Specifications

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 579
Only one QuickTime movie can be associated
with a session at a time. If you want to import a
different movie into a session, repeat the previ-
ous steps. The new movie will replace the origi-
nal in the session. A Movie track takes its name
from its associated movie file and cannot be in-
dependently renamed.
Frames View Performance
When using Frames View to view movie content
in the Movie track, your computer may exhibit
reduced or sluggish performance. If this hap-
pens on your computer, switch the Movie track
view to Blocks mode.
Firewire Playback of
QuickTime DV Movies
With the addition of an external DV transcoder
(decoder), you can play QuickTime DV Movies
out through your computer’s Firewire port.
These can include QuickTime movies exported
as QuickTime DV from Avid Xpress DV.
TDM Systems Requires Pro Tools 5.3.1 or
higher.
LE Systems Requires Pro Tools 6.x.
For the latest compatibility information on
Firewire transcoders, see the Digidesign Web
site. For specific information about the Canopus
Transcoder, check the Canopus Web site
(http://www.canopuscorp.com).
QuickTime DV performance may vary, depend-
ing on the specifics of your system and projects.
Supported QuickTime Movies
Referenced and Consolidated Media Exported
QuickTime DV movies can be either complete
Quicktime files (where media is copied into a
Quicktime file) or Quicktime reference files
(where just a small composition is in the Quick-
time file which references the original DV files).
Codec Requirements When exporting from
Avid Xpress DV, always use the Apple DV codec.
Do not enable “Use Avid Codec” in the export
dialog. If an Avid-codec DV movie is imported
into Pro Tools, you will not be able to play it.
DV Stream Movies Pro Tools does not support
audio from a DV Stream file. DV Stream files
contain the entire data stream that's been trans-
ferred or recorded over the FireWire cable from a
camera. In this type of file, the audio and video
data are stored in an interleaved fashion, as op-
posed to a QuickTime file where audio and
video are stored separately.
To Play DV Movies through the FireWire Port:
1 Import a QuickTime DV movie into a
Pro Tools session by choosing Movie > Import
Movie.
2 Choose Movie > Play DV Movie Out Firewire
Port.
When this item is enabled, Pro Tools will play
DV movies (NTSC or PAL) out the FireWire port
to an external DV decoder. This can improve
system performance by removing the need for
the movie to be software decompressed by the
CPU and displayed on the computer screen.
If the desktop Movie Window is open when
video is playing out the FireWire port, it will dis-
play the text “DV Movie Is Playing Out FireWire
Port.”
You can also hide the movie track to further
optimize performance, if necessary.
See also “Exporting QuickTime DV from
Avid” on page 580.