Steinberg Cubase 6 Manual
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511 Video Frame rates Cubase is capable of working with different types of video and film frame rates. For an overview about the supported frame rates, refer to the section “Frame rate (speed)” on page 495. Video output devices Cubase supports several ways to play back video files. Viewing video files onscreen in the Video Player window may work just fine for many applications, but often it is necessary to display video in a large format for viewing small details and so others involved in the session can also see the video. Cubase provides the ability to use sev - eral types of video output devices to accomplish this. Multi-head video cards One of the most common methods is the use of a multi- head video card installed in the computer. Multi-head video cards allow you to connect more than one computer monitor to the card, in some cases up to four. If you direct the video output of Cubase to one of these outputs, the video file is displayed in fullscreen mode on a computer monitor or HD television screen. ÖYou can also use more than one video card to achieve the same result. Different video cards support different types of outputs in- cluding standard VGA, DVI, S-Video, HDMI, and compo- nent video. These options allow you to choose the type of monitor you use for video. HD televisions and digital pro - jectors provide the largest viewing screens, but a normal computer monitor can function as a very high-quality video monitor as well. Dedicated video cards The use of a dedicated video card is also supported in Cubase. These cards are normally used in video editing systems to capture video to disk and display it while edit - ing. They usually have a high resolution and take some strain off the host CPU by providing video compression and decompression processing on the card. ÖThe Decklink cards by Blackmagic Design are auto- matically recognized by Cubase. Video will be sent di- rectly to its output. FireWire DV Output You have the option to use FireWire ports on the computer to output DV video streams to external converters such as various camcorders and standalone FireWire to DV con - version units. These units can be connected to a television or projector for large format viewing. The FireWire protocol is capable of transporting data at high speed and is the most common standard for communicating with video- related peripheral equipment. Preparing a video project in Cubase The following sections describe the basic operations nec- essary for preparing a Cubase project involving video. It is advisable to store your video files on a separate hard drive from your audio files. This can help prevent data streaming problems when using high-resolution video with many au - dio tracks. Importing video files Importing a video file into your project is very straight for- ward once you know that you have a compatible video file. Video files are imported in the same manner as audio files: •By using the File menu (Import–Video File). In the Import Video dialog, you can activate the “Extract Audio From Video” option. This imports any embedded audio streams to a newly cre- ated audio track positioned below the video track. The new track and the clip will get the name of the video file. The new audio event will start at the same time as the video event, so that they are in sync with each other. ÖIf you try to import a non-supported video file with the Import Video option, the Import Video dialog displays the text “Invalid or not supported file!”. •By importing to the Pool first and then dragging to the Project window (see “The Pool” on page 299 for details). •By using drag and drop from the MediaBay, the Pool, the Windows Explorer, or the Mac OS Finder. !Under Windows, it is important that you connect your device to the FireWire port before launching Cubase. Otherwise it may not be detected properly by Cubase.
512 Video ÖWhen importing video files via the Pool or by using drag and drop, Cubase can automatically extract the au - dio from a video file. Whether this happens, depends on the “Extract Audio on Import Video File” setting in the Preferences dialog (Video page). For further information about extracting audio from a video file, see “Extracting audio from a video file” on page 516. ÖWhen importing video, Cubase automatically creates a thumbnail cache file. The generated file is stored in the same folder as the video file and gets the name of the file with the suffix “.vcache”. Adopting the video frame rate When using video files within Cubase, it is important to adjust the project’s frame rate to that of the imported video. This ensures that the time displays of Cubase cor - respond to the actual frames in the video. If the frame rate of an imported video file differs from the frame rate set for the project, the video event shows a warning. In order to match the two frame rates, you have to adjust the frame rate in the Project Setup dialog. To adopt the video frame rate, proceed as follows: 1.Pull down the Project menu and select “Project Setup…”. 2.In the Project Setup dialog, click the “Get From Video” button. Provided that the video file has a frame rate supported by Cubase, it is automatically detected and applied to the project. If the project contains several video files with different frame rates, the project frame rate is ad -justed to the frame rate of the first video event on the upper video track. The project frame rate setting will change to that of the video file and the project start time will be altered to reflect the change in frame rate if needed. For example, when the project frame rate is switched from 30 fps to 29.97 fps, the start time is changed so that all the events currently in the project remain at the same positions in relation to realtime. If you want the project start time to remain the same, you must manually change it back after clicking the “Get From Video” button. In this case, it is important that the video event is snapped to the timeline to ensure proper position - ing and synchronization within the project. ÖCubase can only detect the supported frame rates (these are the frame rates listed in the Frame Rate pop-up menu in the Project Setup dialog). Video files with non-sup - ported frame rates can be played back, but the time dis- plays are not correct in this case and proper positioning is not guaranteed. Furthermore, audio and video may not be in sync. Therefore, we recommend that you use an external application to convert the video file to a frame rate sup - ported by Cubase. If you have more than one video file in a project, it is advis- able that all video files have the same frame rate consistent with the project frame rate. Nevertheless, you can work with multiple video files of differing frame rates, but in this case you should always change the project frame rate to the frame rate of the video file that you are editing at the mo - ment. This is done in the Project Setup dialog by selecting the correct frame rate from the Frame Rate pop-up menu. !In Cubase, you may work with multiple video files of differing frame rates and formats on the same video track. Assuming you have the proper codecs in - stalled, all video files can be played back in one proj- ect, but note that proper synchronization of audio and video events is ensured only if the frame rate of the video file matches the project frame rate.
513 Video Video files in the Project window Video files are displayed as events/clips on a video track, with thumbnails representing the frames in the film. In the track list and in the Inspector, the following buttons are available: ÖSome of these buttons may not be visible in the track list. In the Track Controls Settings dialog you can deter - mine which buttons are displayed in the track list, see the section “Customizing track controls” on page 535. About thumbnails The individual thumbnail images are positioned exactly at the beginning of the corresponding frame. When you zoom in and there is enough space between the frames, the thumbnail is repeated as many times as there is free space available. Thus, you can always see a thumbnail re - gardless of how much you zoom in. Thumbnail Memory Cache Size In the Preferences dialog on the Video page, you can en- ter a value for the “Thumbnail Memory Cache Size”. This determines how much memory is available for displaying “real” thumbnails. The currently shown image is buffered in the thumbnail memory cache. Whenever you move to another image and there is no memory capacity left, the “oldest” picture in the cache is replaced by the current one. If you have long video clips and/or work with a large zoom factor, you may have to raise the “Thumbnail Mem - ory Cache Size” value. About thumbnail cache files When importing video, Cubase automatically creates a thumbnail cache file. The cache file is used in situations where the processor load is very high and the correct re - drawing or realtime calculation of thumbnails might use system resources necessary for editing or processing. When you zoom in on the thumbnails, you see that they are in a lower resolution, i. e. the pictures are not as clear as when they are calculated. When the processes that rely heavily on the computer CPU are finished, the frames are automatically recalculated, i. e. the program automati- cally switches between realtime calculation of the pictures and using the cache file. ÖThere are situations where no thumbnail cache file can be generated, e. g. if you import a video file from a folder that is write-protected. If you have access to the host folder at a later stage, you can generate a thumbnail cache file manually. Manually generating thumbnail cache files If no thumbnail cache file could be generated during im- port or if you have to “refresh” a thumbnail cache file of a certain video file, because the file has been edited with an external video editing application, you have the possibility to generate the thumbnail cache file manually. To create a thumbnail cache file manually, you have the following possibilities: •In the Pool, right-click on the video file that you want to create a thumbnail cache file for and select the “Generate Thumbnail Cache” option from the context menu. A thumbnail cache file is created, or, in case there already existed a thumbnail cache file for the video file, it is “refreshed”. •In the Project window, open the context menu for the video event, and select “Generate Thumbnail Cache” from the Media submenu. •Pull down the Media Menu and select “Generate Thumb- nail Cache”. Ö“Refreshing” an already existing thumbnail cache file can be done only from within the Pool. ButtonDescription Mute VideoWhen this is activated, video playback is disabled, but playback of any other events in the project continues. This increases the performance of Cubase when realizing operations that do not require watching the video. Show Frame NumbersWhen this is activated, each thumbnail is shown with the corresponding video frame number. Show ThumbnailsWith this button you can activate/deactivate the thumb-nails of a video track. LockWhen this is activated, the video event will be locked, see the section “Locking events” on page 65. Show frame numbers Mute videoShow thumbnailsLock
514 Video ÖThe thumbnail cache file is generated in the back- ground so that you can continue working with Cubase. Playing back video To check if your video equipment is capable of playing back a video from within Cubase, open the Video Player page in the Device Setup dialog. If your system does not meet the minimum video requirements, a corresponding message will be displayed. Video is played back together with all other audio and MIDI material, using the Transport controls. Video settings in the Device Setup dialog In the Device Setup dialog you determine which device is used for playing back video files. You can switch between different output devices during playback. The Video Player page in the Device Setup dialog To set up a video output device, proceed as follows: 1.Pull down the Devices Menu and select “Device Setup…” to open the Device Setup dialog, and select the Video Player page. 2.In the Active column, activate the checkbox for the de- vice that you want to use for playing back video. All devices in your system that are capable of playing back video are listed. The Onscreen Window device serves for playing back the video file on your computer monitor. For further information on output devices, see the section “Video output devices” on page 511. 3.From the pop-up menu in the Format column, select an output format. For the Onscreen Window output, only a “fixed” format is available. For the other output devices, you can select different output formats for play - back depending on the device. 4.Adjust the Offset setting to compensate for process- ing delays. Due to delays while processing video, the video image may not match with the audio in Cubase. By using the Offset parameter, you can com - pensate for this effect. The Offset value indicates how many milliseconds the video will be delivered earlier in order to compensate for the process- ing time of the video material. Each hardware setup can have different processing delays, so you must try out different values to determine which value is appropriate. ÖThe Offset value can be set individually for each out- put device. It is saved globally for each output device and is independent of the project. ÖThe offset is only used during playback. It is defeated in stop and scrub mode so that you always see the correct video frame. •If the quality of the video image is not a critical factor or if you are experiencing performance problems, try lower - ing the value on the Video Quality pop-up menu. Although higher quality settings make the video display sharper and smoother, they also lead to an increased processor load. Playing back video on the computer screen The Video Player window is used for playing back video on your computer screen. •To open the Video Player window, pull down the De- vices menu and select the “Video Player” option. !For playing back video files, you must have QuickTime 7.1 or higher installed on your computer. There is a freeware version and a “pro” version, which offers ad - ditional video conversion options. The player engine is the same in both versions, so for mere playback in Cu - base there is no need to purchase the “pro” version. !You need a video card that supports OpenGL (ver- sion 2.0 recommended) for proper video playback. A card with OpenGL 1.2 can also be used, but might put restrictions on the video functionality.
515 Video Setting the window size and video quality To resize the Video Player window and/or change the play- back quality of the video, select the appropriate option on the context menu of the Video Player window. The following options are available: •To resize the Video Player window, you can also drag the borders. ÖThe higher the resolution, the more processing power is needed for playback. If you need to reduce the proces - sor load, you can reduce the size of the Video Player win- dow, or lower the value on the Video Quality submenu. Setting the aspect ratio Resizing the Video Player window by dragging its borders may lead to a distorted image. To prevent this, you can set an aspect ratio for video playback. •From the Aspect Ratio submenu of the Video Player context menu, select one of the following options: ÖWhen the video is played back in fullscreen mode, the aspect ratio of the video is always kept. Scrubbing video You can scrub video events, i. e. play them back forwards or backwards at any speed. This is done by clicking in the Video Player window and moving the mouse to the left or to the right. You can also use the Scrub controls on the Transport panel or a jog wheel on a remote controller for scrubbing video events, see the sections “Playing back with the shuttle speed control” on page 85 and “Project scrubbing – the jog wheel” on page 86. OptionDescription Fullscreen ModeThe window is enlarged to occupy the whole (computer) screen. If you are working with more than one monitor, you can move the Video Player window to an extra monitor. Thus, you can work with Cubase on one monitor and let the video play back on another monitor. You can exit fullscreen mode via the window’s context menu or by pressing [Esc] on your computer keyboard. Quarter SizeThe window size is reduced to a quarter of the actual size. Half SizeThe window size is reduced to half the actual size. Actual SizeThe window size corresponds to the size of the video. Double SizeThe window is enlarged to twice the actual size. Video QualityThis submenu allows you to change the quality of the video image. Higher settings make the video display sharper and smoother, but lead to an increased processor load. OptionDescription NoneThe aspect ratio of the video is not kept when resizing the window. The image is enlarged/reduced to occupy the whole Video Player window. InternalThe Video Player window can be resized at will, but the as-pect ratio of the video is kept and black borders are dis-played around the video image to fill the window. ExternalThe resizing of the Video Player window is limited accord-ing to the aspect ratio of the video image, i. e. the video im-age always fills the full window and its aspect ratio is kept.
516 Video Editing video Video clips are played back by events just as audio clips are. You can use all the basic editing operations on video events, just as with audio events. You can take a single event and copy it many times for the creation of mix varia - tions. A video event may also be trimmed using the event handles to remove a countdown for instance. Furthermore, you can lock video events just like other events in the Proj - ect window, and you can edit video clips in the Pool (see the chapter “The Pool” on page 299). It is not possible to fade or crossfade video events. Fur- thermore, you cannot use the Draw, Glue, and Mute tools with a video event. ÖWindows only: If you find that you are unable to edit a video file copied from a CD, this might be due to the fact that files copied from CD are write-protected by default. To remove the write-protection, in the Windows Explorer, open the Properties dialog and deactivate the “Read- Only” option. Extracting audio from a video file If a video file contains audio, the audio stream can be ex- tracted. As always when importing audio material, a dialog is displayed allowing you to select different import options (see “Audio file import options” on page 522). There are several ways to extract audio from a video file: •By activating the “Extract Audio From Video” option in the Import Video dialog (see the section “Importing video files” on page 511). •By using the “Audio from Video File” option on the Im- port submenu of the File menu. This will insert an audio event starting at the project cursor position on the selected audio track. If no audio track is selected, a new one will be created. •By activating the “Extract Audio on Import Video File” option in the Preferences dialog (Video page). This will automatically extract the audio stream from any video file during import. •By using the “Extract Audio from Video File” option on the Media menu. This creates an audio clip in the Pool, but does not add any events to the Project window. Replacing the audio in a video file Once you have edited all audio and MIDI data to the video and created a final mix, you will need to put the new audio back with the video. You can do this by embedding the audio in another stream within the video container file. To replace the audio stream in a video file, proceed as fol- lows: 1.Place the left locator at the start of the video file in Cu- base. This will ensure that your audio and video streams are synchronized. 2.Pull down the File menu and select the Audio Mixdown option from the Export submenu to export the audio file you wish to insert into the video container file (for detailed information on this function, see the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” on page 484). 3.From the File menu, select “Replace Audio in Video File…”. A file dialog opens prompting you to locate the video file. 4.Select the video file and click Open. Next, you are prompted to locate the corresponding audio file. 5.Select the audio file and click Open. The audio is added to the video file, replacing its current audio stream. Once the process is completed, open the video file in a native media player and check for proper synchronization. !These functions are not available for MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video files.
518 ReWire Introduction ReWire and ReWire2 are special protocols for streaming audio between two computer applications. Developed by Propellerhead Software and Steinberg, ReWire provides the following possibilities and features: •Realtime streaming of up to 64 separate audio channels (256 with ReWire2), at full bandwidth, from the “synthe - sizer application” into the “mixer application”. In this case, the “mixer application” is of course Cubase. An example of a “synthesizer application” is Propellerhead Software’s Reason. •Automatic, sample accurate synchronization between the audio in the two programs. •The possibility to have the two programs share one au- dio card and take advantage of multiple outputs on that card. •Linked transport controls that allow you to play, rewind, etc., either from Cubase or from the synthesizer applica - tion (provided it has some kind of transport functionality). •Automatic audio mixing functions of separate channels as required. In the case of Reason, for example, this allows you to have separate mixer channels for the different devices. •Additionally, ReWire2 offers the possibility to route MIDI tracks in Cubase to the other application, for full MIDI control. For each ReWire2 compatible device, a number of extra MIDI outputs will be made available in Cubase. In the case of Reason, this allows you to route different MIDI tracks in Cubase to different devices in Reason, with Cubase serving as the main MIDI sequencer. •The overall load on your system is much reduced, com- pared to when using the programs together in the conven- tional way. Launching and quitting When using ReWire, the order in which you launch and quit the two programs is very important: Launching for normal use with ReWire 1.First launch Cubase. 2.Enable one or several ReWire channels in the ReWire Device dialog for the other application. This is described in detail in the section “Activating ReWire channels” on page 519. 3.Launch the other application. It may take slightly longer for the application to start when you are using ReWire. Quitting a ReWire session When you are finished, you also need to quit the applica- tions in a special order: 1.First quit the synthesizer application. 2.Then quit Cubase. Launching both programs without using ReWire We cannot think of any scenario, in which you would need to run Cubase and the synthesizer application simultane - ously on the same computer, without using ReWire, but you can: 1.First launch the synthesizer application. 2.Then launch Cubase. ÖPlease note that the two programs now compete for system resources such as audio cards, just as when run - ning either with other, non-ReWire audio applications.
519 ReWire Activating ReWire channels ReWire supports streaming of up to 64 separate audio channels, while ReWire2 supports 256 channels. The ex - act number of available ReWire channels depends on the synthesizer application. Using the ReWire Device panels in Cubase, you can specify which of the available chan - nels you want to use: 1.Pull down the Devices menu and select the menu item with the name of the ReWire application. All recognized ReWire compatible applications will be available on the menu. The ReWire panel appears. This consists of a number of rows, one for each available ReWire channel. 2.Click on the power buttons to the left to activate/de- activate the desired channels. The buttons light up to indicate activated channels. Please note that the more ReWire channels you activate, the more processing power is re- quired. •For information about exactly what signal is carried on each channel, see the documentation of the synthesizer application. 3.If desired, double-click on the labels in the right col- umn, and type in another name. These labels will be used in the Cubase Mixer to identify the ReWire channels. Using the transport and tempo controls Basic transport controls When you run ReWire, the transports in the two programs are completely linked. It does not matter in which program you play, stop, fast forward or rewind. However, recording (if applicable) is still completely separate in the two appli - cations. Loop settings If there is a loop or cycle facility in the synthesizer applica- tion, that loop will be completely linked to the cycle in Cu- base. This means that you can move the start and end point for the loop or turn the loop on or off in either program, and this will be reflected in the other. Tempo settings As far as tempo goes, Cubase is always the master. This means that both programs will run in the tempo set in Cubase. However, if you are not using the tempo track in Cubase, you can adjust the tempo in either program, and this will immediately be reflected in the other. !This is only relevant if the synthesizer application has some sort of built-in sequencer or similar. !If you are using the tempo track in Cubase (i. e. the Tempo button is activated on the Transport panel), you should not adjust the tempo in the synthesizer application, since a tempo request from ReWire will automatically deactivate the tempo track in Cubase!
520 ReWire How the ReWire channels are handled in Cubase When you activate ReWire channels in the ReWire De- vice panels, they will become available as channel strips in the Mixer. The ReWire channel strips have the following properties: •ReWire channels appear to the right of the other audio and MIDI channel strips in the Mixer. •ReWire channels may be any combination of mono and stereo, depending on the synthesizer application. •ReWire channels have the same functionality as regular audio channels. This means you can set volume and pan, add EQ, insert effects and sends, and route the channel outputs to groups or busses. However, ReWire channels have no monitor buttons. •All ReWire channel settings can be automated using the Read/Write buttons. When you write automation, channel automation tracks will automatically appear in the Project window. This allows you to view and edit the auto - mation graphically, just as with VST instrument channels, etc. •You can mix down the audio from ReWire channels to a file on your hard disk with the Export Audio Mixdown func - tion (see “Mixing down to audio files” on page 485). You can export the output bus to which you have routed the ReWire channels. Cubase only: You can also export individual ReWire channels directly – “rendering” each ReWire channel to a separate audio file. Routing MIDI via ReWire2 When using Cubase with a ReWire2-compatible appli- cation, additional MIDI outputs will automatically appear on the MIDI Output pop-up menus for MIDI tracks. This allows you to play the synthesizer application via MIDI from Cubase, using it as one or several separate MIDI sound sources. The MIDI outputs for a Reason song. Here, each output goes directly to a device in the Reason rack. •The number and configuration of MIDI outputs depends on the synthesizer application. Considerations and limitations Sample rates Synthesizer applications may be limited to audio playback in certain sample rates. If Cubase is set to a sample rate other than those, the synthesizer application will play back at the wrong pitch. Consult the documentation of the syn - thesizer application for details. ASIO drivers ReWire works well with ASIO drivers. By using the Cu- base bus system you can route sounds from the synthe- sizer application to various outputs on an ASIO compati- ble audio card. !This feature is only available with ReWire2-compati- ble applications.