August 2007 Archives
The MPEG Industry Forum, the world's largest advocacy group for the promotion of MPEG technologies, is pleased to announce that the following 23 member companies will be exhibiting at IBC 2007 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between Friday, 7 September and Tuesday, 11 September 2007.
Streaming Media West 2007 plans to be loaded with workshops and presentations from some of the best in the industry as it relates to streaming and compression. One of the most exciting workshops on the agenda will given by by Ben Waggoner, Program Manager, for Video Encoding in Microsoft's Professional Content Group.
For those attending the conference the workshop teaches you how to use Expression Media Encoder to publish live and on-demand content to Microsoft Silverlight. You'll also learn techniques for getting the most out of the VC-1 codec over the Web and get expert advice on how to update your existing Windows Media site to a Silverlight experience.
Internap Network Services Corporation is a leading Internet solutions company that provides "The Ultimate Online Experience" by managing, delivering and distributing applications and content with unsurpassed performance and reliability. With a global platform of data centers, managed IP services, a content delivery network (CDN), and content monetization services, Internap frees its customers to innovate their business and create new revenue opportunities.
Learn more about Internap Services at these upcoming events:
- Sep 19-21 Flash Forward (Boston)
- Sep 30 - Oct 3 MAX Adobe Show (Chicago)
- Oct 4-5 Streaming Media Europe (London)
- Nov 6-8 Streaming Media West (San Jose)
- Nov 6-7 Ad Tech - (New York)
When you are DVD authoring it is important that you have control of the final output. You have many different avenues to distribute your DVD and Adobe Encore makes allowance for that. You can change your encoding tasks to fit your needs. Included with the transcode presets are pre- and post-encoding tasks. You can use these tasks to make changes to the asset either before or after it's transcoded. You can apply a filter to reduce noise in the files before they're transcoded, or you can specify that a text log of errors, warnings, and settings be saved with the transcoded file. When you add encoding tasks to a preset, you generate a custom preset.
1.Choose File > Transcode > Edit Project Transcode Presets.
2. Select the transcode preset you want to add a task to.
3. Add tasks as follows:
To add the pre-encoding task of applying a noise reduction filter, click the Filters tab and select Video Noise Reduction. Set the slider to the level of reduction you want.
To add the post-encoding task of logging, click the Others tab and select Log File Details. Then select the details you want logged.
4. Click OK, and then enter a name for the custom preset.
When you are working on an extensive project containing a large number of bins, its can become rather easy to lose track of the where-abouts of select clips. The search functionality within Final Cut Pro can help you locate multiple items within a project fast.
Searching For Items In The Browser Window
1 Make sure that the browser window is active by clicking in it.
2 Press Command F and the Find dialog box will open.
3 Set your search criteria and click Find All. The Find Results window will open listing the results of your search criteria.
Keep in mind that the results listed in the Find Results window are not copies of original files, they are the actual files.
I have had the power scheme warning come up on the last few installs of Avid that I have performed for people, so I thought it would be good to address this issue again. When you open your capture tool in Avid Express Pro you may have a power scheme warning pop-up. This will more than likely pop-up if you are editing on a laptop. If you do not remedy this problem your capturing may be interrupted either by your screensaver or your hard disks shutting down. This can be very aggravating if you are interrupted during a very long batch capture. To fix this on a Windows System, open your control panel and navigate to power options. Click the power schemes tab and choose Always On in the Power Schemes drop-down menu. As you can see all the boxes now say Never. The other tab you need to check is the Hibernation tab. Make sure that this is unchecked so that your computer will not go into Hibernation. Learn this and other valuable inside tips from one of our great up and coming Avid classes.
Akamai Technologies, Inc., announced the launch of its Large File Download Optimization technology, an integral feature of the Akamai Electronic Software Delivery and Media Delivery solutions that supports the optimization and delivery of increasingly large files, such as DVD software and high-definition video content. To date, Akamai's global platform has been leveraged by leading software, anti-virus, gaming, and media & entertainment companies to deliver many of the largest online files.
Telestream, the leading provider of encoding-based media workflow solutions, has introduced FlipScan, a new capability for the company's enterprise-class FlipFactory transcoding workflow automation products. FlipScan automatically scans, analyzes and validates incoming video, audio and metadata destined for the Web or other distribution platforms. Based on user-defined business rules, FlipScan accepts or rejects the content and sends notifications, eliminating manual intervention.
GeniusDV, a group that offers training in video editing and production, is hosting a series of "Video Streaming and Compression Training" classes that will feature Proclaim, the new rich media video messaging tool from Netbriefings.
Proclaim lets people create live or recorded webcasts using a simple webcam or a more powerful video camera. The Web-based tool also adds PowerPoint slides and pre-recorded video clips to the presentation with the click of a button. Proclaim makes live-event or on-demand webcasting quick and easy, and for video editors and producers, it provides another distribution platform for putting finished work to good use.
It's time to start planning for Streaming Media West, the premiere Conference and Exhibition for Streaming Media. This years conference is set to take place on November 6, 7 & 8th at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.
Now in its 10th year, Streaming Media West is the only show that covers both the business of video on the net and the technology of streaming, downloading, IPTV and mobile video delivery. Covering both b2b and b2c business and technology issues in the enterprise, advertising, media and entertainment, broadcast and education markets, Streaming Media West is about more than just streaming!
Telestream will be showcasing Episode Engine, Flip4Mac and FlipFactory at IBC2007. Here are some details about each product:
Episode Engine
-Automated media exchange between Final Cut & broadcast servers with Episode Engine - backed by Telestream FlipFactory technology
-Automated monitoring of FTP files and folders
-Optimized settings template for Apple iPhone
On2 Technologies, Inc., a leader in video compression software and solutions, today announced that its On2 Flix Publisher can now be easily integrated with Akamai Technologies, Inc., the leading global service provider for accelerating content and applications online. This integration capability enables joint customers to easily encode and publish Adobe Flash video to their web destinations.
On2 Flix Publisher is a browser-based encoding and publishing solution designed to convert nearly any digital video content into Flash video, simply by dragging and dropping the media onto a special webpage object. Publisher has controls for editing and previewing the video, uploading to a remote data store, and streaming to a Flash Media Server. It delivers substantial savings in server resources and bandwidth because it encodes on the user's desktop, and only well-compressed Flash video traverses the network. Support for the Akamai platform allows for an increase in User Generated Content system scalability while at the same time it decreases computing power needs and alleviates queueing.
To Learn more about licensing for H.264 you can visit MPEG LA. There are PDF files and PowerPoint presentations for viewers to read and download. If you are gearing up to implement streaming content and other videos in a website, video portal or other type of on-line medium you should first visit MPEG LA. Many don't realize that there are licensing requirements for H.264 and MPEG-4 part 2 so the visit might prove helpful.
One of the great many features of Adobe encore is your ability to preview your DVD before you publish. I use this throughout the whole process of building my DVD so that I can see how I am doing and to check for errors. Previewing provides a way to evaluate the performance of your project from an audience perspective, and the Check Project feature identifies broken links, orphaned menus, bitrate problems, and a host of other disc-related issues. Once you are satisfied with your project's performance, you build it into a file that's ready to be burned to DVD. You can preview the project on your computer monitor or an attached DV (IEEE 1394) device. Previewing your project as you create it, and prior to building it, is a necessary part of the authoring process. Previewing lets you step through the navigation and view the quality of transcoded assets. For example, a link destination may not make sense after you've viewed it in context with other links, or you may discover that there are problems with the quality of video or audio you have transcoded. There are a few preview controls you need to be aware of and you need to understand what they do and how they work. Here are the preview controls and what you need to know about them.:
Two products nominated for a Streaming Media Magazine's 2007 Readers' Choice Awards where featured on a previous DVShow podcast June 25, 2007 Podcast. Both Proclaim and Wowza Media Server Pro where highlighted on the podcast. Host, Brian Alves, and Video Streaming and Compression Specialist for GeniusDV, Derrick Freeman, interviewed Gary Anderson, President and CEO for NetBriefings and Dave Stubenvoll, CEO and Co-Founder of Wowza Media Systems. Listen to the program to get a better feel and understanding of the two products.
Streambox is a must see at this year's IBC 2007 held at RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You can visit Streambox at Booth 4.369 to learn how their real-time solutions for newsgathering and video transport facilitate high quality video over low cost IP networks.
Streambox is a contributor to CNN's field newsgathering system which has been selected as a finalist for the IBC 2007 Innovation Award.
MainConcept AG, the world's leading provider of audio and video codecs and software development kits to the broadcast, film and consumer markets, today announced that Adobe Systems has agreed to license its H.264 and AAC technology for integration into its flagship Adobe Flash Player software, which reaches 98% of all Internet enabled PCs worldwide. Adobe has licensed the x86, PowerPC and ARM versions of MainConcept's H.264 and AAC decoders. A public beta of the latest Adobe Flash Player 9, code named Moviestar, leveraging MainConcept technology is now available from Adobe Labs (labs.adobe.com).
Don't forget to cast your vote for the Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards. As the streaming and compression industry has witnessed its second explosion this is an exciting opportunity to see companies recognized in the following categories:
This September, Inlet will once again be attending the annual International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam.
Inlet will demonstrate its real-time encoding solutions on the Microsoft stand [Balcony Mezzanine, Topaz stand]. See on-demand content creation for multiple screens - from mobile, to web, to IPTV to HD. They'll also show live VC-1 and Silverlight delivery on Inlet's Spinnaker streaming appliance.
One of the items that Telestream will be showcasing at IBC 2007 is their Pipeline encoder.
Some of the features include:
- Network-accessible SDI encoding/decoding device
- Flexible tape ingest into FlipFactory, Final Cut Pro, Episode & other products
- Real-time support for SDI, DV, IMX, MPEG-2 I-frame
- Single-channel Pipeline & multichannel Pipeline Quad
You can add chapter points from both the Monitor panel and the Timeline Viewer. Chapter points are numbered sequentially and renumbered automatically if you insert a new point between two existing chapters. You can also add chapter points at set intervals.
When you place video or still images, Adobe Encore DVD automatically inserts a chapter point at the beginning of a clip.
1. Open the timeline to which you want to add chapter points.
2. Choose Window > Monitor to view the video as you add chapter points.
3. Move the current-time indicator to the frame where you want a chapter point.
4. If you are working with MPEG-2 or other video that you have already transcoded, click either the Skip Forward button or the Skip Backward button in the Monitor panel to see the next GOP header. Remember that chapter points only land on GOP headers in transcoded video.
5. Add Chapter Point, or click the Add Chapter button in the Monitor panel or Timeline Viewer.
Once you have imported your assets into Adobe Encore you may want to convert them into Timelines. This is not obvious at first but very simple once you understand how to do it.
In the Project panel, do one of the following:
Choose Timeline > New Timeline. A blank timeline is created, ready for you to add assets or Right-click the video, audio, or still image in the Project panel, and choose New > Timeline. Adobe Encore DVD opens the Timeline Viewer and creates a new timeline with the asset already placed on the appropriate track.
To place assets together in the same timeline, select both a video and an audio file in the Project panel and click the New Timeline button.
These are two quick ways to make a timeline in Adobe Encore.
You can create some incredible effects by using a simple luma key within Final Cut Pro. The Luma Key filter works by keying out either bright or dark areas of an image.
This effect was done using by using the Luma Key filter and keying out the white areas of the smoke clip. You can obtain video clip art like this from companies like Art Beats. You can also create your own smoke by using Apple Motion.
to create this effect here are the steps:
The Wowza Media Systems announces the release of Wowza Media Server Pro 1.3.0. This FREE update will work with all existing license keys. It offers a number of significant improvements, fixes and new features, including:
On2 Technologies, Inc. , a leader in video-compression software and solutions, and Inlet Technologies, the leader in advanced encoding solutions for new media, announced that Inlet has licensed On2's live Flash video encoding technologies for integration with Inlet's advanced encoding solutions.
You can mix assets with different pixel aspect ratios in the same project. Adobe Encore DVD interprets each asset's pixel aspect ratio on import. Occasionally, an asset may contain incorrect information which, in turn, prevents Adobe Encore DVD from identifying it correctly. If you need to change an asset's pixel aspect ratio, you can use the Interpret Footage command to specify it.
Changing the pixel aspect ratio for a video asset used in a timeline changes that timeline's screen aspect ratio. To change the screen aspect ratio for a still timeline, see To specify the screen aspect ratio.
Select the file in the Project tab.
Choose File > Interpret Footage.
In the Interpret Footage dialog box, select Conform to, and then choose the appropriate pixel aspect ratio:
Square Pixels (1.0) for a file created using square pixels.
Standard (0.9)or (1.066) for a file created using nonsquare pixels with an aspect ratio of 0.9 (NTSC) or 1.066 (PAL).
Widescreen (1.2) or (1.422) for a file created using nonsquare pixels with an aspect ratio of 1.2 (NTSC) or 1.422 (PAL).
Click OK.
When working in Final Cut Pro, you may find it easier to use the 'keyframe editor' instead of the Filter or Motion tab. You may find the Filters or Motion tab(s) difficult to work with, because the default size of the keyframe area is squeezed within the Viewer Window.
The keyframe editor within the Final Cut Pro timeline will give you a lot more room to plot keyframes. To expand the size of the keyframe editor do the following:
Click on the 'Toggle Clip Keyframes' overlay button in the bottom left corner of the timeline window.
Telestream, one of the leaders in the compression and encoding space prepares to shine even greater at IBC 2007. If you plan to attend IBC 2007 you need to stop by their booth to get the latest news surrounding the company . At the event they plan to make exciting annoucements such as:
- Direct access to broadcast media servers for the proliferation of Apple workflows
Envivio Inc., the leading technology provider of IP video convergence encoding solutions from mobile to HD, today announced its 4Caster M2 mobile TV encoder has made Cable and Satellite International's shortlist for their Product of the Year Awards 2007 in the category of "Best Mobile TV Technology or Service". Regarded as one of the industry's most prestigious and respected technology awards, it is designed to reward technical and product marketing excellence in the cable, satellite, terrestrial broadcasting and IPTV sectors. This year's Cable and Satellite International Product of the Year Awards ceremony will be held at IBC2007 on Monday, September 10, 2007 at the RAI Centre, Amsterdam. Attendees to IBC2007 can view the 4Caster M2 in the Mobile Zone at M393 and on the Envivio stand 4.260.
Changing a menu in adobe Encore after you have spent time building it just the way you wanted can sound like a bunch of wasted work. This is very easy to do but not obvious. If you want to change the menu design after you create and edit a menu, you can use the Replace Menu command. When you replace a menu, Adobe Encore DVD preserves menu settings, including button links, button order, and loop count. Here is how you do it:
1. Open the menu in the Menu Viewer.
2. Select a menu template in the Library panel, and choose Menu > Replace Menu, or click the Replace button .
The appearance and layout of the menu are replaced by those of the selected template. If the replacement menu contains more buttons than exist in the original menu, the extra buttons link to no destination. If the replacement menu contains fewer buttons, the buttons from the original menu are preserved, but in the style of the default button in the replacement menu. Both the original menu and its replacement must have at least one button.
The latest edition of the DV Show for August 20, 2007 features video streaming and compression and what tools every video editor and multimedia specialist needs to have in their arsenal.
Topics discussed include:
Wowza Media Server
Episode
Sorenson Squeeze Compression Suite
QuickTime Pro
MPEG Streamclip
Proclaim
MainConcept launched its new Partner Logo Program to enable partners to demonstrate that their solutions are working with high-quality codecs of MainConcept. For companies that have their applications, products, solutions or services powered by MainConcept Codecs then they are eligible to join MainConcept's "Partner Logo Program". It's free and demonstrates to customers the quality and performance of your solutions. Visit www.mainconcept.com to find out more about the "Partner Logo Program".
MainConcept AG, the world's leading provider of audio and video codecs for software developers, is pleased to announce that Corel Corporation has agreed to license its H.264 encoder technology. Corel is a leading global software company that provides full-featured, easy-to-use productivity, graphics, entertainment and digital media creativity software for home consumers, businesses, schools and industry partners worldwide.
it budgeting provides a target video data rate for the project. You can either use a pencil and paper to quickly develop one, or you can create a spreadsheet to do the calculations for you. Make sure you keep your calculations simple by working with megabits (Mbits) and not megabytes (MB) when bit budgeting. Mbps denotes Megabits per second. When bit budgeting for projects to be distributed on 4.7 GB DVDs that contain a single stream of compressed audio, you can use the simplified formula of 560 / x = bit rate in Mbps, where "x" represents minutes of video.
1. Calculate the total disc space available for the entire project.
2, Calculate the disc space available for video. You achieve this by calculating the space required for audio, slide shows, subtitles, and motion menus (other types of content are negligible in terms of bit budgeting), and subtracting that amount from the total disc space.
When bit budgeting for projects to be distributed on 4.7 GB DVDs that contain a single stream of compressed audio, you can use the simplified formula of 560 / x = bit rate in Mbps, where "x" represents minutes of video.
The first task of authoring a DVD is planning. This planning can be as minimal as deciding to use a template to organize your family's vacation photos and video, or as robust as using project management software to coordinate a production team creating an interactive kiosk.
Whatever the scope of planning, you should understand what the project will contain and how you want to present it. By the end of the planning stage, you should have a good understanding of the following parameters:
Final Cut Studio 2.0 provides for excellent integration of Apple Motion. The key is to learn when it's appropriate to use Apple Motion instead of doing the same task within Final Cut Pro.
A great example would be if you need a clean chroma key. You may have noticed that standard built in Chroma Key plug-ins that ship with Final Cut Pro sometimes do not provide the best controls for obtaining a good looking key.
That's where Motion comes to the rescue! Follow this short tutorial on how to send your Chroma Key elements into Motion so you can use the 'Primatte RT' filter. I think you'll find that the process is fairly easy, and you'll end up with a better key.
In case you missed it, Paramount and Dreamworks announced that they will release their upcoming titles exclusively on the HD DVD format.
It looked like the Blu Ray format had the early lead, but now with Paramount and Dreamwork's announcement, it's anyone's guess.
Currently, Apple's DVD Studio Pro does not support burning of Blu Ray DVD's. It does support authoring for HD DVD's however. On a strange note, the DVD player included with Mac OS X can only play HD DVD's that were authored in DVD Studio Pro. This is true even if a compatible HD DVD player is connected to the system.
I hope the industry eventually decides on one format. Otherwise, things are going to be ugly in terms of compatibility issues. If one format doesn't win, the consumer will pay higher costs for players and burners. Just imagine, this would mean that you'd need to buy both a Blu Ray or HD DVD player in order to play both formats. Or, we'll pay a higher price for some sort of hybrid player that can handle both disks.
Crazy Sexy Cancer is a documentary you need to take a close look at. This is a great story I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to check out. Not only does this story talk about the power of had and its ability to handle all types of media shot under all conditions but truly the power of people.
When Avid editor Brian Fassett was presented with a batch of 25 MiniDV tapes and a request to create a promotional trailer out of the footage, little did he know the project would turn into a life-changing experience.
In order to bring the story to life, Fassett set up a home-based workflow that initially consisted of an Avid Xpress system running on a Macintosh G4 desktop. Because Fassett was digitizing at DV25 resolution, he was quickly maxing out his storage capacity, so he kept adding 180- and 200-gigabyte FireWire drives to his rig. As cumbersome as it was, the system performed well and got Fassett and Carr through the critical, early phase of the project.
Check out the complete story and do not forget to sign up for our next Avid training class and get on your way to producing the next great film!
Did you know Final Cut Pro has a built-in title generator called Title 3D? It allows you to create dynamic looking titles similar to those you could create in Apple's LiveType.
So if you need a cool looking title, and you don't want to use Apple's LiveType, here is an easy tutorial on how to animate individual letters within Title 3D.
The incredible popularity of Web sites like YouTube and the skyrocketing prevalence of high-speed Internet access have caused an explosion in video communication, both for personal use and increasingly for business. Companies - and their sales forces, marketing teams and executives - are searching for new tools to make video communication effective, easy and affordable.
On2 Technologies Inc., a leader in video compression software and solutions, announced today an upgrade to its flagship Flix Engine encoding software with the addition of support for H.264 video compression standard. The Flix Engine line currently supports transcoding to H.263 and On2 TrueMotion VP6 compression schemes for the popular FLV format used by Adobe Flash Player 8 and 9, and H.263 3GPP format used in the mobile video industry. On2 will further expand H.264 support in its Flix product line of desktop, server, and browser based encoding solutions.
Envivio Inc., the leading technology provider of IP video convergence solutions from mobile to HD, introduced the world's first reconfigurable multichannel and multiplatform IP video encoding architecture for IPTV, Internet TV and mobile TV services. The Trans4M architecture enables a service provider to reconfigure the Envivio Trans4M-based encoders to generate video streams supporting the "3 screens" of video - TVs, PCs and mobile devices. Envivio will demonstrate the Trans4M architecture at IBC2007 in its stand #4.260.
Telestream, the leading provider of video transcoding and workflow automation products, and Nativ, a leading video consulting and integration services company, are pleased to announce that Getty Images, the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content and digital services, has successfully enhanced its existing Media Management Services by leveraging Nativ/Telestream's digital video and systems integration expertise. The integration of Nativ/Telestream's video solution, including file transcoding and metadata extraction, enables Getty Images to provide comprehensive support and management of different media file types required by its Media Manager Services customers, from low resolution to broadcast quality video files.
Avid has a great new plug in that speeds up the process of getting your sequences straight into YouTube. You will have the ability to easily create a Send To template that will export a QuickTime movie and launch the YouTube upload web-page simultaneously. This is very useful and a great way to get your sequences from your Avid timeline to YouTube. Check out the full details and the step-by-step instructions and do not forget to download the .bat file at the bottom of the tutorial. Also our latest Avid training class is filling up quickly so do not sign up soon and get a seat in one of the most personalized Avid training classes in the country!
Have you ever noticed when you author a DVD, that sometimes it will look perfectly fine on your television set, but then it will look horrible when you play it back on your LCD computer screen? Click on the picture(s) below and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Here's the problem:
DV-NTSC is an interlaced video format that draws all the even fields first, and then all the odd fields next. This is perfectly fine when played back on an interlaced television.
However, when you play an interlaced movie on a progressive monitor, such as a computer monitor, you end up seeing both odd and even fields blended into one frame. The result often looks terrible, especially on shots with a lot of motion.
If you are running short on time, and you have a voice-over track where the audio is inconsistent, what do you do?
Well, fortunately there is a quick fix that may help you compress the audio levels so you do not need to spot check every single edit. It’s called compressor / limiter. Here is out it works:
If you are wondering the differences between Avid Media Composer and Xpress Pro then you need to look no further. The main differences are the available formats, media delivery features and resolutions you have the option of working with in Media Composer versus Xpress Pro. There are 25 more resolutions available in Media Composer than in Xpress Pro and most of the HD resolutions in Xpress Pro only allow 1 stream. Media Composer allows you to adjust motion effects and Xpress Pro only has presets. These only scratch the surface of differences, for full details checkout this chart and see if the added features in Media Composer are for you and don't forget Genius Dv offers both Media Composer and Xpress Pro training classes!
I always like to stay on top of the latest movies and what the editors are using to put together the latest blockbuster! This summer, Jason Bourne returns to unlock the secrets of his mysterious past in The Bourne Ultimatum, the latest espionage thriller in the popular film franchise. Matt Damon stars as the memory-challenged international spy, Jason Bourne, who must outwit the authorities and an assortment of assassins who keep him constantly on the run. Based on the novel by Robert Ludlum, this installment promises to uncover the truth behind Bourne’s dangerous and never-ending search for his own identity.
"I equate the Avid (system) to being part of the editing team. There is no way we could get everything done with this kind of time crunch without the ability to add machines
and people and just keep working."
-Mark Fitzgerald, Additional Editor, The Bourne Ultimatum
Some members of the editing team, such as Malina, also used their own Macintosh-based laptops equipped with Avid Xpress Pro software to handle a quick comp or other offline task. The easy exchange of media and files between the Macintosh- and Windows-based systems gave them the flexibility to handle a one-time job speedily and keep the project moving smoothly.
Check out the complete story and do not forget to sign up for our latest Avid Training Bundle, seats are going fast!
You can trim a transition on either the outgoing side (A-side or tail), the incoming side (B-side or head), or both sides (dual-roller). Understanding what each version of Trim mode does is critical to successful trimming. You can use a single roll trim or a dual roll trim depending upon what you are trying to achieve. With a dual-roller trim you are not adding any more content to your program. You are simply either adding more and taking away from one shot or the other. This can appear to be very complex yet once you start playing with the basics of trimming you will find it to be very simple ans straight forward. If you perform and single-roller trim then you are adding footage from one clip. This can be done from either side and will lengthen your timeline. I will spend time breaking each down and how to use each one over the next few entires. Here are the ways you can enter and exit trim mode.
To enter trim mode:
1. Park on the transition you want to trim and press the Trim mode key 
on the keyboard.
2. Lasso the transitions in the timeline. Draw the lasso by clicking at a point above the top track in the Timeline and by dragging to surround the transitions. You can drag from right to left or from left to right, and you can lasso single transitions across several contiguous tracks.
To exit trim mode:
Click the Trim Mode button on the Tool palette.
1. Press the Right Arrow key or the Left Arrow key. 
2. Press Esc.
3. Click a specific location in the Timecode (TC1) track at the bottom of the Track Selector panel. The position indicator moves to that location.
Stay-tuned for more trimming tips.
For individuals or organizations that are interested in delivering simple Live or Archived webcasts in Flash video format along with PowerPoint slides there's a great tool called Proclaim that can help assist you. The tool is amazing and is available from NetBriefings, the large webcasting experts. Users of Proclaim can record video of themselves from a web cam or attached firewire camera by logging into the Proclaim on-line console. The on-line console allows users to advance their presentation slides as well as do roll-in videos. Now the best element about the tool is that your on-line video webcast can be recorded directly for playback later or you can send an e-mail link so others can watch.
As part of the Master Class entitled "Next Generation Television Technology and Business Models" at IBC 2007, MPEGIF will provide an update on the widespread adoption of MPEG-4 (including MPEG-4 AVC / H.264) and the MPEGIF Logo Qualification Program.
"We are extremely pleased and proud that MPEGIF, through events and activities such as our MPEGIF Master Classes and our MPEGIF Logo Qualification Program, has significantly contributed to the fact that MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 is the clear choice by operators and service providers launching next generation video and TV services for broadcast (SD, HD), internet and mobile as well as for packaged media." said Sebastian Moeritz, President, MPEG Industry Forum and CEO dicas.
Knowing the keyboard shortcuts for any given program will greatly increase your workflow speed. Some overlooked shortcuts are the bin shortcuts in the Avid application. Of course you won't use them all but knowing just a few key shortcuts will help your speed up your day. The bin shortcuts are very important shortcuts to know and utilize. Here is the list of general bin shortcuts:
Ctrl + N Creates new bin
Ctrl + A Selects all items in a bin or project
Ctrl + W Closes the open window or dialog box
Ctrl + P Prints active bin
Ctrl + D Duplicates selected clip, sequence, or title
Ctrl + I Opens Console window
Shift + Ctrl + click Bin Menu Alternates Relink and Unlink commands in the Bin menu
Alt + drag clips between bins Copies clips instead of moving them.
Make sure you do not miss out on our latest Avid bundle training class. Seats are very limited!
When using Avid Xpress or Media Composer, make sure you have the video quality menu button set to solid green when you are laying back to tape.
A critical mistake is to leave this button set to 'yellow' or 'yellow/green', because you won't be outputting at full quality.
Solid Yellow: 1/16 single field quality (optimum for heavy effects editing with maximum real-time effects)
Yellow / Green: 1/4 single field quality (default setting)
Solid Green: Full Quality with both fields
You can perform a fit to fill edit with multiple selected clips in the Browser by marking in an out points for multiple clips, selecting those clips in the Browser and dragging the top selection to the Fit To Fill overlay button located in the Canvas Window. You can either set in and out points in the Timeline or you can simply place the playhead over the clip where you want to start the edit and FCP will replace each consecutive clip in the timeline with each clip you had selected in the Browser Window. If you have chose more clips in the Browser than you have in your timeline, then you will recieve an "insufficient content for edit" error.
With this being said, you will likely find it much more practical to perform this procedure with a single clip at a time due to the nature of Fit to Fill procedure, which we will discuss later.
Performing a Fit To Fill Edit with a Single Clip
1 Make sure you have the destination track selected for the edit.
2 You can either set in and out points for the edit in the Timline or in the Canvas Window or park the playhead over the clip you wish to replace. In this example, I have chose simply to park over the targeted clip. Keep in mind that you can also park the playhead over a gap you wish to fill in the timeline as well.
3 Double click on a clip in the Browser to load it into the Viewer.
4 Set your in and out points for the clip.
5 Drag the clip from the Viewer over to the Canvas Window overlay marked Fit To Fill, then release. You will see that the clip in the Viewer has replaced the designated clip in the Timeline.
There is a very significant consequence to utilizing the Fit To Fill feature that is woven into the very nature of its functionality and that is: the speed of the clip that you are editing into the sequence will be adjusted so that the clip can fill that space without changing the length of the overall sequence. For instance, if you placed a clip with a three second duration into a gap that has a duration of seven seconds, the clip will have to be played back at a slower speed in order to fill that gap. The same logic applies if the duration of the clip is longer than the duration of the gap that it is filling. The clip would have to play back faster in order to maintain the finite duration of the sequence.
If you are an Avid Xpress or Media Composer user, you've probably discovered that when you perform a motion effect, the audio doesn't slow down with the video.
To have matching audio that is 'time compressed', you will need to use an audio suite filter called 'time compression expansion. Better yet, you can change the speed of the audio without changing it's pitch. Here is how it works:
ViewCast Corporation, a leading global provider of high-quality audio and video encoding communication products, today announced the availability of a Web services software development kit (SDK) for its Niagara Stream Control Extension (SCX) 5-series streaming media management software. The new SDK will allow third-party vendors, content providers, and content delivery systems developers to build integrated streaming media offerings between their own products or services and ViewCast's Niagara SCX-based Niagara media encoders.
Once again I cannot stress the importance of meeting the NTSC color safe colors in your productions. Using Photoshop is a reality in today’s productions and meeting the standards set by the FCC for broadcast is a very important task if you edit for television. All televisions today are built to meet these specifications. You need to make sure that your black levels are set to 16 or 7.5 IRE and the absolute white never exceeds 235 or 100 IRE. To make sure that you always are within specifications you need to go to the levels adjustment.
1. Go to Image in the top toolbar and navigate to Adjustments.
2. Navigate to Levels and open the Levels dialogue box.
3. At the bottom of the box you will see output levels and change them to 16 for the low and 235 for the high.
Just remember the 16 equals 7.5 IRE and 235 is equal to 100 IRE.
