TechNote

Using Device Controllers with Premiere General Information

What's Covered

Using Device Control in Premiere

Timecode

Connectivity and Protocol

Device Controllers

This record describes how to use device control in Adobe Premiere 4.x and later, and lists several device controllers for Mac OS and Windows.

Using Device Control in Premiere

Device controllers let you control your tape deck or video camera from within Premiere by using a timecode address (that is, by identifying individual frames), which allows frame-accurate capture of video clips. To use device control you'll need a third-party plug-in. The Premiere 4.2 CD-ROM includes device control plug-ins (on the Premiere 4.2 CD-ROM); Premiere 5.0 does not.

If you have Premiere and a video tape recorder (VTR) or video camera that supports device control, you can do the following:

-- control the tape deck from the computer screen instead of by pressing buttons on the tape deck.

-- set In and Out points for clips in the Movie Capture or Clip Logging dialog box, then record those video segments automatically using the Batch Capture feature, or export an Edit Decision List (EDL) for offline editing.

-- stamp timecode onto the digitized movie when your deck is capable of variable playing speeds.

-- when your deck is capable of variable playing speeds, capture movies at low frame rates, then increase the frame rate when rendering your final movie.

-- automatically advance your tape deck to the frame displayed in the In or Out field of the Movie Capture window by pressing Option and clicking the In or Out button in the Movie Capture window.

Note: Device control is not supported in Premiere LE.

To capture video using device control, you must use source footage that has been recorded with timecode, called burned-in timecode, visual timecode, or window dubs. The timecode's format should follow one of the standards set by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), or the Sony RC timecode.

When you capture burned-in timecode in Premiere using a video capture card other than the Radius Telecast, Premiere only reads the timecode address of the first frame that is captured; the remaining frames in the captured clip are automatically numbered by Premiere. For this reason, the timecode address of some frames in a captured clip may not match the timecode address of the burned-in timecode.

Timecode

Timecode identifies the duration of a video clip, or its starting and ending points. Timecode enables video editors to locate frames accurately, and to synchronize picture and audio elements, or frame-accurate synchronization. SMPTE timecode identifies each frame with a unique address in the "hours:minutes:seconds:frames" form. SMPTE timecode can be Longitudinal Timecode (LTC), which is recorded in the second audio track of a video tape, or can be Vertical Interval Timecode (VITC), which is recorded in the vertical space between frames.

There are several SMPTE timecode standards that are used with different frame rates. Since the SMPTE timecode for National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) video assumes a frame rate of 30 frames per second (fps), even though the actual NTSC standard is 29.97 fps, there is a 0.1 percent discrepancy between real playing time and the timecode's duration measurement. The drop-frame format, developed to address this discrepancy, drops two frame counts (that is, actual frames are not dropped) from the count every minute, for 9 out of 10 minutes. The nondrop-frame timecode ignores this discrepancy and is not duration accurate.

While SMPTE is the standard timecode used in North America, EBU is the standard timecode used in Europe. EBU is based on PAL or SECAM video signals which have a playback rate of 25 fps, and is a nondrop-frame standard only.

Connectivity and Protocol

To determine whether your VTR or video camera supports device control, look for an outlet labeled Remote or VISCA on the back of the VTR or video camera. For more information on using device control with your recording device, refer to the manufacturer's documentation.

Device controllers are connected from the RS-232, RS-422 or VISCA ports on the video tape recorder (VTR) to the printer/modem serial port (Mac OS) or COM port 1-4 (IBM-compatible). Most VTRs use a 9-pin RS-422 interface (for example, Sony PVW or BVW). The RS-232 ports on some decks (for example, Sony UVW series) require a DB-9 to DB-25 adapter to accommodate their 25-pin outlets.

Sony VISCA is a common device control interface that is built into many VTRs. It connects to the computer's serial port using an 8-pin DIN connector (Mac OS) or 9-pin connector (IBM-compatible). VISCA requires a control panel device (included with Premiere in the Third Party Stuff folder) when used with Premiere for Mac OS.

NOTE: VISCA device control is not compatible with the System Update file included with Mac OS 7.5.1, 7.1, and 7.1.1, and the Mac OS 7.5.x System Enabler required by the Power Macintosh 8100/100 and later. For more information, see Related Records.

Sony Control-L and Control-C interfaces are similar to VISCA, and can be used with the Sony V-Box to make a consumer-grade VCR capable of device control.

EZ by Telcom Research can be used to make an ordinary VCR capable of device control. The EZ provides a RS-422 interface that can be used by any device controller that supports RS-422. The EZ can read burned-in timecode, enabling Premiere to create an Edit Decision List (EDL), but does not enable batch capture.

Device Controllers

Device controllers are either video controllers or animation controllers. Video controllers capture video in real time, while animation controllers capture video frame-by-frame (non-real-time).

The following device controllers are video controllers (real-time):

DQ-TimeCoder (Mac OS, Windows, and SGI)

The Diaquest DQ-TimeCoder includes a Premiere plug-in and cable, and uses RS-422 and SMPTE/EBU timecode protocols. The DQ-TimeCoder supports both SMPTE and EBU timecode, and is similar to VISCA protocol, though it does not use the Sony proprietary RC timecode. Diaquest can be reached at 510-526-7167 (http://www.diaquest.com ).

FutureVideo (Windows)

The Media Commander 100 and 200 use the RS-422A, RS-232C, VISCA, Control-L (LanC) or Control-M (5 pin serial) protocols. They include plug-in software for Premiere (Windows 95 and Windows NT) and Ulead MediaStudio Pro 5.0, Transport Control Software (Windows 3.1 and Windows 95), and a PC serial cable or daisy-chain cable. FutureVideo can be reached at 714-770-4416 (http://www.futurevideo.com )

MacAnimator Control Plug-In and Export Plug-In(Mac OS)

The MacAnimator Control plug-in supports any broadcast or professional quality VTR with an RS-422 remote control port and built-in SMPTE timecode reader. The MacAnimator Export Plug-in lets you directly record uncompressed movies and projects to broadcast and professional video tape and disk recorders from within Premiere. The MacAnimator plug-ins work with Premiere 4.0 or later, and can be used only with VTRs that support SMPTE timecode (this includes consumer-grade VTRs) and camcorders that use Control-L or Control-S protocols. (The plug-ins won't work with Sony VISCA recorders.) The MacAnimator Control plug-in requires System 7.x and QuickTime 2.x, and is available from McQ Productions/Software Systems at 800-659-4755 (http://www.McQPro.com ).

MediaMotion (Mac OS and Windows)

MediaMotion (formerly Video Toolkit [VTK] Plug-In Pack) includes a control cable and software (Mac OS or Windows compatible) for use with Premiere. MediaMotion supports consumer-level and professional VTR using Control-L, Control-M, RS-422, and Infrared/Control-S (record only) protocols. MediaMotion control devices use LTC, VITC, and RC timecode, and support batch capture. Videonics (formerly Abbate Video, Inc.) can be reached at 408-866-8300 (http://www.videonics.com ).

ProVTR (Mac OS and Windows)

The Pipeline Digital ProVTR includes the ProVTR plug-in for use with Premiere, a Mac-to-VTR cable, and has an internal timecode reader. The ProVTR uses 9-pin protocol for RS-422 compatible VTRs. You can use RS-232 VTRs with an adapter. The ProVTR is bundled with the Radius VideoVision Studio capture card, or is available separately. Pipeline Digital can be reached at 808-233-1120 (http://www.thepipe.com ).

Pipeline Recorder (Mac OS)

The Pipeline Recorder includes all the features of the Pipeline ProVTR, plus support for insert edits on RS-422 9-pin VTRs, and assemble-edit capability for RS-232 25-pin and VISCA VTRs. You can use the Pipeline Recorder with the Radius VideoVision Studio or Telecast capture card (using Radius Studio Player 2.6 or later), or the Truevision Targa 1000 or Targa 2000 capture card. Pipeline Digital can be reached at 808-233-1120 (http://www.thepipe.com ).

TAO Media Systems L-Port422 (Mac OS)

The TAO DeckPro422 plug-in enables the RS-422 VTR control features in Premiere. When used with the TAO L-Port422 or PanPort422, it lets you control LANC (Control-L) and Panasonic 5 pin/Control M. You can reach TAO Media Systems at 800-TAO-EDIT (http://www.spcomms.com ).

V-LAN (Mac OS and Windows)

The Videomedia V-LAN controller box controls a wide range of videotape, digital disk recorder, and video switchers for animation, desktop video, and broadcast television production. The VideoMedia Auto-PICTs application writes compiled movies to tape as sequentially numbered PICT frames. V-LAN does not require a system extension or control panel device. To use V-LAN with Premiere, install the compatible version of the V-LAN EPROM software. VideoMedia can be reached at 408-227-9977 (http://www.videomedia.com ).

The following device controllers are animation controllers (non-real-time):

Diaquest DQ-Animaq (Mac OS)

The Diaquest DQ-Animaq is a NuBus card that controls most professional and broadcast video recorders in NTSC and PAL formats. The Diaquest Animaq 1.5 software utility, included with the DQ-Animaq card, works in conjunction with the user's video capture card to digitize video frame by frame, saving numbered PICT, PIC, TARGA, or QuickTime files. DQ-Animaq requires a control panel device, and requires DQ Timecoder software when the video capture card does not record timecode from digitized clips. Diaquest can be reached at 510-526-7167 (http://www.diaquest.com ).

MacAnimator Export Plug-In (Mac OS)

The MacAnimator Export plug-in enables you to record uncompressed movies frame by frame from the Premiere Clip window or Preview window. The MacAnimator Export plug-in requires a video capture card that produces NTSC or PAL video signals (for example, Truevision Targa 1000, Truevision Targa 2000, Radius VideoVision Studio), or a Power Mac OS AV computer with enough Video RAM (VRAM) to support two monitors (for example, 4 MB). The MacAnimator Export plug-in requires a VTR with an RS-422 port and AutoEdit functionality, and requires System 7.x and QuickTime 2.x. The MacAnimator Export Plug-in is available from McQ Productions/Software Systems at 800-659-4755.