Importing Clips

T

tolakvoa

Active member
here is very dumb question?
How do I import clips like avi, mvw, mpeg into Avid. When i tried to import from to text window and I choose .avi but avid says "it is not reconizeable by avid"
How do I import clips to my bin. I am from vegas user and I can import easily in vegas. I would like to learn avid so bad. I bought a book about it but my book doesn't explain what format to import. Or Avid only recognize what ever it's captured? I am rellly comfused.
Thanks
 
If you select import from the menu with the bin active, then the graphics seclector, you will see all the formats listed.
 
MichaelP said:
If you select import from the menu with the bin active, then the graphics seclector, you will see all the formats listed.
Click to expand...
when I click file to import I don't see avi, or mpeg format.
What I would like to do is. to import my my clips tha I capture in vegas 6.c
How do I use clips that I capture with vegas into avid pro.
Can some one told me what OMF format is?
Thanks
 
You need to convert the files to QuickTime in order to import. OMF stands for Open Media Framework. Avid will "convert" all recorded and imported media as OMF to store it in the OMFI MediaFiles folder. The reason I put "convert" in quotations is because it's not really converting anything, it's adding a file wrapper. The OMF file system is central to Avid's media management.

The short answer is: Use QT as the file type for importing, and don't worry about what/why OMF is.
 
If it's just a wrapper, is there something wrong with my computer, because it's taking a very very long time to import files into the bin.

I would think it would just add meta data, but this is taking longer than real-time playback.
 
All formats get decompressed and recompressed during the import. That will take time depending on the source decompression of the source file format.
 
tolakvoa said:
here is very dumb question?
How do I import clips like avi, mvw, mpeg into Avid. When i tried to import from to text window and I choose .avi but avid says "it is not reconizeable by avid"
How do I import clips to my bin. I am from vegas user and I can import easily in vegas. I would like to learn avid so bad. I bought a book about it but my book doesn't explain what format to import. Or Avid only recognize what ever it's captured? I am rellly comfused.
Thanks
Click to expand...


Please, I'm spitting mad at AVID myself -- :Drogar-Sick(DBG)::Drogar-Sick(DBG)::Drogar-Sick(DBG):

Spent an entire day trying to figure this out myself.

A friend of mine had videos on a DVD he wanted me to edit. And that means .VOB sound / video files.

Since Avid doesn't natively import .VOB files, I had to transcode that into Quicktime or AVI MPEG-2 files.

So, here's what I found on the Avid forum:

1. Open Sorenson Squeeze, and select File->Import Source and browse to the MPEG-2 file.
2. In the "Format and Compression Settings" panel, expand the Quicktime preset selections and select one. (For this example I'll use "HD 480P"). Click "Apply".
3. In the job panel, expand the "HD_480P" (destintion format) entry and then right-click on the CODEC entry (in this case "SV3 Pro") and select "Edit" from the pop-up menu.
4. In the "Quicktime (.mov) Audio / Video Compression Settings" change the "Name" to something like Avid DV.
5. In the dialog's video panel, click the "Codec" pull-down and select "Avid DV Codec".
6. If the "Frame Size" is other than 720 x 480, uncheck the "Maintain Aspect Ratio" box and set the dimensions to 720 x 480.
7. Set the "Frame Rate" pull-down to 29.97 fps.
8. Click the "Options" button and make sure that the "Avid DV Codec Configuration" resolution box is set to "DV25 NTSC 411". Click "OK" to dismiss the codec configuration panel.
9. If your source clip has audio, in the Audio panel select AIFF as the CODEC, 48000 as the "Sample Rate" and Stero as the "Channels" settings.
10. If you want to keep this setting to use again, click the Export button, browse to the desired folder location and name the preset file as you would prefer.
11. Dismiss the compression settings dialog by clicking the OK button.
12. Optionally right-click the filename in the jobs panel and select a different folder location for the output file. Then Click the "Squeeze it!" button.
13. After the transcode is complete, close Sorenson and open your Xpress Pro project.
14. Select a bin, and "Import". In the file dialog, select the file, set the "Video Resolutions" to DV 25 411" if it is not already set to that.
15. Click the options button and set the Aspect Pixel ratio to "Maintain, Non-square", set Field Order to Even (Lower Field First), Color Levels to "601/709", and Alpha to "Ignore". Dismiss the options panel with the OK button and select "Open" in the file dialog box.

Well, it took me a lot of fiddling with SORENSON SQUEEZE to make it happen, and even then, I could only get either the video -- without the sound. Since there no AIFF codec option for audio, I used Little Big Indian, but it still didn't work.

I resorted to using SONY SOUND FORGE 8 to export the audio files as .AIFF and then sync them with the images.

Not happy with that comprise, I looked for other solutions:

1. MPEG-Streamclip -- freeware -- will do the job, as long as you have Apple Quicktime MPEG-2 element codec ( $20) installed on your system. I don't so I looked at the next option.

2. Some software called Cinematize. Didn't try it.

3. Discreet's CLEANER XL, apparently the industry-standard or something... given one look at the spec sheets, I've no doubt it can do the job.


I, however, went with CANOPUS PROCODER 2... and following the settings for SORENSON SQUEEZE above, finally produced .mov files of superb quality WITH sound...


What I'm pissed about is that I also own VEGAS and that $400 piece of software has NO problems handling .VOB files or ANY files I've thrown at it since NATIVELY without the need for external conversion... same goes with ACID or SOUND FORGE...

I was determined to do the job with AVID however (cause let's face it, when it's up and working NOTHING can touch it :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)) but I mean, for the price AVID charges, they should make life easier and incl. more codec packs / file interchange ability natively...

Damn!
 
tolakvoa said:
when I click file to import I don't see avi, or mpeg format.
What I would like to do is. to import my my clips tha I capture in vegas 6.c
How do I use clips that I capture with vegas into avid pro.
Thanks
Click to expand...


You can't. Trust me.

I went at it pretty much the same way you did, only to find out that those .avi and mpeg files are not suitable for import for Avid.... it sucks... but read my post above for the solution.>
 
E_D_N said:
Please, I'm spitting mad at AVID myself -- :Drogar-Sick(DBG)::Drogar-Sick(DBG)::Drogar-Sick(DBG):

Spent an entire day trying to figure this out myself.

A friend of mine had videos on a DVD he wanted me to edit. And that means .VOB sound / video files.

Since Avid doesn't natively import .VOB files, I had to transcode . . .
Click to expand...

Wow, you're going through a lot of trouble to make this happen. Here's a much easier way:

[1] Rip those .VOB files from the DVD into MPEG-2 format. That's essentially what VOB files are anyway. Use a program such as "Xilisoft DVD Ripper" to do this.
http://www.xilisoft.com/dvd-ripper.html

[2] Then use Quicktime Pro* to export the MPEG-2 file(s) into highest quality Quicktime Movie file(s). These are the .MOV files.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/

[3] Import the Quicktime Movie files into Avid.

[4] Edit.



*Playback of program and elementary streams available via QuickTime MPEG-2 Playbck Component, sold separately in the Apple Store online.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6044003/wo/Ef3Yuc7wwWJC3TkrWNcWw71ooBz/1.0.19.1.0.8.25.7.11.0.3
 
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DC said:
Wow, you're going through a lot of trouble to make this happen. Here's a much easier way:

[1] Rip those .VOB files from the DVD into MPEG-2 format. That's essentially what VOB files are anyway. Use a program such as "Smart Ripper" to do this.
http://www.pctip.ch/library/downloads/dl.asp?id=2841

[2] Then use Quicktime Pro* to export the MPEG-2 file(s) into highest quality Quicktime Movie file(s). These are the .MOV files.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/

[3] Import the Quicktime Movie files into Avid.

[4] Edit.



*Playback of program and elementary streams available via QuickTime MPEG-2 Playbck Component, sold separately in the Apple Store online.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6044003/wo/Ef3Yuc7wwWJC3TkrWNcWw71ooBz/1.0.19.1.0.8.25.7.11.0.3
Click to expand...


Well, thanks for that.

That's basically how I went about it at first.

It didn't work because I didn't have the Apple MPEG-2 Playback componenet installed...

I upgraded to Pro and that took care of that.

Still, I like to use ProCoder or Cleaner to do transcoding.

My whole point though is that at that price range, Avid should provide native import of a wide variety files natively a la Vegas.
 
DC said:
Wow, you're going through a lot of trouble to make this happen. Here's a much easier way:

[1] Rip those .VOB files from the DVD into MPEG-2 format. That's essentially what VOB files are anyway. Use a program such as "Xilisoft DVD Ripper" to do this.
http://www.xilisoft.com/dvd-ripper.html

[2] Then use Quicktime Pro* to export the MPEG-2 file(s) into highest quality Quicktime Movie file(s). These are the .MOV files.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/

[3] Import the Quicktime Movie files into Avid.

[4] Edit.



*Playback of program and elementary streams available via QuickTime MPEG-2 Playbck Component, sold separately in the Apple Store online.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6044003/wo/Ef3Yuc7wwWJC3TkrWNcWw71ooBz/1.0.19.1.0.8.25.7.11.0.3
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip. Something keeps bothering me though. I thought that recompressing footage is generally not a good idea until one is done with a project. Lets say that what I am working on will eventually go back onto a DVD. Would it not be better to just be able to work on the footage in its original format? I know that it is impossible (as far as my research tells me) to edit DVD footage natively in Avid Express so our only option is recompression. Will the technique you described give me the best possible footage that I can work with within Avid Xpress?
 
darthjones said:
Thanks for the tip. Something keeps bothering me though. I thought that recompressing footage is generally not a good idea until one is done with a project. Lets say that what I am working on will eventually go back onto a DVD. Would it not be better to just be able to work on the footage in its original format? I know that it is impossible (as far as my research tells me) to edit DVD footage natively in Avid Express so our only option is recompression. Will the technique you described give me the best possible footage that I can work with within Avid Xpress?
Click to expand...
I hear what you're saying and you're right, sorta. Normally, you'd want to work with the most native and least compressed footage possible. I think the idea is that by transfering the footage from an interframe compressed format to an intraframe compressed format, it makes editing much more precise. It's just that to go back to DVD, you need to recompress it to an interframe compressed format (again).

As for the technique I described, that's the best way (off the top of my head) that I can think of how to accomplish what was being asked.
 
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I found this from Avid support whilst trying to solve the same problem.


Description or Question
How to import wma files on an avid editor?

Answer
The solution is to use goldwave from www.goldwave.com or SUPER, Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer from http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html
to transcode to either


MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3 or
WAV (or WAVE), Waveform audio format,
 
VOB files are for delivery, not for editing. Avid is an editing application, hence the lack of support for a delivery format.

Why would you want Avid to spend time, money and resources adding support for a file format that was never intended for editing when new formats are popping up in new cameras every other week? These are for editing, not a finished DVD.

I know sometimes it's unavoidable that you have to get footage from a VOB file, but I guarantee the demand is not there for Avid to justify supporting it.

Michael
 
i just bring em into AE and render em into somthin useful. You can use virtual dub for this as well.
 
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