AAF - Features Request

Nuendo
1

Import - with errors

Give the option to import even with some errors rather than just having the import just fail. Without this option the first solution is to go back to the source of the AAF, a video editor usually, and then have them do more work to get us a workable AAF. The problem with that is that we are viewed as the problem because people using Pro Tools often don’t have the same specific problems that we do. The other way to get around it is to simply rent Pro Tools alongside Nuendo, as I am doing. Notes on this:

  • These imports should list the errors in a marker track that identifies which error is making the correct import fail. If not a marker track at least a .txt with timecodes. This would allow us to just import and troubleshoot later.

Import - without rendered effects.

In Nuendo the effects seem to get rendered which means we are stuck with them and lose handles, whereas in Pro Tools we can choose to not import with effects and thus get the ‘clean’ audio. For example: problems with static noise in LAV mic is sometimes “solved” during the edit process by the editor applying a steep high-cut filter. That then gets baked into the files so now everything lacks high end content and the only way for us to access that is to import into PT and re-export from there.

Import - muted events/clips (as muted).

Import audio files for selected tracks only.

Currently, selecting just one track in the import dialog still imports all audio files for all tracks into the audio files folder. In fact, selecting none of the tracks and clicking “ok” still imports all audio files while placing none of them on tracks. Completely unnecessary and a waste of disk space.

Import “.L” and “.R” to stereo interleaved as preference, in order to skip having to “convert tracks.

Sample rate convert files that do not conform to the project sample rate.

If the AAF import is smart enough to detect multiple sample rates, just have Nuendo convert on import to conform to the project. Do not allow import without conversion as this can result in files playing back at the wrong speed and we then miss that error (yes, that happened).

And finally;

  • Improved import of video tracks (from other user)

  • Improved import of mxf meta data (from other user)

  • Export muted events (from other user)

In my opinion step one in post is importing files in order to actually have something to work on. I think most of us that want improved import understand that there is a standard and that Steinberg most likely is following it, but please also understand that Avid doesn’t care, nor do those of us that use Pro Tools, and most definitely our clients couldn’t care less. In 2025 we’re just expected to make sure things work and in a lot of the market segments that are not full blown movie productions the deadlines and budgets don’t allow for telling people to fix things on their end, and it is becoming increasingly frustrating having to rely on a 3rd party solution in order to just start working.

If any of the above has been improved and I missed it please let me know.

9 Likes
2

yep. and i hope steinberg realizes that this is not some “feature request” for the sake of “lets have something new”.

nuendo’s main rival has this tools as long as i can remember, and NLE world is pushing forward with stuff that nuendo has trouble keeping pace with.

it has been discussed here on forum that some companies “broke” the aaf protocol, and that is maybe thrue. but did the realy “broke” it, or did they “augment” it - that is for another discussion.

all i know is that nuendo is far behind its main rival (PT) when it comes to aaf.

1 Like
3

yeah definitely nice ones. All great suggestions. Only one that I’ve not seen is getting files with rendered effects built in and needed to import into Pro tools - dam workflow killer there. I usually request that they turn those setting off at the source in Premiere & Davinci, rarely get from media composer.

Also for us since the AAF’s are coming alot from Adobe Premiere and often the editors may not follow our guide properly - we lose so much metadata that using alternative methods is usually mandatory anyways to build a new assembly from - also using XML’s EDLS at times.

For me I wish Premiere would do a better job at retaining metadata (instead of needing a bunch of workarounds) also to make the third party conforms a better process or to actually be able to use AAF directly> I’m talking more for long form projects. Sometimes with short form we just run with the AAF.

1 Like
4

I usually request that as well, but it depends on the job and the client. 90% of the time it’s no problem.

Definitely there is a knowledge deficit among editors, and NLEs need some serious work on their export functionality as well. We’re probably not far away from the Avid ecosystem being fully integrated anyway, where Avid→ PT will be pretty much seamless. For those of us that are “DAW-bilingual” it’ll be hard to not stay in PT at that point.

5

i think this is indeed what will happen. If has finally gotten their sh!t together it will be a no brainer for post houses. A back and forth (ping pong) between editorial and post audio will be fluid and easier than ever. They will have to make MediaComposer (‘the Avid’) more accessible for that.

That way Nuendo would be left with Premiere and other NLE’s for smaller projects: struggling to import session data. Which is not always a problem on small scale stuff with easy dialogue edits and little need for other set sound (so interviews/animation/shorts). But as soon as you need more control, we currently in a ‘not so good’ place with Nuendo.

As much as I love nuendo, on bigger project i would have to jump to PT.. not a fan but i need my starting position to be solid not hampered by technicalities.

Please focus on this SB!

1 Like
6

I think they added the ability to export “.ptx” files over a year ago, but from what I read a lot of editorial places still had many edit bays on earlier versions of Media Composer and just couldn’t upgrade their entire facility at once. So there’s a lag there because of this slow adoption rate. It’ll come though.

And to me this really is a bit of death by a thousand cuts, even though it’s obviously far fewer than a thousand.

I’m just looking at this from my clients’ perspective where me not doing something that others can do is simply producing a “but why?” in their heads. 99% of the time they literally don’t care what DAW I’m using and I only ever deliver PT sessions with rendered stems, no mix files. So to them it’s transparent. But if I have to ask for new AAFs, or if I end up with a file that plays back at the wrong speed, if I ask for alts for words during the dialog edit… all because Nuendo is behind on AAF import and dialog transcription etc. then at some point they will view me as the problem. They don’t want to babysit. They want to just deliver the same way they deliver to everyone that’s on PT and then get a great mix back.

Like I said in another thread, we keep asking for things and it’s like you’re standing at a tall mountain and speaking into an empty ravine. I have zero sense of Steinberg’s direction for audio-post. Zero.

1 Like