Hi All,

Does anyone know where the transport stream gets cached when FCP5 does an print to video from a native HDV timeline? The machine I'm using has no RT extreme capability so I cannot use print to video to record back to HDV tape via Firewire.

I've used the the iMovie workaround, i.e. dropping an exported AIC .mov into an iMovie project, exporting to HDV tape from there, but iMovie drops frames and of course using an intermediate means it passes through an extra compression phase. I pinched the HDV transport stream from the iMovie cache, renamed the extension to .mpv to .m2t and recorded to tape using Vitual DVHS without a problem, however I would like to skip the extra compression to AIC, so...

I wondered, FCP must be rendering a transport stream somewhere that is HDV compliant, as iMovie does, before it refuses to export (it spends 3-4 hours rendering of video 10 minutes) so where can I find it? And is it usable by VirtualDVHS to lay back via firewire.

I'm working on University Machines with FCP, so upgrading fiddling with the computer or software to get all in one print to video support isn't an option.

simplest would be to Export > Quicktime Movie w/Current Settings (and Make Movie Self-Contained) ... that would be the same


alternatively enable "Full" under the Sequence > Render Selected menu, then "Conforming" message as a single HDV file render is built (which will be used for the PTV after the fact)

Thanks Andy, but I realised I didn't make it clear in my original post. (I've edited it to reflect my needs!) I want to record back to HDV tape and the set up I have access too isn't up to the job on FCP alone, hence a workaround.

I don't want a Quicktime file, as I can't get that onto tape in anyway - the only way such a thing would be of any use would be to re-import it to FCP and print to video from there. which takes me back to square one. (and I can't get Compressor to create a HDV compliant TS, it always wants to make a VBR stream where HDV HAS to be CBR).

I can't use FCP to get the footage onto tape, iMovie or VirtualDVHS are my options, so I need a transport stream.

now I'm with you ... but no, i'm sorry I don't know exactly where the file is cached ... probably somewhere in the /tmp directory or simiiar though

Well, I have found that it seems to be saved as a quicktime movie in the "Render Files" folder anyway.

Obviously RT extreme is needed to send it through as a transport stream somehow.

Have resorted to rendering a uncompressed 4:2:2 movie and dropping it inside an iMovie project - seems to work, quality is improved, but it's SLOW!