Steinberg Nuendo 4 Getting Started Manual

							
Getting StartedEinführung 
						

							Tutorials by Steve Kostrey
Working with Video and Audio Editing to Picture by Ashley Shepherd
Revision and Quality Control:
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer
Thanks to: Georg Bruns, Mert Ergün
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part 
of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement 
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publica-
tion may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission 
by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of 
Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the 
United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh 
are registered trademarks.
Release Date: September 14, 2007
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2007.
All rights reserved.
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							Table of Contents
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							4
Table of Contents
6Introduction
7About the manuals and the help
7About the program versions
7Key command conventions
8How you can reach us
9System requirements and installation
10About this chapter
10Minimum requirements
11Hardware installation
12Installing Nuendo
13Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)
13Register your software
14Setting up your system
15Setting up audio
19Setting up MIDI
21Connecting a synchronizer
21Setting up video 
22Optimizing audio performance
24Tutorial 1: Recording audio
25Creating a new project
26Setting up the VST Connections
27Level settings and recording
30Playback
31Recording modes with cycle off
31Cycle recording
32Stacked recording
34Tutorial 2: Editing audio
35Event operations
41Event envelopes
41Processing audio
43Tutorial 3: Recording and editing MIDI
44Introduction
44Creating an Instrument Track
45Browsing sounds
46MIDI recording
47MIDI playback
47Recording modes with cycle off
48Cycle recording
49The Key Editor
51The Controller lane
52Tutorial 4: Working with loops
53Loop Browser
53Adding loops
54Making copies
54Insert into Project
55Tutorial 5: External MIDI instruments
56Introduction
56Setting up MIDI devices
56Setting up VST connections for external 
instruments
57Monitoring external MIDI instruments
58Recording MIDI and external instruments
59Tutorial 6: Mixing and effects
60Introduction
60Setting levels
61Setting pan
61Mute and solo
62Adding EQ
64Audio effects
65About automation
66Exporting
69Tutorial 7: Surround production 
70Surround busses
72Setting up a surround mix
74Recording in surround
74Exporting a surround file
77Tutorial 8: Editing audio II - tempo and 
groove
78Background
78Example 1: Drum loop, tempo known
79Example 2: Drum loop, Auto Adjust
80Example 3: Drum loop, Manual Adjust
82Example 4: Working with selections
83Tutorial 9: Media management
84Background
84MediaBay, Loop Browser and Sound Browser
86Scanning with the browser
88Searching for media
89Auditioning media with the Scope
90Tagging
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							5
Table of Contents
91Working with video
92Introduction
92Virtual video playback
92Video playback engines
92Video file compatibility
93Adding a video file to a project
94Video output devices
94Video playback speed
94Editing video
95Rendering audio into video files
95Video tape recorders
95Synchronization and Machine Control
96Layback to tape
98Tips
99Audio editing to picture
100Introduction
100Video timeline and the grid
101Inserting audio into the project
102Event handles
102Event envelopes
103Range selection
104Range editing
105Edit Mode
105Text editing
106Operations
114Index
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							1
Introduction
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							7
Introduction
About the manuals and the help
The Nuendo documentation is divided into several sec-
tions, as listed below. Some of the documents are in 
Adobe Acrobat format (extension “.pdf”) – these can be 
accessed in the following ways:
 You can open the pdf documents from the Documentation 
submenu on the Help menu in the program.
 Under Windows you can also open these documents from the 
Nuendo Documentation subfolder on the Windows Start menu.
 Under Mac OS X the pdf documents are located in the folder 
“/Library/Documentation/Steinberg/Nuendo 4”.
ÖTo read the pdf documents, you need to have a suit-
able pdf reader application installed on your computer.
An installer for Adobe Reader is provided on the program DVD.
The Getting Started book
This is the book you are reading now. The Getting Started 
book covers the following areas:
 Computer requirements.
 Installation issues.
 Setting up your system for audio, MIDI and/or video work.
 Tutorials describing the most common procedures for record-
ing, playing back, mixing and editing in Nuendo.
In other words, this book does not go into detail on any 
Nuendo windows, functions or procedures.
The Operation Manual
The Operation Manual is the main Nuendo reference doc-
umentation, with detailed descriptions of Nuendo opera-
tions, parameters, functions and techniques. You should 
be familiar with the concepts and methods described in 
the Getting Started book before moving on to the Opera-
tion Manual.
MIDI Devices
This pdf document contains descriptions of how to man-
age MIDI Devices and device panels.
Plug-in Reference
This manual describes the features and parameters of the 
included VST plug-ins, real-time audio effects and the 
MIDI effects.
Networking
This pdf document describes how you can use Nuendo’s 
project sharing and networking features to collaborate 
with other users of Nuendo (version 2.0 or later) in a 
TCP/IP based peer-to-peer network.
Remote Control Devices
This pdf document lists the supported MIDI remote control 
devices and describes how to set them up and use them 
with Nuendo.
Mackie Control
This pdf document describes the supported features for 
the Mackie Control remote device.
Menu Reference
This pdf document provides a list of all menus and their 
options with a brief description, for quick reference.
The dialog help
To get information about the active dialog, click its Help 
button.
About the program versions
The documentation covers two different operating sys-
tems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X. 
Some features and settings are specific to one of the plat-
forms, Windows or Mac OS X. This is clearly stated in the 
applicable cases. In other words:
ÖIf nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures 
in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac 
OS X.
The screenshots are taken from the Windows version.
Key command conventions
Many of the default key commands in Nuendo use modi-
fier keys, some of which are different depending on the 
operating system. For example, the default key command 
for Undo is [Ctrl]+[Z] under Windows and [Com-
mand]+[Z] under Mac OS X.
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							8
Introduction
When key commands with modifier keys are described in 
this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier 
key first, in the following way:
[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]+[key]
For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Z] means “press [Ctrl] un-
der Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press 
[Z]”. Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]+[X] means “press [Alt] under 
Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
ÖPlease note that this manual often refers to “right-
clicking”, e. g. to open context menus, etc. If you are using 
a Macintosh computer with a single-button mouse, hold 
down [Ctrl] and click.
How you can reach us
On the Help menu in Nuendo you will find items for getting 
additional information and help:
•On the “Steinberg on the Web” submenu, you can find 
links to various Steinberg web sites. Selecting one will au-
tomatically launch your browser application and open the 
page.
You can find support and compatibility information, answers to frequently 
asked questions, links for downloading new drivers, etc. This requires 
that you have a web browser application installed on your computer, and 
a working Internet connection.
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							2
System requirements and installation
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							10
System requirements and installation
About this chapter
This chapter describes the requirements and installation 
procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version 
of Nuendo. 
Minimum requirements
To use Nuendo, your computer must meet the following 
minimum requirements:
Windows
 Windows XP (Home/Professional with SP 2),
or Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit – see below)
 Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 2 GHz processor

 Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware; 
ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low 
latency performance.
 Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
 Steinberg Key and USB component connector
 DVD ROM drive required for installation
 Internet connection required for license activation
Macintosh
 Mac OS X 10.4
 Power Mac G4 1 GHz or Core Solo 1.5 GHz

 Display resolution of 1024x768 pixels
 CoreAudio compatible audio hardware
 Steinberg Key and USB component connector
 DVD ROM drive required for installation
 Internet connection required for license activation
ÖIf you want to install the 64-bit version of Nuendo, 
make sure you read the ReadMe document on this topic 
before proceeding.
You will find this document, called “Windows_Vista_64bit_[lan-
guage].rtf”, on the installation DVD, in the ReadMe Files folder.
General notes on how to set up your system
RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of 
available RAM and the number of audio channels that you 
can have running. 
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as 
a general rule “the more the better” applies.
Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines 
how many minutes of audio you will be able to record. 
Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio requires 10 MB of hard 
disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Nuendo use up at least 80 MB 
of disk space per recording minute.
Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also de-
termines the number of audio tracks you can run.
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed 
as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies.
Wheel mouse – Although a regular mouse will work fine 
with Nuendo, we recommend that you use a wheel mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably. 
MIDI requirements
If you intend to use the MIDI features of Nuendo, you need 
the following:
 A MIDI interface to connect external MIDI equipment to your 
computer.

 Any audio equipment required to listen to the sound from your 
MIDI devices. 
Audio hardware
Nuendo will run with audio hardware that meets the fol-
lowing specifications:


 Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
 Windows – The audio hardware must be supplied with a spe-
cial ASIO driver, or a DirectX compatible driver, see below.
 Mac – The audio hardware must be supplied with Mac OS X-
compatible drivers (CoreAudio or ASIO). 
!On the Steinberg web site, under “Support–DAW 
Components”, you can find detailed information on 
what to consider when setting up a computer system 
dedicated to audio work.
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