Stereoscopic 3D video is not just for theatrical release. Cable and satellite channels, even YouTube, now display images in 3D. In this musing, I reflect that even if 3D isn’t the future, we can make money on it now – without spending a ton of money.
One of the common problems that inexperienced Final Cut editors run into is audio that slowly drifts out of sync. While the problem may appear to be within Final Cut Pro, the cause is actually due to mismatched audio sample rates between the video you shot and the way you are capturing it. What makes this worse is that many consumer cameras default to an audio sample rate of 32 kHz, while Final Cut expects 48 kHz. In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll explain what an audio sample rate is and how to change your Final Cut settings to capture your audio accurately.
As 2010 draws to a close, three quick observations on technology for the coming year.
There are four ways inside DVD Studio Pro to control how 16:9 video plays back on a 4:3 monitor. This article describes what you need to know and provides suggestions on which one is best to use.
The problem is that both 16:9 and 4:3 SD video have exactly the same number of pixels. This is true in both NTSC and PAL. And, sometimes, you need to convert from one to the other. What’s the best way to do this? What’s the fastest? Why is it necessary? This article answers those questions.
Are you having problems getting Final Cut to render? It may not be a software problem. Eric Solstein sent us this cautionary tale on the problems of heat. If your system is acting up, read this article.
Even an iSight camera can be pressed into service for capturing video when nothing better is available. This tutorial shows you how fast and easy this can be.
What do you do when you have hundreds of hours of material to capture? Well, first, you have a number of decisions to make. This short article outlines what you need to know before you start.
Final Cut Pro is, most often, used for editing after the recording is complete. However, there are some situations where you need to record live and edit as soon as you can. This article talks about that and provides options to consider. There’s also some relevant reader feedback.
HDV is the latest video format craze, but it isn’t like DV; or any other video format we are used to working with. This article explains how HDV is different and what you need to know to use it successfully.
Unlike NTSC, which requires frequent monitor calibration, PAL color is pretty stable. However, for those situations where you need to make sure your PAL monitor is showing colors accurately, this article will tell you what you need to know.
I am not a testing organization, but, recently, Jon Schilling over at CalDigit (www.caldigit.com) sent me a 500 GB SATA RAID to examine (Model #S2VR Duo).
A brief, but important, reminder on the subject of FireWire cable limits.
What is the future for distributing HD video? Is it Blu-ray or is it digital downloads? In this thoughtful opinion piece, Jason Chong, Kit Laughlin, and Lorin David Schultz share their thoughts on where the future is headed. Even though recent events have made Blu-ray Discs easier to create on a Mac, that doesn’t mean they’ve won the war. The battle rages and you get to choose.
In spite of the hype, optical media is not dead. The two variations for HD media – AVCHD and Blu-ray Discs – are still valuable tools in an editor’s toolkit. In this article, David Scott writes about his success in using Blu-ray Discs to meet the needs of his project.
With Blu-ray winning the DVD format war, attention has now turned to the costs of creating a Blu-ray DVD. This article explains that the cost of replicating one of these new format discs isn’t cheap.
In a recent conversation with Bruce Nazarian, president of the DVD Association, during The BuZZ podcast, we were discussing the sudden shift toward Blu-Ray DVDs.
Ever wonder about those black bars on the edges of DV? They are about 9 pixels wide and they are always there. How can you get rid of them? SHOULD you get rid of them? This article explains what you need to know and when you need to worry about it.
Folks that have worked with video for a long time are often confused about where to set the black level for digital video. This article explains what you need to know — and, relax, it isn’t that hard.
We toss around terms like 8-bit depth, or 10-bit depth, even 12-bit depth. But what do those terms actually mean? Does it make a difference what bit depth we work in? The answer is yes. Bit-depth determines how accurately we can digitally represent an image, compared to reality. This article provides more detail without going into too much tech.