Install the Optibase MovieMaker 200SP "Publisher" board, which offers
SDI Video inputs, Balanced XLR and AES/EBU Audio Inputs and the ability
to record audio directly into Dolby Digital streams.
STEP 1: Install the board
Once the hardware board is installed in a PCI slot, the software is
installed on your hard drive, and the hardware device control (Keyspan
USA 28X) USB-RS422 adapter is attached to a USB port and the video
deck, we’re ready to check the system and set up an encode.
The deck control device can be checked and tweaked using the Deck
Control setup window (above). The usual protocol is RS-422, but others
are available (like RS-232).
STEP 2: Set up an encode
Once the hardware is set up and deck control established, we can easily
set up an encode. The MPEG Composer application runs using only four
windows: Info, Monitor, Device (Deck Control) and Encode.
To start, we need to open a new Encode Window, to access the Encode
Settings and Control Functions. Select the File>New menu and an
untitled Encode Window opens (above). This window accesses the encode
settings and drives machine control using the In time code and Out time
code points. We’ll return to this window in Part 2, to finish off the
encoding.
The Encode Window has tool buttons across the top for control functions
(Start Set, Preview, Record, Pause, Stop) and for accessing the
Settings, Output Folder and Info windows. Each Encode Window will
remember Video and Audio settings, Master Tape names, and clip in and
out times for a particular encode.
STEP 3: Open a dialog
First, click the "Output Folder" button to open a dialog that lets you
choose the folder where the Encoder will write the MPEG and Audio files
it creates.
STEP 4: Create your settings
Click the Settings button to access the Settings pane, which will
drop-down from the Encode Windows title bar when activated. Video
settings are configured in the Video side of the pane (above, right),
selected with the Video button. Audio settings are configured in the
Audio side of the pane, (above, left) selected with the Audio Button.
Note: Different versions of the MovieMaker 200 board offer different
selections in the various encode settings popups:SDI Video inputs are
only available on the 200S Publisher version. The board can do NTSC and
PAL, as well as MPEG-2 and MPEG-1. The specific options you will see
depend on which board you have.
STEP 5: Pick your video parameters
The Settings Dialog lets you specify the parameters needed for this
particular encode. These are saved in the Encode document you are
creating. In the Video Settings, we’re going to set up for standard
NTSC. Make sure the Encode Video checkbox is set if you wish to
actually create MPEG video.
More parameters to set:
Output format—provides standard presets for DVD, SVCD and VCD
Video Input—Select the input you use: Composite, Y/C or SDI
Color system—Select NTSC (PAL available)
Encoding format—Select MPEG-2 (MPEG-1 available)
Resolution—Select screen size 720 x 480 (NTSC) (352 x 240, 704 x 480 also available and similar resolutions exist for PAL.)
Aspect Ratio—Select 4:3 (16:9 available)
Bit Rate Mode—Select Variable (VBR) for highest quality and best bit allocation, and Constant (CBR) for speed and convenience.
The top Bit Rate slider sets "Average" or "Target" bit rate.
The bottom slider sets Maximum, in VBR mode only.
Scene Change Detection allows for better I-frame handling, and can adapt better for changes in brightness and contrast.
Inverse Telecine is used to eliminate the extra fields that exist in a
video master that has been "Telecined" using the 2:3 pulldown.
Closed Captions—This is one very unique feature that can save you a ton
of money spent on third parties who recreate CC info. Capture closed
caption information from within Line 21 of the NTSC video signal, and
save it as a file on the Mac. This file can then be used later in DVD
authoring to reinsert the CC info back into the MPEG encode.
STEP 6: Pick you audio parameters
Inside Audio Settings, select an Audio Input. Balanced and Digital
(AES/EBU) inputs are available on the 200SP board. Unbalanced inputs
are standard on 200S boards.
Channel Configuration—Select Stereo. The 5.1 configuration is available if you are using Direct Digital Pass through.
Encoding Format—MM 200SP can do PCM, MPEG-1 Layer 2, or Dolby Digital (AC3). Dolby is a standard format for DVDs worldwide.
Bit Rate—nominal Bit Rate for Dolby Digital Stereo is 192 Kb/s, but rates of 224 or 256 can be used.
Advanced settings — If encoding directly into Dolby Digital, these
settings give you access to the most commonly adjusted settings,
Dynamic Range and Dialog Normalization. Leave them as is for most
sources.
STEP 7: Ready, set...
Encode! Whoa—not quite yet. The next step is to set up the Master Tape
and Clip names in the Encode window, along with the Timecode In and Out
points for each "segment."
STEP 8: Making an encode - defining segments
MPEG Composer lets multiple segments be defined for a particular clip.
With multiple segments defined, MPEG Composer will assemble the
multiple segments into a single finished MPEG stream file—just the
thing if you need to pull blacks or remove slate cards in between
episodes, or gather up individual spots on a compilation reel. Of
course, you only need to define One segment if that’s all you have.
In the left pane, the "+" button allows you to add a Source/Clip.
Define the Clip you need to capture here. The "-" button deletes the
selected clip. Be careful not to erase what you just created!
In the right pane, the "+" button allows you to add a time code segment
to the currently selected Source/Clip, while the "-" button will delete
the segment currently selected in the right pane.
You can double click on the name of the Clip or Source to edit it, and likewise for the time code entries.
While encoding using Deck Control and Time code In and Out points is
the traditional method for precise encodes, sometimes you just want to
"Make it Red" and encode "on-the-fly." Many MPEG encoding systems don’t
give you this option, but MPEG Composer does. The red button in the
Encode Window does what it says: click Record to
begin encoding MPEG using the settings you’ve specified, and write the
file(s) into the specified Output Folder. Click Stop
to finish the encode.
STEP 9: Enter in and out times from deck control
While operating the deck from the deck control panel, add the current
timecode location into the timecode in or out fields of the currently
selected clip by the convenient tools located to the left of the
timecode window. Enter a timecode location into the numerical display
to "seek" a specific location.
STEP 10: Preview the MPEG stream, post-encode
Preview is always handy to have when encoding, but the MovieMaker 200S
card has a unique feature—the onscreen preview window shows you the
MPEG video post-encode and post-decode; in other words, you are seeing
the MPEG file you will be capturing, not the raw video source. Because
of this, the video is always delayed from the audio.
STEP 11: Signal correct your video as you encode
The Info window gives you important information before, during and
after encoding. To make it easier, I’ve broken the figures into the
separate panes. The Video Calibration controls (Fig. a, below right)
let you do modest signal correction on the video input as you are
encoding. Use the Preview window (discussed in Step 10) to view how the
video corrections affect the MPEG encode.
STEP 12: Make adjustments and create settings
The Audio Calibration panel (Fig. b, right) provides input level
adjustments for the audio inputs, and audio level metering of the
chosen Audio Inputs (metering follows the Audio Settings).
The Encoding Format pane continually shows the current Video and Audio encoding settings (Fig. c).
STEP 13: Encode!
The Clip Status pane displays the status of the current encode while
you preview, encode and finish. It also reports if any errors have
occurred.
Click Start Set (Encode window) to begin encoding according to the
parameters set in the Settings dialogs, from the Master Tape named in
the Encode window and at the timecode in and out points set in the
Segment display.
YOUR GUIDE
Bruce Nazarian, President, Gnome Digital Media
Nazarian is an award-winning DVD producer and author, a globe-trotting
DVD consultant (known as "The DVD Guy"), and a longtime member of the
DVD Association’s advisory board. He specializes in digital media
production and advising for video, audio, DVD and Web applications. He
has also been a demonstrator and instructor for a number of DVD
products, including Apple’s DVD Studio Pro, and is the author of
McGraw-Hill’s DVD Studio Pro 2: The Complete Guide for
Authoring with Macintosh.
Bruce Says Keep In Mind...
"MPEG encoding is the heart and soul of DVD authoring, but on the Mac
there’s been a scarcity of affordable, high-quality hardware encoding
solutions that run under Mac OS X,” says Nazarian. "Luckily, MovieMaker
200S, Optibase’s MPEG-1 and -2 encoding solution for Mac OS X, has some
great new software, MPEG Composer.
Gnome DigitalMedia www.gnomedigital.com
3727 W. Magnolia Blvd., # 812
Burbank, CA 91505
ph. 818.563.6539
gnome@gnomedigital.com
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