that supports the new socket LGA775 CPU's, but that still supports dual channel DDR memory and AGP 8x video cards. That allowed us to re-use our memory (1 GB DDR266) and video card (ATI Radeon 9200SE, dual-head) from our old computer. Supporting the socket LGA775 CPU's was very important to us because it allows us to perform a "drop-in" CPU upgrade 6 to 12 months down the road (up to 3.8 GHZ). We also wanted built-in Gigabit ethernet and SATA. We already had a cheap firewire card, and decided to wait on RAID, so those features were not important to us. Our final requirement was that the motherboard had to be from a proven company with a USA website, free downloadable drivers and upgrades, and on-line support. Thus, we settled on the Gigabyte GA-8IPE775-G ($90 street).

CPU -- The Intel vs AMD wars aside, it is hard to ignore the fact that a lot of new video editing software is optimized for the Pentium IV. Benchmarks pretty much show that while AMD CPU's are indeed faster for a large number of applications, Intel still maintains a sizeable lead in the content creation and rendering benchmarks (at equivalent price levels). Thus, we went with the new socket LGA775 Intel Pentium 4 530, 3.0 GHZ. We highly recommend getting the retail box version ($180 street), especially for this processor. The retail box version comes with a huge "orb" heatsink and fan, along with a thermal strip, and anything short of this will burn up your CPU fast.

CASE FANS -- It is wise to add a couple of case fans to your system. The new high capacity, high speed hard-drives run very hot, so we suggest putting one or two fans at the front of the case blowing inward over the hard-drives. Then have at least one fan on the back blowing air out of the case. If you went with the power supply we suggested above, your system will still run quiet, even with all of these fans.

MEMORY -- The key here is dual channel, and then as fast as you can afford. Although we have relatively slow memory (DDR266), we use two 512MB modules in a dual channel configuration, which means the memory bandwidth is still plenty fast. The new DDR400 memory would have been great, but two 512MB DDR266 modules in a dual channel configuration is actually faster than one 1GB DDR400 module (which has to run single-channel). Of course, we already had two 512MB modules on hand, which made the decision a lot easier.

STORAGE -- The speed and size of the boot-drive is not terribly important, but the speed and size of the video drive is critical. We already had a 160GB IDE drive to use for a boot-drive, so we focused on buying a new video drive. Maxtor has a new 250GB SATA DiamondMax 10 series with a 16MB buffer (6B250S0 OEM, $180 street), which consistently tests as the fastest 7200RPM drive on the market. Later on we plan on buying a PCI RAID card and adding a 2nd Maxtor for a 500GB RAID 0 configuration, but for now the average and burst data rates (55MB/s and 135MB/s respectively) of the single Maxtor was fast enough for us. The drive also supports the new features of "SATA 2", including Native Command Queuing, so this drive has a lot of performance headroom. Finally, we have an existing Maxtor One Touch 250GB external firewire drive that works great for archiving and backup.

VIDEO CARD -- This is where you can save your money. A decent AGP 8x video card with 128MB of memory and dual-display capability is all that is required. We already had an ATI Radeon 9200SE card that works just fine, so we decided to stick with that.

DVD BURNER -- There are some great new 16x dual-format, dual-layer DVD burners available for cheap, but alas that wasn't in our upgrade budget. Thus, we re-used our Lite-On 4x DVD+R burner, not the greatest thing in the world, but it gets the job done.

OTHER -- We opted for a motherboard without built-in firewire, so we popped in an inexpensive 3-port firewire card. We also wanted the capability to capture low-quality analog video (from VCR or TV, for example), so we re-used our old AverTV card.

CONCLUSION

After a couple of days of building the computer, re-installing software, and moving files, we were finally ready to edit again. Here are the results:

1) Cineform .avi playback -- On our Athlon XP 2000+ machine we could not playback Cineform files in windows media player without stuttering, the only way we could play them back was from within Vegas in a small window. On our new workstation Cineform files played back with ease, only taking up 30% of the CPU cycles at full screen.

2) Vegas editing -- We were excited to see consistent 29.97 fps playback in the preview window within Vegas, even with huge projects. This is with the preview window set to "preview-auto" and at half size (640x360), plenty big enough to work with. This was not possible on our old machine, even with a tiny window (we were lucky to get 10 fps on most projects).

3) Rendering speed -- The easiest way to measure this is with VirtualDub. Our chroma-noise removal pass in VirtualDub used to run at no higher than 4.0 fps. Now we consistently get between 7.0 and 8.0 fps, satisfying our requirement to cut rendering times in half.

In the end we are extremely pleased with our upgrade, and we only had to spend roughly $600.00. Of course, we had the advantage of re-using some existing components, but I'm sure most people will be in the same situation.

by Ben Buie -Read Full Article-

HDV Editing Workflow on the PC

-FOR PRODUCERS- We've been working with JVC's flavor of the HDV format (720/30p) for about a year now, and in the beginning the prospect of editing HDV was murky at best. As a service to the HDV community, we thought it would be extremely helpful to share the editing workflow we have developed over the course of the past year.

HARDWARE

First, lets review our editing workstation's specs:

Pentium IV 3.0 GHZ, 800MHZ FSB
1 GB RAM, Dual Channel DDR266
160GB IDE Boot Drive
250GB SATA Video Drive (16 MB Buffer)
250GB External Firewire Drive (for Archiving/Backup)
Windows XP Professional SP1
ATI Radeon 9200SE 128MB Dual-Head Video Card
(2) 19" CRT Monitors

Please note that this workstation is the result of a recent upgrade, for the majority of the past year we have been editing on an AMD Athlon XP 2000+, which shows that even a modest PC can be used to edit HDV using our workflow (albeit slowly).

SOFTWARE

The foundation of our workflow is Sony Vegas, and the cornerstone is Cineform ConnectHD. This killer combo provides, in our opinion, the most bang for your HDV editing buck. The secret to ConnectHD is that it converts the MPEG2 files from the camera into CFHD .avi files. Why is this necessary, you may ask? Because editing MPEG2 files at HD resolutions is sloooow, and MPEG2 doesn't hold up to multi-generation editing well at all. Cineform's CFHD is a dream codec - it is lossless, has modest bandwidth requirements (variable bit-rate, 40Mbps - 70Mbps), and requires a relatively modest amount of CPU power to encode/decode. Furthermore, because of its high bitrate overhead (50Mbps vs 19Mbps for the source files) and intraframe compression (each frame stands alone), the same file can be encoded over and over with no generation loss. This last attribute is essential to our workflow, as you will soon find out.

WORKFLOW

1) Capture the footage -- We use HDLink (the capture and conversion program included with ConnectHD) to capture the .M2T files from the JVC HD10U. We suggest capturing the .M2T files first, and then doing the conversion to the CFHD .avi format later.

2) Review and log the .M2T files -- Windows Media Player can play the .M2T files without any trouble, so you can log and rename the files rather quickly. Then delete or set aside the bad takes.

3) Convert to CFHD -- Use HDLink to convert only the good takes to Cineform's CFHD .avi format. This will save you disk space and time. Cineform suggests using the "medium" setting for the conversion, and we concur. We did several in-house tests of "medium" vs. "large", and the results were nearly identical. However, the "large" files are HDCAM size, which creates a bandwidth and storage problem for most editing workstations.

4) Create Vegas Projects -- Make sure your Vegas project is set at 1280x720, progressive scan, square pixel, 48khz sample rate. Also, do yourself a favor, split your project up into easily digestible pieces. We have found that 20-minute projects work well (3 projects for an hour show, 6 projects for a 2 hour show). Not only does this give you more manageable timelines, but it also helps you creatively as well. Finally, set the "Dynamic RAM Preview" to 0, unless you plan on using that feature. This feature does not improve performance at all, and actually can hinder performance by taking memory away from Vegas and the rest of the computer.

5) Start Editing in Vegas -- During your first pass concentrate on laying the clips on the timeline, using simple cross-fades, and getting everything in the right place. Don't bog down the project with effects and filters yet. Set the preview window to "Preview - Auto", and use a half or quarter-size window. You should be able to maintain realtime performance throughout the entire first pass this way.

6) Apply Filters and Effects -- When possible we suggest applying filters and effects to the source files, and then rendering out "fixed" versions of those source files to be used in your projects. For example, say you have a file called "source.avi" that needs color correction. This source file is referenced several times throughout your project. Simply create a new temporary project with only "source.avi" on the timeline. Apply the correction, and then render the entire timeline to "source-fixed.avi" using the Cineform codec**. There is no need to save the temporary project unless you need to modify the correction later on. Then use the "replace media" function in the media pool to replace all instances of "source.avi" with "source-fixed.avi" in your project. This is where the CFHD format's resistance to generation loss comes in really handy.

7) Render -- Apply any effects you couldn't accomplish via #6, and then render each project using the Cineform codec. Review the renders and make changes if necessary. Once you are satisfied with the individual pieces, create a new MASTER project and stitch the rendered pieces together on the timeline. Render the MASTER project to your "final" Cineform .avi.

8) Chroma-Noise Removal -- We run our "final" Cineform .avi through VirtualDub for chroma-noise removal. We use the chroma-noise removal plugin (http://www.ifrance.com/freevcr/virtualdub/cnr-en.html) along with the Temporal Smoother set to 2. Set the compression to Cineform, click "Save As", and wait for it to render. On our new editing workstation it renders at about 7 fps. The result is your HD "MASTER".

9) Render Distribution Files -- Your HD Master can be fed into any encoding application that works with .avi's and can handle HD input resolutions. Your options are pretty limitless here: DVD, Windows Media 9, DivX, Quicktime, or even back to MPEG2-TS. Note that if someone wants to purchase your HD content for use in their HD projects that both Cineform (Windows only) and MPEG2-TS are viable options. If you choose Cineform, make sure to include the demo-version of ConnectHD (or tell them where to get it), which will allow them to decode your files and use them in their editing program. If you choose MPEG2-TS, you may want to change the extension to .MPG, as some editing programs will ignore files with the .M2T extension.

10) Cleanup and Archive -- At this point you can likely trash all of the .M2T files (assuming you have the source tapes for backup) as well as any .avi files you didn't end up using. Archive the remaining .avi files, the Vegas projects, the Master, and any other media files used in the project.

SUMMARY

Again, I have to re-iterate the importance of Cineform's multi-generation performance with respect to our workflow. I have yet to encounter a codec that holds up this strongly over so many renders. It is a real joy to work with.

Although this workflow applies specifically to footage shot with JVC HD10U, there is no reason it cannot be applied directly to the Sony FX-1 as well. Thus, we hope this article proves valuable to both current and prospective HDV producers and editors.

**Cineform / Vegas Bug and Workaround -- There is a rendering bug that could potentially make step 6 a nightmare, so please take note of this. When you render "source-fixed.avi", and then do the replace media function, you will notice strange problems start popping up in your project. Specifically, transitions involving "source-fixed.avi" will no longer render properly. However, there is a work-around. Before you render "source-fixed.avi", apply a "dummy-effect" to the entire temp project. You have to do this via the preview window, not on an individual video track. For example, add a contrast/brightness filter and set the contrast-center to 0.51 (which effectively does nothing). This will force Vegas to render the Cineform .avi file correctly, and "source-fixed.avi" will not give you trouble later on.

by Ben Buie -Read Full Article-