Final Cut Pro 8: A Wish List
On the heels of the recent uncharacteristically Apple statement about the future of Final Cut Pro, and then a fantastic post by a fellow Hollywood Tech Neighbor Philip Hodgetts, speculation has one again fanned the flames of excitement within the collective Final Cut Pro Kool-Aid drinkers. Thus, I thought I would examine the current gaps I see in the product. A wish list, as it were. And no, not minor keyboard shortcuts and the like, but fundamental features which I believe are needed to kick ass and chew bubblegum. Admittedly, many of these keep the “Pro” in “Pro Apps.”
Unfortunately, this *needs* to be said: None of the views expressed within this entry constitute any advanced product knowledge nor anything more than an educated guess. It’s Apple, you should know this by now. If I knew anything, I’d be shot.
Here are my top 20:
- 64-bit. Yeah, we all know it’s happening. Good.
- Stereoscopic Built in. FCP needs a filter – much like 3D toolbox – which allows for a video track to have a second video track overlayed and locked to it at the same time. This filter needs various flavors of 3D (side by side, over/under, interlaced, anaglyph, etc.) convergence, sync points, and basic color controls – all keyframeable. These “tweaks” and timecode (plus other metadata) needs to be exportable via XML or EDL for use with other systems.Yes, I know 3D Toolbox and Cineform do this, but native support is, of course, welcomed. This is a massive feature that Avid has and FCP doesn’t, and I don’t expect Mr. Jobs to ignore the fact that Hollywood uses Avid for this fact – and not FCP.
- blah blah blah send to mobile me which sends to Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, grandma’s rotary phone with one click blah blah blah also send to iTunes cloud for sharing your video and video playlists with friends blah blah blah.
- Unlimited RT was cool for a couple years, but now, c’mon – just support more native formats in the timeline. Log & Transfer has still has some good uses when you don’t want to edit in the native camera codec, but realistically, every other NLE supports more and more native camera formats in the timeline. If Apple wants to continue to make their apps more geared towards consumers, then support what consumers are generating. That being said, native DPX and image sequence support would be very, very, very nice.
- Add mixing of frame rates, frame sizes, and audio sample rates without needing Unlimited RT.
- Shared projects. FCP has always been a single user environment. Aside from XML exchanges, (which – let’s face it – bloat your project quickly) FCP really needs some kind of shared project environment, a la Avid Unity. I concede I can see where this may be rolled into an XSan environment, but collaboration is being stifled by this limitation.
- Break the large frame size restriction. Large graphics and frame sizes will bring FCP to it’s knees. I’m sure 64-bit will help to remedy this.
- More efficient round tripping without exporting. The Motion roundtrip is great. The Soundtrack Pro is not.
- More efficient Compressor CPU utilization (have you seen how bad it is?) and a more reliable QMaster for distributed rendering. QMaster breaks or loses track of nodes way to often and is not nearly as efficient as it could be. I’d love to see a PC verison of QMaster to add PC’s into the mix (Hey, Apple *has* made a few Windows apps)
- Distributed Rendering – not just Compressor encode based. Maybe even background rendering whenever the mouse isn’t moving. (i.e. the system is never idling – always rendering)
- Better support for uber high powered video cards (NVidia 4800, 5600, 5800, etc) with or without SDI, plus better leveraging of the card’s GPU. I’d love to get a high end video card and have the option of using SDI for output instead of a Kona or Blackmagic card.
- Blah blah FCP project blah blah iPad blah blah look at what I’m doing to this video in real time blah blah blah get video from iPhone too blah blah blah roundtrip video from apple mobile devices along with comments blah blah blah
- Initial deployment of cloud based editing. C’mon, the writing is on the wall. It may not be ready for primetime, but there has got to be some hooks to edit material already sitting in the cloud.
- Email notifications for everything. Renders, exports, media moving, FTPing, etc.
- Skinnable and/or color scheme changes, and more control over ALL text and button sizes – not just Browser and Timeline text.
- Versioning, not just incremental autosaves.
- Facial and verbal recognition and tagging of this in FCP, which populates the metadata fields in the browser, with markers. Couple this with a form of Script Sync, and we now have a way to associate searchable media and text for faster usage. Facial recognition has been out for a few years with iPhoto, many applications out there have decent verbal recognition, and Script Sync…well, the other “A” company has had it for many, many years.
- Edit while live capturing of the same footage. Several other plug-ins have already been doing it for years.
- R3D native support. Wavelets got FCP on the map with RED users, but the hand tieing because of the extractions made it a pain.
- Real Time LUT based filters. Apply a filter that reads LUTs and BOOM, instant RT “looks” for the Editor. Maybe even applying a LUT while capturing or during Log & Transfer for permanent bake-in….?
Avid 5.0, ProRes, and You
I’ve been getting massive web traffic and emails from people looking to use ProRes within Avid, as well as outputting ProRes from Avid. With Avid Media Composer 5.0 due to be released next month, the two playing nice with one another will be paramount. I drew up this short Q&A for fellow coworkers at Key Code Media, and I thought I’d share it here.
- Can Avid 5.0 on Mac or PC play Pro Res?
Yes, provided you have a recent version of Quicktime (free) installed. This is required by Avid for installation. - Can Avid 5.0 EXPORT into ProRes?
Mac: Not Natively, but yes. Apple allows for any machine (Mac or PC) to PLAY ProRes with a current version of Quicktime, or with the free ProRes decode codecs from apple.com. However, ENCODING into ProRes is limited to the OS having certain software(s) installed.This includes 1 of the following:
- Final Cut Pro
- Final Cut Server
- Logic Pro
- Compressor
These apps install the proper ProRes component, which is needed for ProRes encoding. There are sneaky ways around this without installing one of the 4 apps, however they all violate Apples EULA and are illegal, and can also be unreliable.…thus, don’t do it.
PC: No. Apple has not made it possible for any software manufacturer to do a software ProRes encode on a PC platform.
- If I have ProRes in my timeline (Mac or PC) and create an effect, how does it render?
Good Question. On both Mac and PC – even if you have one of the 4 apps above installed, Avid 5.0 will NOT render into ProRes. If you look in your media creation settings, Avid will default to another codec. - Then, how do I get my Avid project to FCP and vice versa?
Wes Plate at Automatic Duck has you covered. Automatic Duck provides for both of these scenarios.- Avid to FCP: http://automaticduck.com/products/pifcp/
- FCP to Avid: http://automaticduck.com/products/pefcp/
Keep in mind, these are NOT yet (as of 5/20/10) qualified for Avid 5.0. Usage of Automatic Duck with legacy media (OMF, MXF) may require some transcoding to work within the other editing system. Depending on the workflow, the Automatic Duck software may be able to handle the transcoding for you. See the README for each plugin.
Remember, all of this is based on an Avid 5.0 Beta – at least 30 days from release. Features are of course, subject to change. However, I do not forsee anything changing, due to Apple’s licensing.
On a side note, I am really, really excited about Avid 5.0. NAB 2010 had me geeked, the beta has me jazzed, and I think this is one of the best steps Avid has taken in many years.
My NAB 2010 Hit List
Once a year, us posties flock to our mecca, and plant ourselves within the bowels of sin city to suckle from the geek teet, and bask in all it’s acronym run glory. We spend too much on cheap food. We spend way more on alcohol, and desperately try and find which one of the vendors will have the best afterparty. Walking each hall and floor tenderizes our feet as if Rocky Balboa was in training. We hoard swag in the several free branded bags slung over both shoulders. We shout over the tens of thousands of other people asking the same questions, and demand specifications about balsawood products that won’t ship until next year. We play business card roulette and find out who is where. We reminisce about older, bulkier and more expensive technological solutions, the same way we’ll chuckle over this years offerings in 10 years.
Aren’t you psyched? I’ve been packed since Thanksgiving.
I’m lucky enough to be a part of many of the vendor meetings (yes, I still feel lucky) to hear some behind the scenes and roadmap information. This year, I even get the added bonus to be a special corresspondant for the Digital Production BuZZ; the official (and on the show floor) podcast of NAB. With this impending information overload, I’ve made a short list of the biggies I need to be sure to check out.
AJA: PCIe cards with 3G. That would be friggin’ sweet. Imagine your Kona 3 having two 3G outputs. This kind of bandwidth would allow for for Dual Link 4:4:4 and perhaps even full frame Left and Right Eye 3D – at resolutions at or above 2K. Michael likey. I’m also hoping to see a more enhanced KiPro; perhaps a more robust web interface for metadata, extra storage, and *maybe* other codecs.
Avid: Of course. With Apple (still) not having a booth, that leaves Avid as the sole NLE juggernaut on the floor. Due to NDA, I have to dance around the Media Composer 5.0 offerings, but I am excited about what will be shown. Several game changers, in terms of media usage, management, and viewing. Avid is really making a push, across the board, to be a bit more open. Kudos. I’d love to see Metafuze become (easily) cluster-able, and be a bit more efficient – if that is, indeed, how Avid will continue to utilize 3D. The smell of a Unity revamp is in the air, and I can only imagine an ISIS / Unity / Cuisinart hybrid.
Blackmagic: DaVinci. Lots of rumors about what the product is being morphed into since the purchase. What will Resolve become?
NewTek: TriCaster, natch. The Standard Definition units and now the XD300 are some of the few products in the past few years that have really knocked my nerd socks off. We lost 3 baseband inputs when the jump was made to HD – but I completely understand the limits of technology. To do all TriCaster does – in real time – hey, ya gotta make some sacrifices. A guy can hope that a unit with more inputs will be available. I’d also love to see an easier way to make 3D sets; much like the old Virtual Set Constructor NewTek had. However, perhaps an app that allowed for HD virtual set construction with user defined areas for super imposition / PIP, as well as reflections – like their pre-baked sets have. Creating these without Lightwave would be a huge benefit.
Cineform: I am totally in love with Neo3D for stereoscopic monitoring in Final Cut Pro. I’m hoping for a more reliable way to reconform, rather than just pulling timecode from the “paired” file. I’d also love to see distributed encoding into the cineform codec, so we can flip files faster. Perhaps the ability to have different views between the Canvas and the video hardware I/O output. Maybe more editing ability – like the 3D Stereo Tool box plug-in has.
Root6: I’ve been jonesin’ for the ability to have web based interaction with Content Agent. I’m also hoping to see some abilities to utilize more P2 based file formats that we use here in the States, but hasn’t taken off in the UK. I’d also like to see the incorporation of Digital Rapids 3.x software into the fold. Stream 3.0 introduced a host of features, and Content Agent is still utilizing Stream 2.5.x.
CatDV: Another piece of enabling software that is part DAM/MAM and part friggin’ awesome. I don’t expect anything more than further ass kicking. Automatic Duck: Wes has always been finding new and creative ways for project and media interchange. I can only hope that he’s been a bloodhound on the Avid 5.0 scent and will be ready to rock and roll. (If not – Wes, call me Monday at 9.01am. I have some ideas. We’ll make MILLION$).
Telestream: Can’t say much. Just go to the booth. Game changer(s).
Apple: Yes, I know you don’t have a booth, but you WILL be there…in some suite. A shiny one, I bet. Lurking. Taunting. iPadding. I’d love to nibble on the cheese in the mousetrap of Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Server. Who am I kidding? It won’t happen. But I can hope that maybe after the 5th or 6th round of Apple martinis, something will slip. And if that fails, there’s always roofies and knifepoint.
Autodesk: SMAC – Smoke 2010 for Mac OS X – is generating a ton of buzz. I’m hoping more modules will be written, and enhanced codec support.
Facilis: File Level locking is here! Hooray! But not for everyone. Mac 64 bit, and a few other choice configs – not so much. What say you, Facilis?
Assimilate: Lucas Wilson is the MAN. When he and Tony get together, stars align. Plus, their boss is named Taco… 
How can that trifecta be ignored? I’m gonna be looking for additional hardware options and configs for Scratch, and perhaps a wee bit more editorial options and project interchange. Howabout more efficient use of the Red Rocket card and hey RED, howabout stability on a Mac?
Other Hot Topics I’ll be sniffing out:
Easier and less expensive Blu-ray authoring for Mac and PC.
Larger Stereoscopic monitors at lower price points, both in Active and Passive varieties.
Anyone who wants to buy me a drink.
It Came From The Searches Volume 2
Matt Stratton turned me on to Clicky Stats awhile ago, and through Clicky, I’m able to see what web searches come up with my blog as a result. I also see when these searches lead them to my blog – but then they leave because they didn’t find the answer. I thought since the search engines think I already have it on my site, perhaps I should. Below is a sampling of the search queries (that I can decipher from cryptic keyword searches) that my website supposedly already has the answers for. So, I present to you:
It came from the Searches, Volume 2.
March 10th, 2010 – March 18th, 2010.
optimum use of cores on macpro using redrushes
As many as humanly possible. Unfortunately, Red Rushes is not as optimized as it could be, so there will be plenty of horsepower left over, even when red rushes is chugging away. We have to wait for Red to enable distributed transcoding, or, use another encoding solution.
FinalCutServer Slows down
What is slow? The transcoding? Check in / check out? Network traffic will slow check in / check out. Background processes and concurrent users will slow down Final Cut Server – especially if transcoding is happening in the background.
“Prores Avid Import” , “importing FCP into Avid MC” , “convert DNXhd to pro res 422” , “how to import mac prores into avid”
Right here: http://michaelkammes.com/editorial/getting-final-cut-pro-projects-andor-media-into-avid-media-composer/
P2 or DNxHD?
What flavor of P2? You can edit more tracks within Media Composer in real time with DNxHD. You also have more latitude when color grading and compositing, but files sizes are traditionally larger (assuming DNxHD 145 or greater).
unity nab rumours
Yeah, sorry. NDA.
avid dnxhd convert to prores
I assume you are on a PC. Windows cannot encode into ProRes – Apples limitations. If you’re on a Mac, you can export to ProRes from the Export menu, and change your codec / compression to ProRes.
Avid-qualified Windows-based with quad core processors
http://www.avid.com/products/Media-Composer-Software/system-requirements.asp
I will caution that if this a single quad (and not a dual quad) then only the newest Nehalem based Processors (HP z400, for example) can handle DNxHD encoding in RT.
Avid Mass Storage
Avid has several flavors of their own storage –VideoRaid SR (local) and Unity (shared) and ISIS (enterprise shared). However, Avid can use just about any storage that your OS can understand. I recommend firewire400 at the bare minimum (no USB) and esata, infiniband, or fibre if you can afford it.
“michael kammes”, “mkdc”, “micahel kammes”, “Michael Kammes Burbank”
Why yes, that’s me. Whats up? Say hi to your mother for me.
“DNxHD PE codecs IN FCP 6” , “quicktime output avid media composer for final cut hq“
Ya gotta download them.
http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=263545
FCP can export to any codec QuickTime understands…so, once you download the codec you’re golden. Keep in mind , this will export a DNxHD .mov file, NOT a DNxHD .mov in an MXF wrapper, which is what Avid needs to understand a file without transcoding or a quick import.
getting broadcast quality for fcp mov
That’s tough. ProRes is not a SMPTE standard, therefore, delivering a ProRes file will never be required for a broadcast deliverable. So, you can either A) lay it off to tape or B) transcode to a SMPTE compliant file. DNxHD, for example, is a SMPTE standard. DNxHD 145 closest in quality to ProRes 422.
“”final cut” network storage best practice” , “final cut server edit in place”
Permanent storage, like fibre. FCSvr does not like storage to go offline. Ever. Thus, get permanent storage, and set it as an “Edit in Place”, so FCSvr does not need to copy media to and from it to do conversions. EiP tells FCSvr that the storage is permanent. I recommend a RAID and several spindles, A) for speed B) for redundancy and C) faster performance for multiple users.
inexpensive final cut pro server
Buy a new, base level Xserve. Buy a 10 seat FCSvr license, buy a small RAID5 array, and buy Matt Geller’s book “Getting Started with Final Cut Server.” For anything more advanced, you’ll probably have to contract out.
the best fibre storage for final cut server
How much do you need? I’ve always been a fan of Sonnet or G-Tech.
better than final cut server
CATDV, in most cases. http://www.squarebox.co.uk/
edit in place final cut server rights share
If I understand this correctly…. Yes, you need to have Read AND Write permission to any volumes FCSvr will use. Yes – even if you don’t intend on writing to the volume, you still need that ability. It’s a limitation of FCSvr.
mxf wrap dnxhd
High(er) end encoding solutions can handle it, like most of Telestreams product line.
do stereoscopic 3d mxf files take up more storage space
Nope. Avid dumps half of the picture information to get to signals (left eye and right eye) into 1 HD Frame size. The remaining 2 halves, when combines, equal one regular frame. Thus, same file size.
“avid media” samba share
Nope, can’t do it – if you’re trying to share an OMFI or MXF folder within Avid.
Mac Pro 8 Core 2.93 Nehalem install red rocket
Red Rocket is not entirely stable on Mac, and the workflow is kluge. Wait a little bit.
difference between pro res 422 & pro res 422HQ
Higher bitrate. Both are 10bit, but HQ has the ability for higher quality because of less compression.
quality loss transcode to 220x?
What was the original source? If uncompressed, you should see no difference on the scopes.
“Ruby on rails and final cut server” , “final cut server Web-Based Review and Approval issues”
One of my favorite “wow!”s during a demo. Ruby on Rails released a “module” for FCSvr which gives basic functionality and framework for a web based review and approval process. It’s buggy and kinda unreliable, but gives people a GUI concept of what FCSvr can do.
dnx36 file format
Great Avid Offline Codec. Not broadcast quality, but looks great. DNxHD36 is for 23.976fps material, DNxHD45 is for 29.97fps material – but both belong to the DNX36 family.
optimum compressor config for final cut server
Use those virtual clusters!
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/compressor_multi_cores_stitzer.html
http://www.fcsoutlet.com/home/Studio_Outlet/Entries/2008/9/1_Virtual_Clusters_-_Compressor.html
Hum in Avid sdi Mojo analog audio signals
Sounds like (ha!) you have unbalanced audio going into your Mojo SDI. This is common – with no ground, hums (60Hz, usually) often occur because of dirty power and/or a power cable being to close to your audio gear. Put a ground lift on your AC plugs or power-strips
encode red r3d episode engine
As long as you have the codecs on your machine, yes. However, it’s the Wavelet extraction only, at 2K.
final cut pro and avid unity bugs
Decreased performance for starters. But that’s been known. Expect a 20-30% speed drop-off when using FCP on Unity.
p2 versus xdcam HD in Avid MC 4.0.5 2010
What flavor of P2? I like how XDCAM HD 35mbit looks compared to DV100. However, I like the way AVC based P2 Media looks, but it needs transcoding (for now)
“Macbook Pro”+”dual boot”+Avid+FCP
Yes! I do it on my laptop. You need to blow your HDD and OS away, and partition the drive off into at least 2 partitions, and install an OS on each one. Then, install FCP on one partition and Avid on the other. I do this so I can independently update my OSes without hosing up the other. Hold down the Apple key on boot to select which partition to boot into.
HD AT dnx36 broadcast quality
No. DNxHD145 is the baseline for broadcast quality. Yes, you can transcode DNX36 material to DNX145, but while that may meet the deliverable spec, it won’t look good.
final cut server metadata dnxhd
If it’s DNxHD in an MXF wrapper – no. Final Cut Server cannot parse all of the metadata in an MXF wrapper –currently.
“mac mini” NLE
Yikes. Holy horsepower Batman. You’re gonna need it, and the mini doesn’t have it. I’m not even sure FCP will install.
edit dnxhd in fcp
Not natively. Downlaod the DNxHD codecs, and put the timeline in unlimited. Or, pre-render into Pro Res for an easier time editing.
A little somethin’ for the Producers….mass review and approval made simple.
I recently was posed with a relatively simple quandary from a studio:
How can I get edits which need review out to non tech savvy producers for approval so they can:
A) easily view the edit (did I mention easily?)
B) stay out of the edit room.
Of course, sometimes A) means burning a DVD or laying off a tape, which is time consuming, not secure, and let’s face it, decidedly not green. It also can eliminate FTPing a file to a server to then be downloaded and watched as a viable solution, as sometimes this walking and talking at the same time complication can cause more time in tech support than just letting them in the edit room, which violates B).
Aside from my column and proposed workflows with Final Cut Server, I have something even simpler…and in 2 flavors.
Scenario 1: Small scale.
What you need:
Your Edit Bay NLE
Generic Computer (Mac, most likely)
AppleTV with Video Monitor (HDMI)
Extras: Encoding solution, Shared storage, same LAN access.
Procedure: Editor exports a full QuickTime file in the appropriate H.264 format for AppleTV, to a shared network drive. AppleTV runs off of iTunes, so your generic computer picks up the H.264 file, which sync (or streams) to your AppleTV. Now, the producer can view the cut in the comfort of the plush couch of his 4 wall, and not in the edit room. This can be streamlined even further by having the editor export a QT Reference to a watch folder, which the encoding solution would pickup (make sure all volumes containing the referenced media can be seen by the encoder) and proceed with the H.264 encode, then sending the file to the generic computer running iTunes. Having all of the satellite AppleTVs stream from the 1 machine makes media management very easy.
Limitations?
5 AppleTVs can sync to 1 iTunes Library.
1 AppleTV can stream from up to 5 computers.
AppleTV is specific in what formats it will play.
Scenario 2: Larger Scale
What you need:
Your Edit Bay NLE
Several Mac Minis with DVI to HDMI cables (for a Plasma / LCD display), Apple Remote.
Extras: Encoding solution, Shared storage, same LAN access.
Same concept applies: Editor exports a QT or QT reference, and either the 3rd party encoding solution delivers the file to a shared network drive, or the NLE does.
Here is where the Mac Mini comes into play.
OS access is a no-no for a 2 year old. And for Producers – for the same reason. So, here is what I did:
Parental Controls Preference Pane (Click to Enlarge)
Create an admin account on the Mac Mini. While in this account, create a new user (“Producer”), and enable Parental Controls on the account. In Parental Controls on the Producer account, activate “Use Simple Finder” and “Only allow selected applications”. In this box, select the application Front Row. Make other changes at your discretion, but these are the biggies. This will ensure that this user has limited access to OS functions and can only run Front Row.
Now, we need a way to have the Mac Mini see the shared / network drive without user intervention. Automator is an easy way to accomplish this.
Open Automator. Create a workflow that:
Gets Specified Servers and make sure to put the username and password in the URL; i.e.: afp://username:password@192.168.1.1/DRIVE_FOLDER_WITH_ENCODED_MEDIA
Add a “Connect to Servers” Action.
You can download the workflow here: producer_automount.
Automator Network Share Mount Workflow (Click to Enlarge)
Save this as an Application.
Run this to test. Does it work? Great!
Now, create an Alias to this shared / network drive. Place this alias in the Movies folder on your Producer account. This allows Front Row to see movies located on the shared / network volume. You can change the name of the alias if you wish to something a bit more verbose.
Place the Automator Application you’ve created in the Login Items under the Producer account. Also, add Front Row. Set the system to auto boot into the Producer account. In System Preferences, disable any Bluetooth keyboard / mouse options – so the Mac doesn’t look for Bluetooth devices. If this is not disabled, the Mac will look for devices on bootup, potentially stalling the launching of the Automator Application and Front Row. Reboot. As the system is rebooting, disconnect your keyboard, mouse, and make sure you have your Apple Remote handy.
When the computer reboots, it will boot into the Producer account, auto mount the network volume which has the media you want them to see, then launches Front Row.
Now, using the Apple Remote, navigate through Front Row, and through the MOVIES section. Because we placed an alias to the network drive (which the computer is connected to via our Automator script), Front Row can now see that drive.
Success!
Now, you have the ability to play back ANY file format QT can play back, from an unlimited number of machines AND restrict access to what clips can be seen by mounting different network shares though Automator.
As an added bonus, if the Producer decides to think outside the proverbial box, and hit the MENU key on the remote while at the Front Row main menu – it will take them to the OS desktop. Surprise! No keyboard and no mouse make tampering very difficult, PLUS you’ve already locked out OS functions with Parental Controls. All they can do is turn the Mac Mini volume up and down…. and simply hitting the MENU button relaunches Front Row.
Success! Easy edit review with a nice Apple sheen.
Avid: Qualified Nehalem Mac Configs
Looks like Avid has qualified the new Nehalem Macs:
Avid Announces Support for New Apple® Mac Pro Computers for
Avid Media Composer® and Avid Symphony™
Qualified Configurations:
Apple Mac Pro Configuration One
- Two 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
- 6GB of DDR3 ECC SDRAM (6×1GB)
- 640GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB
- One 18x SuperDrive
Apple Mac Pro Configuration Two
- Two 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
- 6GB of DDR3 ECC SDRAM (6×1GB)
- 640GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB
- One 18x SuperDrive
Notes
• Avid will not support the single Quad-Core models, or the dual Quad-Core 2.26GHz model
• Configuration testing was done with Mojo-SDI, Adrenaline, Mojo DX, and Nitris DX.
• Qualified local storage includes Avid VideoRAID® ST, VideoRAID SR, and VideoRAID RTR.
Post NAB Rumors
I know it’s customary to hear rumors prior to a show, not after…but it’s quite interesting when the brain trusts of the industry get together and swap stories.
Among the goodies:
Final Cut Studio 3: Increased RED support (confirmed), as well as no support for blu-ray within DVD Studio Pro. I am unsure if this means no authoring ability or the user not being able to even build a project.
Avid: Specs for Nehalem support. This is, of course, unofficial.
Nehalem Mac Pro
OS 10.5.6
2.66 or 2.93 Quad
Core Intel Xeon processors (8-core)
6BG of 1066 DDR3 ECC SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB**
640GB 7200-rpm SATA 3Gb/s
**It should be mentioned that I did not see any Mini Display Port extenders on the NAB show floor, which make any Nehalem Mac install extraordinarily difficult. One can, of course, convert to DVI, as a fallback.
More as they trickle in.
UPDATE: More Extensive RED Benchmarks
**v 1.1 – added RedRushes for DNx36 & 220 & Pro Res 422 HQ batch encoding
I’ve decided to expand my testing after inquiries regarding other encoding solutions…and it developd into benchmarking single & batch encode times into various codecs with various encoding solutions.
Specs, standards and universal notes:
2.93 GHz MacPro, 6GB RAM.
10.5.6 / QT 7.6
Avid Codecs 2.0 (shipped with Media Composer family 3.5+)
All media local on OS Drive.
R3D Proxy _H quality was used for all tests.
Builds tested: 16, 17, 18.
10 clips ranged from 00:26 seconds to 04:31. Median was 02:19. Since every editor’s batch will be different, this was a ballpark for an average shoot.
All clips were resized to full frame HD frame sizes during encoding. As a side note, the frame resizing from the native 2048 x 1024 to HD frame sizes was not a significant factor in the delta for encode times.
No LUTs or image adjustments (aside from resizing) were used.
Pro Res 422 HQ -The highest quality compressed HD codec that Apple offers. Exceeds Broadcast standards.
DNx36 is 1080i/29.97 8bit. The lowest resolution of HD Avid offers. Used for offline editorial.
DNx220x is 720p/59.94 10bit – The highest quality compressed HD codec that Avid offers. Exceeds Broadcast standards.
REDCODE RAW Quicktime Codec: 3.5.0
FCP: v6.05 (FCStudio 2)
RED Final Cut Studio installer 1.0
RedRushes: v3.60
Compressor: v3.05
Compressor Local Virtual Cluster: 16 instances, all local.
Episode Pro (Desktop): v5.1
Episode Engine (16 Processor License): 5.1.2. Split and Stitch disabled, as there seems to be a bug in the stitch process.
Final Cut Pro L&T: Batch not applicable; Log & Transfer only processes 1 file at a time. DNxHD codecs are not traditionally used within FCP.
Red Rushes: Batch not applicable, only 1 file processed at a time. Quarter Res Debayer Quality.
Compressor: Batch not applicable, only 1 file processed at a time.
Episode Pro: Batch not applicable, only 1 file processed at a time.
Findings:
Amazingly, those of you who use Final Cut Pro as your editor will find you have the seemingly fastest encoder out of the bunch – and free. It does require some basic setup to get the cluster working – and is known to be flakey, but seemed to be a rockstar during my testing.
It should be noted that the free RED codec for Mac OS – REDCODE – is *still* a Quicktime component. That means no matter what encoder you use, the QT component will be the bottleneck. In addition, whatever bottleneck Redcode with QT causes, it’s only part of the equation: The codec (in this case, ProRes and DNxHD) you are encoding to must be written to be able to take advantage of multi threading.
RedRushes utilizes REDline as their encoder, and seems to be the best at utilizing available CPU horsepower. It averaged 15-20% more processor usage at any given moment then any other non batch encoder (FCP L&T, non VC Compressor, and Episode Pro). That being said, this was usually only around 50-55% at best. Batch encoders seemed to be able to take advantage of the remaining processor cycles, although Compressor with a VC seemed to be average 95-100%, whereas Episode Engine lagged behind between 80-85%. Unfortunately, the Stitch function of Telestream’s Split & Stitch technology seemed create a playable but greenscreen media file after stitching, so that feature had to be omitted. This feature may yield better results.
Pro Res 422 HQ, across the board, yielded slower encode times. Avid DNx220 would be the Avid equivalent to ProRes 422 HQ (although, technically, it should be vice versa) and was always done quicker. This is by no means a visual quality test, this was raw speed.
Although I cannot prove it (aside from my results here) it seems some encoders just “play well” with some codecs and data rates (i.e. high compression/low data rate DNx36 vs. lower compression / high data rate DNx220 & ProRes 422 HQ). This contrasts with the Episode Family, whose encode times were pretty similar across codecs.
All testing was done local (internal OS drive), as the differences in mass high speed storage varies from user to user and therefore difficult to baseline. I define mass high speed storage as RAID sets with Firewire eSATA, Fibre, or SCSI connection. While I expect times to be similar when Firewire/USB drives are used as the source drive (as most batch encoders write locally to a cache for processing, then write back out to the destination drive), I certainly expect encode times to decrease when mass high speed storage is used, as larger files require more time to write after the encode is done and the cache has to copy out to the destination drive. I do not expect this to be drastic, but it may save a few minutes each hour.
I attribute the increased times with batch encoding with Compressor with VC to this. (I know there is a Cluster option setting for this, however altering it seems to break the Virtual Cluster) I could have decreased the encode time by up to 20% if the application did not have to write out locally, as the merging of the distributed quicktime segments took almost as long as the length of the clips (RT) themselves.
When batch encoding with Compressor, it’s important to remember that the application is splitting the transcode up to the available processors. This is great if a batch of 2 clips are the same length, but if one clip is, lets say, 1 minute longer than the other, then the longer clip will no longer benefit from the distributed encoding when the first is finished. Normally this is only an issue at the tail end of a batch encode (as once one encode finished, another will start). For long encodes, this bares mentioning.
Across the board, encode times are cut in 1/2 to 3/4 from the last gen of Mac Pro (Harpertown, 3.2Ghz 8 core)..making the new Mac Pro, in the RED realm, a great investment for high volume encoding.
It should also be noted that even though some of the more expensive encoders (Episode Family) are not the fastest, the increased encoding options and variables, codec support, templates, watch folders, and bells and whistles they contain may be worth the investment.
http://www.telestream.net/pdfs/datasheets/EpisodeSeries_Format_Support.pdf
As of this writing,Telestream’s Desktop Products: Episode & Episode Pro will run you $495 / $995, based on options and their Enterprise line Episode Engine & Episode Engine Pro runs $3950 / $8450.
Final Cut Studio 2 (with compressor) is $1299.
RedRushes is a free download from red.com.
Questions? Comments?
Tech Tip: Dual Boot
Most intensive NLE applications are closely tied to the versions of various software installed on the machine. Typically this is at the OS level, but also can encompass such third party applications as Quicktime. This bottleneck can be remedied by creating a dual boot system – something developers have been doing for years.
This is especially useful under Mac OS X. Since the OS is not serialized – that is, you can install it as many times as you want on the same machine, thus creating multiple boot partitions – without violating licensing agreements. The Mac OS installer, when launched, has the Disk Utility application, which allows a user to partition one hard drive into multiple virtual drives – partitions. Slicing up 1 hard drive (or simply installing OS X on multiple physical drives) allows for each instance of the OS to have updates applied without conflicting with the other. This means those updates you need to apply for Adobe CS4 won’t break, for example, your older version of Avid. You can even create a “test” partition – a space just to experiment with software and updates. As an example, my MacBook Pro has 3 partitions: 1 with Final Cut Pro, 1 with Avid, and 1 with Pro Tools.
Of course, read the fine print with your software to verify multiple installs on the same CPU are allowed under their license agreement.
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