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Video
Multi-head video cards
One of the most common methods is the use of a multi-
head video card installed in the computer. Multi-head
video cards allow you to connect more than one computer
monitor to the card, in some cases up to four. If you direct
the video output of Cubase to one of these outputs, the
video file is displayed in fullscreen mode on a computer
monitor or HD television screen.
Ö You can also use more than one video card to achieve
the same result.
Different video cards support different types of outputs in-
cluding standard VGA, DVI, S-Video, HDMI, and compo-
nent video. These options allow you to choose the type of
monitor you use for video. HD televisions and digital pro-
jectors provide the largest viewing screens, but a normal
computer monitor can function as a very high-quality video
monitor as well.
Dedicated video cards
The use of a dedicated video card is also supported in
Cubase. These cards are normally used in video editing
systems to capture video to disk and display it while edit-
ing. They usually have a high resolution and take some
strain off the host CPU by providing video compression
and decompression processing on the card.
Ö The Decklink cards by Blackmagic Design are auto-
matically recognized by Cubase. Video will be sent di-
rectly to its output.
FireWire DV Output
You have the option to use FireWire ports on the computer
to output DV video streams to external converters such as
various camcorders and standalone FireWire to DV con
-
version units. These units can be connected to a television
or projector for large format viewing. The FireWire protocol
is capable of transporting data at high speed and is the
most common standard for communicating with video-
related peripheral equipment.
Preparing a video project in Cubase
The following sections describe the basic operations nec-
essary for preparing a Cubase project involving video. It is
advisable to store your video files on a separate hard drive
from your audio files. This can help prevent data streaming
problems when using high-resolution video with many au
-
dio tracks.
Importing video files
Importing a video file into your project is very straight for-
ward once you know that you have a compatible video file.
Video files are imported in the same manner as audio files:
• By using the File menu (Import–Video File).
In the Import Video dialog, you can activate the “Extract Audio From
Video” option. This imports any embedded audio streams to a newly cre
-
ated audio track positioned below the video track. The new track and the
clip will get the name of the video file. The new audio event will start at
the same time as the video event, so that they are in sync with each other.
Ö If you try to import a non-supported video file with the
Import Video option, the Import Video dialog displays the
text “Invalid or not supported file!”.
• By importing to the Pool first and then dragging to the
Project window (see “The Pool” on page 195 for details).
• By using drag and drop from the MediaBay, the Pool,
the Windows Explorer, or the Mac OS Finder.
Ö When importing video files via the Pool or by using
drag and drop, Cubase can automatically extract the au-
dio from a video file. Whether this happens, depends on
the “Extract Audio on Import Video File” setting in the
Preferences dialog (Video page). For further information
about extracting audio from a video file, see
“Extracting
audio from a video file” on page 322.
Ö When importing video, Cubase automatically creates
a thumbnail cache file. The generated file is stored in the
same folder as the video file and gets the name of the file
with the suffix “.vcache”.
!
Under Windows, it is important that you connect
your device to the FireWire port before launching
Cubase. Otherwise it may not be detected properly
by Cubase.