Razor Pro needs TBC-IV?
8 messages in this thread
I'm considering buying Razor Pro for editing 3D Studio animations, but I had a
couple questions regarding the use of a TBC-IV board. I use a PAR board right
now to record & output to S-video, but I'm confused about how it will work with
Razor Pro. Any replies would be appreciated!
Is it neccesary to have a TBC-IV to record animations composited with Razor
Pro? If not, how are animations recorded on the PAR drive.
Razor Pro reads .ANI files– can it output them to the PAR without the use of a
TBC-IV?
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!
Tim,
Razor has drivers for the PAR that makes (for right now) the best editing
program for the PAR. Premiere is clumsy and I will not use it with the PAR
right now even though the filters and transitions are better. I have it and its
on the shelf.
The TBC/IV is a video capture card. I typically use to capture video I have
recorded with a Canon L1 Hi-8 camera to the PAR hard drive as an ANI file. I
can then use that video directly in Razor as a .ANI file (not AVI). I also use
captured video as a rotoscoping file to insert into 3DS. The TBC/IV is separate
from the PAR and is not required for Razor. The TBC is a capture tool.
You want to look at Razor as a editing tool. It lets you create video with
sound, music, voice over, etc. with smooth transitions. I use to creating
training video tapes. It makes the PAR board a non-linear editor.
You can use those AVI files with Razor but they are not that good except as
source material for recording to CD-ROMs.
Here's a sequence I do a lot:
1. Film the live shots with the Hi-8 camera.
2. Capture those shots I want to use to the PAR board with the TBC card USING
the PAR VCR tool so that the sound is in sync with the video.
3. Rotoscope those shots I want to to 3DS and render.
4. Now I have 3DS renderings and live video on the PAR drives. I also have the
associated sound files on a separate SCSI-2 hard drive I use for sound, music,
etc.
5. I edit the music I want to use to a rough length with Turtle Beach's Wave
program. I recorded this music (royalty free of course), from CD at maximum
quality through my sound card.
6. Next, I start Razor. I add video tracks layer by layer with sound and music
to the Razor grid. I hit preview to see a preview on the computer monitor.
After I adjust those items needed I hit "Make Final". The final ANI is made
with an associated sound .WAV file.
7. Finally, I hit record on the video tape recorder and "Show last final" on
Razor and make my video tape. Thats it!
That is a simplfied version but those are the basic steps.
Bye!
Thanks for the reply to my questions about Razor Pro, Mark.
The description of your process is pretty helpful. I still have a question
about how Razor sends animated footage and sound to video tape, though.
The main reason I was asking about whether or not a TBC is needed to record
animations composited in Razor, is that a technical support rep at in:sync
explained to me that the TBC was necessary to record work composited with
Razor. I don't need to do video capture right now because my work is entirely
generated in 3DS, so I would prefer to avoid buying a TBC for awhile. Anyway,
here are a couple more questions:
Does Razor access your PAR drive directly?
Does Razor send sound out through your sound card at the same time that it
sends video from the PAR to your VCR?
Any sound/video sync problems?
If you could indulge me with a couple more words of wisdom, your help would be
greatly appreciated!
Tim
Tim,
I haven't heard the Razor needs the TBC for the composition. I'll check.
I believe that Razor takes a snapshot of the ANI PAR files to work with, like
Premiere does but I don't know. It works is all I know.
I have not had any probs with sound sync. Razor does a good job with that.
Razor sends the sound out at the same time as the video so you can do a
one-pass record of material. Cool! That way you don't have to buy a $5000 frame
accurate VTR. You can go buy a $800 SVHS comsumer deck like the JVC HR7100
instead. However, if you are going to commercial work you need the high dollar
deck for the frame accuracy. The PAR with one 1.7 gig hard drive just can't
store enough video. What I do is do sequences with the PAR, record them, rewind
the deck to a specific frame and repeat the proces until I'm finished. The
one-pass recording makes life easy that way.
Just get the Razor right now and try it. You may need the TBC later but not
now. Also you might sell the PAR later and get a PVR. Its video capture card is
different from the TBC so that would save some cash.
Drop me a note! Bye!
Hi, I want to clarify a few things here about Razor and the PAR.
>The main reason I was asking about whether or not a TBC is needed to record
>animations composited in Razor, is that a technical support rep at in:sync
>explained to me that the TBC was necessary to record work composited with
>Razor. I don't need to do video capture right now because my work is entirely
>generated in 3DS, so I would prefer to avoid buying a TBC for awhile. Anyway,
>here are a couple more questions:
This is a mistake or a misunderstanding. Razor doesn't care whether or not
you have the TBCIV. The only time you would need this is if you are capturing
video from an outside source such as a tapedeck. Razor relies strictly on the
playback card for its work.
>Does Razor access your PAR drive directly?
Yes, Razor does. There is NO NEED to do any conversions. Razor reads and
writes directly to the ANI file format.
>Does Razor send sound out through your sound card at the same time that it
>sends video from the PAR to your VCR?
That is exactly how it works.
>Any sound/video sync problems?
Razor is accurate to about 1/100th of a second over an hours time.
Speed Razor will be able to handle the PAR under NT as well as the Perception.
Thank you for the concise response, Eron.
The messages I've posted regarding Razor Pro and the PAR have drawn several
responses over the last week which have all helped to dissipate any confusion I
may have had about how Razor interfaces with the PAR. Part of my
misunderstanding of the capabilities of Razor may have been the result of a
miscommunication between myself and the tech support rep. at in:sync. My
question actually originated after I downloaded the PAR-MCI playback utility
for Windows 3.1 from DPS' BBS. The instructions for this playback software make
an obscure reference to using the TBC-IV to record animations, so I called
in:sync to see how Razor achieves the same thing
In any case, I appreciate your reply!
Tim,
Razor Pro works great with just the par board for animation. If you want to
edit video capture you do need the TBC-IV. I've been using Razor Pro with just
the Par board for adding music to my computor animation created with 3D Studio,
it works just fine, but you do have to have a good sound card such as Turtle.
Sound Blaster won't keep sync.
I hope this helps you.
Tony
Thanks for the info, Tony.
I've got a Sound Blaster 16 that's heading for the 'dumpster! I've been
anicipating having to ditch it sooner or later.
By the way, do you know of any mail order suppliers for Razor Pro? I'd prefer
to avoid the list price from in:sync if possible, but I can't find anyone who's
selling it mail order.
Tim