HDLink -- various questions

Nick Williams · October 10th, 2007, 09:49 PM

Looks like we're good to go. I hear you on the "Doh!" feeling. ;)

thanks guys.

Nick Williams · October 13th, 2007, 03:39 PM

I seem to have an interesting snag using hdlink to convert my m2t files on a shared .psf drive.

Within parallels, using HDLink I can select an m2t file that resides on a shared .psf drive folder, and successfully convert that file to cineform intermediate to any destination on the C: drive.
But, when I change the hdlink prefs to have the 'output destination' be one of my shared drive folders, the completed converted file is corrupt and won't open.

Has anyone else using parallels with hdlink run into this?

-thanks

David Newman · October 13th, 2007, 08:15 PM

What is a .psf drive?

Nick Williams · October 13th, 2007, 08:55 PM

well, I guess .psf drive is not the right lingo. It's a parallels shared folder. So in parallels you can map a link to another one of your local hard drives outside of your main c: drive.

David Newman · October 13th, 2007, 09:11 PM

Please file a trouble ticket with support so they can test that on Monday.

Carl Middleton · October 17th, 2007, 02:32 PM

If I compile I movie using the AME encoder instead of Cineform M2T, will HDLink still properly send it to tape?

It controls the camera, and successfully threw the master copy to tape. However, I rendered the air copy using AME because I was getting a 'failed to allocate video buffer' error repeatedly while halfway thru compiling the air copy in the odd hours of last night (only difference is added QT Animation w/ alpha tags and some cineform intros/outros)

When I try to throw to tape, it just sends a blue screen. Camera turns on and records nothingness. Dohp!

Anyone know of a quick fix for either of those two issues? Any tricky settings I may have missed in AME, or something? The video file does play fine, and I've tried reboot and reinstalling aspectHD.

Thanks!
Carl

PS - I had this problem before with the trial for Cineform before I purchased, and my workaround was to create the m2t, uninstall cineform, create a new project, import m2t, and render and record from premiere, then reinstall cineform for the next go-round. Meep. Looots of work. It had been working fine since then, on a clean install of windows, cineform and premiere.

Tim Bucklin · October 17th, 2007, 05:48 PM

Hi Carl,

We have not been able to successfully use AME to create an M2T that HDLink will send to tape.

I'm currently working on integrating another MPEG encoder into our Aspect and Prospect families that will allow users to once again export M2Ts compatible with HD Link's export function.

A current solution to get your project out to tape is for you is:
1. Export your finished CineForm project/timeline into a CineForm AVI.
2. Create a new Adobe HDV (not CineForm!) project that matches you desired output (1080 60i, 720 30p, etc.).
3. Import your single CineForm clip into that project
4. Drop your CineForm AVI onto the timeline.
5. File->Export->Export to Tape
6. Click "Render and record"

You do not need to uninstall CineForm for this. You can have it installed and this will work just fine.

This will transcode your clip into HDV and export it to tape. While I don't beleive you get the keep the M2T, you will have successfully archived your project to tape.

Carl Middleton · October 17th, 2007, 06:59 PM

For some odd reason, I did have to uninstall it before to get premiere to render and record properly. I never quite figured out why, but I never saw it again after a much-needed hard drive wipe.

Rebooted, uninstalled & reinstalled aspect, tried to make the cineform M2T again, still didn't work. Decided to do it in pieces, changed my work area, tried again for the M2T, but forgot to set it to work area only. Lo and Behold, it worked.

Just goes to show! Computers like to be spontaneous, sadistic, and generally enjoy the misery of fleshbags. :D The only difference was this time, I was in the room glaring at my screen.

Glad to know now that the AME settings were probably right, at least. Air copy is on tape now, Premiere & HDLink worked flawlessly this time, with no changes since the last few attempts. I wouldn't mind trying repeatedly if it was smaller renders, 27 min with heavy compositing hurts. :D

Once again : Turned out not to be a Cineform problem. You guys are on a roll. And though I've ran into quite a few problems I've asked about on this board since installing Cineform, it's really not indicative of my overall satisfaction. I've had less problems than just working with premiere by itself, honestly. Now I just have found a great online group to help and be helped by. :D And I'm overjoyed to now be a part of the DVInfo.net community. Between this board and Cineform's responsiveness, even when I've had trouble, I've had a long list of workarounds, fixes, and alternate methods I've tried, enough to keep the network off of my back, along the lines of "he tried it how many different ways? He's talking to the CTO of the software company?!"

It all started when I purchased Cineform and mentioned I was going to try a workaround for the nvidia 8800 series cards on the comments section of the order, sometime around midnight EST.

I got an e-mail from David about 5 minutes later. My roommate saw me run out of the room saying "Oh my god, I've never seen customer service like this before!!!" =D

Carl

Marty Baggen · October 17th, 2007, 07:53 PM

The Cineform folks that respond here are unsurpassed. It has practically redefined user-support and is truly one of the greatest values, second only to the function of their product.

Add to that, the immense resource pool of experience and intelligence of the many participants on this board, and you have a wealth of responsive and helpful knowledge that money literally cannot buy.

Graham Hickling · October 17th, 2007, 08:10 PM

AME m2t files are not exportable back to tape, in my experience.

However Procoder 2 and TMPGEnc XPress 4 can both produce m2t's that I and others have been able to successfully export back to tape using the HDLink utility.

Carl Middleton · October 17th, 2007, 09:26 PM

Sounds about right.

All of my issues seem to have their roots in Adobe. Right now I'm burning the DVD for said project for the art department preview, and Encore once again crapped out on me. I rendered the project down to SD, took a few hours, and brought it in, and it stuck in an endless loop on burn.

Renamed the air copy to .mpg from .m2t, dropped it in nero, gave it chapter markers, and it's doing a VBR 2 pass downres as I type. Adobe's software requires certain file types, and SD resolution. Nero, however, is transcoding my m2t for DVD just fine, in about the time of the downres I did to drop into encore for it to mock me. :)

I don't think it will be too long before I buy a mac, get it set up with prospect2k and final cut, and kick this computer down to AE renders... I'm generally a PC fan, but sheesh. :)

Carl

Erich Reisenberger · January 3rd, 2008, 05:54 AM

Hi everybody (I am not native - excuse my English)

When you capture with HDLink and import to APP2.0 and later you want to load your programm again - is it possible to recapture that files? Does HDlink save tape numbers or tape names?

Thx a lot
Eric

Jake Segraves · January 3rd, 2008, 07:24 PM

HDLink doesn't retain the timecode from the tape so its not easy to batch capture the exact same clips each time. It's not impossible, but I don't recommend it.

For timecode and batch capturing, I suggest capturing in Premiere Pro.

Alan Mills · January 4th, 2008, 05:36 AM

Is batch capture something that's been given any thought for the future in HDLink? Or maybe it's just not practical for HDV?

As a hobbyist (and so not needing an ultra-formal and mission critical backup solution) I simply just archive projects off to external (USB) drives nowdays and just buy a new drive every once in a while as they are getting cheaper all the time.

Michael DAmbrose · January 10th, 2008, 02:27 PM

David,
Is there still a problem with this combo? I have the latest version of AspectHD. I can sometimes get it to work, but I waste a lot of time retrying. Seems like I need to either connect or turn on the camera in a certain order before/after starting HDlink. I am not sure, but it very often crashes. Not stable at all.

Sincerely,
Mike

p.s. camera is HV20

October 13th, 2007, 03:39 PM	#152
Nick Williams New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 19	more parallels and hdlink issues I seem to have an interesting snag using hdlink to convert my m2t files on a shared .psf drive. Within parallels, using HDLink I can select an m2t file that resides on a shared .psf drive folder, and successfully convert that file to cineform intermediate to any destination on the C: drive. But, when I change the hdlink prefs to have the 'output destination' be one of my shared drive folders, the completed converted file is corrupt and won't open. Has anyone else using parallels with hdlink run into this? -thanks Last edited by Nick Williams; October 13th, 2007 at 04:26 PM.

October 13th, 2007, 08:15 PM	#153
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	What is a .psf drive? __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

October 13th, 2007, 09:11 PM	#155
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Please file a trouble ticket with support so they can test that on Monday. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

October 17th, 2007, 02:32 PM	#156
Carl Middleton Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fernandina Beach, FL Posts: 562	HDLink Compatibility? If I compile I movie using the AME encoder instead of Cineform M2T, will HDLink still properly send it to tape? It controls the camera, and successfully threw the master copy to tape. However, I rendered the air copy using AME because I was getting a 'failed to allocate video buffer' error repeatedly while halfway thru compiling the air copy in the odd hours of last night (only difference is added QT Animation w/ alpha tags and some cineform intros/outros) When I try to throw to tape, it just sends a blue screen. Camera turns on and records nothingness. Dohp! Anyone know of a quick fix for either of those two issues? Any tricky settings I may have missed in AME, or something? The video file does play fine, and I've tried reboot and reinstalling aspectHD. Thanks! Carl PS - I had this problem before with the trial for Cineform before I purchased, and my workaround was to create the m2t, uninstall cineform, create a new project, import m2t, and render and record from premiere, then reinstall cineform for the next go-round. Meep. Looots of work. It had been working fine since then, on a clean install of windows, cineform and premiere.

October 17th, 2007, 05:48 PM	#157
Tim Bucklin Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 112	Hi Carl, We have not been able to successfully use AME to create an M2T that HDLink will send to tape. I'm currently working on integrating another MPEG encoder into our Aspect and Prospect families that will allow users to once again export M2Ts compatible with HD Link's export function. A current solution to get your project out to tape is for you is: 1. Export your finished CineForm project/timeline into a CineForm AVI. 2. Create a new Adobe HDV (not CineForm!) project that matches you desired output (1080 60i, 720 30p, etc.). 3. Import your single CineForm clip into that project 4. Drop your CineForm AVI onto the timeline. 5. File->Export->Export to Tape 6. Click "Render and record" You do not need to uninstall CineForm for this. You can have it installed and this will work just fine. This will transcode your clip into HDV and export it to tape. While I don't beleive you get the keep the M2T, you will have successfully archived your project to tape. __________________ Tim Bucklin CineForm Software Engineer

October 10th, 2007, 09:49 PM	#151
Nick Williams New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 19	Looks like we're good to go. I hear you on the "Doh!" feeling. ;) thanks guys.

October 13th, 2007, 08:55 PM	#154
Nick Williams New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 19	well, I guess .psf drive is not the right lingo. It's a parallels shared folder. So in parallels you can map a link to another one of your local hard drives outside of your main c: drive.

October 17th, 2007, 06:59 PM	#158
Carl Middleton Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fernandina Beach, FL Posts: 562	thanks again! For some odd reason, I did have to uninstall it before to get premiere to render and record properly. I never quite figured out why, but I never saw it again after a much-needed hard drive wipe. Rebooted, uninstalled & reinstalled aspect, tried to make the cineform M2T again, still didn't work. Decided to do it in pieces, changed my work area, tried again for the M2T, but forgot to set it to work area only. Lo and Behold, it worked. Just goes to show! Computers like to be spontaneous, sadistic, and generally enjoy the misery of fleshbags. :D The only difference was this time, I was in the room glaring at my screen. Glad to know now that the AME settings were probably right, at least. Air copy is on tape now, Premiere & HDLink worked flawlessly this time, with no changes since the last few attempts. I wouldn't mind trying repeatedly if it was smaller renders, 27 min with heavy compositing hurts. :D Once again : Turned out not to be a Cineform problem. You guys are on a roll. And though I've ran into quite a few problems I've asked about on this board since installing Cineform, it's really not indicative of my overall satisfaction. I've had less problems than just working with premiere by itself, honestly. Now I just have found a great online group to help and be helped by. :D And I'm overjoyed to now be a part of the DVInfo.net community. Between this board and Cineform's responsiveness, even when I've had trouble, I've had a long list of workarounds, fixes, and alternate methods I've tried, enough to keep the network off of my back, along the lines of "he tried it how many different ways? He's talking to the CTO of the software company?!" It all started when I purchased Cineform and mentioned I was going to try a workaround for the nvidia 8800 series cards on the comments section of the order, sometime around midnight EST. I got an e-mail from David about 5 minutes later. My roommate saw me run out of the room saying "Oh my god, I've never seen customer service like this before!!!" =D Carl

October 17th, 2007, 07:53 PM	#159
Marty Baggen Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: monroe, or Posts: 572	The Cineform folks that respond here are unsurpassed. It has practically redefined user-support and is truly one of the greatest values, second only to the function of their product. Add to that, the immense resource pool of experience and intelligence of the many participants on this board, and you have a wealth of responsive and helpful knowledge that money literally cannot buy.

October 17th, 2007, 08:10 PM	#160
Graham Hickling Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 1,669	AME m2t files are not exportable back to tape, in my experience. However Procoder 2 and TMPGEnc XPress 4 can both produce m2t's that I and others have been able to successfully export back to tape using the HDLink utility.

October 17th, 2007, 09:26 PM	#161
Carl Middleton Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fernandina Beach, FL Posts: 562	Sounds about right. All of my issues seem to have their roots in Adobe. Right now I'm burning the DVD for said project for the art department preview, and Encore once again crapped out on me. I rendered the project down to SD, took a few hours, and brought it in, and it stuck in an endless loop on burn. Renamed the air copy to .mpg from .m2t, dropped it in nero, gave it chapter markers, and it's doing a VBR 2 pass downres as I type. Adobe's software requires certain file types, and SD resolution. Nero, however, is transcoding my m2t for DVD just fine, in about the time of the downres I did to drop into encore for it to mock me. :) I don't think it will be too long before I buy a mac, get it set up with prospect2k and final cut, and kick this computer down to AE renders... I'm generally a PC fan, but sheesh. :) Carl

January 3rd, 2008, 05:54 AM	#162
Erich Reisenberger New Boot Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austria Posts: 20	Aspect HD or HDLINK Hi everybody (I am not native - excuse my English) When you capture with HDLink and import to APP2.0 and later you want to load your programm again - is it possible to recapture that files? Does HDlink save tape numbers or tape names? Thx a lot Eric

January 3rd, 2008, 07:24 PM	#163
Jake Segraves Sponsor: CineForm Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Carlsbad, CA Posts: 153	HDLink doesn't retain the timecode from the tape so its not easy to batch capture the exact same clips each time. It's not impossible, but I don't recommend it. For timecode and batch capturing, I suggest capturing in Premiere Pro.

January 4th, 2008, 05:36 AM	#164
Alan Mills Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 67	Is batch capture something that's been given any thought for the future in HDLink? Or maybe it's just not practical for HDV? As a hobbyist (and so not needing an ultra-formal and mission critical backup solution) I simply just archive projects off to external (USB) drives nowdays and just buy a new drive every once in a while as they are getting cheaper all the time.

January 10th, 2008, 02:27 PM	#165
Michael DAmbrose Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Middletown, CT Posts: 49	HDLink and Vista David, Is there still a problem with this combo? I have the latest version of AspectHD. I can sometimes get it to work, but I waste a lot of time retrying. Seems like I need to either connect or turn on the camera in a certain order before/after starting HDlink. I am not sure, but it very often crashes. Not stable at all. Sincerely, Mike p.s. camera is HV20