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I am delivering 2 reels of FX for a film that is mixing next week, and decided to edit on my Nuendo PC (becuase I love it and my Ptools is LE and wasn't cutting it). I do not have digitranslator at home, but that is what they are using at the studio to try the import.

I have created OMF and AAF files from N4 (both with embedded audio and with audio references) and none of them are readable on the Mac.

Both the aaf and the omf files can be read back into my N4, so I think they are being created correctly.

Any ideas?

David Rovin
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hi David

The last time I tried that I was trying from Nuendo 3 to Pt 7.4, and it was really difficult, maybe with Nuendo4 things are easier. ProTools doesn't really like aaf and omf from nuendo.

First all the audiofiles in nuendo must have same format, same samplerate and bit depth.

Then all the files must be mono or split (no interleaved files in the omf/aaf for pt).

And maybe there was something else that I don't remember now.

Have a look at the steinberg nuendo forum, there are lots of threads discussing OMF and sessions exchange.

Davide Favargiotti
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Nuendo is able to handle multiple bit depths within the same project but all the sample rates must be the same. But, as Davide mentioned, they should all be the same bit depth and sample rate for the sake of the OMF. Other than that, you should be able to export the OMF as you would normally and it should be read by PT, assuming they have the ability to import OMF.

As for why it's not being read on the Mac? I'm not sure. Are you putting it on a hard drive that is formatred NTFS, thereby only able to be read by a PC? Be sure to put it on a FAT32 hard drive so it can be read by both PC and Mac. Also, an OMF has a max file size of 2gb so be sure your OMF is under that. If the entire session is over 2gb with all of the files then export multiple OMF's. For example, removing half your tracks, exporting only the first bunch of channels, then doing the same with the last bunch of channels.

Matthew Freed Audio
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  • I used a 64gig thumb drive that was read properly by the mac. So I dont think its a HD format issue. When I tried the Ptools import, it showed only 1 track. I'm thinking maybe that the one track that was readable was the only 1 without interleaved files. – David Rovin Nov 11 '10 at 07:45
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    @David-rovin Yeah it shows one track of rubbish if you use an OMF. It shows all tracks if use an AAF except it won't read any of the stereo interleaved files = pointless – ntkeep Nov 11 '10 at 09:27
  • @David Rovin - Have you tried separating the interleaved files in to mono files to see if that solves the issue? There is a batch process in Nuendo that can conform all the files so you don't have to do it one by one manually. – Matthew Freed Audio Nov 13 '10 at 20:46
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It's a bit of a nightmare. Nuendo 4 reads its own OMF/AAFs fine but Pro Tools will just not accept it right.

If your session has plain edits (little automation and clip gain) then you shouldn't have problems. If not, your "mix" might just not translate the same. Also Nuendo will not export stereo split files along with the OMF/AAF. So PT will read the stereo tracks as mono tracks with missing audio files because it can't read stereo interleaved files.

My only work around was to export OMF/AAF from Nuendo, import into Logic and get Logic to re-export the OMF/AAF with split stereo files. Although much of the automation was lost this way.

The only easy way to do this in my experience is to use SSL's Pro Convert, although it's an expensive solution.

I suggest you export both an OMF & AAF and get it checked at the mix stage well in advance to make sure everything works fine.

I ended up spending a couple of days exporting WAV files because nothing could work.

ntkeep
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  • I would consider buying pro convert if I was sure the cross platform thing wont be an issue. I noticed there are separate PC and Mac versions. I am worried that i will pro-convert it and then bring it over and it still fails. And for some reason the PC version is $100 more than the Mac version. Huh. I suspect i too will do wav exports (I just hate to lose the heads and tails in case they need to tweak things at the mix) – David Rovin Nov 11 '10 at 07:51
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    I haven't used Pro Convert so I can't comment first hand. But I suspect that if you use the PC version and convert the Nuendo XML to a PT session it should be fine as PT transfers between Mac & PC work ok. – ntkeep Nov 11 '10 at 09:25
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    @David Besides ProConvert, there is this an other software: aatranslator, http://www.aatranslator.com.au/ Never tried any of them. Have to do some research when I worked in a studio with both nuendo and protools... ended up we used only pro tools... to much hassles moving session around – Davide Favargiotti Nov 11 '10 at 13:44
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I'm a little late to the conversation, David, so I hope you've figured this out.

I work at a studio that is mostly PT based, but I use N4/5 to edit regularly. I've had plenty of problems delivering from Nuendo to PT (both OMF and AAF), and ended up spending some time to figure out what was making PT choke upon the import of both formats.

A few notes worth sharing -

PT does NOT like border of fade ins and fade outs touching one another - ie., in Nuendo, if the end of your fade in on the audio file butts right up agains the start of your fade out, PT will not import. This can be as little as one region and it will mess up the entire import;

I haven't had much luck with maintaining track names/region names when going from Nuendo to PT;

Delete Overlaps will make your life easier when going from one DAW to the next;

One workaround I've used, although it's terribly time consuming, is to export batches of selected tracks from Nuendo to PT to pinpoint what the problem is. Once you find a set of tracks that doesn't translate, export 5 min timeline chunks until you then get a set of tracks within a specific timeline range to further pinpoint where the problem lies. Although it's a PITA, I've found that it's usually only one region or audio file that's causing the problems.

I've had far less problems with N5, though I've been editing and mixing most of my projects in N5 and not transferring to PT.

Good luck!

Phonetical
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  • Thanks for the response. I got it done, but it was a bit of a nightmare. I wound up just dumping WAVs, stripping silence, and renaming everything. Horrible. Next time I'm either gonna suck it up and get a better pTools rig, or buy SSL proconvert. I love my Nuendo though. – David Rovin Dec 02 '10 at 18:38
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just to throw this in the mix: http://www.solid-state-logic.com/music/pro-convert/

georgi
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  • THanks, i would have bought that if i had the chance, but it was a weekend, there was no digital download, and it wasnt in stock locally. – David Rovin Dec 02 '10 at 18:34
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Hi I'm a long term EDL then Pro convert user (PC versions) also one of the developers of AATranslator.

Can confirm nuendo OMF to PT is not without problems. ProConvert does a good job of reading a Nuendo OMF and translating it to a form PT can understand. IE common Bit & sample rate, stereo interleaved files converted to dual Mono.

OMF is in general a limited format and DigiTranslator's implementation is extremely limited.

Eg Nuendo can export track names, these are dropped by DT All fades output in a Nu OMF are Lin, and fades can be problematic for DT to read (& on export from DT all fades are rendered clips. Clip gain is supported but Pan, Volume & mute automation is dropped

AATranslator can read a Nuendo OMF just fine too & will split stereo wav files to dual mono, but it's left to the user to make sure the audio files have a single Bit & Sample rate. OMF write is still in beta. But PT5 is a far more capable interchange format than OMF (Pro- Convert can export in PT 5 as well).

So if you were to export out of Nuendo as a Track Archive then convert that to Either Mac OSX or PC PT5 format:- You will gain Track names Vol, Pan Mute automation, markers (in the case of AATranslator these can be beat or Absolute), clip mute, lock & fades.

Look here for an idea of the relative capabilities of OMF & PT5. The table is Re Reaper format, but Steinberg track Archive is similarly well endowed. http://www.aatranslator.com.au/downloads/ProTools%20to%20Reaper.pdf

But if you want to have another go at Nuendo OMF export for PT. An aspect that has not been mentioned is. Do NOT click on "Export Clip Names" in the OMF "Export Options". And do not select "quantise Events to Frames.

John L
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  • THanks for the info. Next time I think i'll just use my PT LE and hope it is frame accurate (or use LE and buy DT). – David Rovin Dec 04 '10 at 22:17