User manual

440
Video
Background
Cubase plays back video films in a number of formats.
Under Windows, video playback can be done using one
of three playback engines: Video for Windows, Direct-
Show or QuickTime 7.1. This ensures compatibility with
as wide a range of video files as possible. The following
file formats are supported: AVI, Windows Media Video
(Cubase only: you can also import files in Windows Media
Video Pro format), QuickTime and MPEG.
Under Mac OS X, QuickTime is always used as playback
engine. QuickTime supports the following video file for-
mats: AVI, MPEG, QuickTime and DV.
There are two ways to play back video:
• Without any special hardware.
While this will be fine in many situations it does put a limit on the size of
the video window as well as the quality of the image.
• Using video hardware that, for example, connects to an
external monitor.
Mac OS X: Using a FireWire port, you can play back video on an external
monitor using a DV-to-analog converter or a DV camera.
You can play back DV video. QuickTime is used for playback.
Windows: Multi-head graphics cards that support overlay functionality
can be used to display the video picture on an external monitor. The fol-
lowing manufacturers have working (and tested) solutions available:
nVIDIA and Matrox.
Before you start
When working on a project involving a video file, there are
several points to bear in mind:
Have you selected the right player? (Windows
only)
The player is used not only for playback of the video file,
but also to provide file information in the Pool and in the
Import Video dialog. Therefore, to make sure that you have
chosen the right player for a particular type of video file,
check the file information displayed in the Import Video
dialog or the Pool prior to trying to import or playing back
the file.
When this information reads “0x0 pixel”, “0.000 s” and “0
Frames”, the video file is either corrupt, or the format is not
supported by the codecs available to the selected video
player. You will either have to change the video player, or
install the required codec.
Editing a video file
Video clips are played back by events just as audio clips
are. You can use all the basic editing operations on video
events, just as with audio events. The following operations
are not possible on the video track:
• Drawing, Gluing, and Scrubbing.
Note that when you activate the Mute button for a video track, the video
playback will be stopped, but playback of any other Project events will
continue. See below.
• The video track has no editor and does not make use of
parts.
• Cubase allows you to cut, copy, paste and trim video
events, i.e. your video track may contain more than one
video event. However, when using the DirectShow video
player (Windows only), you may find that only the first event
on the video track is played back correctly. In such a case
make sure that the video track contains no more than one
video event.
• Under Windows, you may find that you are unable to
edit a video file copied from a CD. This is because files
copied from CD are write protected by default. Right-click
the file, and deactivate the “Read-Only” option in the File
Properties dialog.
• When you have a video file in a format not supported by
Cubase, use an external application to convert the file to a
format that Cubase can import.
!
Trying to import or play back a file not supported by
the selected video player leads to unpredictable re-
sults – if no information on the number of frames, the
length and the pixel resolution is available in the Im-
port Video dialog, the Pool or the MediaBay, you
cannot import/play this file properly with this particu-
lar video player.
!
You can change the video player in the Device Setup
dialog. After having done so, make sure to remove
any previously imported video file from the Pool first,
and re-import it.