T2i footage lags and freezes

[Oliver Darden]

I work often in Final Cut with Pro Res files and have absolutely no problems or slowdowns. However, when I try to work with the 1080/24fps .mov files from my Canon T2i DSLR, Final Cut lags and freezes during playback. I'm working on a 20" iMac with 2.66 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo and 4 gigs of ram.

Any suggestions?

[Perrone Ford]

Convert it to ProRes. It will look better and work better.

[Joel Peregrine]

Hi Oliver,

The .mov H.264 codec files from the T2i are very compressed - the processor has to work very hard to decode them for playback. Converting to ProRes makes the file size larger, but the processor hardly has to work at all to play them back. If you have FCS 3 ProRes (LT) is a good choice.

Originally Posted by Oliver Darden

I work often in Final Cut with Pro Res files and have absolutely no problems or slowdowns. However, when I try to work with the 1080/24fps .mov files from my Canon T2i DSLR, Final Cut lags and freezes during playback. I'm working on a 20" iMac with 2.66 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo and 4 gigs of ram.

Any suggestions?

[Oliver Darden]

So just drop the .mov file into the FCP timeline and do the following?
- export / using quicktime conversion / options / settings / compression type (choose ProRes 442)?

Thanks for the quick response guys.
O.D.

[Matt Davis]

Or use Compressor (do the batch overnight), or MPEG StreamClip (geekier tool, quicker, more flexible but interface and process may seem a bit overwhelming the first time you try it).

I use MPEG StreamClip pretty much exclusively, mainly because of its speed without drop in quality and that I can be encoding and editing at the same time.

Squared 5 - MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac and Windows

[Terry Lee]

What about with PC using CS4?

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

What about with PC using CS4?

Same thing. CS5 can manage to play some 5D/7D footage if the machine is up to spec, but even with that, transcoding is still a better option.

[Oliver Darden]

Got it.

Thanks for all the help!

[Terry Lee]

Ok, well I guess im a little confused cause I thought ProRes was something just for Mac...

What do I need to do?

Thanks alot for your time!!

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

Ok, well I guess im a little confused cause I thought ProRes was something just for Mac...

What do I need to do?

Thanks alot for your time!!

ProRes can only be created on a Mac. So you need to transcode to another codec. My top two choices are:

1. Matrox VfW codec. Free, i-frame only, and very good.
2. Avid's DNxHD. Free, uses compression similar to ProRes, but can be use on Mac or PC equally.

The DNxHD codec is a bit more friendly to use but writes to a .MOV container. That can be problematic in certain cases. I've used both of these and they are both excellent.

[George Angeludis]

DNxHD 120 which I use holds 550D's footage excellent.

[Terry Lee]

Alright great!

How can I acquire the DNxHD?

and my footage is already in .MOV from the T2i...


Little new to the compression mechanics so I will have some questions.

thanks for the help!

[Gerry Gallegos]

Im using vegas pro 8 , i got streamclip, down loaded the avid DNxHD codec. however after exporting movie from stream clip i get the file and ad to time line in vegas but i only get the audio with black screen..
What am I doing wrong?
how can correct this?

Thanks in advance

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Gerry Gallegos

Im using vegas pro 8 , i got streamclip, down loaded the avid DNxHD codec. however after exporting movie from stream clip i get the file and ad to time line in vegas but i only get the audio with black screen..
What am I doing wrong?
how can correct this?

Thanks in advance

Install Quicktime version 7.6.2 (Do not install a NEW version of quicktime)

That should solve your problem.

[Gerry Gallegos]

Many thanks...

Worked like a charm.

GG