This article contains the Read Me document for the Avid Cinema 1.1 Update software.
Avid Cinema Update v1.1 Release Notes
December 19, 1996
Welcome to Avid Cinema!
This document explains how to update Avid Cinema 1.0 to 1.1 and
contains tips and late-breaking information about using Avid Cinema.
Upgrading the Avid Cinema software:
1. Launch the "Avid Cinema 1.1 Updater" application.
2. Confirm that the folder shown in the "Update Location" area contains Avid Cinema 1.0. The updater software automatically searches any
mounted disks for a folder containing the Avid Cinema 1.0 software, so the folder shown is most likely correct. If you think that it isn't, press the "Select Folder" button and select the folder that you believe is correct.
3. Press the "Update" button.
4. The updater will update the application, Plug-Ins, Storyboards, and Avid Cinema Extension files. It will also install the "54xx/64xx Update" extension. When the update is done, press the "Restart" button.
(The "54xx/64xx Update" will not be installed on any CPU other than a Performa
5400/6400.)
5. After restart, please empty the trash on your desktop by holding down the Option key on your keyboard and selecting "Empty Trash" from the "Special" menu. This deletes the Avid Cinema 1.0 software and extension from the trash.
A Word About System Software If you updated Avid Cinema under System 7.5.3, then before updating to System 7.5.5 you need to:
1. Move the "54xx/64xx Update" extension from the Extensions folder in the System Folder to the desktop.
2. Update to System 7.5.5.
3. Replace the "54xx/64xx Update" extension that the System 7.5.5 update placed in the Extensions folder with the "54xx/64xx Update" extension that you moved to the desktop in step 1.
4. Restart the machine.
Differences between versions 1.0 and 1.1
* Storyboards and movie files have a different type. Version 1.1 converts
1.0 movie files when they are opened for the first time. Once this is done, they are now version 1.1 projects and can only be edited with Avid Cinema 1.1.
* You can now split clips by selecting a clip, positioning the position indicator at the place in the clip where you want to split it, and then selecting the "Split Clip" from the "Movie" menu.
* Timeline navigation speed and ease of use has been greatly increased over 1.0.
* Avid Cinema no longer has a problem if Apple Guide isn't installed.
* Movie playback has been improved with the addition of the "54xx/64xx Update" extension.
* PAL format movies are now supported.
Compatibility Issues
* If there is an X over the Avid Cinema extension when your system
is started, check for one of the following problems:
- Problem: You are running either Virtual memory or RAM Doubler, neither
of which are compatible with Avid Cinema. If this is the case,
you will receive a message explaining the problem when you start
Avid Cinema.
Solution: Turn off Virtual memory or RAM Doubler, restart
your system, and then run Avid Cinema again.
- Problem: You have a version of QuickTime older than QuickTime 2.5, or the °Avid Cinema extension has been renamed (the degree ° mark removed) so that it loads before the QuickTime extension.
Solution: Install QuickTime 2.5 (or later), or rename the
Avid Cinema extension to °Avid Cinema extension. (To make
the degree mark, hold down the Shift and Option keys and press the 8 key.)
- Problem: The Avid Cinema card isn't installed or isn't seated properly. . The Avid Cinema card is either not firmly seated in the computer,
or it is damaged,
OR
The ribbon cable (DAV cable) is either not properly connected
to the Avid Cinema card on one end and the Apple Video In card on the other end; or the cable is damaged.
Solution: Follow these steps to reseat the card: 1. Open your computer** according to the instructions in your Macintosh User's Manual. 2. Seat the card securely in the connector on the system board.
3. Securely connect both ends of the ribbon cable. 4. If your model computer requires a screw to hold the card in place, screw the card down tightly. **If you do not feel comfortable opening your computer, contact your Apple Authorized Reseller for help connecting the card and ribbon cable.
* Apple Video Player incompatibilities with Avid Cinema
- Problem: Starting Avid Cinema while Apple Video Player is running
can cause an error.
Solution: Always quit from Apple Video Player before
starting Avid Cinema.
- Problem: Bringing video in from the TV Tuner can be a problem if
Avid Cinema was not running before you opened the Apple Video Player to set the channel. Solution: To remedy the problem:
1. Start Avid Cinema.
2. Open the Apple Video Player and choose a channel.
3. Close Apple Video Player. 4. In the Avid Cinema Bring Video In tab, choose TV Tuner from the Video Source menu (in the Movie menu).
* QuickTime conferencing
Problem: The Avid Cinema card and Avid Cinema Extension do not support QuickTime conferencing. If you want to use QuickTime conferencing, temporarily disable the Avid Cinema Extension and restart your system.
* Post Compression
Problem: The Avid Cinema card and Avid Cinema Extension do not support post compression, a feature of applications, such as Apple Video Player and Adobe Premiere. Solution: If you want to bring video in using either Apple Video Player or Adobe Premiere, either turn off the post compression option where available, or temporarily disable the Avid Cinema Extension and restart your system.
* Video image in Library Preview may not display or turns black
Problem: Under the right set of circumstances, playback of a clip
in the Preview window of the Library subtab can display black or no image. This is a minor update problem that goes away after a screen refresh. Solution: To fix the problem, go to another tab (Storyboard for example) and then return to the Edit Tab.
Things to be Aware of
* Avid Cinema must be run using a monitor connected to your
Macintosh's built-in video port. When using a third-party
monitor card, such as an ATI graphic accelerator card, Avid Cinema
does not function. You must change your monitor connection
back to the built-in video port to use Avid Cinema.
* Send Movie Out formats
A movie saved in the Avid Cinema format is not a self-contained
movie. To play the movie you need the movie's Media folder. Make
sure you keep your movie's Media folder after you've saved the
movie in Avid Cinema format.
* For best performance, the Largest Unused Block of memory should
be 2 MB or greater when Avid Cinema is running. If you increase
the Preferred Memory size for Avid Cinema, make sure your system's
Largest Unused Block of memory is over 2 MB. (Choose
About This Macintosh from the Apple menu to see your system's
Largest Unused Block of memory.)
* Avid Cinema works best if you do not run other applications
while you are using it. Bringing in video and playing it are
both memory intensive operations, and running applications
(email applications for example) can cause problems.
* If you have a PC Compatibility card, don't run applications on
it while running Avid Cinema, as there are not enough system
resources to support both.
* Don't play music CDs while bringing video in.
Instead of playing music on your internal CD drive and
recording it over the microphone, use the Import button
in the Sound tab to import the music track directly from the CD.
* Don't use picture clips shorter than one second.
Cinema may not display your movie correctly if you use imported pictures whose clip length is shorter than one second.
* Close the control strip while capturing video.
If you have the control strip over the picture while in the Bring Video In tab, the start and stop buttons will be disabled. Closing the control strip floating window will enable the start and stop buttons.
* Using the Undo feature
The Undo feature works only in the Titles tab.
* Titles and shot names cannot start with the "." (period) character.
Tips
* If your movie "stutters" when you play it:
- Try quitting other applications, especially those that use the network, such as mail programs and internet browsers.
- If you are adjusting the volume using the controls on the
front of your computer, avoid doing so while playing the movie.
- If the movie is currently on a Jaz drive, or other media
slower than your computer's hard disk, move it to a faster disk.
- The portions of your movie with titles may appear to stutter because the titles haven't been merged with the video yet. To remedy this, choose Preview full-screen or Make videotape in the Send Movie Out tab, and then click the Start button to render the titles. If, after doing this, you move any of the title clips in the timeline, the stuttering will happen again until you prepare the movie in the same way.
- Lower the Disk Cache Size.
If your system¹s Disk Cache Size is greater than 96K, it can cause your movie to "stutter." Before using Avid Cinema, set your Disk Cache Size to a maximum of 96K:
1. Choose Control Panels from the Apple menu and then Memory from the Control Panels menu.
2. Change the Disk Cache Size to 96K and close the window.
3. Restart your system.
- Finally, use a hard drive utility to defragment your hard disk or
move the project to a different drive.
* Making movies for the Internet
Netscape 3.0 (or later) downloads QuickTime movies automatically,
if the movie has a .mov extension.
1. Add a .mov extension to the file name before uploading
it to the network. Upload the movie as "Raw Data" using Fetch
(a commonly used FTP application).
2. If you want to take advantage of the QuickStart movie feature
that allows movies to start playing before they are completely
downloaded, the person downloading the movie must have
Netscape 3.0 (or later) and its plug-ins.
* A movie saved in the Avid Cinema format is not a self-contained movie.
To play the movie you still need its Media folder, because the saved movie contains references to the original clips.
* To get a more condensed version of your movie's media:
1. Save the movie in Avid Cinema format.
2. Start a new movie.
3. Import the movie saved in Avid Cinema format into the new movie.
4. Delete the old movie and its Media folder, keeping only the
new movie and its Media folder.
* If you want to lengthen a music or narration clip that is touching another clip, you must create enough blank space in the track before lengthening the clip.
* If you turn down the volume on a video clip to the minimum volume
using the Clip Volume slider in the Sound tab, a popping sound
may be produced each time you play the clip. To remedy this problem, select the clip and choose Remove Audio from the Movie menu.
* Occasionally, after quitting Avid Cinema, there is an area on the
desktop where the mouse pointer disappears. Restart your computer
to correct this problem.
* When creating an effect longer than the default of one second,
make sure that you trim back about three seconds of each clip
used in the effect to get the best results.
* You can convert an Avid Cinema movie in PAL format to an Avid Cinema
movie in NTSC format, or vice versa:
1. Choose Preferences from the Edit menu and then
select the new format you want (PAL or NTSC). 2. Start a new movie. It'll be in this new format.
3. Go to the Library tab and import the movie that's
in the other format.
Documentation Error
In the Avid Cinema Making Movies guide, the image size for
1/4-screen PAL movies is incorrectly given. The correct size is:
384 x 288 pixels.
If You Need Help
1. The online help may have answers to your questions. Click the
Help button (the question mark) on the tab you are in, or choose
Avid Cinema Guide or Cabling Quick Reference from the Help menu.
2. Refer to the Troubleshooting chapter of the Avid Cinema
Making Movies guide.
3. Contact Apple Customer Support with the phone number in your Performa Macintosh manual.
4. Visit our Web Site at www.avidcinema.com for the latest tips and updates.