VTR Input Menu Options
The basic VTR Input controls are described as follows.
(a) Device Name box (b) Aspect Ratio box (c) Aspect Ratio field (d) EDL button (e) Current Timecode field (f) Proxy Quality box (g) Bit Depth box (h) Scan mode box (i) Tape Name field (j) Clip Name field (k) Increment Name field (l) Tape Type box
Device Name box
Select the VTR and timing combination to use to csteapture clips. The available VTR are defined in the software configuration file using the VTR keyword. The available VTR are defined in the Smoke Setup application.
Engineering button
Opens the engineering menu.
Aspect Ratio box
Select the aspect ratio of the clip to capture.
Aspect Ratio field
Displays the aspect ratio of the clip to capture. Editable.
Bit Depth box
Select the bit depth used to capture the clip.
Scan Mode box
Selects how to flag the captured clip: Progressive, Field 1 dominant, or Field 2 dominant.
The flag is only there as a reminder; for example, setting Field 2 does not prevent you from de-interlacing on Field 1. In most cases, select the option that matches the format you are capturing.
Proxy Only button
Enable to capture proxies only. In this case, the high-resolution media is captured, proxies are generated, but the high-resolution media is discarded. As a result, much storage space is required.
Only available if the current project is configured to use proxies. If your proxies are set to be generated as a post process in the Engineering menu, you can see an estimated time required for proxies generation in the message bar. You can abort this process at any time by clicking anywhere on the screen. When you click the screen, a message appears asking you to confirm the operation. Only the captured media that corresponds to completed proxy generation is preserved. Any captured frames for which no proxies have been generated are purged.
Proxy Quality box
Proxies generated during capture are always of draft quality. Using the Proxy Quality box, you can set the default quality for proxy generation after capture. Results vary depending on the type of clips involved, so it is a good idea to try different settings.
Only available if the current project is configured to use proxies.
| Select: | To get: |
|---|---|
| Impulse | Quick, low-quality results. |
| Triangle | Moderate results with little processing overhead. |
| Mitchell | Best results when resizing a clip to a higher resolution. |
| Bicubic | Very good results for resizing soft-looking images. Use to sharpen the image. |
| Quadratic | Good results for resizing simple images with straight edges. Similar to Gaussian but with more blurring. Use to soften the image. |
| Gaussian | Excellent results when resizing a clip with no patterns and alot of straight edges to a lower resolution. Useful for softening some detail. |
| Shannon | Excellent results when resizing a clip to a lower resolution. Very similar to Lanczos, but results are a little softer. |
| Lanczos | Best results when resizing a clip containing a variety of patterns and elements to a lower resolution. It is the most complex with the longest processing time. |
Emulator button
Enable to have the application emulate a VTR.
Capture button
Starts the capture.
Grab button
Grabs the current frame.
EDL Log button
Logs the clip to the EDL.
EDL button
Opens the EDL menu where you can capture and edit EDLs.
Log On Out button
Enable to log EDL events every time you enter an out point.
Tape Name field
Displays the name of the tape from which you are capturing. This name is important for EDL assembly and media recapture procedures. Editable.
Clip Name field
Displays the name to use for the clip to capture. Editable.
Increment field
Displays the number automatically appended to the clip name. Active when Increment is enabled.
Increment button
Enable to append numerical increments to the clip name automatically.
For example, enter “My_Clip” in the Clip Name field and then enable Increment Name. The first clip you capture is named “My_Clip-1”, the second is named “My_Clip-2”, and so on.
Start Mode box
Determines the start mode for clip input.
| Select: | To: |
|---|---|
| Start On Click | Capture starting from the currently displayed frame on the tape. Click Process to activate the start-on-click trigger. |
| Start On Timecode | Capture starting from the timecode you enter in the In field. Click Process to start the clip input process. |
Stop Mode box
Determines the stop mode for clip input.
| Select: | To capture until: |
|---|---|
| Stop On Click | You click anywhere on the screen. |
| Stop After Frames | A specific number of frames have been captured. When you select this option, a field appears in which you enter the number of frames you want to capture. |
| Stop On Timecode | A timecode on the tape has been reached (entered in the Out Timecode field). |
Current Timecode field
Indicates the current timecode of the tape in the VTR.
The following controls are found on the right side of the menu (not shown in preceding illustration).
In Timecode field
Displays the timecode on the tape at which point the clip input begins. Editable.
Out Timecode field
Displays the timecode on the tape at which point the clip input process ends. Editable.
Duration field
Displays the duration, in timecode, between the clip in point and out point. Editable.
Tape EE button
Click to toggles E-to-E on and off. When lit, indicates that the VTR is in E-to-E mode (electronic to electronic). This means that the VTR output is showing its input signal.
Standby button
When lit, the VTR is in standby mode. Click to toggle between standby modes.
Cue In button
Cues the VTR to the value of the In Timecode field.
In button
Sets the In Timecode field to the current VTR timecode.
Cue Out button
Cues the VTR to the value of the Out Timecode field.
Out button
Sets the Out Timecode field to the current VTR timecode.
Toggle Audio Tracks button
Switch between audio banks of 4 audio tracks. The actual number of tracks depends on your capture device.
Video Track button
Enable to capture the video track.
VTR Status display
Indicates the current status of the VTR.