Why does the UME File Export setting project raster say 720 x 496 rather than 486? And what does it mean?  I am unable to change it

Hey Marluc, Hit the "lock" icon between the width and height adjustment.

You can also use the presets. 

Also in colour space, select "Keep as legal range"

Philip, I don't mean that one but the one above it, which I can't change.

Also, just mixed down a sharper version of the old school project ad it came out much softer.  Any idea why that would happen in a mixdown?

marluc

marluc:

Philip, I don't mean that one but the one above it, which I can't change.

Forgive me.. I don't understand... Are you able to highlight which setting you are unable to change?

marluc:

Also, just mixed down a sharper version of the old school project ad it came out much softer.  Any idea why that would happen in a mixdown?

marluc

Can you send a screenshot of your Media Creation settings > Mixdown?

You can find that under Setting > Project > Media Creation

Your timeline shows an S on the clip, suggesting a speed transformation. It's a bit unclear what your source format is, and what your project format is (canvas size, pixel aspect ratio, i or p, framerate).

Media Creation settings:

Job, Oddly, I too have questions about all these.  How exactly do I know?

marluc

Thanks for sending. 

As Job mentioned it would be helpful to understand the raster size of your Avid Project and original media. 

For Avid project - simply send me a screenshot of your whole Avid GUI window... The project raster size should be displayed in the bottom left, below the timeline.

Regarding the original clip, select the masterclip in the bin, then go to tools > inspector and send another screenshot of the info there.

Job ter Burg:

Your timeline shows an S on the clip, suggesting a speed transformation. It's a bit unclear what your source format is, and what your project format is (canvas size, pixel aspect ratio, i or p, framerate).

Forgive me for pointing this out Job, But an 'S' adapter on a timeline is a spatial adapter, meaning it's a frameflex. A framerate adapter would be temporal, therefore marked as a 'T' on the timeline.

D'oh! You are right of course. Even more reason to dive into the source's actual size.

Philip Kapadia:

Forgive me for pointing this out Job, But an 'S' adapter on a timeline is a spatial adapter, meaning it's a frameflex. A framerate adapter would be temporal, therefore marked as a 'T' on the timeline.

nerd.

To all who have commented on my post, many thanks.  Not to be flip, but this is what I can tell you about this project:  

It started life as seven 1/2-inch Portapack open-reel black and white NTSC videotapes in 1977. (Anybody else remember that?)  It was digitized to 3 formats, Uncompressed 10 bit, Pro Res, and mp4.  I imported the Pro Res into avid as Pro Res and have dome some editing and made attempts to spruce it up with a little sharpening (Neat) and some color tuning. I made this version by putting the Neat noise reduction and sharpening on the primary channel and the color correction on top. I did a mixdown of those two timelines, expecting that it would come out looking more like the sharpened version, but it did not. I did not render it first.

Although I have been a Media Composer user for at least 20 years, I have lost touch with the ins and outs of the newer releases, which I often find to be a bit baffling. I'm an artist, not a technician, and a woman to boot. I used to "finish" in a professional studio with a professional editor and never had problems.  It is only lately that I find the terminology and the changes more advanced than I am and I don't have any direct training in Avid, lo these many years. All my friends tell me I should switch to Premiere Pro but so far I have resisted! If I can get the system working like it used to I will remain loyal!

I am not currently at my edit station but will be tomorrow and am more than happy to get your comments and instructions. Anything you can tell me is likely to help.

With much appreciation,

marluc

marluc:

 Neat noise reduction and sharpening on the primary channel and the color correction on top. 

Could this softness come from the noise reduction plugin you used? Can you remove the noise reduction effect, do another mixdown, and see if the issue persists?

I don't know what plugin you're using, but Baselight for Avid's and particularly Nucoda's DVO tools are by far the best NR tools. 

I think BorisFX also has some noise reduction tools for Avid.

Philip,

If you look at the clip before mixdown you see what looks like two color adjustmen icons. One should be the noise reduction and sharpening, but that icon is either gone or covered by another. It's not a plugin.  It's called Neat Video and has always worked well in the past. Don't know what happened to its icon.  But I can try your suggestion. BTW these mixdowns take 3 or more hours. Never heard of Baselight, and I would have to pay for Boris but maybe it's worth it.

Will try. Thanks.

marluc

Another terribly basic question: should these SD files be imported as DV25 411 or as Pro Res?