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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Huge conversion times, right?

C

Chris

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I'm just checking here because my editor and I find this so shocking, but we are experiencing that for about every minute of footage, it's requiring about 15 to 20 minutes to convert it into a format that Avid can accept.
We use Redrushes to convert the RD3 file, and then we import it into Avid.
I have yet to see any other workflow that is markedly faster or different. Someone just tell me that we're not doing something totally wrong here.
And yes, I know that Red just released their SDK, and this will all be moot a few months from now.
 
Chris,

The conversion takes a long time. The faster your system the faster the conversion. You can do lower quality and such to speed it up a little for offline, but then you will have to spend the render time later.


Dusty
 
Chris said:
I'm just checking here because my editor and I find this so shocking, but we are experiencing that for about every minute of footage, it's requiring about 15 to 20 minutes to convert it into a format that Avid can accept.
We use Redrushes to convert the RD3 file, and then we import it into Avid.
I have yet to see any other workflow that is markedly faster or different. Someone just tell me that we're not doing something totally wrong here.
Click to expand...

We have several customers generating media for editorial...

1) Realtime HD-SDI output from SCRATCH -> Mojo input.

2) Export ALE from SCRATCH, which is used to cut up and assign proper timecode to digitized clip.

Or...

1) Render DPX out of REDCINE (much faster than QT!)
2) MetaFuze to MXF.

Or...

1) SCRATCH -> Tape.
2) ALE from SCRATCH -> ALE convert to Bin
3) Batch Dig.

All much faster than 10 or 15-1.

Lucas
------
ASSIMILATE, inc.
LA, CA, USA
 
The key for fast Avid import is to convert to a DNxHD format so the Avid will fast import. The 15-20 minute to 1 is what I was getting when importing the proxy file directly. I haven't used the REDrushes with Avid yet (though I understand they added DNxHD but no 36) but have done tons if converts to DNxHD through Compressor and it works well.
 
The speeds you`re getting seem very slow considering you`re writing to a single video file

Whilst using Redcine on my vista laptop full quality debayers were taking over a minute to export (until Redcine decided it couldn`t do exports anymore that is). I`ve just bought an iMac and, unless there is a bug in Redcine on the Mac, and its not doing a full quality 4k 16:9 debayer really, its seems to be taking less than a couple of seconds per frame to export, even reading from my external usb drive with white balance and NR. I`m going to convert a long R3D tomorrow and do an accurate measurement of speed, but its cooking-on-gas as they say, despite what some people thought it would be like using an iMac. Do some R3Ds process "significantly" faster than others due to content (due to the demosaic algorithm used). Obviously all good de-bayers are adaptive, but is the speed I`m getting usual?
imac specs:
3.06ghz core 2 duo
ATI 2600HD 256mb
4gig ram
500gig h/d

ps, never used a Mac until two days ago, but so far, brilliant!
 
Are you using the full debayer or are you looking to create offline proxies first? On a MacBook Pro with half the RAM and processors reserved to run Windows, I am getting the QT refs imported into a Media Composer directly at 3-5x real time from _H quality debayer. Using MPEG Clipstream, and creating DNxHD embedded QuickTimes first, I am seeing about 2.5x real time to create, then the import afterwards. I have yet to run the same tests on a dual quad octo Mac system but hope to do so soon.

Michael
 
RedLine is a much quicker converter than RedCine...

RedRushes or FCP/Crimson are good solutions to batch feed RedLine (If you're on a mac...)
 
Workflow blueprint?

Workflow blueprint?

Hi Michael P.

Wondering if you could post the best/quickest Avid recommended workflow for getting red into the avid. We're currently using redrushes to create ale, then having it create proxies (qt references) with avid compatible audio and selecting do not add the F, H, M to the files(thought it does anyway). Importing still takes forever, but at least the rest of this end of the process is less time consuming than on the 1st project we did.

While I'm at it, what I'd really like to see is if there was a way to take my sequence or EDL to redcine cleanly, so that I wouldn't have to manually import the shots, and manually find the shot inpoints and outpoints. A guy can dream, can't he?)
 
I have found MPEG Streamclip to be a fast transcoder of the QT reference files into DNxHD 36 for offline editorial. The ALE process would be the same as you are already doing. On a MacBook Pro I am getting 2.5x longer than real time, then the QT wrapped DXnHD quicktimes are taking .5 longer than real time into Avid merging into the ALE file.

The issue is still getting to RedCine from metadata attained from something other than RedCine to start. There is a <user> data field that seems to be needed in order for RedCine to conform to the XML Pull List. You do need to load all the shots in RedCIne first, then import the XML.

The XML Pull List is still being developed. It is a bit more involved which is why it is delayed due to complexity in sequence creation, etc.

Michael
 
gunleik said:
RedLine is a much quicker converter than RedCine...

RedRushes or FCP/Crimson are good solutions to batch feed RedLine (If you're on a mac...)
Click to expand...

I don't know, I compared DPX output from RedCine with DPX output from RedLIne and I was getting 1.5 times longer processing in RedLine (for 4k sources).

This is counterintuitive because RedLine has less baggage and lower overhead but those are the numbers I have. By the way, my RedCine was optimized for fastest processing by setting the same level of display and output quality. All processing parameters between RedCine and RedLine were the same.
 
The last project I did was for offline in Avid on PC. I used batch converter in FCP to change them all to DVPAL which converted 2.5hrs in about 4. Redcine was useless as it just crashed a lot and at that time I was foolishly unaware of RedRushes which I thought I would try out today on the same footage to ProRes that took considerably longer.
 
as Michael P posted the streamclip method is proving to be the fastest. on 8core i am getting about 2.5:1 on the conversions, then the fast import is very quick. .2:1.

this method is way faster than doing a direct import into the MC from the proxies.

dave
 
The Streamclip method also allows for QT wrapped DNxHD dailies directly for both Mac and PC platforms without the need for a Media Composer being istalled. If on a Mac, there are still some advantages to direct import into Avid such as no need for additional storage with the interim QT format. It's all based on overall workflow needs.

Michael
 
No QT refs on a PC as far as I know, and the above were done on a Mac.

Michael
 
The timecodes are preserved in the ALE created by REDrushes. Use REDrushes to create the ALE as well as a sngle directory of QT references from the debayer of choice (half for example). Load QT refs in the MPEG Streamclip's batch list, select output to other formats, select DnxHD 36 for example as well as other paramaters as desired and let 'er rip.

Michael
 
I'm really hoping this will start making sense to me after I upgrade to MC in a few weeks. I'm building a MC/nitris system on PC, and right now this is the most intimidating part about the RED for me. Is there a good primer I could look at? I kinda feel like I jumped into the deep end with my water wings on. :help:
 
To be an excellent tool for red, avid needs native redcode support.
Without it its not first class. Needing to transcode is a waste of time.

to support 3hrd party editors, redcine or ra or rl or rr need edl support.
 
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