avid newscutter xp release 2.1 release notes for the...

Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

a

Important Information

Avid® recommends that you read all the information in these release notes thoroughly before installing or using any new software release.

This document describes compatibility issues with previous releases, hardware and software requirements, software installation instructions, and summary information on system and memory requirements. This document also lists known bugs or limitations.

ContentsSymbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3New Features in Release 2.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

PortServer Pro Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4ProEncode Support on the PortServer Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5New Format Support (PAL 4:1:1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6VTR Emulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Selecting VTR Record Emulation Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Enabling VTR Play Emulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Controlling a Video Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Connecting a V-LAN VLXi Controller and GPI Devices. . . . 14

Hardware and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Sentinel Driver and the Boot Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Sentinel Driver and a Non-English Operating System . . . . . . . . . 18Linking OHCI Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

NewsCutter® XP

Release 2.1 Release Notesfor the Windows® 2000 Operating System

2 Release 2.1 Release Notes

Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

Installation Check List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Installing the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Windows 2000 Heap Hotfix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Screen Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Updating Your Application Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Suggestions for Optimum Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Accessing the Knowledge Center for Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Special Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

User Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Goodies Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Information for NewsCutter XP Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Networking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Reinstalling the Network Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30SCSI DVD Burner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Antivirus Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31AVX Plug-Ins and Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Importing QuickTime Files Created with an Avid Codec. . . . . . 32Black Striping Your Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Hardware Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Slot Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34OHCI Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35FireWire Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35MIDI Installation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Rack-Mount Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Storage Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Saving the Disk Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38SCSI Controller Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Documentation Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Known Bugs and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Digital Cut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Release 2.1 Release Notes 3

Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Symbols and Conventions

Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Import and Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Title Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Workgroups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Technical Support Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Symbols and Conventions

These release notes use the following special symbols and conventions:

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

t One arrow indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

n A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong suggestions.

c A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data.


New Features in Release 2.1 Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

New Features in Release 2.1

The following sections list the major features that were added to Avid NewsCutter XP Release 2.1.

PortServer Pro Support

The NewsCutter XP system is now supported as a client on a PortServer Pro. The PortServer Pro system allows the NewsCutter XP system to access MediaNet workspaces using an Ethernet 100BASE-T connection. The NewsCutter XP system connects to a gigabit uplink Ethernet switch, which in turn connects to the PortServer Pro system. The PortServer Pro is connected as a client to an Avid Unity MediaNet system using a Fibre Channel connection.

This functionality allows up to 10 NewsCutter XP editing systems to be connected to each PortServer Pro. This solution enables many Avid editors to share media in real time at a low cost.

n You can have multiple users editing on a NewsCutter XP system, but all users must have administrative privileges. Without administrative privileges, certain functions such as accessing projects and recording might not work correctly. You cannot change users’ permissions in the operating system while the NewsCutter XP application is running. Quit the NewsCutter XP application, make permission changes, and restart the application after making the permission changes.

c When you are in a workgroup environment using a MediaManager server with the Norton AntiVirus Utility, you need to turn off the auto-protection feature when you access MediaManager. You can then turn the auto-protection feature back on. You need to perform this each time you access MediaManager. In addition, do not perform a Live Update. See “Antivirus Applications” on page 31 for addition information.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A New Features in Release 2.1

To turn off the auto-protection feature:

1. Start Norton AntiVirus.

The Norton AntiVirus window opens.

2. Click the Options button in the Norton AntiVirus window.

3. Select the Auto-Protect option under the System list.

4. Deselect the following options:

- Start Auto-Protect when Windows starts up

- Run or opened

- Create or downloaded

5. Click OK.

6. Close the Norton AntiVirus window.

ProEncode Support on the PortServer Pro

When you have a ProEncode™ server in your workgroup environment and ProEncode client software on your NewsCutter XP system, a Send to ProEncode option appears in the NewsCutter XP application File menu. ProEncode takes your sequences or clips and distributes them to multiple encoding stations simultaneously, creating different output formats for distribution, such as MPEG-2, RealSystem™, and QuickTime®. For information on using ProEncode, see the Avid ProEncode Setup and User’s Guide.

Formerly, the ProEncode server required a Fibre Channel connection. Now the ProEncode server can be connected to the PortServer Pro using an Ethernet 100BASE-T connection or Fibre Channel. This functionality frees up MediaNet Fibre Channel connections for more clients.



New Format Support (PAL 4:1:1)

The NewsCutter XP system now supports 4:1:1 (PAL) in addition to the existing video formats already supported in the NewsCutter XP application. This now makes the NewsCutter XP system compatible with the DVCPRO.

The first time you start a project you will be asked to select the video format (NTSC or PAL). After you have created a project, the New Project window will use the video format selection that was previously selected as your default project format.

If you need to change the video format and the Format pop-up menu does not appear in the New Project dialog box, click the New Project button while you press and hold the Alt key. The Format pop-up menu appears.

Depending on the video format of your project, the following formats are selectable in the Record tool:

• DV 25 4:1:1 (NTSC and PAL)

• DV 25 4:2:0 (PAL)

Make sure you select the correct video format in the Record tool to match the incoming media from the deck. The Record tool does not automatically sense the video format.

n See the Knowledge Center for information about decks and transcoders Avid has tested. For information on accessing the Knowledge Center, see “Accessing the Knowledge Center for Information” on page 27.

If you need to perform a digital cut to a video deck using DV 25 4:1:1, you will need to do it using a NewsCutter system. This would have to be done in a workgroup environment. Recording DV 25 4:1:1 into the NewsCutter XP system works fine.



VTR Emulation

The VTR emulation allows you to control a sequence loaded in the Source/Record monitor from an edit controller for playback in the edit room (along with other sources). The VTR record emulation allows you to control the sequence with an edit controller as follows:

• You can record, shuttle, step (jog), play, cue, and mark IN and OUT points based on master sequence timecode for recording from a VTR. IN and OUT points appear in the Timeline only if the controller sends that information to the NewsCutter XP system.

• Smooth audio scrub is enabled by default, emulating analog audio scrub on a VTR.

n When using the NewsCutter XP system as a source deck during VTR emulation, you might experience preroll and playback problems indicating that it cannot sync the two decks. If this mode of operation is common in your environment, Avid recommends using the NewsCutter system to perform this task.

Capture service control is included in the VTR emulation feature. When you select Direct Record Emulation in the VTR Emulation Setting window, the NewsCutter XP system performs like a VTR and waits for an external controller to operate the record functions.

To use VTR play emulation, you must connect a supported controller (any controller that uses Sony® serial control protocol) to the system by using a special Avid 9-pin VTR emulation cable and a serial adapter. For information about the cable connection, see the setup information that came with your system.



Selecting VTR Record Emulation Settings

To open the VTR Emulation Settings dialog box:

t Double-click VTR Emulation in the Settings scroll list of the Project window.

The VTR Emulation Settings dialog box appears.

Table 1 describes the VTR Emulation settings options.

Table 1 VTR Emulation Settings Options

Option Description

Emulation Type Direct Record Emulation is used when you want to do a quick record. This mode is also known as crash record. It allows the NewsCutter XP system to record the media being sent to it immediately without setting up parameters like IN and OUT points.

Edit Record Emulation supports all the commands. This mode is used when you want to record and shuttle, step (jog), play, cue, and mark IN and OUT points with the controller.



When you select Direct Record Emulation mode you need to change the system’s serial driver to a Microsoft® driver called msports.inf. The Edit Record Emulation mode uses an Avid driver called avid2k.inf. By default, the avid2k.inf driver is installed with the NewsCutter XP application. If you have Edit Record Emulation as your VTR Emulation Setting dialog box setting, there is nothing you need to do.

Device Code Select the device code that identifies the VTR the system will emulate. The edit controller adjusts to this choice. The default value is a Sony PVW 2800, which performs all the common play and record functions.

You do not need to change the device code value unless your edit controller does not recognize the VTR emulator or you want to emulate a specific VTR.

Runup (frames) Specify the time (measured in frames) it takes the deck to start playing from a cued position. The default value is 1 frame.

When the runup times of two video devices are similar, it is easier for the edit controller to synchronize the devices during preroll. If your Avid VTR emulator does not sync up as often as you want, try adjusting this value so the two devices attain full speed at nearly the same time.

Edit Delay Specify the amount of time measured in fields, before the actual IN point, that the edit controller sends the Record command.

The default value of 6 matches the default device code; you need to change Edit Delay only if the edit controller does not recognize the device code.

Inhibit preloading when cueing by single frame.

Do not inhibit preloading under normal circumstances.

Preloading occurs by default in the NewsCutter XP system. It improves playback performance by preparing the digital media for playback each time you cue a new frame.

This option causes the system to match the behavior of a tape deck when you step through footage frame by frame. It is recommended only for projects that require quick cueing of one frame after another — for example, when you are using the system to present a sequence of still images as in a slide presentation.

Table 1 VTR Emulation Settings Options (Continued)

Option Description



If you use the Direct Record Emulation setting, you need to install the Microsoft driver. When you change the setting from one to the other you need to swap drivers.

To install or change the system’s serial driver:

1. Quit the NewsCutter XP application.

2. Right-click the My Computer icon and select Manage.

The Computer Management window opens.

3. Click Device Manager in the left pane.

4. Expand the Ports (COM & LPT) by clicking the + sign in the right pane.

5. Double-click the Communications Port you are using.

The Communications Port dialog box appears.

6. Click the Driver tab.

7. Click the Update Driver button.

The Upgrade Device Driver Wizard opens.

8. Click Next.

A dialog box appears.

9. Select the “Display a list of known drivers for this device so I can choose a specific driver” option, and then click Next.


10. Click the “Specify a location” option.


11. Click the Browse button and browse to:

C:\winnt\system32\drivers

12. Select msports(.inf) or avid2k(.inf), depending on Emulation Type (Direct or Edit) you select, and then click Open.

13. Click OK.



14. Click Yes.

15. Click Finish.

16. Click Close.

17. Click Yes to restart the system.

18. When the system reboots and you log in, set your new VTR Emulation Type in the NewsCutter XP application.

Enabling VTR Play Emulation

Before you enable VTR play emulation, be sure the controller is properly connected.

To enable VTR record emulation:

1. Select Serial (COM) Ports from the Tools menu.

The Serial (COM) Ports tool opens.

2. Choose the appropriate port from the VTR Emulation pop-up menu.

3. Close the Serial (COM) Ports tool. The system saves the setting as a Site setting, effective for all projects.

4. Choose VTR Emulation from the Clip menu when you are ready to use the system for recording.

A check mark appears next to the command to indicate the system is ready. A yellow outline appears around the Play button in the Source/Record monitor to indicate that VTR emulation is active.



n The VTR Emulation command behaves like a Local/Remote switch on a playback device, with VTR record emulation disabled (in Local mode) by default when you start the system.

5. Choose Record from the Tools menu.

The Record tool opens.

6. Select the tracks onto which you want to record by clicking the Channel Selection buttons.

7. Choose a bin from the Bin pop-up menu.

8. Click the Toggle Source button until VTR appears.

9. Click the Timeline and move the position indicator to a point in a sequence that allows sufficient preroll.

Sufficient preroll slightly exceeds the preroll setting of your edit controller.

n The recorded media is not recorded into your sequence. Your sequence is used only to give the edit controller a timecode reference. Instead, the recorded media generates a master clip that is placed in the bin you selected from the Bin pop-up menu in the Record tool.

10. Using the controller, mark IN and OUT points.

11. Control recording from the controller.

Once active, VTR record emulation allows you to control the sequence with an edit controller as follows:

• You can record, shuttle, step (jog), play, cue, and mark IN and OUT points based on master sequence timecode for recording from a VTR. IN and OUT points appear in the Timeline only if the controller sends that information to the NewsCutter XP system.

• Smooth audio scrub is enabled by default, emulating analog audio scrub on a VTR.



Controlling a Video Deck

You can control up to two video decks remotely by using serial connections between the NewsCutter XP system and the video deck. This serial connection requires an RS-232 to RS-422 cable adapter for each video deck connected to the NewsCutter XP system.

A serial adapter kit, called the Rosetta Stone, is provided with the NewsCutter XP system. The serial adapter kit contains:

• An RS-232 to RS-422 serial adapter

• Two serial cables; male 9-pin connectors at both ends

n If you need to connect and control more than two video decks, see “Connecting a V-LAN VLXi Controller and GPI Devices” on page 14.

To connect the remote control:

1. Locate the serial adapter kit.

2. Attach one end of the first 9-pin cable to the end of the serial adapter labeled RS-232 (see Figure 1).

3. Attach the other end of the first 9-pin cable to the NewsCutter XP system COM1 serial port (see Figure 2).

Figure 1 Video Deck Control Cabling

4. Attach one end of the second 9-pin cable to the end of the serial adapter labeled RS-422 (see Figure 1).

Serial adapter RS-232 connectionRS-422 connection

To controller To NewsCutter XP

LEDs



5. Attach the other end of the second 9-pin cable to the remote serial port of the controller

6. Set the video deck’s Remote mode switch to Remote.

n If the LEDs on the serial adapter do not light when the connections are completed with the equipment turned on, the serial adapter is connected backward. Before the remote control becomes functional, you must also select the COM port in the Deck Configuration dialog box of the NewsCutter XP application (see the NewsCutter XP Help for more information).

Connecting a V-LAN VLXi Controller and GPI Devices

NewsCutter XP systems can control multiple video decks through a video local area network (V-LAN®) VLXi® deck controller. Use a general-purpose interface (GPI) connected to the V-LAN to trigger functions in the NewsCutter XP application.

Video Local Area Network

The V-LAN VLXi shown in Figure 2 consists of one V-LAN transmitter and a dual V-LAN VLXi receiver. The receiver contains two deck controllers. Both the transmitter and receiver are internally linked. The V-LAN VLXi connects to the NewsCutter XP system through a direct serial connection.

Each V-LAN VLXi supports two video decks. Daisy chain multiple V-LAN VLXi units if you need to add more video decks.

General-Purpose Interface

The VLXi-GT contains six programmable GPI input and output terminals. The GPI input terminal can be configured to trigger the NewsCutter XP system to Play, Record, Cue, and Stop. You can configure the GPI output terminal to provide Stop, Record, and Play status.



Assign the VLXi-GT to V-LAN node addresses 16 to 19. LAN connections of more than 50 feet (190.5 meters) must have a terminator. For more information, see the Videomedia VLXi User’s Guide.

The V-LAN VLXi deck controller and VLXi-GT connect to the NewsCutter XP system as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 V-LAN VLXi Deck Control

SERIAL PARALLEL REF LAN CF

AC

SERIAL A SERIAL BTIMECODE A

IN INOUT OUTTIMECODE B

VLX TRANSMITTER VLX 2R DUAL RECEIVER

SERIAL LAN CF

AC

IN OUT

1

IN OUT

2

IN OUT

3

IN OUT

4

IN OUT

5

IN OUT

6

Video deck

Serial connection to deck remote

Serial cable to RS-232 COM1 port on NewsCutter XP

VLXi transmitter serial input

V-LAN VLXi

VLXi-GT (GPI)

Terminator(required when cable length is more than 50 feet [190.5 meters])

V-LAN connection

Six GPI input and output terminals

All cables are customer supplied.


Hardware and Software Requirements Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

Hardware and Software Requirements

The NewsCutter XP application is available in a software only version as well as a complete system. Avid has qualified the NewsCutter XP software to run on the following platforms:

• Dell® Latitude® C600 and C800 — laptops

• IBM® ThinkPad® A21p — laptop

• IBM IntelliStation® Z Pro 6866 — desktop (Avid ships this platform when you purchase a complete system)

Avid has qualified the following OHCI 1394 boards to run on laptops:

• ADS PYRO 1394DV for Notebooks, API-601

• SIIG CardBus PC Card, NN-PCM012, or dual port, NN-PCM212

NewsCutter XP systems require the following system configuration:

• Windows 2000 Workstation Service Pack 1

• Minimum 256 MB of RAM

c Your system must have the Windows 2000 operating system installed and the required amount of RAM before you install NewsCutter XP Release 2.1. Purchase additional memory based on the manufacturer’s documentation.

To verify the version of the operating system and RAM:

1. Double-click the My Computer icon.

The My Computer window opens.

2. Choose About Windows from the Help menu.

The About Windows dialog box appears and displays the version of Windows, the service pack, and the available memory.

3. Click OK to close the dialog box.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Hardware and Software Requirements

n If you do not have Service Pack 1 (SP1), contact your authorized Avid Reseller or visit the Microsoft Web site, www.microsoft.com, to download the service pack. Service Pack 1 is the only service pack qualified for this release.

Sentinel Driver and the Boot Drive

If you have a system where the boot drive is other than drive C:\, the Sentinel® driver will fail to install properly.

n Before using the following procedure, you must install the NewsCutter XP application, receive the error message, and then continue the installation. A Rainbow Technologies folder is created during the installation.

To install the Sentinel driver:

1. Locate the Rainbow Technologies folder:

a. Click the Start button, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.

b. Type Rainbow Technologies in the “Search for file or folders named” text box.

2. Right-click the Rainbow Technologies folder and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.

3. On your Windows desktop, double-click the My Computer icon.


4. Navigate to the Program Files on your drive C.

5. Right-click the Program Files folder on your drive C and choose Paste from the pop-up menu.

n If a Program Files folder does not exist, you need to create one.

6. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM.

7. Click View CD.

8. Click the Installers folder.



9. Click the SentinelUSB folder.

10. Double-click the Rainbow SSD539.exe file.

Sentinel Driver and a Non-English Operating System

If your system uses a non-English Windows 2000 operating system (OS), the Sentinel driver does not install properly.

The Sentinel driver installs to the English Program Files folder instead of the non-English language Program Files folder. The NewsCutter XP application seems to run properly, although you continue to receive an “Installation Failed” error message.

n Before using the following procedure, you must install the NewsCutter XP application, receive the error message, and then continue the installation. A Rainbow Technologies folder is created during the installation.

To install the Sentinel driver in a non-English Windows 2000 operating system:

1. Locate the Rainbow Technologies folder:

a. Click the Start button, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.

b. Type Rainbow Technologies in the “Search for file or folders named” text box.

2. Right-click the Rainbow Technologies folder and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.



4. Navigate to the Program Files on your drive C.

5. Right-click the Program Files folder on your drive C and choose Paste from the pop-up menu.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Hardware and Software Requirements

n If a Program Files folder does not exist, you need to create one.

6. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM.

7. Click View CD.

8. Click the Installers folder.

9. Click the SentinelUSB folder.

10. Double-click the Rainbow SSD539.exe file.

Linking OHCI Drivers

The NewsCutter XP application does not use the default Microsoft OHCI/1394 driver, instead Avid uses a custom OHCI driver developed by Texas Instruments. When you first connect a camera or deck (DV device) to the system via OHCI 1394, you have to link the device with Avid’s custom OHCI driver rather than the default driver.

You can also link a DV device to a particular driver if you want to use a driver other than the custom OHCI driver.

You can use the DVSelect utility to link to a driver other than the Custom OHCI driver. For example, you might need to use the Microsoft driver with a third-party application.

To connect DV devices with a particular driver:

1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Avid, point to Utilities, and then click DVSelect.

The DV Driver Select dialog box appears.

2. Select one of the following:

t Microsoft DV Camera and VCR Driver

t Texas Instruments 1394 DV Camcorder Driver

3. Select “Switch drivers for only those devices that are currently turned on.”



4. Connect and turn on any DV devices you want to link to the selected driver.

5. Click OK.

The selected driver is linked to the currently connected devices that are turned on.

If you do not select this option, the driver is linked to all devices you have ever connected to the system.

If you attempt to start another application that uses the OHCI 1394 port, an Unable to Locate DLL dialog box appears.

n If the NewsCutter XP application is running and you start the other OHCI 1394 application, you will not experience a problem. This only occurs after you have quit the NewsCutter XP application and have started the other OHCI 1394 application.

To make the DLL available for both applications:

1. Locate the DVDetect.dll file. The following is the default location:

drive:\Program Files\Avid\Avid NewsCutter XP

2. Right-click the DVDetect.dll file and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.

c Do not Cut or Move the DVDetect.dll file from the current folder. If the DVDetect.dll is removed from the current folder, the NewsCutter XP application will experience problems.

3. Navigate to the DVSelect folder. The following is the default location:

drive:\Program Files\Avid\Utilities\DVSelect

4. Right-click the DVSelect folder and choose Paste from the pop-up menu.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Installation Check List

Installation Check List

This check list covers the major steps required to install or upgrade the NewsCutter XP application. For more detailed information about each step, see the section referenced in these release notes.

To install or upgrade your system:

1. Read these release notes completely.

2. Make sure your system meets the hardware and software requirements. See “Hardware and Software Requirements” on page 16.

3. Turn on the system components as described in the Avid NewsCutter XP Setup Guide.

4. If you are upgrading an existing application, you must use the Control Panel to remove the old version of the software. See the Avid NewsCutter XP Setup Guide.

n If upgrading from NewsCutter XP Release 1.5, you must update your Windows NT® operating system to Windows 2000.

5. Install the application as described in the Avid NewsCutter XP Setup Guide and the last-minute instructions on “Installing the Software” on page 21.

Installing the Software

You can install NewsCutter XP Release 2.1 software on new Avid systems without any preparation. For instructions on installing the software or uninstalling previous versions of the application, see the Avid NewsCutter XP Setup Guide.

n To install or remove the application software, you need to use a login account with administrator privileges.


Installing the Software Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

n Selecting “Yes, I want to restart my computer now” at the end of the software installation might take a few minutes longer to restart your system than selecting No and restarting your system from the Shut Down Windows dialog box.

The Avid Projects, Avid Users, Settings, and AVX_Plug-Ins folders will not be deleted when you uninstall earlier NewsCutter XP releases. To be safe, Avid recommends that you save the Project, User, and Site settings currently on your NewsCutter XP system before you uninstall a new NewsCutter XP release application.

To save your settings:



2. Navigate to the folder where you have the NewsCutter XP application installed. The default location is:

C:\Program Files\Avid\Avid NewsCutter XP

3. Copy the following folders to another directory on your system or to a floppy disk:

- Avid Users

- Avid Projects

- Settings

Windows 2000 Heap Hotfix

Avid has discovered a Microsoft Heap corruption error that occurs particularly with IBM systems. If you are currently running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), you need to install Heap Hotfix before using the NewsCutter XP application. To find out what service pack is installed on your system, see “Hardware and Software Requirements” on page 16. A fix was obtained from Microsoft, and is included on the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Installing the Software

The Heap Hotfix included on the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM is for the English operating system (OS) only. Other OS fixes might be available on the Microsoft Web site. For more information about this fix, see:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q275/9/18.asp

n Only Windows Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been qualified on the NewsCutter XP system. Other Windows service packs have not been tested.

To install the Heap Hotfix:

1. Insert the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Click Installers.

3. Click Install Windows 2000 Hotfix.

The system installs the fix.

4. When the installation is complete, click OK.

The system automatically reboots.

When you click Install Avid NewsCutter XP in the installer window, the following message displays if the system detects that the Heap Hotfix registry key does not exist:

Installation has detected that a required Windows 2000 Hotfix has not been installed on your system. Exit this installer and install the required Windows 2000 Hotfix first.

5. Do one of the following:

t If you have SP1 installed, you need Heap Hotfix. Quit the installer and install the Heap Hotfix as previously described. Heap Hotfix can be installed from the Avid NewsCutter XP installer window.

t If you have SP1 installed and the Heap Hotfix registry key does exist, your system will not display this message. You already have Heap Hotfix in your system.


Installing the Software Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

t If you have SP2 installed, Heap Hotfix is not required, click OK. The installation continues and the Welcome dialog box is displayed. SP2 was not qualified on this release.

Screen Resolution

Avid requires a minimum Desktop Area of 1024 x 768 pixels, the Color palette must be set to True Color, and a Refresh Frequency of 75 Hertz (Refresh Frequency not applicable to laptops) as your screen resolution when running the NewsCutter XP application. For more information and a procedure on setting the resolution, see the Avid NewsCutter XP Setup Guide.

n Higher screen resolutions can be used. Screen resolutions will be limited by the system graphic board and the monitor specifications.

Updating Your Application Key

The application key, commonly referred to as a dongle, allows the Avid software to run on your system.

c Protect your application key from loss or theft. Your Avid software does not function without it, and acquiring a new key from Avid involves a fee.

There are two different programs to update dongles:

• A dongle versioner is a software program created to update many Avid systems and is normally included in a software Maintenance Kit.

• A dongle updater is a software program created to update a specific Avid system.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Suggestions for Optimum Performance

n If you are upgrading from NewsCutter XP Release 2.0 to NewsCutter XP Release 2.1, you will not be getting a dongle updater disk because your dongle does not need to be updated.

To update your dongle:

t If you received a dongle versioner floppy disk with a Version Protection Kit or Maintenance Kit, you will need to use this floppy disk to update the dongle before installing the new software.

t If you purchased this version as an upgrade, you have received a unique dongle updater disk that reflects a specific System ID. You will need to use this floppy disk to update the dongle before installing the new software.

The floppy disk includes instructions for running the dongle versioner or updater.

Suggestions for Optimum Performance

Windows is a multitasking operating system. However, background tasks can interrupt time-critical operations, such as recording, playing, or rendering. Make sure that background tasks are not running while you are running the NewsCutter XP application.

The following list contains suggestions for ensuring optimum performance when running the NewsCutter XP application on Windows systems:

• Do not enable the Windows Display setting “Show window contents while dragging.” This setting hinders redraw performance on the a NewsCutter XP system.

• Do not leave the Console window open when you are editing. The NewsCutter XP system performance slows considerably when the Console window is open.

• Do not leave a Windows Explorer window open. Windows Explorer will try to update file information.


Suggestions for Optimum Performance Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

• Do not leave an e-mail application open if it is set to do periodic checks for mail.

• Do not run any application that periodically “wakes up” and performs an action (for example, virus scanners and disk fragment utilities).

• Disable screen savers.

• Do not insert a compact disc in a drive during operation. Most CD-ROM drives and software perform an autoscan or autostart operation.

n The NewsCutter XP system ships with Autorun disabled.

• Do not keep media on the same partition that the application is installed on. Avid recommends external media drives.

• Always disable system sounds in the Windows Sounds Control Panel.

• Always use small fonts with the display driver to avoid missing characters in the application dialog boxes.

• After moving a drive from one system to another, you should restart your system. Windows will not recognize the drive until you restart the system.

• To ensure you do not accidentally delete locked items through your desktop, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and select Properties. In the Recycle Bin Properties window, click the Global tab. Select the option “Display delete confirmation dialog.”

• When you are advancing by single frames through the Timeline, turn off Render On-the-Fly in the Clip menu to enable faster response time.

• Do not name files with special characters (/ \ : ? ” < > | *) because Windows does not recognize special characters in file names.

• Do not schedule automatic backups at times when your NewsCutter XP system might be in use.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Accessing the Knowledge Center for Information

• Do not run any application that includes prescheduled or automatically scheduled activities, such as a calendar program.

• Do not leave other applications open. Some applications, such as Microsoft Office, run background processes.

• Do not allow the Find Fast background process (find.exe) to run. The process will try to update its cache of file and folder locations. Check your Startup folder, and delete the file if it is there.

n Locate the find.exe file by using the Search function from the Start button.

Accessing the Knowledge Center for Information

The Avid Customer Support Knowledge Center provides additional information that is frequently updated.

n Some locations on the Knowledge Center require you to log in as a registered user, but you can access most of the information in the Knowledge Center without registering and logging in.

To access the Knowledge Center:

1. Go to www.avid.com.

2. Click Support.

3. Click Knowledge Center.

4. Choose your product from the menu at the top of the Web page.


Special Notes Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

You can access the following information from the Knowledge Center:

• Latest Supported Decks List

For a list of supported decks, search for “Supported Decks” in the Avid Customer Support Knowledge Center.

• Latest Supported Cameras List

For a list of supported cameras, search for “Supported Cameras” in the Avid Customer Support Knowledge Center.

• Latest Supported Transcoders List

For a list of supported transcoders, search for “Supported Transcoders” in the Avid Customer Support Knowledge Center.

• Compatibility with Avid Video-Based Editing Products

For a complete description of moving projects, media files, and graphics to and from Avid products, see the Avid Products Collaboration Guide, which is available in the Documentation tab of the Avid Customer Support Knowledge Center.

• White Papers

To access white papers, click the Documentation tab for your Avid product, and then click White Papers.

Special Notes

This section contains important information about system-level changes that affect the way your NewsCutter XP software and hardware operate.

User Settings

User settings are not backward compatible. Avid recommends creating new user settings for this release.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Special Notes

Goodies Folder

Avid supplies a Goodies folder located on the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM. Access the Goodies folder by browsing the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM. This folder contains programs and files that you might find useful when trying to perform functions beyond the scope of the NewsCutter XP software.

c Avid is not responsible for the support or sale of the products in the Goodies folder. They are provided as suggestions for users to decide if any of these products fit into their process. Avid is also not responsible for any loss of data or time related to the use of these products. For more information, see the ReadMe files in the Goodies folder.

Information for NewsCutter XP Users

Avid has made the user interface and functionality of the NewsCutter XP application resemble the NewsCutter application. Because of the physical differences in the hardware, some of the selections or capabilities in the NewsCutter system might differ. Some differences you might see include:

• NewsCutter XP systems do not provide an LTC input connector to accept an external timecode signal. Without this ability, you cannot add timecode to incoming external media.

When deck control is disabled, the system’s internal time-of-day clock will be used to generate an internal timecode.

• In Trim mode, use the arrow keys below the Trim monitor to move to the next and previous frames. The keyboard shortcut keys J-K-L do not operate in Trim mode on the NewsCutter XP system.



Networking

Avid does not ship the system with networking enabled. You must determine the type of network used and set up the system accordingly.

Reinstalling the Network Driver

This procedure applies only to the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 system. If you have installed a PCI board in a 64-bit slot, the network driver must be reinstalled.

To reinstall the network driver:

1. Right-click the Network Neighborhood icon and select Properties.

The Network dialog box appears.

2. Click the Adapters tab.

3. Click Add.

4. From the list of adapters, select the IBM 10/100 Ethernet PCI Adapter.

5. Click OK.

6. Confirm the directory path:

C:\i386

7. After the file copies have completed, click Close.

8. Set the TCP/IP parameters.

9. Click OK and allow the computer to restart.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Special Notes

SCSI DVD Burner

If you plan to use a SCSI DVD burner (such as a Pioneer S201) to create DVDs (on desktop systems only), you need to install a driver. When you attempt to use the SCSI DVD burner without installing the driver, an error message appears stating that the ASPI drivers are not installed.

To install the driver:

1. Locate the Sonic_driver folder where the Avid application is installed.

2. Copy the pfc.sys file from the Sonic_driver folder to:

C:\WINNT\system32\drivers folder

3. Double-click the pfc.reg file in the Sonic_driver folder to add the driver to the registry.

The Registry Editor dialog box appears.

4. To add the information to the registry, click Yes.

The Registry Editor dialog box appears.

5. After you are informed that the information has successfully been added, click OK.

Antivirus Applications

Antivirus programs containing autoscanning features can interfere with the operation of the NewsCutter XP application. For example, some antivirus programs can be configured to run in the background and scan all files for viruses whenever they are opened, copied, or moved. Since virus scanning is a processor- and disk-intensive activity, it can interfere with recording and playing real-time effects in the NewsCutter XP application.



Avid recommends that you do not scan all files or schedule any background tasks such as virus scanning when you are using your NewsCutter XP application.

File deletion protection utilities also consume system resources and could interfere with the proper operation of the NewsCutter XP application. These utilities automatically back up any files that are deleted, even temporary files created and deleted by the NewsCutter XP application. This consumes a large amount of disk space.

AVX Plug-Ins and Memory

Multiple AVX™ plug-ins that you have applied to a sequence are now kept resident in memory at the same time. When you close a bin containing the sequence, the plug-ins are also closed, freeing the memory.

If you find your NewsCutter XP application running out of memory and you are using many plug-ins:

1. Choose Console from the Tools menu.

The Console window opens

2. Type closeallavxplugins, and press Enter.

This command closes all currently opened plug-ins. They will automatically open again when needed.

Importing QuickTime Files Created with an Avid Codec

If you are importing a QuickTime file created with an Avid codec, and the file’s resolution does not match the current Import setting, a dialog box appears by default. This dialog box asks which resolution you want to select, and to which files you want to apply your choice. Make your choices, and then click OK to continue with the import. See the limitations listed in “Import and Export” on page 49.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Hardware Configurations

Black Striping Your Tape

Before you perform a digital cut, Avid recommends that you black stripe your tape. This allows for timecode on your tape.

To black stripe your tape:

1. Rewind the tape to the point where you want to begin the black stripe. Put the camera into Record Pause mode. You will have to do this manually, without deck controls.

2. In the NewsCutter XP application, load a clip with audio into the Timeline.

3. Deselect video, and select audio (both tracks) in the Track Selector panel.

4. Play the clip for a few frames and stop.

In your Client monitor, you should see a black frame. Once you stop, there should be silence. That’s what you will use to stripe your tape.

5. Press the Pause button to start the camera recording.

6. Stop the camera at whatever point you want to stop the black stripe.

n The silence that you record will match the sample rate of your current project setting.

Hardware Configurations

NewsCutter XP Release 2.1 ships from Avid on the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 system. Detailed information on this platform includes:

• Slot Assignments

• OHCI Support

• FireWire Support


Hardware Configurations Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

• MIDI Installation Procedure

• Rack-Mount Option

Slot Assignments

Table 2 lists the supported slot configuration for the NewsCutter XP application on the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 system.

Slot 1 is dedicated to the AGP board that IBM uses for its systems. Slots 2 to 5 represent the 32-bit bus segment, and slots 6 and 7 represent the 64-bit bus segment.

If you have installed a PCI board in an IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 64-bit slot, the network driver must be reinstalled. For instructions on reinstalling the network driver, see “Reinstalling the Network Driver” on page 30.

Table 2 IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 Slot Assignments

Slot Description

1 AGP slot Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)

2 PCI slot (32-bit bus) OHCI slot

3 PCI slot (32-bit bus) (Optional) Fibre Channel to playback device, Fibre Channel to Avid Unity™ system, or second SCSI controller

4 PCI slot (32-bit bus) Available slot

5 PCI slot (32-bit bus) (Optional) Dual-channel SCSI controller





OHCI Support

The NewsCutter XP application supports OHCI-compliant IEEE® 1394 chip DV boards with Texas Instrument (TI®) based technology. The TI 1394 Link and PHY chip is the only OHCI chip that Avid has qualified to use with the NewsCutter XP system.

FireWire Support

At this time, Avid only supports the use of one FireWire® port at a time. You can only have a single device connected to the NewsCutter XP system at one time. For example, if you have a camera connected to your system and want to use a video deck, you will have to disconnect your camera and then connect the video deck.

When FireWire drives are connected to the FireWire port, bring in your media from a workgroup environment.


Hardware Configurations Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

MIDI Installation Procedure

The IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 system provides a MIDI connector on the rear of the system (see Figure 3). By default, this connector is disabled.

Figure 3 IBM IntelliStation Z Pro MIDI Connector

To enable the MIDI connector:

1. Click the Start button, and then click Shut Down.

2. Select “Shut down the computer.”

3. Click Yes.

The system shuts down.

4. Restart the system.

MIDI connector



5. Almost immediately, start pressing F1.

n The F1 prompt for entering the BIOS setup might appear before text starts appearing on your monitor. It doesn’t do any harm to press F1 repeatedly after turning on the system.

You are placed into the system BIOS at the Configuration/Setup menu (Main menu) after the execution of the SCSI BIOS because you pressed F1 or the system placed you there.

6. Select the Devices and I/O Ports Menu Selection.

7. Select Audio Setup.

8. Select the Game/MIDI Port selection (deselected by default). Use the arrow keys and select the IRQ to be 5.

If a yellow asterisk appears next to the IRQ selection, there is a hardware conflict and that IRQ cannot be used.

9. Press the Escape key repeatedly until you are at the top-level selections, save your changes, and restart the system.

10. Log in as an administrator.

11. Right-click My Computer and choose Manage from the pop-up menu.

The Computer Management window opens.

12. Select the Device Manager in the left window pane.

13. Expand “Sound, video and game controllers” in the right pane.

14. Right-click MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.

The Properties window opens.

15. Click the General tab.

16. Verify that the text in the Device Status section indicates that the device is working properly.

17. Click the Resources tab.


Storage Issues Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

18. Verify that there are no conflicts displayed.

19. Close the Properties window and repeat steps 14 to 18 for the standard Game Port.

20. Close the Computer Management window.

Rack-Mount Option

IBM offers an optional kit that allows you to mount the NewsCutter XP system in a rack. Instructions for mounting the NewsCutter XP system are included with the rack-mount kit. Install the rack-mount kit before making any connections to the NewsCutter XP system. The NewsCutter XP system typically requires five rack units. Instructions for mounting the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro system are posted on the Avid Knowledge Center. To access the Knowledge Center, see “Accessing the Knowledge Center for Information” on page 27.

c You cannot use the cable arm included with the rack-mount kit. The cables used with the NewsCutter XP system are not long enough to extend with the cable arm.

Storage Issues

This section describes storage hardware and software limitations for this release.

Saving the Disk Configuration

Whenever you make changes to the disk configuration on a system, such as creating stripe sets of drives or changing drive letter assignments, the disk configuration should be saved to a floppy disk. This enables a successful restoration of the disk configuration if a hardware failure or other problems occur. This information is also saved as part of the repair disk process.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Storage Issues

c If you plan to move your stripe drive set from a Windows NT system to a Windows 2000 system, you will need a disk configuration floppy disk.

n Save the disk configuration floppy disk after you install all the software.

To create a disk configuration floppy disk on a Windows NT system:

1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools (Common), and then click Disk Administrator.

The Disk Administrator dialog box appears.

2. From the Partition menu, point to Configuration, and then click Save.

3. Insert a formatted high-density floppy disk into the floppy drive, and then click OK.

The disk configuration information is copied to the floppy disk.

4. Remove the floppy disk, label it, and store it in a safe location.

To restore the disk configuration:

1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools (Common), and then click Disk Administrator.

The Disk Administrator dialog box appears.

2. From the Partition menu, choose Configuration, and then click Restore.

3. Insert the saved disk configuration floppy disk into the floppy drive, and then click Yes.

This action will copy the disk configuration information into the registry.


Documentation Changes Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

SCSI Controller Board

The SCSI LVD controller included on the system board in the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 system can be used for media drives on the NewsCutter XP application. Avid also offers an Ultra 160 LVD SCSI controller board if you want to add a second controller. This Ultra 160 LVD SCSI controller board offered by Avid is a dual-channel LVD SCSI controller. The following Avid MediaDrives are currently recommended for the best performance with your NewsCutter XP system:

• Avid MediaDrive rS LVD enclosures

• Avid MediaDrive rS 160/LVD enclosures

n If you connect single-ended, fast-and-wide drives to the Ultra 160 LVD SCSI controller board, the controller reverts to fast, wide mode and you lose the LVD mode throughput.

Documentation Changes

The following changes have occurred since the NewsCutter XP documentation was printed:

• When you save a template in the Title tool, a Save Template As dialog box appears and allows you to select a folder. The Avid documentation incorrectly states that “By default, the Avid system saves the template in the Title_Templates folder.”

• The last sentence in the “File Structure” section, in Chapter 3, of the Avid NewsCutter XP Setup Guide should read as follows:

Avid recommends that you store media files on a separate disk or partition.

The word “disk” is missing from the sentence.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Known Bugs and Limitations

Known Bugs and Limitations

This section describes known software and hardware bugs and limitations. When a workaround exists, it appears in a paragraph following the description. Bugs and limitations are identified in each category. Limitations are beyond the control of Avid and caused by the hardware or operating system. The bugs and limitations are listed under the following categories:

• Audio

• Camera

• Compatibility

• Digital Cut

• Editing

• Effects

• Import and Export

• Play

• Recording

• System

• Title Tool

• Workgroups

Audio

Bugs

➤ For a sequence containing rendered audio effects, if you consolidate the sequence using the “Do Audio Sample Rate Conversion” option in the Consolidate dialog box and then export the sequence to OMFI Version 1 or OMFI Version 2, an error message informs you that the composition contains mixed audio sample rates.


Known Bugs and Limitations Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

This message is incorrect; all the material in the sequence is at the same audio sample rate. If you have problems exporting this sequence, rerender it and then export it again.

➤ When you autoconfigure an audio-only deck, the audio tracks might not appear in the Digital Cut tool.

Workaround: Configure the deck manually using the Deck Configuration dialog box, or close and reopen the project. The audio tracks reappear.

➤ You cannot import DigiTranslator™ files into a NewsCutter XP system.

➤ When the Dell laptop wakes from Hibernation, the following error might occur:

Measured audio clock rate of 48000 is not supported on this system. Check audio project settings.

Clear the error message to continue. The audio project settings sample rate of 48K is a supported setting.

Typically this happens when the Dell laptop is set to hibernate in 5 minutes or more. This error sometimes appears behind another window and is inaccessible. The system appears frozen when the error is hidden.

Workaround: You must click OK to clear the message before continuing. If the error message is hidden, click the error message in the taskbar to bring the error message to the front.

➤ When running the NewsCutter XP application on an IBM IntelliStation Z Pro 6866 system, do not click the +20dB button that appears in the Audio tool after you click the microphone button. The +20dB button is necessary for other platforms. The Microphone slider works correctly on the IBM system only if +20dB is not enabled.



➤ When you add Clip Gain from the Audio Mix tool and open the Audio EQ tool or AudioSuite™ tool, and then render an effect, the following error message might appear:

Some effects are not recognized and will not be rendered. Do you want to continue with the render process?

Clicking Yes will not render the effect.

Workaround: Set IN and OUT points around the clip and choose Render In/Out from the Clip menu. If you are working with an AudioSuite plug-in, render from the AudioSuite Parameter window.

➤ When you import audio from a CD-ROM into PAL, the following error message might appear:

ASPI manager could not be loaded but no missing entry in the configuration could be detected.

Workaround: Quit the NewsCutter XP application and double-click the aspi_setup.bat file located on the Avid NewsCutter XP CD-ROM. The aspi_setup.bat file is in the following location:

CD-ROM drive:/Installers/Adaptec/Aspi/aspi_setup.bat

Camera

Limitations

➤ The Eject button in the Record tool typically doesn’t work for most cameras.

➤ Your camera must support DV IN to perform a digital cut. Many PAL cameras do not support this feature. To check if this feature is supported, see the manual that came with your camera.



➤ Digital-8 cameras (including the Sony DCR-TRV310) do not recognize timecode on Video 8 tapes.

➤ If your camera is connected to your computer and the NewsCutter XP application is running for a long period of time, large blocks of pixels might appear on your display monitor.

Workaround: Turn the camera off, and then turn it on again.

➤ DV and FireWire are not frame-accurate device-control protocols. This means that when you capture a clip, it might capture several frames early or late. The timecode numbers will still match the frames of the media (if properly calibrated). Also, when you perform a digital cut, the edit might take place a few frames earlier or later.

➤ With a camera connected, in Frame view in the bin, some of the frames do not play when you reduce the size. There are eight possible sizes to display when using Ctrl+K and Ctrl+L; the five smallest do not play. These sizes do display properly when a camera is not connected.

Compatibility

Bugs

➤ When you select “NTSC Has Setup” and “Use Windows Compatible Filenames” in the General Settings dialog box and then change the sample rate and import audio, the Avid system creates a duplicate bin. The duplicate bin is empty and has a size of 1K.

Workaround: Delete the duplicate bin. If you try to use it, an error message appears. If you rename the duplicate bin and try to use it, the duplicate bin remains a copy and cannot be opened at the same time as the original bin.



➤ If you open a project from a previous release, you might see windows that are inappropriately sized and you cannot resize them. The size of the windows is specified by the project’s workspace settings, and some windows might not allow you to resize them.

Workaround: Create new workspace settings for the current release.

➤ Static titles are not supported in OMFI Version 1.0 or OMFI Version 2.0. When you import a static title from the NewsCutter XP system to another system, the static title will transfer as a Matte Key effect.

Workaround: Use the bin where the static title was created, and copy it to the other system.

➤ Avid applications do not always find slides that have been added to the OMFI Media Files folder. If you attempt to load a slide that has been added to the OMFI Media Files folder using the Load Filler command, the following error message might appear:

COMPRESSION_NOT_SUPPORTED

Workaround: Delete the .pmr and .mdb files from the Avid_MediaFiles folder. This forces the Avid application to scan the Avid_MediaFiles folder when the applications starts.

n The .pmr and .mdb files are not deleted when earlier releases are uninstalled.



Digital Cut

Limitations

➤ Some DV cameras detect when a video monitor is connected to the camera and send video to all of its outputs, including the 1394 connector. (Even if the monitor is using an analog connection.) If you attempt to do a digital cut back to the camera using the 1394 cable, no input is allowed.

Workaround: Unplug the monitor cable when you want to send a digital cut back to the camera.

➤ Digital Cut is not always frame accurate. You might see the following inaccuracies, especially when using MiniDV decks:

• Occasionally, the first frame might be cut one frame late. When this happens, the first video frame of the sequence appears on the first and second frames on tape. The audio remains in sync, so the first audio frame of the sequence is cut to the second frame on tape.

• Extra video frames might be cut to tape at the end of the cut. The number ranges from 3 to 5 frames.

➤ When you perform a digital cut on a partially striped tape, a message should appear and the tape should stop when the sequence timecode reaches the timecode on the tape.

For example:

• If you output a sequence using the sequence’s timecode and it reaches the end of the timecode on tape, it continues the digital cut without an timecode error message.

• If you insert an edit onto a tape and then insert a segment that extends beyond the end of the timecode on the tape, it will continue to insert video onto the unblacked area.

Workaround: Perform digital cuts only on fully striped tapes.



Editing

Bugs

➤ With the option Show Headframes selected, layering a clip exactly on top of a clip on another video track causes the headframe on the “bottom” clip to be a duplicate of the “top” headframe.

For example, if you have a clip on track V1 and place another clip on track V2 at exactly the same spot, the clip on track V1 will display the same headframe as the clip on track V2.

Workaround: Enlarge V1 so that it is not the same size as V2.

➤ Media dragged to the Timeline from a bin will automatically be placed on video track V1 and audio tracks A1 and A2. You cannot place it on any other tracks.

You cannot drag media on tracks that are physically apart in the Timeline.

Workaround: If you disable tracks, you can move the audio and video to the Timeline, but you must drag them separately.

Effects

Bugs

➤ If you import a graphic with a black background and place a Luma Key effect on the graphic, you cannot completely turn off the keying, even when the gain level is set to zero.

Workaround: Import the graphic using a white background. Alternatively, for a cleaner keying effect, create and import the graphic as a Matte Key effect.



➤ A long video mixdown with unrendered effects causes an Insufficient Memory error. A video mixdown with many unrendered effects (such as a 15-minute sequence with 176 effects) will abort with the following error message:

Insufficient Memory error. Keep or discard?

Click Keep; the mixdown is good up until that point. This problem does not occur with Render In/Out or when rendering a long effect.

Workaround: Render the effects before creating the mixdown, divide the video mixdown into smaller segments, or upgrade the system memory.

➤ A redraw problem occurs with the monitor when you use the Clip Name menu to select clips or sequences.

This problem occurs when “Use transition effects for menus and tooltips” is selected in the Effects tab in the Display Properties dialog box. For example, if you load several clips into the Source monitor, and you use the Clip Name menu to select different clips, the highlighted area for the selected clip remains on the monitor when the menu disappears, and you can see the previous clip displayed.

n The “Use transition effects for menus and tooltips” option is normally selected on the Windows 2000 systems by default.

Workaround: To prevent this problem from occurring, deselect “Use transition effects for menus and tooltips.” Right-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Effects tab, and deselect “Use transition effects for menus and tooltips.”

➤ The system might run noticeably slower or access violation errors might appear after performing hundreds of renders.

Workaround: Restart your NewsCutter XP application at least once a week.



Import and Export

Bugs

➤ You cannot change the frame size or other settings when using an Avid codec to export a QuickTime movie.

Avid codecs are designed to provide a fast export or import at the native frame size. (If necessary, you can change the resolution, but the export will take longer.) If you change the frame size or other setting and then use an Avid codec to export a QuickTime movie, you cannot do a fast export or import and the codec might issue the following error message:

Unable to export bin.

Workaround: Use a different codec. Alternatively, export the file by selecting the Same as Source option and change the setting in another application, such as Cleaner™ 5.

➤ When you import PAL OMF to a PAL project, the File Field Order Import setting should be set to Odd.

Currently, Even is the default PAL setting.

Workaround: Set the File Field Order to Odd for PAL.

➤ If you export a PICT sequence that was created on a NewsCutter XP system and try to import it on a Media Composer® for Macintosh® system, the first file might be corrupt.

Workaround: Import the sequence starting with the second file of the sequence.



Limitations

➤ You cannot send a sequence to Media Cleaner® EZ if it is already running.

If you start the NewsCutter XP and Media Cleaner EZ applications, select a sequence, and then send it to Media Cleaner EZ, you receive the following error message:

Media Cleaner EZ is already running. Please exit it and attempt the operation again.

Each time you want to process another sequence, you need to quit Media Cleaner EZ.

Workaround: Do not start Media Cleaner EZ before sending a sequence, or use Media Cleaner Pro instead of Media Cleaner EZ.

➤ Several export options do not appear if QuickTime 5.0 Minimum Installation is installed on the NewsCutter XP system. The options that do not appear include those for exporting DV Stream, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, QuickTime, and QuickTime Reference. This problem only happens if you install QuickTime 5.0 on your system and select the Minimum Installation option.

The NewsCutter XP software installer automatically installs QuickTime 4.0 unless it detects a later version. If it detects a later version, it leaves the newer version intact and proceeds with the rest of the installation. QuickTime 5.0 is supported by this release but is not shipped with the release.

Workaround: If you have QuickTime 5.0 installed on your system and you notice that the export options are missing, reinstall QuickTime 5.0 and select the Recommended installation.



➤ You cannot import a file larger than the 2-GB limit on file size.

Workaround: If you need to import a sequence of files (such as a TARGA® sequence), you can break the files into groups and import the groups separately. Once the groups are imported, you can make the imported clips into a sequence or subsequence, and then edit them into other sequences.

Play

Bugs

➤ When using the NewsCutter XP system as a source deck during VTR emulation, you might experience preroll, playback, and off-speed play problems.

Workaround: Use the NewsCutter system to perform these task.

➤ Some recorded media might “jitter” when played in the NewsCutter XP application. The jitter is most noticeable when there is a lot of motion in the clip. The source tape from which the media came looks fine. The jitter does not happen constantly. The media is not affected, it only affects desktop playback.

➤ Excessive mouse shuttling through a sequence might produce the following error:

Exception: AFIFO_TAKE_UNDERRUN or Exception: ADM_DSOUND_UNDERRUN.

This error does not occur under normal operation.



➤ Desktop playback of video is not supported on the second monitor of dual-monitor systems. The video only updates once the clip has finished playing. At this point, the last frame of the clip is displayed. Audio plays normally. Playback through OHCI is working, but you see a corrupt signal when viewing the output of the deck. When you perform a digital cut to the deck and then play back the tape, the signal looks fine.

Workaround: Make sure Source/Record monitors are placed on the Boot monitor.

Limitation

➤ Using four tracks of video with additional editing features decreases performance.

If you enable four tracks of video, add titles and layered effects, and then view all four video tracks, the NewsCutter XP application performs very slowly.

Workaround: Reducing the number of video tracks and the complexity of your sequence improves the performance.

Recording

Bugs

➤ Timecode in the deck controller is not displaying non-drop-frame when a non-drop-frame tape is in the deck.

➤ Recording across timecode breaks does not always capture the frames around the timecode break. This happens with products that use RS-422 for deck control. When you select “Use control track for preroll,” sometimes the system misses as many as 9 frames before the timecode break and 12 frames after the timecode break.



Workaround: Manually set mark IN to the first frame of the clip after the timecode break, or record on-the-fly with the timecode track turned off.

➤ The video and audio might stutter while performing passthrough record. When the codec does not get enough processing time, it will skip frames to keep up with the video passing through. Faster systems minimize the stutter, but this can occur on any system when background tasks are using processor time.

Workaround: Stop all background tasks to minimize or eliminate stutter during a passthrough record.

➤ Stop recording when your media drive has approximately 2 GB of space remaining. Due to unpredictable conditions such as disk fragmentation, the NewsCutter XP application determines that the media drive is filled before it is actually out of space.

Limitation

➤ If you choose Autoconfigure from the Deck pop-up menu, the application searches the first serial port (COM1) only.

If another serial port (COM2) has been configured previously, Autoconfigure will search that serial port instead.

Workaround: If you want to autoconfigure the deck, connect the deck to serial port 1 (COM1).



System

Bugs

➤ If you click Transfer in the Settings scroll list, an access violation occurs. To exit the violation, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to end the task using the Task Manager.

Workaround: If you are not a TransferManager client, do not click Transfer in the Settings scroll list.

➤ If you receive the following message when starting the Avid system, the Avid application will not start:

Exception occurred while initializing Media Stream Manager, exception: MSM no directory specified.

Workaround: To delete the necessary two files:

1. Locate the Avid application folder and open it.

2. Double-click the SupportingFiles folder

3. Double-click the Avid_MediaFiles folder.

4. Select the msmFMID.pmr and the msmMMOB.mdb files, and then press the Delete key.

5. Restart the Avid application.

Limitation

➤ When you copy a bin from a Windows 2000 NTFS volume to a non-NTFS volume, the following error message appears:

Confirm stream loss. The file name.avb.

The stream data that is lost is cached bin data. The bin contents are transferred intact despite the error message. You can ignore this error message.

This message appears when you access the file from the Windows desktop. The error does not appear in the Avid application.



Title Tool

Limitation

➤ If a title in PAL is repositioned, the first line in the even field is black when you play back the sequence.

This is a limitation of the PAL DV format.

Workaround: When the first line in the even field is black, crop the line out in the Effect Editor.

Workgroups

Bug

➤ If you have workspaces mounted on your system and the connection is lost to your workgroup, the workspaces are not dimmed to indicate they are no longer selectable in the Record tool.

n You can still work locally on your NewsCutter XP system.

Workaround: Reestablish the workspace connection to the workgroup. If the connection cannot be reestablished, choose Eject from the File menu to unmount all workspaces.



Limitations

➤ If the connection is lost when you have a MediaNet workspace mounted on your NewsCutter XP desktop, an error will occur. Depending on the function you are performing when the connection is lost, different error messages will appear. For example: if you are playing back video through a MediaNet workspace served from a PortServer Pro, and the PortServer Pro is shut down or the network connection is disconnected, the following type of error message might appear:

Assertion failed: curlen> 0File: L:\coresw\core\filesys\diskrtnsWin.c, Line 327

n To check the status of the MediaNet workspace connection, look at the Connection Manager icon in the Windows taskbar. See the Avid PortServer Pro Client QuickStart Card for indicator explanations.

Workaround: To deal with such an error:

1. Quit the NewsCutter XP application (using the Task Manager might be necessary).

2. Remount the MediaNet workspace after the PortServer Pro or MediaNet File Manager has been restarted, or after the network connection to the PortServer Pro has been restored. See your MediaNet administrator and documentation for details.

3. Restart the NewsCutter XP application.

➤ An error might occur when transferring a sequence out to play when the timecode crosses midnight (23:59:59:29->00:00:00:00). The General setting in the Project window is set to 00:00:00:00 by default. When the playback device plays the sequence starting before and ending after midnight, the playback device considers the timecode to be an illegal state.

Workaround: Change the General setting in the Project window default to 01:00:00:00.


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Technical Support Information

Technical Support Information

For Broadcast Sites

Avid Customer Support has a variety of technical support options available. Avid Assurance includes annual telephone support, maintenance releases, and advanced hardware exchange. In North America, Assurance customers with broadcast products may contact our Broadcast Customer Support Center at 800-NEWS-DNG (639-7364). To purchase Avid Assurance, to renew your contract, or for more information on Assurance offerings, in North America, contact Avid Inside Sales at 800-949-AVID (2843) or call your Avid Reseller. For international inquiries and support services, contact your local Avid Reseller. Support offerings may vary per location. For the latest information, consult your reseller or www.avid.com.

As an Avid customer, you are entitled to access technical support information and product information, as well as the latest news from our Web-based Knowledge Center. Simply navigate to www.avid.com/support/index.html, click the Knowledge Center link, and log in.

If you need help locating the reseller or Avid office nearest you, please visit our Web site at www.avid.com/cgi/locator/index.html or call 800-949-AVID (2843).

For Postproduction Sites

Avid Customer Support has a variety of technical support options available. Avid Assurance includes annual telephone support, maintenance releases, and advanced hardware exchange (7x24 option available). Assurance customers in North America may contact our Customer Support Center at 800-800-AVID (2843). To purchase Avid Assurance, to renew your contract, or for more information on Assurance offerings, in North America, contact Avid Inside Sales at 800-949-AVID (2843) or call your Avid Reseller. For international inquiries and support services, contact your local Avid Reseller.


Technical Support Information Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

Support offerings may vary per location. For the latest information, consult your reseller or www.avid.com.

In North America, Avid FlexSupport options are also available. Avid On-Call per-event support is available by calling 800-800-AVID (2843) or 900-555-AVID (2843) (United States only). Avid CallPaks (available in the United States and Canada) allow customers to bundle Avid On-Call per-event support in 5-call or 10-call packages for added value. To purchase Avid CallPaks in North America, please contact Avid Inside Sales at 800-949-AVID (2843).

As an Avid customer, you are entitled to access technical support information and product information, as well as the latest news from our Web-based Knowledge Center. Simply navigate to www.avid.com/support/index.html, click the Knowledge Center link, and log in.

If you need help locating the reseller or Avid office nearest you, please visit our Web site at www.avid.com/cgi/locator/index.html or call 800-949-AVID (2843).


Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A Copyright and Disclaimer

Copyright and DisclaimerProduct specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid’s Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement. Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,063,448; 5,077,604; 5,245,432; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,325,200; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,452,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,568,275; 5,577,190; 5,583,496; 5,584,006; 5,627,765; 5,634,020; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,701,404; 5,715,018; 5,719,570; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,731,819; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,180; 5,754,851; 5,781,188; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678; 5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,883,670; 5,889,532; 5,892,507; 5,905,841; 5,912,675; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,930,797; 5,946,445; 5,966,134; 5,977,982; 5,986,584; 5,987,501; 5,995,079; 5,995,115; 5,999,190; 5,999,406; 6,009,507; 6,011,562; 6,014,150; 6,016,152; 6,016,380; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,023,703; 6,031,529; 6,035,367; 6,038,573; 6,052,508; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,072,796; 6,084,569; 6,091,422; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,128,681; 6,130,676; 6,134,379; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,007; 6,141,691; 6,154,221; 6,157,929; 6,160,548; 6,161,115; 6,167,404; 6,174,206; 6,192,388; 6,198,477; 6,208,357; 6,211,869; 6,212,197; 6,215,485; 6,223,211; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; D396,853; D398,912. Additional U.S. and foreign patents pending. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.

Copyright © 2001 Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights LegendU.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

TrademarksAirPlay, AudioVision, Avid, Avid Xpress, CamCutter, Digidesign, FieldPak, Film Composer, HIIP, Image Independence, Marquee, Media Composer, Media Recorder, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, Open Media Framework, Pro Tools, and Softimage are registered trademarks and 888 I/O, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AutoSync, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, Avid Production Network, AvidProNet, AvidProNet.com, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, AVX, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, D-Verb, ExpertRender, FilmScribe, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, MEDIArray, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, MediaShare, Meridien, NaturalMatch, OMM, Open Media Management, ProEncode QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEnet, SPACEShift, Symphony, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, and VideoSPACE are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.


Copyright and Disclaimer Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A

Dell and Latitude are registered trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation in the United States and other countries. FireWire and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. IBM, IntelliStation, and ThinkPad are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. IEEE is a registered trademark of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Media Cleaner is a registered trademark and Cleaner is a trademark of Media100 Inc. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. QuickTime and the QuickTime logo are trademarks used under license from Apple Computer, Inc. The QuickTime logo is registered in the U.S. and other countries. RealSystem is a trademark of RealNetworks, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Sentinel is a registered trademark of Rainbow Technologies. Sony is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation of America. TARGA is a registered trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. TI is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments, Inc. V-LAN and VLXi are registered trademarks of Videomedia, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Avid NewsCutter XP Release 2.1 Release Notes for the Windows 2000 Operating System • Part 0130-05022-01 Rev. A • September 2001

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