EX1 video input to Avid liquid 7 at DVinfo.net

Peter Donaldson · January 24th, 2009, 12:03 AM

I am having trouble inputting my Ex1 footage shot as 1920x1080p at 25fps PAL into Avid Liquid 7. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The clips have been downloaded onto a hard drive using Sony clip browser.

Craig Seeman · January 24th, 2009, 10:50 AM

You don't mention what "trouble" you're having.
Avid Liquid 7 descended from Pinnacle Liquid I believe. There is also Pro and Chrome Xe.
You'd have to know what codecs Liquid supports. Can it handle the MP4 files or MXF? If not, you'll have to convert to another codec. If going to another codec involves significant time or a re-encode (and therefor a loss of quality) you might have to consider another NLE which might include upgrading to an Avid system that supports MXF (if Liquid does not).

Graeme Fullick · January 24th, 2009, 03:29 PM

You will need to convert your files to mxf (which Liquid does support), and they should import straight away. I am using both Media Composer and Liquid to edit my EX1 footage and both work brilliantly. Liquid is a great editor for the money, not quite in Media Composers class - but at a fraction of the cost it is hard to beat, and has an advantage in being a native mpeg editor - which no other NLE is.

Craig Seeman · January 24th, 2009, 05:05 PM

Graeme, that's why I was confused about Peter's post. ClipBrowser has export to MXF for NLEs. Peter did not say what "trouble" he found so I was thinking maybe that didn't work. I could have given him a more complete answer with screenshot 6 hours ago if he mentioned what the trouble was.

Peter Donaldson · January 24th, 2009, 06:19 PM

Thanks Guys

Sorry for not being more specific Craig. I tried to do it using the conversion to Avid V5 in Clip Browser but when I attempted to input these to Avid it didn't recognize the CODEC. I have since followed your advice Graeme using the mxf file conversion and can now input. I am only setting up Avid for the first time so am a complete beginner with it. Using this route will I preserve the HD quality? So far I haven't found any sound or maybe it isn't turned on in Avid as yet. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Graeme Fullick · January 25th, 2009, 04:50 AM

Peter,

There is no loss in quality what so ever, and there should not be a problem with the sound.

Good luck, and enjoy your editing.

Kenny Cowburn · January 26th, 2009, 11:30 AM

What operating system are you using?

if you have Windows VISTA, Pinnacle / Avid Liquid products will not work properly (there is also no support from Liquid for this issue)
I had to learn this the hard way, buying a render beast from HP, only to find no sound in my MXF imported files, once I had successfully installed the Liquid 7.2 software.

the system also managed to toss the four projects I had saved as tests overnight and I had left the system running.

I was so glad to be rid of VISTA once I'd given the HP back to the shop I bought it from

Marc Myers · January 26th, 2009, 12:41 PM

Liquid works great with EX1 footage using the MXF format. If you have Liquid installed on Vista, best to check the Pinnacle Liquid Forum. Error Vista is not officially supported but many are using it. There's some tricks to the install.

Peter Donaldson · January 26th, 2009, 05:05 PM

I'm using windows XP. When I export from Clip browser using mxf for nles I do not get sound. I do not know what the size of the image is. When I use the mxf XDCAM HD 25 Mbps option I do get sound but lose the full 1920 pixel width and get 1440 x 1080 at 25p. When I use the mxf XDCAM HD422 option which supposedly gives the full 1920 width, I cannot transfer and get the message "File cannot be imported Format or compression is not supported"

I wish to get the full 1920 x 1080p at 25 fps across and then work on them with the full 16 x9 format frame showing in the preview window.

Peter Donaldson · January 29th, 2009, 01:10 PM

After much trying and questioning I have found that avid Liquid 7 does not support full HD . The best it will do is 1440 x 1080P. I am now trialling Edius V5 which so far appears to be excellent and certainly can input full HD

Matt San · January 29th, 2009, 01:17 PM

I use Edius 5 and have done for 12months - u will find it handles EX1 files with ease!

Marc Myers · January 29th, 2009, 01:38 PM

This is not exactly true. Normal Liquid can only use up to 50 mbits/s for it's m2v codecs. This is fine for HDV editing or SD editing but it really left those who were serious about HD production in the dark. There is also an uncompressed HD mode which is a total hard drive pig and requires a supercompter. This is the two extreme ends to the spectrum with no in between. But there's a free tool, developed in part in response to XDCAMHD, on the Liquid forums which allows bitrates up to 300 mbits/s (37.5 MB/S), . It isn't lossless but by report you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. Many other NLES use some form of intermediate format for HD production work such as Cineform, Canopus, Avid DnxHD, and Apple Prores. These formats allow people to work with a high quality HD format that doesn't eat massive amounts of drive space and bandwidth.

January 24th, 2009, 12:03 AM	#1
Peter Donaldson Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bowral Australia Posts: 26	EX1 video input to Avid liquid 7 I am having trouble inputting my Ex1 footage shot as 1920x1080p at 25fps PAL into Avid Liquid 7. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The clips have been downloaded onto a hard drive using Sony clip browser.

January 24th, 2009, 03:29 PM	#3
Graeme Fullick Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 337	You will need to convert your files to mxf (which Liquid does support), and they should import straight away. I am using both Media Composer and Liquid to edit my EX1 footage and both work brilliantly. Liquid is a great editor for the money, not quite in Media Composers class - but at a fraction of the cost it is hard to beat, and has an advantage in being a native mpeg editor - which no other NLE is. __________________ Graeme Last edited by Graeme Fullick; January 25th, 2009 at 04:51 AM.

January 24th, 2009, 05:05 PM	#4
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Graeme, that's why I was confused about Peter's post. ClipBrowser has export to MXF for NLEs. Peter did not say what "trouble" he found so I was thinking maybe that didn't work. I could have given him a more complete answer with screenshot 6 hours ago if he mentioned what the trouble was. Attached Thumbnails

January 25th, 2009, 04:50 AM	#6
Graeme Fullick Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 337	Peter, There is no loss in quality what so ever, and there should not be a problem with the sound. Good luck, and enjoy your editing. __________________ Graeme

January 26th, 2009, 11:30 AM	#7
Kenny Cowburn Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Oberaudorf Germany Posts: 66	sounds familier What operating system are you using? if you have Windows VISTA, Pinnacle / Avid Liquid products will not work properly (there is also no support from Liquid for this issue) I had to learn this the hard way, buying a render beast from HP, only to find no sound in my MXF imported files, once I had successfully installed the Liquid 7.2 software. the system also managed to toss the four projects I had saved as tests overnight and I had left the system running. I was so glad to be rid of VISTA once I'd given the HP back to the shop I bought it from

January 24th, 2009, 10:50 AM	#2
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	You don't mention what "trouble" you're having. Avid Liquid 7 descended from Pinnacle Liquid I believe. There is also Pro and Chrome Xe. You'd have to know what codecs Liquid supports. Can it handle the MP4 files or MXF? If not, you'll have to convert to another codec. If going to another codec involves significant time or a re-encode (and therefor a loss of quality) you might have to consider another NLE which might include upgrading to an Avid system that supports MXF (if Liquid does not).

January 24th, 2009, 06:19 PM	#5
Peter Donaldson Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bowral Australia Posts: 26	Thanks Guys Sorry for not being more specific Craig. I tried to do it using the conversion to Avid V5 in Clip Browser but when I attempted to input these to Avid it didn't recognize the CODEC. I have since followed your advice Graeme using the mxf file conversion and can now input. I am only setting up Avid for the first time so am a complete beginner with it. Using this route will I preserve the HD quality? So far I haven't found any sound or maybe it isn't turned on in Avid as yet. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

January 26th, 2009, 12:41 PM	#8
Marc Myers Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Long Island, NY and Northeast PA Posts: 132	Liquid works great with EX1 footage using the MXF format. If you have Liquid installed on Vista, best to check the Pinnacle Liquid Forum. Error Vista is not officially supported but many are using it. There's some tricks to the install.

January 26th, 2009, 05:05 PM	#9
Peter Donaldson Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bowral Australia Posts: 26	I'm using windows XP. When I export from Clip browser using mxf for nles I do not get sound. I do not know what the size of the image is. When I use the mxf XDCAM HD 25 Mbps option I do get sound but lose the full 1920 pixel width and get 1440 x 1080 at 25p. When I use the mxf XDCAM HD422 option which supposedly gives the full 1920 width, I cannot transfer and get the message "File cannot be imported Format or compression is not supported" I wish to get the full 1920 x 1080p at 25 fps across and then work on them with the full 16 x9 format frame showing in the preview window.

January 29th, 2009, 01:10 PM	#10
Peter Donaldson Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bowral Australia Posts: 26	After much trying and questioning I have found that avid Liquid 7 does not support full HD . The best it will do is 1440 x 1080P. I am now trialling Edius V5 which so far appears to be excellent and certainly can input full HD

January 29th, 2009, 01:17 PM	#11
Matt San Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Wales UK Posts: 121	I use Edius 5 and have done for 12months - u will find it handles EX1 files with ease!

January 29th, 2009, 01:38 PM	#12
Marc Myers Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Long Island, NY and Northeast PA Posts: 132	This is not exactly true. Normal Liquid can only use up to 50 mbits/s for it's m2v codecs. This is fine for HDV editing or SD editing but it really left those who were serious about HD production in the dark. There is also an uncompressed HD mode which is a total hard drive pig and requires a supercompter. This is the two extreme ends to the spectrum with no in between. But there's a free tool, developed in part in response to XDCAMHD, on the Liquid forums which allows bitrates up to 300 mbits/s (37.5 MB/S), . It isn't lossless but by report you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. Many other NLES use some form of intermediate format for HD production work such as Cineform, Canopus, Avid DnxHD, and Apple Prores. These formats allow people to work with a high quality HD format that doesn't eat massive amounts of drive space and bandwidth.