Field Recorder Assertion Errors

[Leverson]

I've been working on a new project using the field recorder matching functionality in PT10 and for the first 2 days it was working flawlessly. Then suddenly on the 3rd day whenever I try to find matches I get the following Assertion Error:

Assertion in "/Volumes/Development/ws.ProTools_10.3.4/AlturaPorts/NewFileLibs/FileFormat/MacBuild/../../FF/Audio?FF_AudioFile.cpp", line 861


When it was working it was phenomenal. Project recorded on a SD744t with proper timecode, edited in Media Composer and exported as an AAF. I set up a field recorder guide track in Pro Tools and pointed it towards the location sound folder and then all I had to do was drag a clip to the guide track and right click on it and the list of other matching channels from the multitrack BWAV would pop right up. It really made dialogue editing fly. Then on day 3 the Assertion errors started out of nowhere and I can't fix them.

I tried trashing preferences and databases and no luck. I also did a search on here and found some other field recorder threads mentioning Assertion errors but no solutions.

Pro Tools 10.3.4 on Mac OS 10.7.5

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[GuidoHelbling]

Hi

I made a similar experience. Also AAF import from media composer, relinking to original files. all worked fine also on the 3rd day, pt could not find the files after reopening the session. It was endless relinking on the task manager, nothing helped, I could not stop the relininking process.

The only thing which helps was to re-import Session Data all the tracks in a new, blank session. Then I have added all the original source files by hand. then it worked fine. But I was happy if it was completed....

Best
Guido

[Frank Kruse]

Are you working with interleaved original BWAV poly-files or is your session set to copy/transfer (split) to mono?

Frank.

[Leverson]

I am working with poly-WAV files, the Audio Media Options on the Session Import were set to 'Force to target session format'. Do you think that plus the poly-wavs were somehow causing it?

I'll try and change to 'Copy from source media' and re-import the AAF and see if that helps.

It's weird that it was working fine for the first 2 days and then went all screwy. I wish I knew why.

If anybody from Avid is reading this and wants to chime in that would be great, as I've always felt like the Field Recorder Match functionality is a great concept that always seems one step away from actually working right.

[philper]

Did the location mixer record in poly files part of the time and mono files the rest? Were the files the relinked ok 4 track or 3 track or 2 or what? And the ones that did not relink?

philp

[Leverson]

All poly files from the SD744t. Some were 4 channels, some 3, some 2.

And it's not a matter of relinking, it's that suddenly whenever I try to right click on a file in a designated field recorder guide track an assertion error immediately comes up.

So to recap: I've got a field recorder guide track and it's properly pointed towards the location sound files folder, I drag or copy/paste an audio clip there and right click on it to try and bring up the matching alternates window but as soon as I right click I just get the assertion error I posted earlier. If I make a new guide track or designate any track to a field recorder guide I can't right click on any clip in that track without an assertion error.

The first 2 days of this workflow worked fine. Then something must have gotten corrupted somehow but I can't figure out what nor can I figure out how to change it.

[SBP]

Hi -if you check the task manager is there any background task going on?

What happens if you don't point a search to audio outside the session -ie in 'folders to search' have nothing at all -import production audio into your clips bin.

Hope this helps.

Bruno

[Frank Kruse]

We usually work straight off the original poly-files. So all copy on import, force target etc. is turned off.

Works like a charm and no redundant audio is created. Only the DSP stuff you create lands in your session audio folder any AAF and conformed media stays in it's dedicated folder. Nice and tidy.

Maybe try that?

If the AFF has mixed sample-rates of course PT needs to SRC some elements from the avid media but usually those are only music and temp fx and it only happens if the cutting room has their AVID not set to SRC everything to 48k on import, which I usually ask them to set it to.

Frank.

[Leverson]

Checked the task manager, no background functions going on. Also tried pointing the guide track to a different folder, and also deleting all folders so it's pointing to nothing, and every time as soon as I right-clicked on anything in any field recorder guide track the assertion error would immediately pop up.

Couldn't find any way to solve it so I made a new session and imported my edited dialogue tracks into it from the old session. Everything seems to be working in the new session so fingers crossed it stays that way.

Would still love to know what got borked in the old session, as well as exactly what an assertion error is.

[Leverson]

I hate to raise this back from the dead again, but a couple weeks after my last post the field recorder match assertion error came back up again out of the blue. Same workflow as before, with no problems this time for about 2 weeks of editing, then somehow on one random clip the assertion error came back up again and after point that any clip I tried to do the match field recorder function on resulted in an assertion error.

The good news is that after an internet search tip I tried deleting all unused regions and that seemed to fix the problem, which is great for now, but I would still love to know what the root of the problem is and how it can be avoided, if anyone from Avid is reading this.

For anyone else that is getting assertion errors out there, try deleting all unused regions (I used the 'select unused regions except whole files' option), as that is working for now (fingers crossed).