Importing LTC into Avid from Audio Channel

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pheboglobi

Well-known member
Hey Guys,

does anyone know if it is possible to import LTC from an audio channel from miniDV in Avid Xpress Pro? If so, how do you do it?

Thanks,
Garrett
 
Yes, capture picture and sound as normal, then select the clip and do a "read audio timecode" from under the "special" menu. The decoded LTC timecode will be placed in the AuxTC1 column.

Michael
 
I see little reason why it couldn't work, but I HAVE NOT TRIED IT either.

The only difference I see is the master clock in your case would be your DAT, HDD, whatever.
So, you'd send that output to the camera instead of from a standalone TC-generator.
(Denecke, Ambient, Horita, etc.)

Hope this helps,
Brian
 
thisiswells said:
The only difference I see is the master clock in your case would be your DAT, HDD, whatever.
So, you'd send that output to the camera instead of from a standalone TC-generator.
(Denecke, Ambient, Horita, etc.)
Click to expand...

Yes, that would be my suggestion: using a portable generator by the DAT, MD or card recorder and transmitting the TC wireless to the camera/s. Though you can always use jammed generators on each camera.

That is the easy part. The question is how you capture that TCed audio onto Avid, to later sync to the video images. Through the soundcard? Through the camera and sending video along with it through the firewire connection? What audio level should it be set to?



Carlos
 
"The question is how you capture that TCed audio onto Avid, to later sync to the video images. Through the soundcard? Through the camera and sending video along with it through the firewire connection? What audio level should it be set to?"

I'll be upfront and tell you I haven't done this before. My assumption is that you'd capture as normal (video and audio over firewire) and separate the audio track into a timecode track using the method MichaelP suggested in the other thread. I don't see how you'd need to use a soundcard or set levels if using DV and Firewire capture. If using an analog connection, things would be a little different.. and beyond the scope of my speculations.

Afa getting sound from a DAT, probably use a S/PDIF interface (like Sound Devices USBPre, for example) into a DAW like ProTools or Samplitude. Export that data as ? maybe .mxf or broadcast .wav and somehow sync within Avid.. Or, with HDD, the metadata would include TC and already be in a NLE-friendly broadcast .wav format (though, I'm uncertain whether it recognizes polyphonic B-wav's or if you'd need to separate multitrack recordings into individual monophonic B-wav's for compatability)

...I just don't know enough about Avid (I'm not a regular Avid user) to tell you what steps need to be taken to sync A with B and what format is preferred in this case. Anyways...

Hope this helps, Carlos.
 
thisiswells said:
I'll be upfront and tell you I haven't done this before. My assumption is that you'd capture as normal (video and audio over firewire) and separate the audio track into a timecode track using the method MichaelP suggested in the other thread. I don't see how you'd need to use a soundcard or set levels if using DV and Firewire capture. If using an analog connection, things would be a little different.. and beyond the scope of my speculations.
Click to expand...

Neither have I done it, but soon probably will, to see how it works out.

The option to capture audio on channel 1 with TC on channel 2 using a regular quality audio board is very important, I think. To start with you would not need a camera or any device in-between, even if the sound-card can be considered such a device.

But I tend to distrust most audio preamps on most DV cameras or camera-capture devices, like my own Canopus ADVC100. Just look for the PD150's mic preamp frequency response at the Sound Devices website: they suck on the low frequency area. One of the reasons for doing double-system audio for quality.

Though I don't see why you consider such a setup "an analog connection", when it should be as digital as the other. It's time these connection options become more common knowledge, as one thing that has been lacking in DV is how to work with double-system audio using TC. This is something I have been insisting on for several years on these forums. Fortunately now Avid Xpress allows this option which was already present on the "grown-up" Avid parent.


Afa getting sound from a DAT, probably use a S/PDIF interface (like Sound Devices USBPre, for example) into a DAW like ProTools or Samplitude. Export that data as ? maybe .mxf or broadcast .wav and somehow sync within Avid.. Or, with HDD, the metadata would include TC and already be in a NLE-friendly broadcast .wav format (though, I'm uncertain whether it recognizes polyphonic B-wav's or if you'd need to separate multitrack recordings into individual monophonic B-wav's for compatability)
Click to expand...

Here I have always been specific: recording TC info on channel 2, both on DV camera and external recorder. That would allow using non-TC equipment, that is always much lower in price than TC equipment. Just look at the prices of same HDD system from Sound Devices in TC and non-TC versions. Also important to be able to use much cheaper recorders, like portable DATs or MDs.

Then you can go into your PC digitally or analogically, but you need to be able to instruct your editing program that channel 2's audio should be considered TC.


...I just don't know enough about Avid (I'm not a regular Avid user) to tell you what steps need to be taken to sync A with B and what format is preferred in this case. Anyways...

Hope this helps, Carlos.
Click to expand...

This might not help just me, but perhaps several others that might be willing to do double-system sound.

I will try to find out how things work out on an experimental situation.


Carlos
 
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