Sony HDR-CX560 rolling shutter and 2.13 GB file size limit

[Cosmin Serban]

I have downloaded a raw MTS and M2T file shot with a Panasonic TM700 in 1920 60p. I have converted it to Apple ProRes422 with ClipWrap 2.2 and then added the converted clip to FCP 7. FCP detects it correctly, as a progressive clip with no field dominance whatsoever. To make things even easier when you drop the clip into the timeline FCP asks you if you want it to automatically determine the correct settings. You click OK and you get a 60p timeline. So this is the easiest way of handling these new 60p clips.

It should work exactly the same with 60p clips from the CX700/560. Please let me know if it does.

[Rob Ainscough]

I got a newer version of ClipWrap 2.2.4 and unfortunately that doesn't work either. But ClipWrap doesn't appear to be able to locate the same Codecs that both Toast 11 Pro and FCP 7 are able to find and use. So far Toast 11 Pro is the ONLY software I have that successfully converts the Sony .MTS 1080p 60 fps files.

[Cosmin Serban]

But what happens when you drag an MTS file to ClipWrap? Does it give you any error? It is very strange because I have no problem with ClipWrap 2.2

P.S. I have Perian installed. I have no idea but maybe this makes a difference.

[Rob Ainscough]

ClipWrap produces no errors at any point. It creates the .MOV but when I play the .MOV in QuickTime or FCP it has the audio track and just black video. It appears to have "video" but it just all black ... the reason I make the distinction is because an audio ONLY .MOV would be much smaller (file size) and would NOT cause QT to open to match video size ... audio only .MOV opens QT using small transport interface.

So there is video there and the size and fps are being reported correctly but just black video -- as if ClipWrap just generate black solid fill color for the entire footage length.

Rob

[Cosmin Serban]

Try and tell ClipWrap to convert your clips into ProRes 422. See if it works this way.

[Rob Ainscough]

Yeah, sadly I've tried all the format options and they all produced the same black video and audio only. That's why I went back to Toast 11 Pro. I'm gonna try the Sony provided software and see how that works for me and if it cures the missing frames problem when the 2.13 GB file size limit is hit and merge the files.

Rob

[Dave Blackhurst]

FWIW, the incomplete clips after the first one will typically be as you describe - black, with audio, unless properly stitched together into the complete full file. Something to do with the formatting of the subsequent clips after the first 2G segment - my suspicion is that somehow the header info from the first clip isn't there on the ones that are to be joined to the first one... until you re-connect them.

Had forgotten about this until you mentioned the black clips - you cannot simply take the "pieces" of the complete clip - somehow you MUST re-join them. Otherwise ONLY the first clip is usable,

[Rob Ainscough]

Sounds logical Dave, I was however hoping ClipWrap could figure that out especially when I tell it to join them. Anyway, will try some more tonight and see what happens.

[Colin Browell]

my suspicion is that somehow the header info from the first clip isn't there on the ones that are to be joined to the first one... until you re-connect them.

There is no header. The problem is simply that the camera splits the files at an arbitrary point which will probably be in mid frame.

All that is needed is for the split files to be binary-joined in the same order as the camera created them. On a Mac you can do this manually with the "cat" terminal command, provided you know the order of the files, and provided you only try to join files that really had been split by the camera.

[Rob Ainscough]

I'll give that a go from Terminal:

cat file1.mts >> file2.mts (appends or writes?)

might have audio synch problems using this method, but will try it

[Colin Browell]

cat file1.mts file2.mts >> joined.mts

might have audio synch problems using this method, but will try it

There should not be any audio or video sync or glitches.

Remember that the camera writes a stream of packets into an MTS file, and then decides that the existing file is full, so it just writes the next packet to the start of a new file. All you are doing with cat is joining the 2 sets of packets together exactly as they were generated in the camera. So the "joined.MTS" file should be fine. But you MUST only join files which were actually split by the camera, and ONLY in the same order.

Whether clipwrap then has a problem parsing this file (perhaps because it is 60p) is another matter entirely, but it won't necessarily mean that there is a problem with the joined.MTS file.

This current thread in the Adobe forums might also be of interest:

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/853860?tstart=0