If you are having problems with lists, please realize that all lists are text based. You can open them in any text editor such as WORD, WORDPAD, SIMPLE TEXT, TEACH TEXT and so forth. Obviously errors such as duplicate data, missing tracks or timecode, etc.  in a list are easily spotted in this manner.

More detailed information regarding common problems are listed below. If you don’t find your answer, please send us an e-mail describing the problem, and attach a copy of both the log file and the resulting batch digitizing file or EDL that caused the problems. There is no need to send the folder with the thumbnail pictures.

• BLANK CLIPS

Delete or Fill In All Blank Clips:

Make sure there are no blank clips. Our loggers create a blank clip when you open a new log. Be sure to fill in the data for this clip or delete it before exporting the list. To export into the Avid and most other systems, the batch digitizing file must contain data in the Timecode In, Timecode Out, Tape, Clip Name, and Tracks fields for every clip in the file. Also, if you export a Scene field  it must have data in each clip of the Scene field. If you are missing data in any one clip for any of these fields, the editor will not import the file.

• BAD TIMECODE

Correct all Timecodes:

When you output an batch file, an error check box will pop up if you are missing a timecode or you have an inconsistent timecode. Go back and fix the bad timecode before trying to export. A bad timecode will not import into the editor or will give you errors on digitizing. A bad timecode should also alert you to make sure that you don’t have missing data in any other fields of that clip.

• EXPORT SELECTIONS

Export The Batch File:

When you log, you save the log file on the hard drive as a log type file. When you output a batch file or an EDL, you "Export" the file and save it as an Avid Log Exchange (.ALE) file for the Avid, a PowerLog file for the Media 100, etc. These are all TEXT type files that can be opened in a text editor (such as Word or Simple Text) for viewing and printing. You cannot import a log file directly into an editor.

Select All Entries or Marked Entries:

Generally, you can export to the batch digitizing file: "All Entries", only the "Selected Entries", or the "Marked Entries". Marked entries are those with a check mark to the left of the clip. Selected Entries are clips that are highlighted. These options let you easily group Entries for export based on manual picking or search results.

Select Or Map Field Names For Export:

Generally, if you have selected one of the edit system templates when you started logging, or your logger has fixed templates, you will have the correct field names to export to that manufacturer’s list from the logger. Even if you used some other template to log, in the export process, you can map or direct the data from the fields you have used in the template into the fields required by the editor to which you are exporting. In the Export dialog, use the pull down menus to select the correct fields or output your data from your logging template into the correct fields for the batch digitizing list.

Caution! Any linked fields need not be INCLUDED as this will result in double data in the export file.

•  TAPE NAME

Select "Tape", or Enter a Tape Number

In the Export Dialog box, for Tape Name, select "Tape", or whatever field name you used to designate the reel or tape number, from the pull down list. If you select "Use This Text", you can type in a tape number on the following line and it will overwrite whatever you entered in the "Tape" field for each clip when you were logging.

Limit Tape Name Length

Some Linear and Non Linear Editors may not like spaces in the tape name (tape number). Also, some systems may only accept a limited number of characters in the tape number field. Check with your editor to determine the limitations, if any. Where limits are known, our videologgers truncate text during export to match the target editor's abilities.

• FILE NAME

Limit The Length of Batch File Name:

Some editors limit the length of the name of the batch import file or EDL. Avid tape names should not exceed 16 characters.

• AUDIO (Avid Only)

Select Correct Audio Resolution:

You can select None, and the editor will use its default setting when digitizing.   If you do select a resolution, be sure to select the Audio to match the KHz being digitized into the Avid. For example, if you choose 44 KHz in the ALE export, and the Avid is set up to digitize at 48 KHz, the ALE file will not import into the Avid.

• TRACKS

Select the Video and Audio Tracks to Digitize

You have a choice of exporting to the list the video and audio tracks that were entered when logging, or overriding all of the track information by selecting a specific track in the export dialog. To pass the tracks you selected when logging to the list, choose "Tracks", or whatever field name you used to designate the audio tracks. To override the data you entered for each clip under "Tracks", choose one of the track formats in the export dialog to be true for all the clips in the list. Remember, if the Tracks information is missing in any clip, the export file will probably not import into the editor.

Caution! DO NOT "Include" track fields. Either link the appropriate field or choose a standard for all the clips. Including a track or channel field in the export will cause the data to show twice on each Entry and will fail to import.

• CLIP NAME

Choose "Clip Name", "Use Entry Number" or "Number The Clip":

Clip Name is a field that is specifically recognized by the Avid and some of the other systems. If you don’t want to bring the Clip Name data into the editor, you can pick "Use Entry Number" or "Number The Clip" from the pull down menu when you export to an Avid ALE file. "Use Entry Number" is the number of the clip as it appears in the log.  If you were exporting the marked clips and choose "Number the Clips", the logger will number the exported clips starting with number one, regardless of the number of the clip in the log file.

Limit the Number of Characters in Clip Name:

Avid, and some of the other editors, has a limit of 30 characters of data for the Clip name field. If you exceed the 30 characters, extra characters will push data in other columns out of position during the import into Avid, and the list will not import. Check each clip to be sure you have not entered too many characters. If you need more text than the 30 characters allowed in the Clip name field, include a Comments or Description field.

• SCENE

Limit the Number of Character in Scene (Avid Only):

Scene is a field name that is recognized by the Avid. If it is used (it is not required) the data entered in the field cannot exceed 32 characters.

• INCLUDE

Data Fields to Include and Exclude:

The Export dialog for the Avid, and some other editors, provides for outputting additional (optional) data fields in the "Include" box. The most important rule is to NOT Include any fields that have already been linked to another field. For example, don’t include the logger's Tape field if it has already been linked to the editor's Tape field.

In the Include box, select those fields you want to show up in the digitizing list (that you haven’t picked elsewhere). As far as we know, Avid is the only system that will allow you to bring in as many fields of data as you wish. The CMX 3600 list will import up to 6 lines of data. Most systems will bring in timecode, tape, clip name, and description. Some editors use the Avid Log Exchange (ALE) file format but have further restrictions. For example, Liquid Blue can only accept up to 5 extra include fields.

When you include fields for the Avid, you may have to setup those field names in the editor when importing the shot log for them to be displayed.

Do Not Include Duration or Tracks in Avid Export:

When exporting a list to an Avid, do not include the Duration field. It is not necessary and will only confuse the editor since we often designate the timecode type with a suffix that the editor cannot read.

DO NOT "Include" track fields. Either link the appropriate field or choose a standard for all the clips. Including a track or channel field in the export will cause the data to show twice on each Entry and will fail to import.

Avoid Second Capital Letters in Field Names:

AVID editors are case sensitive when it comes to field names. Any fields "Included" in the ALE file should be named with only one beginning capital letter, or it is safest to use only lower case characters for field names. Our videologgers test for and correct this in the export, but with earlier versions a field named "Shot Description" becomes "ShotDescription" and Media Composer will balk at the capital "D" in the middle of the name.

• PRINT BATCH FILE

Print out Batch File to Spot Errors:

If you are having problems importing a batch file or EDL into the editor, print it out with a word processor program. You will be able to see all of your export data in columns that match the order of the field names that appear near the top of the print out. While this may not tell you for sure what is causing your problem, you can usually see where in the list the data is getting out of order and point you the clip or field that seems to be inconsistent.

• DROP AND NON-DROP

Correct Drop and Non-Drop Errors:

When logging from BetaCam or HD, our videologgers should read Drop and Non-Drop timecode correctly from a tape. But if you are manually entering timecode from the keyboard you need to set the Timecode Mode properly.

• TROUBLESOME CHARACTERS

Remove Suspicious Characters:

Occasionally, the editor may interpret certain text characters you have entered as programming commands or instructions. We have had instances of the Avid interpreting a quotation mark in text as a "," (comma delimited parser) command. Windows users should also avoid the /, @, #, and other symbols when setting up values in pull down menus and in naming the pull down menus since menus are stored as separate files and only legal file names and paths should be used.

• EXCHANGING PC AND MAC FILES

Mac Editor Won’t Recognize PC File:

When a batch digitizing file is exported on a PC and loaded onto a Mac edit machine, you may need to "teach" the Mac to recognize that the file is a "text" type. If the Mac editor is not "seeing" the batch file (doesn't show up in the Open File dialog), you may need to first open the file with Simple Text. Close the file and it should then be able to be opened by the Mac editor.

Some editors prefer export list file names end with a certain suffix (e.g. *.ALE, *.TXT, etc.). Refer to your editor's users manual for batch list importing instructions. Changing a file's suffix doesn't affect it's properties or content.