Steinberg Nuendo 5 Manual
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491 Networking In the “Shared Projects” dialog 1.If it is not already active, activate the network by checking the option “Active” on the Network menu. 2.Open the “Shared Projects” dialog from the Network menu. 3.Click the “Share Active Project” button. This will open the “Project Sharing and Permissions” dialog, to let you verify that all permissions are OK before sharing. You can then share the project in the dialog. When the active project is shared, it appears in the “My Shared Projects” folder. The “Share Active Project” button •To revoke sharing of a project, select it in the “My Shared Projects” folder and click the “Unshare Selected Project” button. The “Unshare Selected Project” button Deactivating a shared project If you are sharing a project and want to stop working on it, you do this by deactivating the network. When you deacti - vate the network during work with a shared project, the other users will be disconnected from it. However, sharing will not be revoked unless you specify it – meaning that the next time you connect to the network, the project will still be shared, allowing the other users to join it without you having to make permission settings and share it all over again. 1.To deactivate the network, pull down the Network menu and select “Active”, so that the checkmark is removed. 2.A dialog opens, asking you to confirm that you want to disconnect the network. All the users will be disconnected from the project. The project will still be shared when you connect to the network again. •To reactivate the network, check the “Active” option on the Network menu again. A dialog opens, asking you to confirm that you want to reconnect the network. All the users with whom you previously shared the project will now be able to join it again. About the project folder When you’re sharing a project, you have to decide whether the project folder for it should be located on your local hard disk, or – if you’re sharing the project over a LAN and have access to a common file server – if it should be located on the server. You should consider the following: •If the project folder is located on your hard disk, the files it contains will be copied to the other users’ hard disks, and their project folders. This way, work on the files will be done locally on the computer of each user, and the updated files are then copied to the hard disks of the other users. •If you have access to a file server and place the project folder and its contents on it, the other users can specify this folder as the project folder when they join the project. In this case, the project files will not be copied to the other users’ hard disks, but are instead accessed directly on the server. Working on the files directly on a server may be slower compared to working on them lo - cally. On the other hand, the files will not have to be copied to each hard disk every time they are updated. Where to put large media files If you have a file server that is fast enough for connected workstations to call audio or video playback of files stored on this server, you should place large media files on this server to avoid excessive network traffic. However, when you are using a Windows workstation, note that when you connect your file server using a drive letter (e. g. V:\), Nuendo will treat this server as a local drive, which means that any data from this server used in a shared project will always be copied over the Nuendo network.
492 Networking Therefore, try placing your large files on a file server and import them into Nuendo without using the “Copy File to Working Directory” option. The server path should now be displayed in the Pool. Joining projects The “Shared Projects” dialog lets you join projects shared by other users in the network. This dialog lists all the established users in the network, and any projects they are sharing. For you to be able to join a project, the user sharing it must be online and have given you read and/or write access. To join a project, proceed as follows: 1.Connect to the network by checking the “Active” op- tion on the Network menu. 2.Open the “Shared Projects” dialog from the Network menu. 3.If necessary, click the “Rescan Network” button (the rightmost button on the toolbar). Nuendo scans the network for any updated information about online users and/or shared projects, and refreshes the Shared Projects dialog accord - ingly. • The item “Users in Local Network” lists all the established us- ers in a LAN. • The item “Global IP Network” lists all the users with whom you have established WAN connections (see “Setting up WAN connections” on page 485). 4.If there are plus signs beside these items, this indi- cates that a list of users can be displayed. 5.If a user is sharing projects, this is indicated by a plus sign beside the user name. Click this to display a list of the projects shared by this user. If there are shared projects you can join, these are indicated by the text “You can join” in green. 6.To join a project, select it and click the “Join Project” button (or double-click the project name in the list). A dialog opens, allowing you to specify the project folder. The “Join Project” button 7.Select a project folder. There may be two cases which require special approaches: • If you are connected over a LAN, the owner of the project may have decided to keep the project files in a special, common project folder on a server. If this is the case, you will need to specify this folder as the Project folder. • If the owner of the project keeps the project files in a project folder on a local hard disk, select a local folder on your hard disk. In this case, the project files will be copied to the project folder on your hard disk. See “About the project folder” on page 491 for more in- formation about the project folder in shared projects. 8.When you have selected a project folder, the project and the files are copied to your hard disk (unless you’re working on a server). If you have access not to the entire project, but only separate tracks, only the tracks for which you have read or write permission will be loaded. Downloading selected tracks When you click the “Download Selected Tracks” button, you can select which tracks from which shared projects you want to download to your computer. You will be asked whether you wish to create a new project. When you select No, the downloaded tracks will be added to your active project. Note that you cannot download tracks into a shared project. Merging your project to the network project When you click the “Merge Active Project to Selected Network Project” button, the currently active project will be merged with the selected Network project. You will be asked whether you wish to download the shared project before merging.
493 Networking •Clicking “No” allows you to simply commit your tracks without having to download all shared tracks. (Please stay connected until all others have received your tracks.) •When you click “Yes”, you can join using your active project without having to create a new project locally. The Project Sharing and Permissions dialog for your local project will be displayed. When you are happy with all per - mission settings, click on “Start Merge”. This will join the Network project and download all available tracks. When the download is complete, you can commit your tracks. Disconnecting from projects If you have joined a project and want to stop working on it, you do this by deactivating the network. When you deacti - vate the network during work with a shared project, you will disconnect from it. However, you will still have access to the project in the future as long as the owner shares it with you. The next time you connect to the network, the project will still be shared with you (unless the owner has changed the permissions) and you can join it again. 1.Pull down the Network menu and select the Active item, so that it is not checked to deactivate the network. A dialog will appear, asking you to confirm that you want to disconnect from the network. 2.Click “Yes”. You will disconnect from the project. •To reactivate the network, select “Active” on the Network menu again. A dialog opens, asking you to confirm that you want to reconnect to the network. If the project is accessible on the network, you will rejoin it and all the project files will be loaded (see below). Working with shared projects Any user who has write access to the project or separate tracks in it can make changes and commit these to the other users. The communication and transfer of updated files is handled mainly in the Network section for each track in the Inspector. The permission status of a track is indicated in the Inspec- tor as follows: •If the symbol on the right of the Network tab in the In- spector is displayed in a lighter color, you have both read and write access to the track and can make changes to it. •If the symbol on the right of the Network tab in the In- spector is orange, you have only read access to the track, and cannot make changes to it. The Network section contains several controls for net- work-related track functions: In addition to the above, the Network section also displays the user name of the owner of a project you join. ÖYou can also customize Nuendo so that the four main network control buttons are available in the track list. This is done in the Track Controls Settings dialog, see “Cus- tomizing track controls” on page 573. Committing changes To a track When you have made changes to a track, proceed as fol- lows to commit them and make them known to the users in the network: 1.Open the Network section for the track in the Inspec- tor by clicking its tab. If you have set things up so that the commit button is available in the track list, you do not have to use the Inspector. 2.Click the button “Commit changes on this track”. The changes are committed to the network. ÖIf more than one track is selected, clicking this button for one selected track will commit the changes on all se - lected tracks. For the owner of a project, this is also the way to update permission settings made directly in the In - spector (see “Setting up permissions for separate tracks” on page 489). Automatically apply updatesGet exclusive access (lock track) Load available updateCommit changes on this trackOverride project permissions – only available for the owner of the project (see “Setting up permissions for separate tracks” on page 489).
494 Networking To a project If you have made changes to several tracks, or made other project changes, you will probably want to commit all changes at once: •Pull down the Network menu and select “Commit Changes” to commit the changes over the network. Alternatively, you can click the corresponding button on the Project win- dow toolbar. See “Using the Setup options” on page 572 for information about how to customize the toolbar. Loading changes When other users have made changes to a track and committed them over the network, the “Load available up - date” button in the network controls for the corresponding track lights up to indicate that you can load the changes and update the project. The “Load available update” button is located in the Net- work section of the Inspector. However, when working with shared projects, you will probably want to customize Nu - endo so that it is also available in the track list (see above), since this makes it somewhat easier to get a visual overview of when committed changes are available. You can use two different methods to load available changes to tracks over the network: •Click the “Load available update” button in the Inspec- tor or the track list. This will load the available update for the track. •Click the “Automatically apply updates” button in the In- spector or the track list for one or more tracks. This way, all changes committed to the track(s) by other users will be au- tomatically loaded without requiring your intervention. There is also a special method for loading changes made to the tempo and signature tracks, as well as loading new tracks: •Click the “Sync project to network state” button in the Project window toolbar. This button lights up to indicate that there are changes available. Click it to have any new tracks and any changes made to the tempo and signa- ture tracks loaded. ÖBy default, the Network controls are not visible in the toolbar. If you want them to be visible, you need to cus - tomize the toolbar. ÖYou can also undo an update! If you have loaded an available update, you can select “Undo Net Update” from the Edit menu. Similarly, you can “undo the undo” by se - lecting “Redo Net Update”. Locking tracks If you have write permission for a track and want to pre- vent other users from making changes to it, you can lock it for your own use only. •To lock a track for your exclusive use, click the “Get ex- clusive access” button for the track in the Inspector or the track list. •To unlock a track, click the “Get exclusive access” but- ton again so it is no longer lit. The owner of a project can unlock a track, regardless of who locked it: •When you click the “Get exclusive access” button for a locked track that was not locked by you, a warning mes - sage appears. •When you are the owner of the project or track, select “Release Lock” to unlock the track. Other users can only click “Cancel” to leave the track locked. About network communication problems In any network, occasionally, connections may be lost. When network communication with a participant fails, you can initiate a communication verification process, and at - tempt to re-establish the lost connection, see “Verify Communication” on page 486. !Each time you commit a change to a track or project, network activity is initiated, slowing the network down. Depending on the speed of the network, it may take some time before the changes are distrib - uted to all users and work can continue, so commit changes sparingly and only when necessary.
495 Networking After the verification process, a dialog lists the results of the verification process. Nuendo may either have been able to restore communication through the process, or still be unable to communicate with some participant(s). The dialog lists each participant with whom communication still failed (see below). At this point, you will have to decide whether to remove the participant(s) from the network: •If you suspect the communication problems are tempo- rary, select “No” and wait to see if communications can be restored. You can then later manually perform the verification process if you wish (see below). •If you believe the communication problems are more se- vere, for instance if the participant(s) have experienced a system or network crash, select “Yes”. The participant(s) will then be removed from the network until able to re- join again. If the verification process does not solve the problem, the communication problems are probably of a more serious nature and may require re-configuration of the network settings (see “Setting up a network” on page 485). ÖYou can also initiate the verification process manually by selecting “Verify Communication” from the Network menu. Reconnecting participants to the Master Network project When several users have joined a Network project and this is unexpectedly disconnected from the network (i. e. it is not disconnected by e.g. deactivating the Network or by closing the project), these participants can be automati - cally reconnected. Proceed as follows: 1.Open the Master project again. The program automatically searches 10 seconds for the other users in the network. When users are found, a dialog is displayed. 2.Select “Reconnect” if you want the other user(s) to be automatically reconnected. When you click the “Unshare” button, the project is unshared. ÖThis only works if the Master project has been saved. If you are unsure about the state of connection, it might be a good idea to unshare the project and to submit it as a new network project, in order to avoid conflicts. Further options Chatting with other users on the network When you are connected to the network, it is possible to chat with other users to discuss changes you are making to shared projects. All network users can see the same chat window. •To chat with all other users on the network, select “Open Global Chat”, type in your message in the window that opens and press [Return]. •To chat only with the users working on the currently shared project, select “Open Project Chat”, type in your message in the window that opens and press [Return]. ÖOnly messages entered after you joined the chat will be visible to you. Opening projects with network settings When you are loading a project containing network set- tings and the network is deactivated in Nuendo, the fol- lowing dialog opens: •Click “Activate” to activate the network in Nuendo and try to reconnect the project. •Click “Remove” to remove all network settings. You can choose this when you do not want to work in the network any longer, or if you have e.g. older projects with corrupt network settings. •Click “Do Nothing” to open the project without chang- ing any network settings.
497 Synchronization Background What is synchronization? Synchronization is the process of getting two or more de- vices to play back together at the same exact speed and position. These devices can range from audio and video tape machines to digital audio workstations, MIDI sequenc - ers, synchronization controllers, and digital video devices. Synchronization basics There are three basic components of audio/visual synchro- nization: position, speed, and phase. If these parameters are known for a particular device (the master), then a sec - ond device (the slave) can have its speed and position “re- solved” to the first in order to have the two devices play in perfect sync with one another. Position The position of a device is represented by either samples (audio word clock), video frames (timecode), or musical bars and beats (MIDI clock). Speed The speed of a device is measured either by the frame rate of the timecode, the sample rate (audio word clock) or by the tempo of the MIDI clock (bars and beats). Phase Phase is the alignment of the position and speed compo- nents to each other. In other words, each pulse of the speed component should be aligned with each measure - ment of the position for the most accuracy. Each frame of timecode should be perfectly lined up with the correct sam - ple of audio. Put simply, phase is the very precise position of a synchronized device relative to the master (sample ac - curacy). Machine control (transport control) When two or more devices are synchronized, the question remains: how do we control the entire system? We need to be able to locate to any position, play, record, and even jog and scrub the entire system using one set of controls. Machine control is an integral part of any synchronization setup. In many cases, the device simply called “the mas - ter” will control the whole system. However, the term “master” can also refer to the device that is generating the position and speed references. Care must be taken to dif - ferentiate between the two. Master and slave Calling one device the “master” and another the “slave” can lead to a great deal of confusion. The timecode rela - tionship and the machine control relationship must be dif- ferentiated in this regard. In this document, the following terms are used: • The “timecode master” is the device generating position infor- mation or timecode. • The “timecode slave” is any device receiving the timecode and synchronizing or “locking” to it. • The “machine control master” is the device that issues trans- port commands to the system. • The “machine control slave” is the device receiving those commands and responding to them. For example, Nuendo could be the machine control mas- ter, sending transport commands to an external device which in turn sends timecode and audio clock information back to Nuendo. In that case, Nuendo would also be the timecode slave at the same time. So calling Nuendo sim - ply the master is misleading. ÖIn most scenarios, the machine control slave is also the timecode master. Once it receives a play command, that device starts generating timecode for all the timecode slaves to synchronize to. Timecode (positional references) The position of any device is most often described using timecode. Timecode represents time using hours, min - utes, seconds, and frames to provide a location for each device. Each frame represents a visual film or video frame. Timecode can be communicated in several ways: • LTC (Longitudinal Timecode) is an analog signal that can be recorded on tape. It should be used for positional information primarily. It can also be used for speed and phase information as a last resort if no other clock source is available.
498 Synchronization • VITC (Vertical Interval Timecode) is contained within a compos- ite video signal. It is recorded onto video tape and is physically tied to each video frame. • MTC (MIDI Timecode) is identical to LTC except that it is a digital signal transmitted via MIDI. • Sony P2 (9-Pin, RS-422) Machine Control also has a timecode protocol that is mainly used for locating and is not nearly accu - rate enough for speed and phase. It can be used in certain situ- ations where there is no alternative. ÖThe Nuendo SyncStation is capable of using 9-Pin timecode in a very accurate manner. Timecode standards Timecode has several standards. The subject of the various timecode formats can be very confusing due to the use and misuse of the shorthand names for specific timecode stan - dards and frame rates. The reasons for this confusion are described in detail below. The timecode format can be di - vided into two variables: frame count and frame rate. Frame count (frames per second) The frame count of timecode defines the standard with which it is labeled. There are four timecode standards: •24 fps Film (F) This frame count is the traditional count for film. It is also used for HD video formats and commonly referred to as “24 p”. However, with HD video, the actual frame rate or speed of the video sync reference is slower, 23.976 frames per second, so timecode does not reflect the actual realtime on the clock for 24p HD video. •25 fps PAL (P) This is the broadcast video standard frame count for European (and other PAL countries) television broadcast. •30 fps non-drop SMPTE (N) This is the frame count of NTSC broadcast video. However, the actual frame rate or speed of the video format runs at 29.97 fps. This timecode clock does not run in realtime. It is slightly slower by 0.1 %. •30 fps drop-frame SMPTE (D) The 30 fps drop-frame count is an adaptation that allows a timecode dis- play running at 29.97 fps to actually show the clock-on-the-wall-time of the timeline by “dropping” or skipping specific frame numbers in order to “catch the clock up” to realtime. Confused? Just remember to keep the timecode standard (or frame count) and frame rate (or speed) separate. Frame rate (speed) Regardless of the frame counting system, the actual speed at which frames of video go by in realtime is the true frame rate. In Nuendo the following frame rates are available: •23.9 fps This frame rate is used for film that is being transferred to NTSC video and must be slowed down for a 2-3 pull-down telecine transfer. It is also used for the type of HD video referred to as “24 p”. •24 fps This is the true speed of standard film cameras. •24.9 fps This frame rate is commonly used to facilitate transfers between PAL and NTSC video and film sources. It is mostly used to correct for some error. •25 fps This is the frame rate of PAL video. •29.97 fps This is the frame rate of NTSC video. The count can be either non-drop or drop-frame. •30 fps This frame rate is not a video standard anymore but has been commonly used in music recording. Many years ago it was the black and white NTSC broadcast standard. It is equal to NTSC video being pulled up to film speed after a 2-3 telecine transfer. •59.98 fps This rate is also referred to as “60 p”. Many professional HD cameras record at 59.98 fps. While 60 fps could theoretically exist as a frame rate, no current HD video camera records at a full 60 fps as a standard rate. Frame count vs. frame rate Part of the confusion in timecode stems from the use of “frames per second” in both the timecode standard and the actual frame rate. When used to describe a timecode standard, frames per second defines how many frames of timecode are counted before one second on the counter increments. When describing frame rates, frames per sec - ond define how many frames are played back during the span of one second of realtime. In other words: Regard - less of how many frames of video there are per second of timecode (frame count), those frames can be moving at different rates depending on the speed (frame rate) of the video format. For example, NTSC timecode (SMPTE) has a frame count of 30 fps. However, NTSC video runs at a rate of 29.97 fps. So the NTSC timecode standard known as SMPTE is a 30 fps standard that runs at 29.97 realtime.
499 Synchronization ÖWhen transferring material between various video for- mats and film, it becomes necessary to change the speed (frame rate) of one timecode standard so that video or film frames can line up in some mathematical relationship to the destination format. That is where all the various pull- ups and pull-downs come from. Certain frame rates were created as a result of applying a pull-down. For example, 23.976fps is actually 24fps pulled down by 0.1 %. For more information on pulls, see “About film transfers” on page 529 and “Compensating for speed changes in Nu- endo” on page 531. Clock sources (speed references) Once the position is established, the next essential factor for synchronization is the playback speed. Once two de - vices start playing from the same position, they must run at exactly the same speed in order to remain in sync. There - fore, a single speed reference must be used and all devices in the system must follow that reference. With digital audio, the speed is determined by the audio clock rate. With video, the speed is determined by the video sync signal. Audio clock Audio clock signals run at the speed of the sample rate used by a digital audio device and are transmitted in sev - eral ways: Word clock Word clock is a dedicated signal running at the current sample rate that is fed over BNC coaxial cables between devices. It is the most reliable form of audio clock and is relatively easy to connect and use. AES/SPDIF Digital Audio An audio clock source is embedded within AES and SPDIF digital audio signals. This clock source can be used as a speed reference. Preferably, the signal itself does not con - tain any actual audio (digital black), but any digital audio source can be used if necessary. ADAT Lightpipe ADAT Lightpipe, the 8-channel digital audio protocol de- veloped by Alesis, also contains audio clock and can be used as a speed reference. It is transmitted via optical ca - bles between devices. ÖDo not confuse the audio clock embedded in the Lightpipe protocol with ADAT Sync, which has timecode and machine control running over a proprietary DIN plug connection. Video sync Video sync signals are transmitted over BNC coaxial con- nections between devices and run at the frame rate of the video device. There are two types of video sync signals: • bi-level (also known as black burst) • tri-level (used for HD video) Complications arise when a video device is used as a speed reference. The video sync signal must be converted into an audio clock signal in order for audio devices to syn - chronize at the correct speed. This can be accomplished as follows: •Using a dedicated synchronizer such as the Nuendo SyncStation from Steinberg. A dedicated synchronizer can take a video sync signal (among others) and generate either word clock or AES/SPDIF signals that may be used as an audio clock source. •Using a house sync generator. A master sync generator such as the Rosendahl Nanosync HD can simul- taneously generate video sync and audio clock from the same source. This ensures that both video and audio devices fed by the sync generator will run at the same speed. ÖSome audio cards and interfaces can accept a video sync signal as an audio clock source, performing a similar function to a dedicated synchronizer. !Care must be taken to ensure that the incoming video sync frame rate matches that of the Nuendo project.
500 Synchronization MIDI clock MIDI clock is a signal that uses position and timing data based on musical bars and beats to determine location and speed (tempo). It can perform the same function as a positional reference and a speed reference for other MIDI devices. Nuendo supports sending MIDI clock to external devices but cannot slave to incoming MIDI clock. Frame edge alignment (phase) There are 1600 samples of audio in one frame of video run- ning at 48 kHz and 29.97 fps. Phase alignment adjusts the playback of Nuendo so that the precise sample of audio is lined up with the leading edge of the timecode frame. While it is possible to have very good sync without proper phase alignment, it will not be sample-accurate. With Nu - endo there are four ways of achieving sample-accurate (phase aligned) sync: •Using Steinberg’s SyncStation synchronizer. The SyncStation can resolve video sync, word clock, and timecode all in one unit with extensive machine control capabilities. •Using Steinberg’s Time Base synchronizer. The Time Base has the ability to align the audio clock with the incoming timecode. •Using VST System Link. VST System Link connects multiple workstations together using digital audio connections. System Link uses the sample clock for position and speed references, ensuring sample-accurate synchronization. •ASIO Positioning Protocol (APP) Specific ASIO audio cards that have built in timecode readers support Steinberg’s APP. APP is able to analyze the incoming timecode and com - pare that to the sample clock to provide sample-accurate synchronization. The Project Synchronization Setup dialog Nuendo’s Project Synchronization Setup dialog provides a central place to configure a complex synchronized system. In addition to settings for timecode sources and machine control settings, project setup parameters are available along with basic transport controls for testing the system. To open the Project Synchronization Setup dialog, pro- ceed as follows: •On the Transport menu, select the “Project Synchroni- zation Setup…” option. •On the Transport panel, [Ctrl]/[Command]-click the Sync button. The dialog is organized into sections separating related groups of settings. The arrows shown between the vari - ous sections of the dialog indicate how settings in one section influence settings in another section. In the follow - ing, the available sections are described in detail. The Machine Control Input Settings are linked to the Machine Control Input Source. The Nuendo section At the center of the Project Synchronization Setup dialog is the Nuendo section. It is provided to help you visualize the role that Nuendo takes in your setup. It shows which external signals enter or leave the application. The only controls available in the Nuendo section are the transport controls and the Sync button at the bottom. These controls are duplicates of the ones found in the Transport panel and are made available in order to test various synchronization settings. Sync button and transport controls in the Nuendo section !MIDI clock cannot be used to synchronize digital au- dio. It is only used for MIDI devices to play in musical sync with one another. Nuendo does not support be - ing a MIDI clock slave. !APP is only supported when Nuendo is a timecode slave.