I found out that DVCPPRO HD codec that you capture or transcoded with FCS2 (that means FCP6 and compressor 3) won't show video on FCP5 nor QTP.

What will make the FCP5 read those files?

My finding goes further, the difference between FCP5 and FCP6 was, FCP5's DVCPRO HD codec is missing 30p.

Most of the footage was shot with 1080/30p for this HD drama with HPX555, then they had some footage shot with 1080/60i with Z1, so I converted the 1080/60i footage with FCP6 and compressor 3 using the frame control down to 1080/30p. My client is working on FCP5.12 and tried to import the clips I converted for them and don't see any picture from the files on their system.

So, I opened the HDV files on FCP5.14 on my system then tried to convert to 1080/30p DVCPRO HD, then.... I don't see the selection! Didn't realize FCP5.14 did not support 1080/30p in the codec.

Then another question arise.
My client is concurrently working to capture video from DVCPRO HD deck to FCP5.12, but if they don't have 1080/30P in the codec choice then they must be capturing with 1080/60i. Would that be a problem?

I'm in PAL land, and had this problem only a few days ago - I'm running FCP6, and the client had 5.1.4

I sent him clips, and he had a grey screen when playing them.

So I copied all the DVCProHD codecs from /Library/Quicktime

(Select them all, and do a right click - Archive - to zip them, so preserving any permissions they might have)

I sent that zip to him via eMail, told him to put it in the same directory at his end, (ask him to select all his old DVCPro codecs and right click - Archive first if he's nervous)

double-click the zip to unpack

drag all the codecs from the unpacked folder to be with all the other codecs in /Library/Quicktime

relaunch QT/FCP whatever

voila...


(PS At the end of the day your life would be a lot easier if he upgraded his FCP - tell him FCP6 is really the defacto standard now for handling DVCProHD)

Hi Mike,

I wasn't going to be that brave to just copy the codecs!

Thanks! Your tip and your name will be mentioned in my articles and webcontent in Japan.

Thanks, I can't see why it won't work.

We shot DVCProHD 50i 25P on an HPX500.
Imported it in through FCP6

All ran OK on FCP5.1.4 after updating the codecs.


Just a thought for you with your 60i footage:

In PAL land we've only just had 108025P support added officially to FCP
The work around I used before was dropping 108025P footage into a 108050i timeline, with field dominence set to none.

No rendering was needed.

Thanks Mike.

What if we needed to finish in 30P timeline but some clips were captured at 60i?
The occasional drop frame would happen?

That's for you in NTSC land to answer...

I'm aware we have very easy 25/50 multiples in PAL, compared to the NTSC minefield. Why not try a clip, and atleast see if you don't have to render.

ah, okay, that is one way to look at it.

I wasn't sure in more general term that is to find out is 30p really 30 frames.
Same trick as the pull down thingies on 24 frame format on 60i.