Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? at DVinfo.net

Bob Keen · October 23rd, 2012, 05:37 AM

Up until now, I have been using Pinnacle Studio to do my editing of football matches simply because it has the facility to display a digital real time clock on the screen.

However, the program has limitations, not least with the new camera that I am using (Sony PMW 320) as Pinnacle does not support importation of either XDCAC EX or MXF files.

I am therefore looking for a new editing program but must still have this ability to display a real time clock.

Deos anyone know if there is any other program capable of doing this and if so would you recommend it?

Trevor Dennis · October 23rd, 2012, 11:30 PM

Bob, would this be a clock overlay that you could set to the same time each clip was taken? I suspect there are various After Effects clock plugins.

There's a free FCP plugin half way down the page here:
Too Much Too Soon Free Plugins for Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express

Bob Keen · October 24th, 2012, 03:16 AM

Hi Trevor

This would be a clock that runs concurrently whilst a football match unfolds until half time when I would need to set a start time of 45 minutes. It does seem as though the one that you have provided a link for would do that.

However, as Final Cut Pro requires a mac and I have a PC it probably rules that out as an option for me.

Battle Vaughan · October 24th, 2012, 10:47 AM

If you have access to Premiere Pro, here's a way to make a programable clock using the timecode generator effect: (All credit to the youtube poster)

You only have to do this once, you can select and save all the effects settings that create the clock and keep them as an effect preset, which you can then apply to another black frame of whatever length you need in the next project. Also I believe there is an error in the video, the last digits on the smpte code are frames, not milliseconds. Just crop them off and you have hours:min: sec or crop off the hours and have min:sec.

Bob Keen · October 25th, 2012, 12:04 AM

That sounds brilliant Battle. It is just what I need. I have been struggling to get Pinnancle Studio to accept the SxS card material shot on my PMW320. I will have to get Premiere Pro CS6 which will save me a great deal of time in re-encoding the XDCAM EX files.

Many thanks for this information.

The one thing that the video did not cover was whether or not you can start the timer to count from a given number of minutes/seconds. For example, in a soccer match the second half would need to start at 45 minutes on the clock. If it cannot do that, then I still have a problem.

Battle Vaughan · October 25th, 2012, 09:32 AM

Sure, no problem. The effect menu lets you set whatever start time you want. You would simply drag your black frame onto your timeline where you want the 45min mark to start, drag the timeclock effect that you have saved as a preset onto that black clip, and in the effects control panel set the start time to 45:00.

I have a jpg of the control panel but currently it's not uploading. Suffice to say the clock size, position, color and start times are all fully adjustable.

Battle Vaughan · October 25th, 2012, 10:06 AM

Here's the image, png worked ok. As you can see, the perameters are adjustable. Notice that the timecode function is actually smpte code, but you can crop out the parts you don't want to make it a minutes and seconds clock. Set the clock rate to match your frame rate; my 720-30p requires a 60 frame non-drop setting, your needs will be different. Best of luck!

Bob Keen · October 27th, 2012, 03:22 AM

Battle, that is fantastic. I am definitely going to buy the program now.

A friend has lent me a computer with Premiere Pro CS4 which purports to import XDCAM EX files, but although I can get them into the bin by dragging them out of the Browser, when I place them on the timeline there is no sound present. I am not sure if this is a limitation of version CS4 which struggles with these file types, or whether there is another problem. The other odd thing is that they drag instantaneously from the browser to the bib which suggests that they are not really going on to the hard drive, although I do see an 'importing' window for a few seconds. Also, if I disconnect the SxS card reader, the files cannot then be found by the program.

Battle Vaughan · October 27th, 2012, 12:00 PM

Glad this works for you. There is a lot of information on using xdcam files in ppro, the help file is here: Adobe Premiere Pro Help | Importing assets from tapeless formats

Usual drill is to copy the entire clip folder from your card --- slugged BPAV or something like that, if I recall correctly, to a fast second drive. Then Import the folder into Premiere. That way you are working faster, you are not dependent on having the card present all the time you're editing, and you still have the data on your card "just in case." (The CS6 data sheet says you can edit from files that are on the SxS cards, I assume this is true for CS4 as well, but the workflow I see recommended is to import the complete file folder to a fast drive and work from there.)

I suggest you use the Media Browser and the XDCAM functions it offers for doing your import. (Files of type: xdcam-ex, and View-as: xcdam-ex).

I suspect your audio problem is that you may be dragging just the mp4 files out of the original folder and into your bin. As you will see in the adobe help file, it's necessary to ingest the whole folder. Media Browser will ignore any un-needed file components and will do a clean ingest for you.
Best wishes!

Bob Keen · October 28th, 2012, 03:31 AM

Hi Battle

I really am appreciating the help that you are giving me with this. I have not tried it yet, but am in the process of doing as you suggested and copying the BPAV folder to the hard drive and then into CS4.

I will let you know how it goes.

EDIT - It is forecasting well over 6 hours to copy this SxS card BPAV folder to the hard drive. The footage is only an hour and a half in length. Should it take that long as I thought that card technology improved speed over tape formats, although it is only USB2 not 3?

Battle Vaughan · October 28th, 2012, 02:06 PM

Hmm, I unfortunately don't have access to sxs equipment to check, but intuitively that sounds like rather a long time to ingest files. An hour and a half is a lot of data, but it sure seems like it should be a faster process.

Is the drive you are copying to nearly full or badly fragmented? The copy from the card to the computer seems as if it should be a straight copy job, and the ingest to CS4 using Media Browser should be fairly quick. But I am flying blind on XDCAM EX as I don't have the hardware to test with...hoping someone with specific experience will jump in here....

Bob Keen · October 29th, 2012, 02:00 AM

Hi Battle

The final copying process took 10 hours and will still not import into CS4. When attempting to import the BPAV folder I get the error message 'File video dimensions{width/height} too large'.

Something is clearly not right.

The computer concerned has no other programs installed and the drive for importation is empty of all material.

Thanks for the help that you have already given me. I do appreciate that without the ability to look at the stuff yourself it is difficult for you to resolve my issue.

Bob Keen · October 30th, 2012, 04:54 AM

I am beginnning now to make some progress. I think I may have worked out how to import the BPAV folder but have discovered that the computer only has 3.25 GB of RAM. Minimum standard for the program is, I believe 4.

First task is to get inside the box and see if the Motherboard will accommodate more RAM and if it will, go out and purchase the maximum.

Battle Vaughan · October 30th, 2012, 11:20 AM

Happy to hear you're making progress. Your ram is minimal to be sure. Might also check task manager to see what stuff is running in the background that's eating into your cpu and ram....virus programs, internet connection, anything that throws interrupts will slow you down...

Bob Keen · October 31st, 2012, 01:41 AM

Hi Battle

The machine is not connected to the internet and has no other programs on it other than Photoshop and so I think it must be down to the RAM.

I have decided to bite the bullet and have built a new PC which is able to do the job. I have also ordered CS6. I might need a bit of assistance with how that works in due course. I cannot test my new PC yet as I am waiting for delivery of a copy of windows 7. The PC is highly specked and equipped with USB 3 which should also help with the reading of the SxS cards.

If I still have import problems after this, it will definately be down to my incompetence rather than the kit I am using which at least will assist me in knowing in what area to procede further.

October 23rd, 2012, 05:37 AM	#1
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Up until now, I have been using Pinnacle Studio to do my editing of football matches simply because it has the facility to display a digital real time clock on the screen. However, the program has limitations, not least with the new camera that I am using (Sony PMW 320) as Pinnacle does not support importation of either XDCAC EX or MXF files. I am therefore looking for a new editing program but must still have this ability to display a real time clock. Deos anyone know if there is any other program capable of doing this and if so would you recommend it? Last edited by Bob Keen; October 23rd, 2012 at 06:59 AM.

October 23rd, 2012, 11:30 PM	#2
Trevor Dennis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Zealand, Rapaura (near Blenheim) Posts: 434	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Bob, would this be a clock overlay that you could set to the same time each clip was taken? I suspect there are various After Effects clock plugins. There's a free FCP plugin half way down the page here: Too Much Too Soon Free Plugins for Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express __________________ Stills at: www.flickr.com/photos/trevor-dennis/

October 24th, 2012, 03:16 AM	#3
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Hi Trevor This would be a clock that runs concurrently whilst a football match unfolds until half time when I would need to set a start time of 45 minutes. It does seem as though the one that you have provided a link for would do that. However, as Final Cut Pro requires a mac and I have a PC it probably rules that out as an option for me.

October 24th, 2012, 10:47 AM	#4
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? If you have access to Premiere Pro, here's a way to make a programable clock using the timecode generator effect: (All credit to the youtube poster) How To Add Timer In Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 CS6 - YouTube You only have to do this once, you can select and save all the effects settings that create the clock and keep them as an effect preset, which you can then apply to another black frame of whatever length you need in the next project. Also I believe there is an error in the video, the last digits on the smpte code are frames, not milliseconds. Just crop them off and you have hours:min: sec or crop off the hours and have min:sec. Last edited by Battle Vaughan; October 24th, 2012 at 10:27 PM. Reason: addendum

October 25th, 2012, 12:04 AM	#5
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? That sounds brilliant Battle. It is just what I need. I have been struggling to get Pinnancle Studio to accept the SxS card material shot on my PMW320. I will have to get Premiere Pro CS6 which will save me a great deal of time in re-encoding the XDCAM EX files. Many thanks for this information. The one thing that the video did not cover was whether or not you can start the timer to count from a given number of minutes/seconds. For example, in a soccer match the second half would need to start at 45 minutes on the clock. If it cannot do that, then I still have a problem. Last edited by Bob Keen; October 25th, 2012 at 02:01 AM.

October 25th, 2012, 09:32 AM	#6
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Sure, no problem. The effect menu lets you set whatever start time you want. You would simply drag your black frame onto your timeline where you want the 45min mark to start, drag the timeclock effect that you have saved as a preset onto that black clip, and in the effects control panel set the start time to 45:00. I have a jpg of the control panel but currently it's not uploading. Suffice to say the clock size, position, color and start times are all fully adjustable.

October 25th, 2012, 10:06 AM	#7
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Here's the image, png worked ok. As you can see, the perameters are adjustable. Notice that the timecode function is actually smpte code, but you can crop out the parts you don't want to make it a minutes and seconds clock. Set the clock rate to match your frame rate; my 720-30p requires a 60 frame non-drop setting, your needs will be different. Best of luck! Attached Images

October 27th, 2012, 03:22 AM	#8
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Battle, that is fantastic. I am definitely going to buy the program now. A friend has lent me a computer with Premiere Pro CS4 which purports to import XDCAM EX files, but although I can get them into the bin by dragging them out of the Browser, when I place them on the timeline there is no sound present. I am not sure if this is a limitation of version CS4 which struggles with these file types, or whether there is another problem. The other odd thing is that they drag instantaneously from the browser to the bib which suggests that they are not really going on to the hard drive, although I do see an 'importing' window for a few seconds. Also, if I disconnect the SxS card reader, the files cannot then be found by the program.

October 27th, 2012, 12:00 PM	#9
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Glad this works for you. There is a lot of information on using xdcam files in ppro, the help file is here: Adobe Premiere Pro Help \| Importing assets from tapeless formats Usual drill is to copy the entire clip folder from your card --- slugged BPAV or something like that, if I recall correctly, to a fast second drive. Then Import the folder into Premiere. That way you are working faster, you are not dependent on having the card present all the time you're editing, and you still have the data on your card "just in case." (The CS6 data sheet says you can edit from files that are on the SxS cards, I assume this is true for CS4 as well, but the workflow I see recommended is to import the complete file folder to a fast drive and work from there.) I suggest you use the Media Browser and the XDCAM functions it offers for doing your import. (Files of type: xdcam-ex, and View-as: xcdam-ex). I suspect your audio problem is that you may be dragging just the mp4 files out of the original folder and into your bin. As you will see in the adobe help file, it's necessary to ingest the whole folder. Media Browser will ignore any un-needed file components and will do a clean ingest for you. Best wishes! Last edited by Battle Vaughan; October 27th, 2012 at 12:23 PM. Reason: clarification

October 28th, 2012, 03:31 AM	#10
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Hi Battle I really am appreciating the help that you are giving me with this. I have not tried it yet, but am in the process of doing as you suggested and copying the BPAV folder to the hard drive and then into CS4. I will let you know how it goes. EDIT - It is forecasting well over 6 hours to copy this SxS card BPAV folder to the hard drive. The footage is only an hour and a half in length. Should it take that long as I thought that card technology improved speed over tape formats, although it is only USB2 not 3? Last edited by Bob Keen; October 28th, 2012 at 06:59 AM.

October 28th, 2012, 02:06 PM	#11
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Hmm, I unfortunately don't have access to sxs equipment to check, but intuitively that sounds like rather a long time to ingest files. An hour and a half is a lot of data, but it sure seems like it should be a faster process. Is the drive you are copying to nearly full or badly fragmented? The copy from the card to the computer seems as if it should be a straight copy job, and the ingest to CS4 using Media Browser should be fairly quick. But I am flying blind on XDCAM EX as I don't have the hardware to test with...hoping someone with specific experience will jump in here....

October 29th, 2012, 02:00 AM	#12
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Hi Battle The final copying process took 10 hours and will still not import into CS4. When attempting to import the BPAV folder I get the error message 'File video dimensions{width/height} too large'. Something is clearly not right. The computer concerned has no other programs installed and the drive for importation is empty of all material. Thanks for the help that you have already given me. I do appreciate that without the ability to look at the stuff yourself it is difficult for you to resolve my issue.

October 30th, 2012, 04:54 AM	#13
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? I am beginnning now to make some progress. I think I may have worked out how to import the BPAV folder but have discovered that the computer only has 3.25 GB of RAM. Minimum standard for the program is, I believe 4. First task is to get inside the box and see if the Motherboard will accommodate more RAM and if it will, go out and purchase the maximum.

October 30th, 2012, 11:20 AM	#14
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Happy to hear you're making progress. Your ram is minimal to be sure. Might also check task manager to see what stuff is running in the background that's eating into your cpu and ram....virus programs, internet connection, anything that throws interrupts will slow you down...

October 31st, 2012, 01:41 AM	#15
Bob Keen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 18	Re: Editing Program With Real Time Clock Facility? Hi Battle The machine is not connected to the internet and has no other programs on it other than Photoshop and so I think it must be down to the RAM. I have decided to bite the bullet and have built a new PC which is able to do the job. I have also ordered CS6. I might need a bit of assistance with how that works in due course. I cannot test my new PC yet as I am waiting for delivery of a copy of windows 7. The PC is highly specked and equipped with USB 3 which should also help with the reading of the SxS cards. If I still have import problems after this, it will definately be down to my incompetence rather than the kit I am using which at least will assist me in knowing in what area to procede further.