Apple Motion 4 - Manual (Page 195)

Output Pane
The Output Preferences pane tells Motion to render the contents of the Canvas out to a
video deck or monitor connected to your computer via FireWire or another port. This
pane has one category of settings: External Video.
To view Motion video output on a computer display connected to your computer
1 Choose Motion > Preferences.
2 In the Output pane, choose one of the display options from the Video Output pop-up
menu.
Video Output in Motion
If you’re creating work that is intended to be viewed on a TV monitor (such as broadcast
design or DVD menus), it’s imperative that you see your design on such a monitor before
finalizing your Motion project. While you can do a great deal of layout and color
adjustments on your computer screen, you might be surprised how different things
may look when they appear on a TV screen.
First, whether you’re working in NTSC (the American and Japanese TV standard) or
PAL/SECAM (the European TV standard), colors are going to look quite different from
the way they look on your computer monitor. (NTSC has been affectionately referred
to as “Never Twice the Same Color.”)
Furthermore, TV signals are interlaced, meaning that the vertical resolution is cut in half
and displayed at twice the rate. This can mean that thin horizontal lines in your design
(such as font serifs) may buzz or flicker when played back on a TV screen.
Fortunately, Motion allows you to view the contents of your Canvas directly on a TV
monitor that is connected to your computer. You can connect a monitor to your
computer using a FireWire device such as a DV camcorder or deck, or by using a third
party video capture card. For accurate results, you should use a professional-grade
monitor with calibration controls.
External Video
These settings in the Output Preferences pane control how Motion plays your project
directly to a video deck or monitor connected to your computer.
195 Chapter 5 Preferences