Previewing HDTV Files
by Andrea Carothers
on
May 28, 2008 at 2:28:14 pm
I am creating HDTV (1920x1080) sized animations and am having several problems. Most of my animations are no longer than 10 seconds, but the RAM Preview will only let me see the first few seconds and then it gives up. When I actually render out the project, I am rendering as a .MOV file with no compression to keep the best quality as these animations will eventually go either though Avid or the switcher (where they usually lose quality) to go on-air.
If I max out my RAM will I be able to preview these better?
Here is what I'm operating on currently: MAC OS X, 2x2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon, with 5 GB of memory. I have 8 memory slots, with 4 full right now.
I also just installed a "My Book" backup drive, hoping I could partition half of that off and play my after effects/renders out of that, but they still will not play back thoroughly. It will play the first 2 seconds, then pauses and skips to catch up with the current time.
Re: Previewing HDTV Files by Dave LaRonde on May 28, 2008 at 3:45:30 pm
[Andrea Carothers]"...the RAM Preview will only let me see the first few seconds and then it gives up... If I max out my RAM will I be able to preview these better? "
That sounds about right for 5GB. Don't forget that you're working in HD, with with really big pictures: a frame of HD contains five times as many pixels as a comparable frame of SD, so you need 5 times as much RAM to preview the same time duration.
In its multiprocessing mode, AE8 can use up to 3GB RAM per processor, plus you need RAM for the operating system and other open applications. You have 5GB.
"I am rendering as a .MOV file with no compression to keep the best quality as these animations will eventually go either though Avid or the switcher (where they usually lose quality) to go on-air. "
You don't have to do that. Render out in the Animation Codec. Yes, it compresses the image, but at best quality, it's lossless... and the file size is a heck of a lot smaller than one with no compression.
Welcome to HD. It ain't SD.
Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA
