OMF from cubase to Protools

[strauss]

I'm trying to import OMF files from cubase in Protools using Digitranslator, but have no luck so far.
PT sees the tracks in the OMF file and I'm able to import them0 but the regions show up as offline.
Any help would be apreciated!

[jahtao]

Is this an embedded OMF?

[strauss]

I have tried both embedded and seperate wave files.

[jahtao]

do you get any media in your region list? if not, drag and drop it in maybe? if you do, can u see any reason why its not linking properly?

PT presumably prompts you to find the missing files? what's the problem with that? with separate wave files omf you should just be able to navigate to em right?

might be worth seeing if cubase can open this omf it creates

[Jesse Peterson]

OMF's prepped by nuendo/cubase have been prone to errors when opened in PT for years. Seems to be one of the many issues that stienberg has ignored over the years. Thankfully they can open OMF's just fine.

Your best bet is to manually export tracks / groups

[Andrew Mottl]

But they do work if you know what to look out for :-) (most of the time...)
I don't know Cubase's OMF menu (only Nuendo's)... what version are you on?

Try: Disabling "export clip names", disable "quantize to frames"
Do you have stereo tracks/files in your cubase session? Omf supports stereo, but ProTools doesn't.
You might want to try AAF too (do you have this in Cubase?), (and might want to make sure all your files are WAV and not AIFF (Apple changed the AIFF standard and they are sometimes misinterpreted by applications, resulting in digital white noise with the original signal barely audible).)
Also, ProTools doesn't support mixed bit depths, so make sure all files are 16 or better 24 bit (you can do this in the audio pool).

Hope this helps!

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by Jesse Peterson

OMF's prepped by nuendo/cubase have been prone to errors when opened in PT for years. Seems to be one of the many issues that stienberg has ignored over the years. Thankfully they can open OMF's just fine.

Your best bet is to manually export tracks / groups

From experience I know that the issue lies on the PT's side at imprt, not the export.

Mark

[strauss]

woohoo! Look here!

[danijel]

Originally Posted by Andrew Mottl

Try: Disabling "export clip names", disable "quantize to frames"
Do you have stereo tracks/files in your cubase session? Omf supports stereo, but ProTools doesn't.
You might want to try AAF too (do you have this in Cubase?), (and might want to make sure all your files are WAV and not AIFF (Apple changed the AIFF standard and they are sometimes misinterpreted by applications, resulting in digital white noise with the original signal barely audible).)
Also, ProTools doesn't support mixed bit depths, so make sure all files are 16 or better 24 bit (you can do this in the audio pool).

Hope this helps!

I've been following this checklist, but something is still wrong.

All my files are 24 bits, but they are mixed 44.1 and 48kHz. Could this be the problem for ProTools to import via AAF/OMF?

Could having fades be the problem?

Note: I'm exporting from Nuendo 3.2, not Cubase.

[smurfyou]

Pro Tools does not support mixed sample rates. I think it usually causes an error code when you try to import. Is there a way to convert the audio when you output the OMF from Nuendo?

[Andrew Mottl]

Hey Danijel,

I had success a while back with N3.2
If I remember correctly I even had mixed 16 and 24 bit files (not 100% sure though), but I think everything was 48kHz.
I cannot remember fades being a problem, so that shouldn't be it.
Are all your files the same type (all wav/bwav/aiff)?

Maybe give AAF a try.

Hope you get it sorted soon, it does work. Somehow :-)
What PT are you working with?
Cheerio,
Andrew

[danijel]

Thanks guys!
I'll make more tests this evening. First thing to try will be to get everything to 48kHz I suppose.

It's a PT LE 7.4

[smurfyou]

We know how picky Pro Tools can be about importing an OMF, but I find Nuendo to be less than reliable on the exporting side...

If you still have trouble I could try AVTransfer for you.

[juniorhifikit]

I had a similar problem, and solved it by passing through Logic first

The sessions that were 32 bit in cubase were a no-go and had to be consolidated and exported as wav files

[anguswoodhead]

Originally Posted by Andrew Mottl

But they do work if you know what to look out for :-) (most of the time...)
I don't know Cubase's OMF menu (only Nuendo's)... what version are you on?

Try: Disabling "export clip names", disable "quantize to frames"
Do you have stereo tracks/files in your cubase session? Omf supports stereo, but ProTools doesn't.
You might want to try AAF too (do you have this in Cubase?), (and might want to make sure all your files are WAV and not AIFF (Apple changed the AIFF standard and they are sometimes misinterpreted by applications, resulting in digital white noise with the original signal barely audible).)
Also, ProTools doesn't support mixed bit depths, so make sure all files are 16 or better 24 bit (you can do this in the audio pool).

Hope this helps!

Thought I would bump this thread.
Been tearing my hair out trying to convert Cubase 5 projects to Pro Tools 8.
This post got me going - thanks.
No good with stereo files though.
Just need to work out how to convert stereo files to 2 x mono files in Cubase and I will be 'cooking with gas.'

[Andrew Mottl]

Hey there,

glad it helped!
Nuendo 5 allows for conversion of stereo tracks and files to dual-mono (and back), but Cubase 5 I take it doesn't.

However, you might want to export the tracks, or re-record them as two mono tracks in cubase itself, and use those for the export.

[Matti]

[QUOTE=
No good with stereo files though.
Just need to work out how to convert stereo files to 2 x mono files in Cubase and I will be 'cooking with gas.'
[/QUOTE]

This what you need and free Wave Agent | Sound Devices, LLC

Matti

[Jesse Peterson]

I just picked up nuendo 5 too

"convert tracks" to dual mono. You get the option to delete, mute the original stereo track and the new mono tracks that are created are auto named, maintain fades and xfades, and maintain plug in settings, routing, automation etc...

this process also works in reverse

[anguswoodhead]

Originally Posted by Jesse Peterson

I just picked up nuendo 5 too

"convert tracks" to dual mono. You get the option to delete, mute the original stereo track and the new mono tracks that are created are auto named, maintain fades and xfades, and maintain plug in settings, routing, automation etc...

this process also works in reverse

Doesn't seem to work with Cubase 5.

[Matti]

Hmm...

Matti

[anguswoodhead]

That's Audio Mixdown - I think Jesse is talking about the 'Convert Files' (under the Media tab) which does nothing on my version of Cubase 5.
I am currently using the Audio Mixdown feature and it's working fine but if there is a faster / better option....

[anguswoodhead]

[top]OMF

OMF (Open Media Framework) is probably the most common project interchange format as it is supported by most video applications and is able to store video related data as essence data, but if you use it as an exchange format for audio applications, it can only store audio data. There are two versions of the OMF format (v.1 v.2). OMF v.2 has an additional feature set for audio which allows you to store basic automation and clip data.
OMF can reference its containing media data (external mode) or embed it (internal mode).

Supported audio format:
OMF supports WAV and AIFF files. SD2 files can only be used in external mode on MAC OS. Sample Rates are supported from 44056 Hz to 96000 Hz. Bit depth can be 8,16 and 24 bits.

Recommendation:
If you are exporting an OMF file for further use in ProTools, make sure you don´t check the "export clip-name" option (OMF 2.0 option). ProTools will not be able to open OMF files with stored clip names. You should also make sure that you split all stereo tracks because they will be imported mono in ProTools.
If you are exporting OMF for further use in Soundtrack Pro 2 (Logic Studio/Final Cut Studio), we recommend not using any additional OMF 2.0 option available in Nuendo/Cubase.

Stereo files can also be a problem with some other applications. If you are exporting an OMF file that contains stereo files, make sure that the next application in the workflow is able to read OMF files with included stereo files.
Muted files are not transfered with the OMF. If you want to keep these files, please un-mute all events you want to keep. You can program a project logical-editor rule for that reason.

To guarantee the best compatibility we recommend embedding the media data . Especially if you are switching the operating systems from Windows to MAC OS because file paths could be interpreted wrongly. You don´t need to embed media data if you stay on the same OS and use the same application. If you choose external mode, we recommend keeping all files in one folder with the OMF file.