Autodesk 64006-051108-9001 - Discreet Cleaner - Mac, User Manual

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Capturing Video 11
Finally, if you capture and edit the material at full-screen resolution and archive the source, you
can later repurpose the content for future codecs, architectures, and larger delivery sizes
without having to recapture and re-edit the project.
Capture with a High-Quality Setting
Many capture systems have an adjustable quality setting. This controls how much hardware
compression is used on the video during capture. Higher-quality settings produce larger files
with superior image quality by applying less compression. However, if you exceed the data
rate the system can handle by choosing too high a quality setting, the capture card drops
frames.
Capture at the maximum quality the system can properly handle (normally at least 3 MBytes/
sec). If you cannot capture at a very high-quality setting, seriously consider buying a faster
drive or a RAID. To find out the best way to capture full-screen material at a high-quality
setting, contact the capture card vendor.
Capture from Master Tapes
To maintain the absolute highest-quality video signal, capture directly from the master tapes,
not copies of the originals. Do not assemble a “rough cut” of the project on a new tape and then
digitize it. Because these clips are second generation, they have more noise than the original
masters.
Note:
This advice only applies to analog formats. Because DV is digital, it does not suffer
generation loss in this fashion.
Also avoid excessive “scrubbing” (fast forwarding and rewinding) through the master tapes.
Playing tapes many times can degrade their quality, so you should only view the material a few
times prior to capturing it. If you need to view the material several times, make a duplicate and
view the dub instead of the master. This is particularly important with Hi8, which is a relatively
fragile tape format and can be damaged by excessive scrubbing.
Audio Capture Settings
As with the video, you should capture the audio at the highest possible quality. This is
generally 44-kHz, 16-bit, stereo. Capture in 16-bit audio depth if possible because 16-bit source
material generally gives you more options and higher final quality, even if the final movie is to
be delivered with 8-bit audio.
Make sure to test the capture system before capturing clips. Audio levels are often different
between capture and playback, so you should monitor and test the results before capturing the
whole project. Capture the audio through the video capture card, if possible. The built-in sound
hardware in most computers may introduce line noise and is often of lower quality than
dedicated capture hardware.