Raylight Ultra Version 1.3.1

Package includes the Raylight Plug-in for Sony Vegas, the Raylight codec for Windows, RayMaker—an application that converts MXF files into AVI files, P2 Maker—an application that converts Raylight AVI into MXF files, and a control panel for the Raylight codec.

The license also includes DVFilm Maker, which is only needed to convert non-HVX200 formats like HDV to Raylight AVI. The download for Maker can be obtained at dvfilm.com/update

 

New in 1.3.1

Added support for Vegas Pro 11. Improved memory usage on long renders.

New in 1.3.0

Vegas 9 or later plug-in now supports direct P2 Export with smart rendering (“Suppress Recompression”). See section 11.

Fixed problem in Vegas 10 or later with Image Stabilizer

Power Pack versions available for faster AVC-Intra playback and direct AVC-Intra P2 Export. See dvfilm.com/PPI and dvfilm.com/PPII for details.

 

New in 1.2.3

 Now recovers from decoding errors with AVC-Intra formats, and fixed bug with systems having more than 8 processors or more than 4 processors with hyperthreading.

 

New in 1.2

Adds AVC-Intra support for MXF files. Automatically builds proxies for real-time AVC-Intra editing when importing the MXF files into Vegas.

RayMaker can now make AVC-Intra AVI files (32-bit systems only). RayMaker 3.6 has improved pulldown removal for Variable Frame Rate video, and is also capable of making ½-size as well as ¼-size proxy AVI’s.

Ultra 1.2 fixes memory usage problems and sub-clip problems in the Vegas 9 plug-in.

Ultra 1.2 displays the P2 UserClipName in the Vegas Explorer window.

Ultra 1.2 Supports Windows 7 32- and 64-bit versions as well as older Windows systems.

Vegas 9 or later and Raylight Ultra Known Issues—see section 14.

 

Feature Highlights for Ultra vs. old DVFilm Raylight

 

New Quality level: Raylight “Ultraviolet”

The Raylight codec has been rewritten for fast playback but still has the same excellent quality of the original Raylight “Blue” mode.

Metadata “Slates” are available with the Vegas plug-in.

Up to 4 audio tracks are importable into Vegas.

Some metadata are translated to “Tape Name”, “Version” and “Comments” viewable in Vegas Edit Details, clip properties, or Vegas Media Manager.

 

1.      Requirements

 

Requires a Pentium 4, Athlon 64, or compatible processor. The processor must have the SSE2 instructions. See Intel.com or AMD.com for details. Raylight checks and warns you if you don’t have the necessary processor. 1.8GHz speed or higher is recommended. For editing AVC-Intra, a fast dual-core or quad-core processor is recommended. Operating system must be Win 2000, Win XP 32/64, Vista 32/64, or Windows 7 32/64.

No disk speed requirements if you want to edit in Raylight Red, the low-quality mode, however a dedicated drive for video data is recommended. The throughput requirement for running Raylight Red is about ½ as much as editing DV.

No requirements for DirectX, Quicktime, or other special system software.

No special requirements for the video editing software, except that it must support video for windows, and if you are editing 24P movie files, the capability to set the timeline to 23.976 frames/sec.

Raylight Ultra has been tested with Vegas Pro 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0 and 11.0. The Vegas plug-in requires Vegas 6.0 or later version. Raylight Ultra will also work with Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

The Matrox and Panasonic codecs are no longer required for Raylight and the DVCPROHD, DVCPRO50 or DVCPRO formats (PAL or NTSC).

 

 

2.      Installation

 

If you have any existing installations of Raylight remove them with the UnInstall icon and remove any remaining copies of Raylight applications including the old RayMaker.

Copy the RaylightUltraSetup.exe file to the desktop or any folder and double-click the file to install the application. Raylight now installs into the Windows Start Menu, DVFilm program group.

Then you are ready to drag your MXF files into Vegas.

Remember to re-install Ultra if you ever re-install or upgrade Vegas.

3.      Raylight MXF File Plug-in for Vegas

 

Vegas users can enjoy the direct import of MXF files into the timeline. In Vegas use File->Open or File->Import->Media Files. Select an MXF file and click Open.  Or drag the MXF file directly from the Vegas file browser into the timeline.  The sound track  will automatically be imported if it is located in an adjacent AUDIO folder or the same folder as the video MXF file.

The plug-in will recognize native frame size and set aspect ratio correctly if the “Use Native Frame Size” option is chosen in the Raylight Configuration Screen.

You can also use the default square pixel format by leaving the option off.

Metadata “Slates” are available with the Vegas plug-in. Either the first or second frame of the clip is overwritten with a slate containing metadata from the .xml file in the CLIP folder of the P2 card or card image. The defaults slate includes ProgramName, UserClipName, SceneNo., TakeNo, CreationDate, StartTimecode and Pulldown.

Or you can opt to have no slate. The slate never appears on MXF files that are a continuation of a spanned clip. The slate is customizable for experienced users. To customize your slate, download this file, unzip it, and read the instructions included:

dvfilm.com/raylight/ultra/CustomSlateHelp.zip

Up to 4 audio tracks are importable into Vegas. If you import a file with the “Import Tracks 1&2” option, and later decide you need tracks 3&4 instead, or all 4 tracks, then change the option in the Raylight configuration panel, and then remove the clip from the timeline and drag it back in from the media pool. If you had different in- and out- points selected you may need to re-trim the clip. If you are editing a project where Tracks 1&2 are not used solely and consistently, you may need to use the “Import All 4 Tracks” option and delete unwanted tracks after dragging them into the timeline. Changing between the track import options in the middle of a project may cause unexpected results.

The plugin will properly skip over 2:3:3:2 pulldown frames from 1080i60/24PA, or 2:3 pulldown frames from 720p60, or 2:2 pulldown from 720p50, if you have a valid CLIP folder and XML file for the clip. It cannot remove redundant frames from variable speed footage recorded in 720p60 or 720p50. Ultra cannot remove 3:2 pulldown from 1080i60 format. For removing VFR or 3:2 pulldown we recommend Raylight MXFX (dvfilm.com/MXFX).

From Vegas 8 you may export a Raylight AVI and use P2 Maker to author P2 cards. Non-recompressed editing of MXF files requires that you enable the “Suppress Recomp” option in Raylight Configuration. Audio MXF files do not import separately. If you need access to tracks 3&4, use the “Import All 4 tracks” options on the Raylight configuration panel.

For Sony Vegas 7 before version 7.0d, the Sony MXF file reader interfered with the Raylight MXF reader, so you must load the free upgrade to 7.0d available from Sony before installing Raylight. For Vegas 6 there was no Sony MXF reader.  For Vegas 8 and later versions the Sony MXF and Raylight MXF readers are compatible.

However if for some reason you need to disable the Sony MXF file reader, either because some MXF files are not being recognized by Vegas+Raylight or there is an excessive delay in opening MXF files, here is how to disable it: 1) Exit Vegas, 2) on your system drive open the \Program Files\Sony\Vegas ...\FileIO Plug-ins folder, and rename the mxfplug folder inside it to mxfplug2. Then restart Vegas. DO not rename or remove the Sony MXF plugin if you need to import MXF files from a Sony camera.

4.      AVC-Intra Editing with the Vegas Plug-in

 

AVC-Intra files are importable starting with Ultra 1.2. Only the Vegas 9 or later plug-in has this feature.

Also, you can get about 2x-3x faster playback of the AVC-Intra format by getting the PowerPack I upgrade to Rayight Ultra. See dvfilm.com/PPI for details.

In either case for AVC-Intra, a proxy for real-time editing is created automatically if the “Use MXF proxies in Plug-in” option is selected on the “Proxy Options” tab of the Raylight configuration dialog.

Here’s how it works: when Vegas is started the Raylight control task (purple or red ball in the Windows task bar) is started as well. When you import or drag an AVC-Intra file into the timeline, a message is sent by the plug-in to the Raylight control program to start creating the proxy. The proxy file is a video MXF file in the DVCPROHD format. The frame size of the proxy is the same as the frame size of the AVC-Intra file. A progress dialog appears on your screen showing the progress of the conversion. For AVC-Intra 50 Mbps formats, the conversion is approximately real-time for fast, dual-core processors. For the 100mpbs formats the conversion is two times slower. You may continue editing while the proxy is being made. You may import or drag other clips into the project and the plug-in will queue up the files to be converted. You can scrub through the clips, change in and out points, do all normal editing while the proxies are being made, but playback may not be very smooth depending on the speed of your computer system. If you do not want to see the progress dialog, dismiss it by clicking the X in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog. You have the option of clearing the file queue when you do that by answering Yes to “Clear Proxy Queue?” Answer “No” if you want the proxies to continue to be made, but without the progress dialog.

 

As soon as the proxy is completed, you will then notice smoother playback for the AVC-Intra clip. The Raylight plug-in will start using the proxy immediately. If the make proxy option is turned off when you start a project, and then during editing you turn the option on, you may need to re-open the project to get the proxies made.

 

There are two rules to remember on switching the proxies on and off during editing. There is one rule for the 10-bit YUV mode (see section on 10-bit YUV mode) and one for normal mode:

 

10-bit YUV mode AVC-Intra files

The proxy is used only when the Raylight Quality Ball is red. Otherwise the AVC-Intra original is used. The Vegas Preview quality setting has no effect in this mode. In this mode, we strongly suggest that the “Mark Proxy” option be turned on. This will warn you if a file is rendered in Raylight Red.

Normal (RGB) mode, AVC-Intra files

In this mode, with 10-bit YUV turned off, it is the Vegas preview setting that controls the proxy usage. If Vegas is in Preview ½ mode, or in the lesser size modes, the proxy will be used. In Preview Full, the original AVC-Intra file will be used. However, you can force the plug-in to use the proxy in all preview modes by setting the Raylight quality to red.

 

Proxy Burn-in

With the “Mark Proxy” option turned on, the video will be burned with the word PROXY in the left-hand corner. This is a good way to let you know if the proxy file is being used. When you render a final cut of your project, setting the quality to Raylight Violet will prevent this mark from appearing in your exported video.

 

Proxy Folder

The proxy files are normally stored in the PROXY folder of your P2 card image.  If you are editing directly from P2 cards, you may wish the proxy files to be stored somewhere else. In this case, click the Browse button in the Raylight config panel,  Proxy Options tab, and select and/or create the folder.

If you ever change the Use MXF Proxy or MXF Proxy Output Folder options in the middle of an edit, you should save your work, kill Raylight Control  (right-click on the ball in the task bar and select “Exit...”) and restart Vegas.

 

If a Proxy File is Corrupted

A proxy will be remade if you delete it. To force an existing proxy file to be remade, save your work and quit Vegas. Delete the file using windows explorer. Kill Raylight Control and restart Vegas.

 

Efficient use of AVC-Intra

If you use the proxies for AVC-Intra editing, keep in mind that the proxy is created from the entire clip, not just the trimmed clip or the portion of the clip used in the timeline. Read section below on using the UserClipName features in Raylight to make this process more efficient.

 

5.      Shooting Methods using Metadata

 

It is more efficient to pause and un-pause the camera between takes, and use the UserClipName feature with Panasonic P2 Viewer or P2 CMS to name your scenes and takes before editing, rather than leaving the camera recording continuously while shooting multiple takes. You can also use the “Type 2” metadata to automatically increment the UserClipName between takes (see camera manual for details).

Ultra 1.2 now has a feature where the UserClipName is displayed at the bottom of the Vegas Explorer window. This make it easier to find a selected take assuming that your takes have been labeled beforehand using P2 Viewer or P2 CMS. These programs are free downloads from the Panasonic website.

Also, once the clips are imported into your project, the UserClipName is displayed in the “Tape Name” column of the project media window, detailed view. You can drag the “Tape Name” column to the left. You can also sort the list of clips alphabetically by the UserClipName, or by timecode, or by the metadata date and time, which appear in the “Comments” column.

 

 

6.      Convert MXF files to Raylight AVI for Other Applications

 

For After Effects, Windows MovieMaker, older versions of Premiere, or other programs that cannot use the direct MXF file import feature, you must convert the MXF files or the CONTENTS folder from the HVX200 camera to Raylight AVI files on your video project hard drive.  Start RayMaker and drag the CONTENTS, or VIDEO folder to RayMaker’s screen. Click options

to configure your choices for the Raylight files. In particular choose:

 

Configure Raylight: this opens the Raylight Configuration screen.

Select the output folder for Raylight system files.

Choose 60Hz (American) or 50Hz (Euro) system.

Select self-contained AVI’s (not recommended for new users).

Select optional native frame size (not recommended for new users).

If you have never used Raylight before, stick with the defaults.

 

Note: Raylight AVI’s always use tracks 1&2 from the MXF files. The “Import tracks 3&4” and “Import All Four Tracks” options are used by the Vegas plug-in only. Also the Slate options are ignored by RayMaker. Raylight AVI’s will not contain metadata slates.

These choices above must be made before you make any Raylight AVI’s and the choices can be undone only by remaking the AVI’s.

The other options including the Quality level, burn-in, 180 rotation etc, can be changed during playback and do not affect the format of the raylight AVI’s.

Raylight AVI’s will not work in 64-bit Vegas 9.0 or later, see section 14.

 

Removal Options

Select Always Remove if you are shooting in the 1080i/24PA format (2:3:3:2 pulldown). RayMaker cannot remove pulldown from 1080i/24P format (3:2 pulldown). Do not use 3:2 pulldown if you want to edit at 24P. Use 24PA (advanced or 2:3:3:2) pulldown.

Select Always Remove if you are shooting at variable frame speeds or with 720/24P over 60 format.

Note: 720/24PN (native) format is recommended for shooting 720P/24. This is the most efficient format and no frames need to be removed. If you always shoot 720/24PN, select Never Remove.

Select Ask Each Time if you have a mix of formats.

 

Set Playback Rate

For silent footage (usually time lapse or slow-motion) the playback rate can be hard set to a fixed frame rate, usually the same rate as you will use in editing (for example 23.976 for 24P editing). So for example footage shot at 720/60P can be slowed down to create a 720/24P Raylight AVI.

 

User Selects Output Folder

Normally the Raylight AVIs will be stored in the same folder as the MXF files. If you want to put the Raylight AVIs into a different location, choose this option. Click browse to create and/or select the folder.

Proxy Size (1/2 or ¼ size)

¼-size is the old proxy size and is selected by default. The new ½-size proxy is recommended for AVC-Intra AVI proxy file editing with faster single- or dual-core processors. It can also be used with DVCPROHD format. Note that ½ size and ¼ size refer to the encoded frame size, not the file size. File sizes will vary and for AVC-Intra format the ½-size proxy AVI is often larger than the original file. The proxy nevertheless will play back smoother than the original.

 

Click OK to save the options.

You can convert one MXF file alone by dragging it into the RayMaker window.

Once the Raylight AVI’s are created, DO NOT DELETE, RENAME, OR MOVE the MXF files unless you are using self-contained AVI’s (see options). Self-contained AVI’s are more portable and allow the MXF files to be deleted, however they prohibit the use of the Raylight Red mode which is necessary for slower computer systems or computer systems with single (non-RAID stripe) disk drives.

Again, DO NOT REMOVE the MXF files. If you do need to change the location of the files, or rename the folder or disk drive in which they reside, then new Raylight AVIs must be created with RayMaker to replace the old ones.

For 720P24/720P25 MXF files, the audio track is taken from the Audio MXF files. These must be located in an adjacent AUDIO folder, or in the same folder as the video files.

 

Notes on file sizes

You will notice that for ordinary DVCPROHD Raylight AVI’s, the file size is about 1/5th the size of the MXF file. This is because the AVI contains a lo-res proxy (proxy means temporary substitute) for the original frame data. The AVI also contains an invisible link in each frame to the original frame data in the MXF file. When you playback in Raylight Violet mode, the low-res proxy is not used, and the frame data always comes from the MXF file. In Raylight Violet there is zero quality loss. However the file size of the Raylight AVI does not reflect this high quality because the links don’t take any space on the drive.

When playing back in Raylight Red, only the proxy data is used. The quality is roughly ¼ of the original, but the data rate is much lower and the playback is always smooth, even on a very low-cost computer.

For self-contained Raylight AVI’s the file size is almost exactly the same size as the MXF file, less any pulldown or redundant frames that have been removed by RayMaker.

For AVC-Intra files at ¼ resolution, the proxy AVI is about the same size or slightly larger than the MXF file. For ½-size resolution, the proxy AVI is larger than the MXF file, since the compression method is less efficient than AVC (but plays back faster).

 

Backward Compatibility

 

Raylight Ultra 1.2 may not play back Raylight AVIs from DVFilm Raylight 3.0. Those AVI’s must be remade. AVI’s from older versions of Ultra are OK.

The old 4-button Raylight control panel is available for users of DVFilm Raylight 3.0. The other quality modes that were used in the old system are still functional if you need them. Raylight Green is functional in Win XP and Vista 32 only (if the Panasonic P2 Viewer is installed). Green does not work for AVC-Intra.

 

 

7.      Other RayMaker Capabilities

 

RayMaker will also convert audio-only MXF files into WAV files so you can access the multitrack recording capability of the camera.

RayMaker will also convert DVCPRO50 DVCPRO and DV MXF files into self-contained AVI’s.

Normally the Raylight codec is used to play back those AVIs, however you also have the option of using the Matrox codec for DVCPRO50, DVCPRO and DV, if the “Use Raylight Codec for non-HD formats” option is deselected in RayMaker. Get the Matrox codecs by completing the form at

http://www.matrox.com/video/en/support/digisuite/downloads/softwares/codec/

For the demo version of Raylight Ultra, AVIs using the Matrox DV, DVCPRO or DVCPRO50 format will have a pattern of gray squares over the image. Purchase the release version of Raylight and remake the AVIs to remove the squares.

 

8.      Playing Back the Raylight AVI’s

 

The Raylight AVI’s can be played with any AVI movie player including Windows Media Player. To control the playback speed/quality settings, double click the Raylight Control application. This small pop-up can be used to change the codec settings while using your editing software. Quality setting can be changed during playback. There will be a 2 second delay before the setting takes effect.

 

The Quality settings are:

 

Violet - used for full frame examination and final rendering

Red-    ¼ resolution, using the low-resolution proxy in Raylight AVIs. This mode must be used on lower-end systems like single CPU’s with slower disk drives, especially when editing 1080/24P/30P. The CPU/disk speed requirement for Red is similar to editing DV.

 

Note: Red is not available for direct MXF import into Vegas, however if you render AVI previews from your rough-cut MXF timeline at high quality, you can then switch to Red and continue editing in Red.

 

Editing the Raylight AVI’s or MXF files

 

Set your editing system software to use the following settings:

60i projects (not for transfer to film and not for 24P-DVD)

Frame size 1920 x 1080

Frame rate 29.97

Field order upper field first

 

50i projects (not for transfer to film and not for 24P-DVD)

Frame size 1920 x 1080

Frame rate 25

Field order upper field first

 

30P projects (not for transfer to film and not for 24P-DVD)

Frame size 1920 x 1080

Frame rate 29.97

Field order “None”

 

25P projects (transfer to film, HDCAM-25P or 25P-DVD)

Frame size 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720

Frame rate 25

Field order “None”

 

24P projects (transfer to film, HDCAM-24P or 24P-DVD)

Frame size 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720

Frame rate 23.976

Field order “None”

 

For more details see the Raylight Tutorial at dvfilm.com/help. Import the clips and edit as you would normally. Older, slower computer systems will need the lowest or Raylight Red setting.

In any case, the highest quality, or Raylight Violet setting is necessary for rendering uncompressed full-frame output, suitable for conversion to another format (like NTSC for broadcast), or for examining/stepping through individual frames for quality or visual effects work. The Raylight Violet setting may not work in real time on older computer systems.

 

 

9.      Problems with playback

 

If you have problems getting full speed playback do one or more of the following:

1.   Change Raylight speed setting to Raylight Red.

2.   Use a smaller size monitor window. 50% or 25% normal size are recommended. Smaller is faster. In Vegas use Preview Quality.

3.   Make sure your Raylight files are on a clean non-fragmented drive used only for media. It may help to put the MXF files and AVI files on different drives if you use Violet.

4.   Make sure no other processes are running.

5.   Edit at 24P if you shot 24P, the data rate is 20% less than 30.

 

 

If you have problems with the quality of playback try the following

 

1.         Make sure the display settings are 32-bit “True Color” or 24-bit (“Millions” or “16M” color). Do not use 16-bit (“high color”) or 8-bit 256 colors.

 

2.         Change Raylight speed setting to Violet

 

In Sony Vegas, changing the preview quality from Preview Auto to Preview Full and back to Preview Auto is sometimes necessary to get best performance from Raylight after changing the Raylight quality level.

 

10.    Previews

 

With Vegas, Raylight will create preview files to show dissolves, color correction filters etc. at high resolution. Even though the previews are made with high resolution, you can view them in the lower quality modes.

Make sure the project settings are 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 before using Raylight previews.

In Vegas the setting for the previews are in Tools->Selective PreRender Video. Remember to configure Raylight’s output folder and select Raylight Violet before using PreRender Video with Raylight.

 

11.    Exporting a Movie for Playback on the Camera

 

Raylight can export a P2 MXF file by using the File->RenderAs feature in Sony Vegas 9 or later. Select the type (P2 Card Image Format *.mxf) from the dropdown list in the RenderAs dialog. Then select the template for the P2 format you wish to export. Raylight Ultra can export all DVCPROHD 1080-line and 720-line formats, at all legal frame rates, as well as DVCPRO50. The dropdown list shows either 60Hz or 50Hz formats depending on the 60Hz/50Hz setting in the Raylight Ultra control panel.

File Naming

The name you choose for the output file (for example MyMovie.mxf) will be used in three places. A P2 card image will be created in a new subfolder called MyMovie, and also MyMovie will be inserted into the P2 MXF file's UserClipName metadata field. Ultra will also create a shortcut in your destination folder called MyMovie.mxf, that points to the video MXF file. Note that if you open this shortcut, you will get video playback only. Open the MXF file created in the MyMovie/CONTENTS/VIDEO subfolder to get video, audio, and metadata for the exported clip.

Note: Ultra does not presently span clips across the 4GB boundary. It will automatically create additional MXF files in the P2 folder for long clips, and the clips will play back-to-back seamlessly on a P2 camera, but they will appear to be separate but contiguous clips if you import them into a P2-capable editing system. In this case, the clips should be group-selected in alphanumerical order, and then dragged together into the timeline.

P2 Export with Suppress Recompression

With the Suppress Recompression option turned on in the Raylight control panel, Raylight Ultra will export non-recompressed P2 MXF files from a cuts-only, or mostly cuts-only edit of P2 MXF file media. This means the export takes place much faster, and there is no loss of quality in the exported files. To work, the project properties, input and output format (compression format, frame size and frame rate) must be exactly the same. Suppress Recompression will not work for frames that have filters or transitions applied, those frames will be recompressed. To tell if Suppress Recompression is working, use the Vegas vector scope display to examine the original and exported clip above and below in two different tracks. The clips will have precisely the same vector scope readouts. If the footage was recompressed, there will be a slight but noticable difference.

Exporting AVC-Intra P2 MXF files

AVC-Intra P2 MXF files can be exported with the Power Pack II upgrade. See dvfilm.com/PPII for details.

Exporting P2 with Vegas 8 and Older Systems, using P2 Maker

Raylight can be used to export an HD-sized Raylight AVI for playback on the camera. Select export settings of 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 as appropriate, square pixels, DVFilm Raylight compression. Configure Raylight for Ultra Violet.

Start P2 Maker and drag the resulting Raylight AVI into P2 Maker and select your output folder options. You can also select to write directly to the P2 card. If you write directly to the card, make sure you are using a USB 2.0 connection (not Firewire or USB 1.x) to avoid IO errors.

The MXF files can also be played back with the Panasonic P2 Viewer.

 

Export a Hi-res Movie for Playback on the Computer

 

Set the Raylight Control to Raylight Violet setting. In the case of a cuts-only edit the higher quality settings do not matter and just make the rendering process slower. Be sure the output frame size setting is 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 as appropriate. Raylight cannot change the frame size.  Use Raylight compression or Windows Media 9 compression.

Export a Low-res Movie (faster)

Set the Raylight Control to Red setting. In the case of a non-recompressed output, the higher quality settings do not matter and just make the rendering process slower. But if you have a lot of effects or filters, and you don’t care about seeing full resolution, using Raylight Red will make the rendering process much faster. Note that if you playback a movie rendered with Raylight Red, but playback at Violet setting, the frames will appear black with a text error message, since hi-res frames are not created under Raylight Red.

Export Settings

 

Set the render format settings in Vegas as follows

 

Best Quality

File type Microsoft AVI

File format Raylight Ultra

1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 frame size

Field order as same as project settings

Frame rate same as project settings (29.97, 25, or 23.976)

Create AVI 2.0 Open DML AVI

Audio settings 48,000 Hz 16-bit Stereo uncompressed

 

The render of the output movie should be very quick, faster than real time, for a cuts-only edit. For effects rendering under Ultra Violet, expect rendering times of about 4-20 frames/sec (for 720-24P). Rendering is about 30-50% faster with a dual core CPU. You can also recompress to another format such as HD, NTSC, or PAL, DVD, anything supported by your editing system. Make sure the Ultra Violet quality setting is used in this case for best results. See the Raylight Tutorial for info on exporting HD DVD (HD WM9) format.

Raylight Ultra cannot export AVC-Intra format.

 

12.    OTHER OPTIONS

 

The advanced configuration options in the Raylight Configuration pop-up should be used by experienced users only. Some of these options have unexpected results if you are not familiar with them. Here is a description of each one and some explanation on their use and possible advantages.

Make self-contained AVI

 

For self-contained AVI’s there is no lo-res proxy built, and you cannot use Raylight Red. All the video data from the MXF file, minus the pulldown or duplicate frames, are copied to the AVI file, and you can then delete the MXF file if desired. The advantages of this method are that the AVI’s are portable from one system to another wihtout copying the MXF files, they are made by RayMaker much more quickly, and playback may be slightly faster in Raylight Violet. Potential problems with using this options are:

1.   Your computer disk drive is not fast enough to play Raylight Violet in real time

2.   You mistakenly removed pulldown and then deleted the MXF file. The missing frames

can not be recovered unless you made a backup of the MXF file.

3.   The AVI file becomes corrupted due to a hardware fault and you did not save the

MXF file.

If you decide to use self-contained AVI’s, be sure to make a backup copy of the MXF files.

Use Native Frame Size

 

Native frame size means the DVCPROHD frames are stored 960 x 720 with the 720-line format, 1280 x 1080 for the 60Hz 1080 line format, and 1440 x 1080 for the 1080- 50Hz line format. This frame size is pixel for pixel the same as the internal DV format encoding. and these are the frame sizes used by Final Cut Pro on the Mac for example.

However some potential problems may occur with this option. The SMPTE spec for DVCPRO-HD specifies a standard hi-pass filter, and your editing system is unlikely to apply this filter when the output is converted to square pixel format (1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080).

Also, native frame size requires that non-square Pixel Aspect Ratio be used. Many editing applications like Vegas do not set the PAR correctly for AVI’s and you must either edit with squeezed appearance or manually set the PAR.

Native Frame size is ignored with AVC-Intra files. AVC-Intra files are always played at native frame size.

If you edit with native frame size AVI’s, there are Vegas scripts, which can change the PAR for all your clips at once. Contact DVFilm Support for more info.

Mark Frames Red/Yellow/Green

This option draws a red border when using Raylight Red. No border is drawn in Raylight Violet. This options serves to mark rendered material that was not done at best resolution, therefore any output which has the borders present is flagged as ad hoc or preliminary material.

Rotate Image 180

This option rotates the image 180 degrees (flips it around) for material shot with a 35mm lens adaptor.

Burn-in Timecode

This option burns the timecode into the screen for offline editing. Do not use it for a final render unless you are rendering a low-res copy for offline editing. The timecode displayed is always the original timecode from the source file, so the count will jump on cuts or recompressed frames (such as dissolves).

Note that burn-in timecode does not work in Raylight Red.

Burn-in source file

This option burns in the pathname of the source file on each frame. Use it to show you where the source material is located for the original MXF files.

Note that burn-in source file does not work in Raylight Red, or with self-contained Raylight AVI’s.

Suppress Recompression

Creates non-recompressed Raylight AVI’s from either AVI’s or MXF files. The codec calculates a checksum or signature on each frame handed to the editing system. On compression of frames when rendering a raylight AVI, the codec recalculates the checksum to see if it has changed. If it has not, then it uses a saved copy of the compressed frame (the original camera data). This speeds up processing because the compression step is skipped, and it also improves image quality because unnecessary recompression is eliminated.

How do you tell if it’s working? The timecode burn-in of the rendered section will be the same as the original camera timecode. Otherwise, if the section is recompressed (for a dissolve for example) the timecode will start at zero.

Suppress Recompression is not needed when editing from Raylight AVI’s. Supress Recompression does not work with DVCPRO50, DVCPRO, or DV MXF files. Supress recompression does not work with exporting AVI files with versions of Vegas after 8.0. It does work with exporting P2 MXF files directly from Vegas 9 or later with Ultra 1.3 or later versions (see Section 11).

10-bit YUV Mode

This mode features higher quality for both DVCPROHD and AVC-Intra files. The quality difference is subtle and may not be apparent unless you have very fine gradients such as with cloudless skies or smooth walls with brightness increase during color correction. This mode can be turned off for backward compatibility with older projects. You may notice a very slight difference in contrast between 10-bit YUV and the original (RGB) mode. Some features of the plug-in do not work with 10-bit YUV mode: Metadata slate, Raylight timecode burn-in and image rotate. You can still use the Sony Vegas timecode and image rotate features.

Raylight AVI’s do not use the 10-bit YUV mode.

 

Mark YUV mode

Creates a watermark in the YUV mode so you can check if it’s working.

Advanced Options - MXF Proxies

See section on AVC-Intra editing for the use of these options.

Advanced Options - BT.709 Color

Use this option for color rendering that matches the 10-bit YUV mode. Do not use this option with projects created in older versions of Ultra or DVFilm Raylight. This option will yield brighter images and less saturated color than the "classic" Raylight Ultra look. It is appropriate, though, for broadcast work or when switching between Ultra's 10-bit YUV and normal rendering modes.

Advanced Options - Hide This Dialog at Startup

Use this option to prevent the Ultra Control Panel from opening when Sony Vegas is run for the first time since a computer restart.

 

 

13.    General Limitations

 

If the DVFilm watermark appears then you are running the demo version of the program. Purchase the release version and reinstall to remove the watermark.

The Demo version of the Raylight Vegas plugin has an issue when run under Windows 7.  You must have User Access Control (UAC) turned off in order for it  to work properly.  In general, when Using Windows 7, make sure UAC is turned off.

Any Raylight files exported from your editing system will have to be re-exported. Files made with RayMaker will be OK, as-is.

The demo version of P2 Maker also inserts tiny grey squares, some with the word “rayLight” in the frame. Purchase the release version, install (run setup.exe) and remake the MXF files to remove the watermark.

DVFilm is not responsible for any damage or loss resulting from the use of this program.

Make sure you try the demo version and test it with your editing system before purchasing.

 

14.    Raylight Ultra Known Issues with Sony Vegas 9.0 or later

 

·         Raylight AVI’s cannot be imported or exported into Vegas 9.0 or later with 64-bit Windows. A direct P2 export method will be provided for Raylight Ultra later in 2010.

·         Raylight Ultra does not support the Consumer PAL-DV format with 64-bit operating systems. If you use Vista 32 or XP 32, you can use PAL-DV format but first contact DVFilm Support.

·         The 10-bit YUV mode does not support some features: Metadata slate, Rotate and timecode burn-in.

·         When you save a project and select the option in Vegas to store the project media, Vegas will only save the video MXF files, and not the audio MXF files, nor the XML files that are used by the plugin. This feature should not be used with P2 MXF files because if the saved project is opened, you will not get any audio and no pulldown will be removed. To backup your P2 project you should instead make a copy of all the P2 folders used in the project, and the Vegas project file, and any other files used in the project.

·         The Metadata slate will appear to have no data with AVC-Intra MXF proxies that are stored in the User-defined proxy output folder. Blank out the output folder option if you use Metadata slate with AVC-Intra proxies, so that the proxies are stored in the PROXY folder in the P2 card image.

·         With some video cards and Windows XP, you may notice a slight contrast difference between Raylight AVI’s exported from Vegas and the original footage.

Send any questions to DVFilm Support at dvfilm.com

 

c. 2010 DVFilm