DNxHD Codec and HD Native don't mix

[ggegan]

Really having a lot of problems with the DNxHD codec running within Pro Tools on my HD Native system. Lots of 9129 and related errors. If I take the picture off line or swap out the picture for a DVCProHD version exported from QT 7 Pro, the problem goes away.

Since it is an AVID codec, one would think that it would be more compatible with pro Tools than it seems to be.

[KMcK]

Why would it matter that it's an Avid codec? Pro Tools is just piggybacking on Quicktime Player, it doesn't have anything else special in there specifically for Avid video codecs.

Any codec that requires a lot of CPU to decode is going to run poorly in Pro Tools. I usually use ProRes 422 (Proxy), works pretty well.

[Frank Kruse]

Originally Posted by ggegan

Really having a lot of problems with the DNxHD codec running within Pro Tools on my HD Native system. Lots of 9129 and related errors. If I take the picture off line or swap out the picture for a DVCProHD version exported from QT 7 Pro, the problem goes away.

Since it is an AVID codec, one would think that it would be more compatible with pro Tools than it seems to be.

Which one are you using? 36 or more? 36 runs flawlessly here, 115 is too much and not better quality. But 36 is great. Small size (4-5GB/reel) and great quality. Also renders very fast in the avid since most projects are cut at that data rate so they can output 'same as source' which is very fast in the AVID.
It's a great workflow, IMO. Transcoding to Prores takes for ever and the files are huge (about 5 times as large) at no better quality.

frank.

[lexaudio]

Works fine on many systems.

Reinstall the codec.

[ggegan]

Originally Posted by Frank Kruse

Which one are you using? 36 or more? 36 runs flawlessly here, 115 is too much and not better quality. But 36 is great. Small size (4-5GB/reel) and great quality. Also renders very fast in the avid since most projects are cut at that data rate so they can output 'same as source' which is very fast in the AVID.
It's a great workflow, IMO. Transcoding to Prores takes for ever and the files are huge (about 5 times as large) at no better quality.

frank.

That appears to be the probable issue. The bit rate is 176.87 mbits/s, which I suppose means it's DNxHD 176. Is there a way to down-convert to 36? I don't seem to be able to do it using Quicktime Pro.

[Frank Kruse]

Originally Posted by ggegan

That appears to be the probable issue. The bit rate is 176.87 mbits/s, which I suppose means it's DNxHD 176. Is there a way to down-convert to 36? I don't seem to be able to do it using Quicktime Pro.

Yes you can. Open in QTpro. Export. Hit options. Select DNxHD under options. and pick DNxHD 8-bit 1080p/24fps (or what ever you're working at) under 'resolutions' in the compressor settings.

[ggegan]

Originally Posted by Frank Kruse

Yes you can. Open in QTpro. Export. Hit options. Select DNxHD under options. and pick DNxHD 8-bit 1080p/24fps (or what ever you're working at) under 'resolutions' in the compressor settings.

Found it, thanks, Frank. Somehow I missed it last time I looked.

[ggegan]

DNxHD36 worked fine, but I tried moving my HD Native and Decklink cards to different PCIe slots, and now I seem to be able to run DNxHD176 without any problems. I moved the Decklink to the 16x slot and the HD Native to the next 4x slot of my Mac Nehalem, which is the opposite of how I had it before. This is how Avid recommends ordering the cards, which for some reason I didn't do when I did the initial installation, perhaps because I didn't have a Decklink card when I bought HD Native.