Apart from its extensive audio features, Vienna Ensemble Pro 8V also integrates VSL’s new Vienna Video Pro plugin, enabling you to insert video project channels, which you can use to synchronize music and film. Vienna Video Pro extends your setup with smooth, GPU-accelerated video streaming on remote machines, complete with timelines, markers, and flexible sync options. Whether you’re working on a single system or across complex multi-computer studios, Vienna Ensemble Pro 8V keeps your entire creative workflow perfectly in sync. Here’s the specifications in a nutshell:
Stream video and audio playback directly through Vienna Ensemble Pro 8V (also from remote machines) to free up your DAW machine’s CPU
Fluid, GPU-accelerated performance with thumbnails and audio waveforms generated in real time.
Support for multiple timelines, each with its own frame rate.
Add streamers and markers directly within the timeline for precise scoring cues.
Sync to host application or play independently in free render.
Convenient video export option – multiple resolutions and bitrates, H264 container, mp4. Keep working during export.
Load/save complete video projects within Video Pro.
Extremely low CPU impact – heavy processing is done on the GPU.
Option to delay video audio playback for perfect sync with picture.
Timeline timecode offset support, including negative values for full compatibility with Cubase and other DAWs.
Blackmagic Design support.
MMC/MTC support.
Supports virtually all common video formats.
The video channel window will open detached from the main VE Pro window:
In the upper menu bar, you can create a new video project (.vpro), open or save it. Here you’ll also find the undo and redo buttons.
The panel under the menu bar lists information according to your selection in the second button bar underneath, where you can select Timelines, Media, Settings, Exports, and Shortcuts.
The timeline pane displays a list of the video’s existing timelines with their regions (video files or parts thereof) and events (markers and streamers). Click on a timeline to display its contents, and on an entry to select it in the active timeline itself.
Timeline entries display framerate and timeline offset. Event entries in a timeline show their start point and end point for videos and markers.
Double-click an element inside the timeline list to move the playhead position to the start of that element. This works if unsynced. Single-clicking an element selects it on the timeline. Moreover, you can navigate quickly between these elements using the up and down arrow keys.
The little icon in the lower left corner of a timeline entry serves to display or hide the contained items.
Click on “–” on the right side of a region or event entry to remove it from the timeline.
Add a new timeline by clicking “+” at the bottom right corner of the timeline pane.
The media pane shows a list of the project’s video clips with information on their resolution, duration, and framerate.
Click on “–” on the right side of a media entry to remove it from the timeline. If a medium is in use in the timeline, you will be asked whether you really want to remove it.
The Settings pane has two tabs named General settings and Devices.
General:
Default streamer length: choose a value from 1 to 5 seconds.
Default marker length: choose a value from 1 to 5 seconds.
Decoding mode: set to hardware (default) or software. For the change to take effect, you'll have to close the video window and reopen it.
Mute audio from Video Pro plug-in in DAW exports: if this box is checked, the Video Pro plug-in's audio tracks will not be included when rendering audio in your DAW / host application. If you change this option, restart the host application to take effect.
Always keep Poput Window on Top: if activated, the video player display will stay on top. Here, too, if the Poput Window is open you'll have to close and reopen it to take effect.
Devices:
MMC Output: defines an output for MIDI Machine Control (transport information being sent to your DAW)
MTC Input: defines an input for MIDI Time Control (time code being received from your DAW)
Connected Blackmagic devices: lists devices based on Blackmagic technology.
To make the Space Bar and synchronisation work with your DAW, you need to use virtual MIDI ports to establish communication between the DAW and the video plugin.
Mac uses the IAC Bus as a built-in MIDI port, which you can find in the app Audio MIDI Setup.
IAC stands for Inter Application Communication.
Launch Audio MIDI Setup > go to Window > Show MIDI Studio
In the MIDI Studio, select IAC Driver and set your Device name
Tick Device is online, and click the + button to add it to the list of Ports.
Windows doesn't have a built-in application for creating virtual MIDI ports, but you can use the free LoopMIDI software (click here to download).
Launch the LoopMIDI application
At the bottom, set your port name
Click the + button to add it to the list of Ports.
After setting up virtual MIDI ports on Mac or Windows, go to the Settings in your Video Pro Plug-in, and assign your created MIDI port as needed.
Finally, follow the chapters below for synchronization instructions specific to your DAW.
In Logic Pro's Project Settings, under Synchronization / MIDI, make sure that "Listen to MIDI Machine Control (MMC) Input" is activated.
Also, select an IAC Driver Bus as a Destination and activate MTC (MIDI Time Control).
IMPORTANT: As these are PROJECT SETTINGS, you need to change this in every project you'd like to use MIDI Synchronisation for Video Pro.
You may want to include it in your Starter Template.
In Cubase, select Project Synchronization Setup under Transport.
In Cubase's Project Synchronisation Setup, under Destinations, make sure that your MIDI port is activated under MIDI Timecode Destinations.
Next, select Machine Control and activate MMC Slave Active (MIDI Machine Control) and set the MIDI Input to your MIDI port.
IMPORTANT: As these are PROJECT SETTINGS, you need to change this in every project you'd like to use MIDI Synchronisation for Video Pro.
You may want to include it in your Starter Template.
In Pro Tools, select Peripherals under Setup. In the Synchronization tab, select your MIDI Port as the MTC Generator Port.
Next, select the Machine Control tab and enable MIDI Machine Control Remote.
To start generating MTC, click the MTC button (it turns blue). If you don't see it, right-click on the top bar and ensure Synchronization is visible.
When you're ready to export your video, here's where you can find the means and options to do it.
Output: enter a filename here or select an existing file by clicking on the “Browse” button on the right side of the name field.
Start / End: defines the start and end times of the sequence to be rendered.
Auto set sets the start and end times to the length of the included material.
Size: select the video’s resolution up to C4K.
Quality: you can set the rendering quality in four steps – low, medium, high, and very high.
The timeline display shows the details of the selected timeline with regions, streamers, and markers.
Add Streamers and Markers by clicking on the respective "+" sign.
Check/uncheck the boxes to follow the current player position and to snap elements to boundary positions.
Zoom and Audio options:
Click on the waveform icon to zoom audio tracks vertically.
The double arrow lets you drag the timeline's horizontal zoom. Click to fit all regions.
Click the "-" sign to remove the selected audio track, and "+" to add a new one.The information area displays parameters of the selected elements:
Information about Media (video and audio files) lists their Name, Resolution, Source offset, and In and Out Points, as well as whether their region is locked or unlocked.
Streamer info lists their Name, Hit Point, and Duration. You can set a Streamer's duration to 6 lengths between 1 and 5 seconds, and you can also select colors for the Streamer itself and for the Hit Point.
Marker info shows a Marker's Name as well as In and Out Point. You can choose Marker and Text colors by clicking on the color dots.
The Player area hosts the controls for the video display above.
The link button switches Synch to Host on and off.
The four video buttons are Back to start (Home key), Rewind (Arrow left), Fast Forward (Arrow right), and Play (Space).
The Time display shows where you are at the moment in your timeline.
Set Audio Delay in milliseconds by dragging with the mouse or double-clicking to enter a value.There is a separate Audio area for each audio track.
With the Fader control, you can adjust the track's overall volume.
The "M" button mutes/unmutes that track.
Clicking on the Routing button lets you select a Bus the track's audio is directed to.
Finally, on the right side of the area, there is a volume meter.