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lichtbau
01-03-2011, 12:09 AM
what is the max. clip length for play mode 70 (PLAudio) - if any?

i can't play a movie with 01:38:00:00 length.

the movie stops (in PLAudio) at about frame 65536 wich is the known restriction if i would run him in play mode 2 (PLLoopFW).

the movie is converted from a DVD by MPEG Streamclip
at 25 fps and with AIC codec.

Q's:
1 - is there maybe a limit with the usage of a v4 XPress dongle.

2 - does the audio track of the movie need to have a special format.

the movie does not have any TC information.

thanks for your help.

SourceChild
19-03-2011, 05:08 PM
The restriction is the same in all play modes. Once you get to frame 65536, it ends.

The version of Catalyst does not matter.

The audio track should be uncompressed.

The best practice is to convert the entire clip to your specific frame rate, not just the video but the audio as well.

If you need to play a clip which exceeds the max length then I have a trick that works if you do not exceed double the length (but it can be extended if you understand the theory).

Consider layer 1 and 2.

Make two clips:
part 1 is frame 0 thru 65536
part 2 is 65526 thru n
notice that clip 2 overlaps by 10 frames

Set layer 1 to to clip 1 and set it to output timecode (not the media's timecode but the Catalyst timecode based on the frame count of the movie).

Create a cuelist in SAMSC that syncs to layer 1 timecode and create a trigger that triggers a few frames before the end of clip 1.

Create a preset that triggers layer 2 to full and initiates play audio and link it to the cue you created.

Then, when you run the clip in layer 1 it will auto trigger the seam.

Simply adjust the inframe on clip 2 until there is no skip hiccup in transition.

It is important to note in using this solution that any additional overhead (other layers, effects, large screen resolutions, etc) can cause hiccups at the transition. You may not notice these hiccups visually but you might hear them.

TEST and remember that the more powerful the hardware (IE better computers with better graphics cards) the less chance of artifacts at the transition point.