Steinberg Cubase 5.5 New Features Manual

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Video
Frame rates
Cubase is capable of working with different types of video 
and film frame rates. In Cubase the following frame rates 
are available:
•23.9fps
This frame rate is used for film that is being transferred to NTSC video 
and must be slowed down for a 2-3 pull-down telecine transfer. It is also 
used for the type of HD video referred to as “24p”.
•24 fps
This is the true speed of standard film cameras.
•24.9fps
This frame rate is commonly used to facilitate transfers between PAL and
NTSC video and film sources. It is mostly used to correct for some error.
•25 fps
This is the frame rate of PAL video.
•29.97 fps
This is the frame rate of NTSC video. The count can be either non-drop
or drop-frame.
•30 fps
This frame rate is not a video standard anymore but has been commonly
used in music recording. Many years ago it was the black and white 
NTSC broadcast standard. It is equal to NTSC video being pulled up to 
film speed after a 2-3 telecine transfer.
•59.98fps
This rate is also referred to as “60p”. Many professional HD cameras 
record at 59.98fps. While 60fps could theoretically exist as a frame rate, 
no current HD video camera records at a full 60fps as a standard rate.
Video output devices
Cubase supports several ways to play back video files. 
Viewing video files onscreen in the Video Player window 
may work just fine for many applications, but often it is 
necessary to display video in a large format for viewing 
small details and so others involved in the session can 
also see the video. Cubase provides the ability to use sev-
eral types of video output devices to accomplish this.
Multi-head video cards
One of the most common methods is the use of a multi-
head video card installed in the computer. Multi-head 
video cards allow you to connect more than one computer 
monitor to the card, in some cases up to four. If you direct 
the video output of Cubase to one of these outputs, the 
video file is displayed in fullscreen mode on a computer 
monitor or HD television screen. ÖYou can also use more than one video card to achieve 
the same result. The use of two dual display cards in one 
system (a total of four monitors) is a very common setup 
for film postproduction systems. One output is dedicated 
to video and the other three can be used for Cubase and 
other applications.
Different video cards support different types of outputs in-
cluding standard VGA, DVI, S-Video, HDMI, and compo-
nent video. These options allow you to choose the type of 
monitor you use for video. HD televisions and digital pro-
jectors provide the largest viewing screens, but a normal 
computer monitor can function as a very high-quality video 
monitor as well.
Dedicated video cards
The use of a dedicated video card is also supported in 
Cubase. These cards are normally used in video editing 
systems to capture video to disk and display it while edit-
ing. They usually have a high resolution and take some 
strain off the host CPU by providing video compression 
and decompression processing on the card. 
ÖThe Decklink cards by Blackmagic Design are auto-
matically recognized by Cubase. Video will be sent di-
rectly to its output.
FireWire DV Output
You have the option to use FireWire ports on the computer 
to output DV video streams to external converters such as 
various camcorders and standalone FireWire to DV con-
version units. These units can be connected to a television 
or projector for large format viewing. The FireWire protocol 
is capable of transporting data at high speed and is the 
most common standard for communicating with video-
related peripheral equipment.
!Under Windows, it is important that you connect 
your device to the FireWire port before launching 
Cubase. Otherwise it may not be detected properly 
by Cubase. 
						

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Video
Preparing a video project in Cubase
The following sections describe the basic operations nec-
essary for preparing a Cubase project involving video. It is 
advisable to store your video files on a separate hard drive 
from your audio files. This can help prevent data streaming 
problems when using high-resolution video with many au-
dio tracks. 
Importing video files
Importing a video file into your project is very straight for-
ward once you know that you have a compatible video file. 
Video files are imported in the same manner as audio files:
•By using the File menu (Import–Video File).
In the Import Video dialog, you can activate the “Extract Audio From 
Video” option. This imports any embedded audio streams to a newly cre-
ated audio track positioned below the video track. The new track and the 
clip will get the name of the video file. The new audio event will start at 
the same time as the video event, so that they are in sync with each other. 
If there is no audio stream within the container file, you will get the error 
message “No compatible audio stream found in file”. Click OK and the 
video stream will continue to be imported.
ÖIf you try to import a non-supported video file with the 
Import Video option, the Import Video dialog displays the 
text “Invalid or not supported file!”.
•By importing to the Pool first and then dragging to the 
Project window (see the chapter “The Pool” in the Opera-
tion Manual for details).
•By using drag and drop from the Windows Explorer, the 
Mac OS Finder, the Pool, or the MediaBay.
ÖWhen importing video files via the Pool or by using 
drag and drop, Cubase can automatically extract the au-
dio from a video file. Whether this happens, depends on 
the “Extract Audio on Import Video File” setting in the 
Preferences dialog (Video page). For further information 
about extracting audio from a video file, see “Extracting 
audio from a video file” on page 75.ÖWhen importing video, Cubase automatically creates 
a thumbnail cache file. The generated file is stored in the 
same folder as the video file and gets the name of the file 
with the suffix “.vcache”.
Video files in the Project window
Video files are displayed as events/clips on a video track, 
with thumbnails representing the frames in the film. 
In the track list and Inspector, you find the following but-
tons:
ÖSome of these buttons may not be visible in the track 
list. With the Track Controls Settings dialog you deter-
mine which buttons are displayed in the track list. For 
more information about customizing track controls, see 
the chapter “Customizing” in the Operation Manual.
!In Cubase, you may work with multiple video files of 
differing frame rates and formats on the same video 
track. Assuming you have the proper codecs installed, 
all video files can be played back in one project, but 
note that proper synchronization of audio and video 
events is ensured only if the frame rate of the video file 
matches the project frame rate (see below).
Button Description
Mute Video When this is activated, video playback is disabled, but 
playback of any other events in the project continues. 
This increases the performance of Cubase when realizing 
operations that do not require watching the video.
Show Frame 
NumbersWhen this is activated, each thumbnail is shown with the 
corresponding video frame number.
Show 
ThumbnailsWith this button you can activate/deactivate the thumb-
nails of a video track.
Lock When this is activated, the video event will be locked. For 
more information about event locking, see the chapter 
“The Project window” in the Operation Manual.
Show frame
numbers Mute
videoShow 
thumbnailsLock 
						

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Video
About thumbnails
The individual thumbnail images are positioned exactly at 
the beginning of the corresponding frame. When you 
zoom in and there is enough space between the frames, 
the thumbnail is repeated as many times as there is free 
space available. Thus, you can always see a thumbnail re-
gardless of how much you zoom in.
Thumbnail Memory Cache Size
In the Preferences dialog on the Video page, you can en-
ter a value for the “Thumbnail Memory Cache Size”. This 
determines how much memory is available for displaying 
“real” thumbnails. The currently shown image is buffered 
in the thumbnail memory cache. Whenever you move to 
another image and there is no memory capacity left, the 
“oldest” picture in the cache is replaced by the current 
one. If you have long video clips and/or work with a large 
zoom factor, you may have to raise the “Thumbnail Mem-
ory Cache Size” value.
About thumbnail cache files
When importing video, Cubase automatically creates a 
thumbnail cache file. The cache file is used in situations 
where the processor load is very high and the correct re-
drawing or realtime calculation of thumbnails might use sys-
tem resources necessary for editing or processing. When 
you zoom in on the thumbnails, you see that they are in a 
lower resolution, i. e. the pictures are not as clear as when 
they are calculated. When the processes that rely heavily 
on the computer CPU are finished, the frames are automat-
ically recalculated, i. e. the program automatically switches 
between realtime calculation of the pictures and using the 
cache file.
ÖThere are situations where no thumbnail cache file 
can be generated, e. g. if you import a video file from a 
folder that is write-protected. If you have access to the 
host folder at a later stage, you can generate a thumbnail 
cache file manually.
Manually generating thumbnail cache files
If no thumbnail cache file could be generated during im-
port or if you have to “refresh” a thumbnail cache file of a 
certain video file, because the file has been edited with an 
external video editing application, you have the possibility 
to generate the thumbnail cache file manually.To create a thumbnail cache file manually, you have the 
following possibilities:
•In the Pool, right-click on the video file that you want to 
create a thumbnail cache file for and select the “Generate 
Thumbnail Cache” option from the context menu.
A thumbnail cache file is created, or, in case there already existed a 
thumbnail cache file for the video file, it is “refreshed”.
•In the Project window, open the context menu for the 
video event, and select “Generate Thumbnail Cache” from 
the Media submenu.
•Pull down the Media Menu and select “Generate Thumb-
nail Cache”.
Ö“Refreshing” an already existing thumbnail cache file 
can be done only from within the Pool.
ÖThe thumbnail cache file is generated in the back-
ground so that you can continue working with Cubase.
Playing back video
To check if your video equipment is capable of playing 
back a video from within Cubase, open the Video Player 
page in the Device Setup dialog. If your system does not 
meet the minimum video requirements, a corresponding 
message will be displayed. For further information on the 
Device Setup dialog, see below.
Video is played back together with all other audio and 
MIDI material, using the Transport controls.
!For playing back video files, you must have QuickTime 
7.1 or higher installed on your computer. There is a 
freeware version and a “pro” version, which offers ad-
ditional video conversion options. The player engine is 
the same in both versions, so for mere playback in Cu-
base there is no need to purchase the “pro” version.  
						

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Video
Video settings in the Device Setup dialog
In the Device Setup dialog you determine which device is 
used for playing back video files. You can switch between 
different output devices during playback.
The Video Player page in the Device Setup dialog
To set up a video output device, proceed as follows:
1.Pull down the Devices Menu and select “Device 
Setup…” to open the Device Setup dialog, and select the 
Video Player page.
2.In the Active column, activate the checkbox for the de-
vice that you want to use for playing back video. 
All devices in your system that are capable of playing back video are 
listed. The Onscreen Window device serves for playing back the video 
file on your computer monitor. For further information on output devices, 
see the section “Video output devices” on page 71.
3.From the pop-up menu in the Format column, select 
an output format.
For the Onscreen Window output, only a “fixed” format is available. For 
the other output devices, you can select different output formats for play-
back depending on the device.
4.Adjust the Offset setting to compensate for process-
ing delays.
Due to delays while processing video, the video image may not match 
with the audio in Cubase. By using the Offset parameter, you can com-
pensate for this effect. The Offset value indicates how many milliseconds 
the video will be delivered earlier in order to compensate for the process-
ing time of the video material. Each hardware setup can have different 
processing delays, so you must try out different values to determine 
which value is appropriate. 
ÖThe Offset value can be set individually for each out-
put device. It is saved globally for each output device and 
is independent of the project.
ÖThe offset is only used during playback. It is defeated 
in stop and scrub mode so that you always see the correct 
video frame.
•If the quality of the video image is not a critical factor or 
if you are experiencing performance problems, try lower-
ing the value on the Video Quality pop-up menu.
Although higher quality settings make the video display sharper and 
smoother, they also lead to an increased processor load.
Playing back video on the computer screen
The Video Player window is used for playing back video 
on your computer screen.
•To open the Video Player window, pull down the De-
vices menu and select Video Player.
Setting the window size and video quality
To resize the Video Player window and/or change the play-
back quality of the video, select the appropriate option on 
the context menu of the Video Player window.
The following options are available:
Option Description
Fullscreen 
ModeThe window is enlarged to occupy the whole (computer) 
screen. If you are working with more than one monitor, you 
can move the Video Player window to an extra monitor. 
Thus, you can work with Cubase on one monitor and let 
the video play back on another monitor. You can exit 
fullscreen mode via the window’s context menu or by 
pressing [Esc] on your computer keyboard.
Quarter Size The window size is reduced to a quarter of the actual size.
Half Size The window size is reduced to half the actual size.
Actual Size The window size corresponds to the size of the video. 
						

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Video
•Drag the borders, just like when resizing other windows.
ÖThe higher the resolution, the more processing power 
is needed for playback. If you need to reduce the proces-
sor load, you can reduce the size of the Video Player win-
dow, or lower the value on the Video Quality submenu.
Setting the aspect ratio
Resizing the Video Player window by dragging its borders 
may lead to a distorted image. To prevent this, you can set 
an aspect ratio for video playback.
•From the Aspect Ratio submenu of the Video Player 
context menu, select one of the following options:
ÖWhen the video is played back in fullscreen mode, the 
aspect ratio of the video is always kept.
Scrubbing video
You can scrub video events, i. e. play them back forwards 
or backwards at any speed. This is done by clicking in the 
Video Player window and moving the mouse to the left or 
to the right.
You can also use the Scrub controls on the Transport 
panel or a jog wheel on a remote controller for scrubbing 
video events. For more information about the jog and 
scrub controls, see the chapter “Playback and the Trans-
port panel” in the Operation Manual.
Editing video
Video clips are played back by events just as audio clips 
are. You can use all the basic editing operations on video 
events, just as with audio events. You can take a single 
event and copy it many times for the creation of mix varia-
tions. A video event may also be trimmed using the event 
handles to remove a countdown for instance. Furthermore, 
you can lock video events just like other events in the 
Project window, and you can edit video clips in the Pool. 
It is not possible to fade or crossfade video events. Fur-
thermore, you cannot use the Draw, Glue, and Mute tools 
with a video event.
ÖWindows only: If you find that you are unable to edit a 
video file copied from a CD, this might be due to the fact 
that files copied from CD are write-protected by default. 
To remove the write-protection, in the Windows Explorer, 
open the Properties dialog and deactivate the “Read-
Only” option.
Extracting audio from a video file
If a video file contains audio, the audio stream can be ex-
tracted. As always when importing audio material, a dialog 
is displayed allowing you to select different import options 
(see the chapter “The Project window” in the Operation 
Manual for details). The extracted audio stream is added to 
the project on a new audio track and can be edited like all 
other audio material.
There are several ways to extract audio from a video file:
•By activating the “Extract Audio From Video” option in 
the Import Video dialog (see the section “Importing video 
files” on page 72).
•By using the “Audio from Video File” option on the Im-
port submenu of the File menu.
This will insert an audio event starting at the project cursor position on 
the selected audio track. If no audio track is selected, a new one will be 
created.
•By activating the “Extract Audio on Import Video File” 
option in the Preferences dialog (Video page).
This will automatically extract the audio stream from any video file during 
import.
Double Size The window is enlarged to twice the actual size.
Video Quality This submenu allows you to change the quality of the video 
image. Higher settings make the video display sharper and 
smoother, but lead to an increased processor load.
Option Description
None The aspect ratio of the video is not kept when resizing the 
window. The image is enlarged/reduced to occupy the 
whole Video Player window.
Internal The Video Player window can be resized at will, but the as-
pect ratio of the video is kept and black borders are dis-
played around the video image to fill the window.
External The resizing of the Video Player window is limited accord-
ing to the aspect ratio of the video image, i. e. the video im-
age always fills the full window and its aspect ratio is kept. Option Description 
						

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Video
•By using the “Extract Audio from Video File” option on 
the Media menu.
This creates an audio clip in the Pool, but does not add any events to the 
Project window. 
Replacing the audio in a video file
Once you have edited all audio and MIDI data to the video 
and created a final mix, you will need to put the new audio 
back with the video. You can do this by embedding the 
audio in another stream within the video container file.
To replace the audio stream in a video file, proceed as fol-
lows:
1.Place the left locator at the start of the video file in Cu-
base. This will ensure that your audio and video streams 
are synchronized.
2.Pull down the File menu and select the Audio Mixdown 
option from the Export submenu to export the audio file 
you wish to insert into the video container file (for detailed 
information on this function, see the chapter “Export Audio 
Mixdown” in the Operation Manual).
3.From the File menu, select “Replace Audio in Video 
File…”.
A file dialog opens prompting you to locate the video file.
4.Select the video file and click Open.
Next, you are prompted to locate the corresponding audio file. This 
should be the one you created above.
5.Select the audio file and click Open.
The audio is added to the video file, replacing its current audio stream.
Once the process is completed, open the video file in a 
native media player and check for proper synchronization.
!These functions are not available for MPEG-1 and 
MPEG-2 video files. 
						

							6
Plug-in updates 
						

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Plug-in updates
AmpSimulator
The AmpSimulator effect now has an updated plug-in 
panel. However, the parameters are the same as before.
AmpSimulator is a distortion effect, emulating the sound 
of various types of guitar amp and speaker cabinet combi-
nations. A wide selection of amp and cabinet models is 
available.
The following parameters are available:
Groove Agent ONE 1.1 update
Replacing individual samples
On the sample pads in Groove Agent ONE, you can now 
replace individual samples. 
•To replace a sample mapped to a pad with another 
sample, drag the new sample to the pad, press [Alt]/[Op-
tion], and drop it.
•To replace a sample in a pad layer with another sample, 
drag the new sample to the Layer indicator, press [Alt]/
[Option], and drop it onto the required layer.
Locating missing files
When a sample belonging to a preset cannot be found, 
Groove Agent ONE prompts you to locate the missing 
files. You can either click Ignore to skip this message, 
click Locate File to navigate to a specific folder containing 
the missing file(s), or click Search Folder to browse a spe-
cific folder and any subfolders that might contain the miss-
ing file(s).
Saving and loading GAK archives
You can now save all Groove Agent ONE settings and the 
sample files referenced by the current configuration as a 
Groove Agent ONE kit. The file name extension of these 
kit files is “*.gak”. 
To save a GAK archive, proceed as follows:
1.Set up Groove Agent ONE the way you want it.
2.In the Exchange section, click the Export button.
The “Export Groove Agent ONE kit” dialog opens in which you can spec-
ify a location and a name for the new archive.
3.Click Save.
The archive is created and the dialog is closed.
ÖA plug-in preset file is created alongside the .gak file. 
This plug-in preset references the samples inside the .gak 
file. It can be browsed in the MediaBay, giving you access 
to all Groove Agent ONE settings (including all samples) 
from within Cubase.
To load a GAK file, proceed as follows:
1.In the Exchange section, click the Import button.
2.Navigate to the GAK file and click Open.
The saved settings and all samples are imported into Groove Agent ONE.
Parameter Description
Drive Controls the amount of amp overdrive. 
Bass Tone control for the low frequencies.
Middle Tone control for the mid frequencies.
Treble Tone control for the high frequencies.
Presence Boosts or dampens the higher frequencies.
Volume Controls the overall output level.
Amplifier 
pop-up menuThis pop-up menu is opened by clicking on the ampli-
fier name shown at the top of the amp section. It allows 
you to select an amplifier model. The amp section can 
be bypassed by selecting “No Amp”.
Cabinet 
pop-up menuThis pop-up menu is opened by clicking on the cabinet 
name shown at the top of the cabinet section. It allows 
you to select a speaker cabinet model. This section can 
be bypassed by selecting “No Speaker”.
Damping Lo/Hi Further tone controls for shaping the sound of the se-
lected speaker cabinet. Click on the values, enter a 
new value and press the [Enter] key. 
						

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Plug-in updates
Polyphony counter
The new Polyphony counter in the LCD Display in the left 
half of the panel shows the number of pads currently play-
ing.
New start/end locators in the waveform display
You can define the sample start and end points by drag-
ging the s and e locators in the waveform shown in the 
LCD display. When you click on a locator and press [Ctrl], 
this will zoom in on the waveform and center the display 
around the locator. Note that the locators automatically 
snap to zero crossings.
Increasing/decreasing parameter values using the 
mouse wheel
As in other areas of Cubase, you can now increase or de-
crease the values for the parameters shown above the 
waveform in the LCD display by clicking and turning the 
mouse wheel. 
LoopMash 1.2 update
New track volume control and VU meters
You can now change the relative volumes of your tracks 
with the volume control on the far right of each track. This 
is useful for level adjustments between tracks. 
The VU meter to the left of the volume control provides vi-
sual feedback of the current track volume.
Setting the similarity threshold
Drag the new similarity threshold control (the thin line with 
handles at the top and bottom intersecting all similarity gain 
sliders) to the left or right to determine a minimum similarity 
that slices must match to be considered for playback.
Slices with a similarity below (i. e. to the left of) this thresh-
old are not played.
New ruler showing bars and beats
At the top of the track section, a ruler showing bars and 
beats (using the project’s time signature) is displayed.
Start and end locatorsThese parame-
ters can be 
changed using 
the mouse 
wheel.
Similarity threshold slider Ruler
Track volume
VU meter 
						

							80
Plug-in updates
REVerence update
REVerence has a new “Smooth Parameter Changes” but-
ton that is located at the top right, between the program 
slots and the Store/Recall/Erase buttons. If it is activated, a 
crossfade is performed when switching programs. Leave 
this button deactivated while looking for a suitable program 
or an appropriate setting for an impulse response. Once 
you have set up the program matrix to your liking, activate 
the button to avoid hearing artifacts when switching be-
tween programs.
True stereo
Impulse responses recorded as trues-stereo files enable 
you to create a very realistic impression of the correspond-
ing room. REVerence can only process true-stereo impulse 
response files with the following channel configuration (in 
exactly that order): LL, LR, RL, RR.
The channels are defined as follows:
ÖIf your true-stereo impulse responses are only avail-
able as separate mono files, you can use the Export Audio 
Mixdown function in Cubase to create REVerence compli-
ant interleaved files (see the chapter “Export Audio Mix-
down” in the Operation Manual).
By default, REVerence automatically works in true-stereo 
mode when the plug-in is inserted on a stereo track and 
you load a 4-channel impulse response.
Therefore, if you are working with surround files, that is, 
4-channel impulse responses recorded with a Quadro con-
figuration (L/R, LS/RS), you need to insert the plug-in on an 
audio track with a 4.0 configuration. On a stereo track these 
files would be processed in true-stereo mode, too.So how can you prevent REVerence from unintenionally 
processing surround files in true-stereo mode? The answer 
is a “Recording Method” attribute that can be written to the 
iXML chunk of the corresponding impulse response file. 
Whenever you load an impulse response with a 4-channel 
configuration on a stereo track, REVerence searches the 
iXML chunk of the file. If the plug-in finds the Recording 
Method attribute, the following happens:
•If the attribute is set to “TrueStereo”, the plug-in works 
in true-stereo mode.
•If the attribute is set to “A/B” or “Quadro”, the plug-in 
works in normal stereo mode and processes only the L/R 
channels of the surround file.
ÖYou can use the Attribute Inspector in the MediaBay 
to tag your own impulse response files with the Recording 
Method attribute. For more information, see the chapter 
“MediaBay” in the Operation Manual.
Studio EQ update
Each EQ band now features a button to invert the corre-
sponding EQ band (i.e. reflect the curve along the x axis). 
This button is located at the bottom right of the Gain con-
trol.
This is very useful if you want to filter out unwanted noise. 
While looking for the frequency to omit, it sometimes 
helps to boost it in the first place (set the filter to positive 
gain). After you have found this frequency, you can use the 
Inv button to cancel it out.
Channel The signal from this 
source……was recorded with this 
microphone
LL left source left microphone
LR left source right microphone
RL right source left microphone
RR right source right microphone