FCS2 edit almost ended: To update or not to update? at DVinfo.net

Abraham Lim · December 3rd, 2008, 08:39 AM

Hey David I'm close to the end of my feature film cut and I have some key questions.
As you know, I captured all my footage for my film through HDMI to a capture PC using Neo HD. I captured 10bit 1920x1080 qt movies and used FCS2 to edit. Now that I am ready to export to Color, I need to know best way to render out Apple Pro Res 422HQ files. For the DVD I just took the native CFHD sequences and used "export quicktime movie" to 422HQ. Is this correct or should I copy all CFHD clips to a 422HQ timeline and then render?

For exporting to Color, I was thinking of also using media manager function to recompress all clips in timeline into new copy of project creating 422HQ copies of all clips. This way I keep individual clips with one second handles so I don't have to manually split a long QT movie into the individual clips so color sees them all as individual shots.

And finally, I have refrained from updating my neo mac install mainly because I don't want to screw up my setup in the middle of a feature film edit. But is there any benefit for me to update? Another reason is I am having the same problem with the authorization that many people here are reporting as well, and even with support sending me the LicenseRT fix, it has gone back on occasion to it's watermark ways. I updated sometime in September, but I don't know how to check my build version.

Finally should I use 32bit floating point for my final render output from Color? Or should I stay in 10bit mode with CFHD?

Thanks for your help throughout the shoot and the film should be finished by January if I can lock these answers down.

David Newman · December 3rd, 2008, 12:13 PM

Our lead Mac engineer (Craig Davidson) hasn't got DVInfo.net access yet (Chris, what's up?) so I will do my best with Craig's Help.

It makes no difference whether the timeline is a ProResHQ or CF when you export to QT movie. FCS will re-render everything and requests the r4fl pixel format (32-bit bit float precision.) Use the 32-bit mode for everything in FCP.

The newer updates are faster, but it everything is work fine, you could hold off. We are seeing some activation problems, but not with everyone, we're looking into that.

Abraham Lim · December 3rd, 2008, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the quick reply David. I was also wondering, is the Mac Neo HD a stand alone program now? Or since I bought Neo HD Windows can I just download the Mac version? In simple terms, do I have to pay for a whole new version?

December 3rd, 2008, 08:39 AM	#1
Abraham Lim New Boot Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Los Angeles, S.Korea Posts: 18	FCS2 edit almost ended: To update or not to update? Hey David I'm close to the end of my feature film cut and I have some key questions. As you know, I captured all my footage for my film through HDMI to a capture PC using Neo HD. I captured 10bit 1920x1080 qt movies and used FCS2 to edit. Now that I am ready to export to Color, I need to know best way to render out Apple Pro Res 422HQ files. For the DVD I just took the native CFHD sequences and used "export quicktime movie" to 422HQ. Is this correct or should I copy all CFHD clips to a 422HQ timeline and then render? For exporting to Color, I was thinking of also using media manager function to recompress all clips in timeline into new copy of project creating 422HQ copies of all clips. This way I keep individual clips with one second handles so I don't have to manually split a long QT movie into the individual clips so color sees them all as individual shots. And finally, I have refrained from updating my neo mac install mainly because I don't want to screw up my setup in the middle of a feature film edit. But is there any benefit for me to update? Another reason is I am having the same problem with the authorization that many people here are reporting as well, and even with support sending me the LicenseRT fix, it has gone back on occasion to it's watermark ways. I updated sometime in September, but I don't know how to check my build version. Finally should I use 32bit floating point for my final render output from Color? Or should I stay in 10bit mode with CFHD? Thanks for your help throughout the shoot and the film should be finished by January if I can lock these answers down.

December 3rd, 2008, 12:13 PM	#2
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Our lead Mac engineer (Craig Davidson) hasn't got DVInfo.net access yet (Chris, what's up?) so I will do my best with Craig's Help. It makes no difference whether the timeline is a ProResHQ or CF when you export to QT movie. FCS will re-render everything and requests the r4fl pixel format (32-bit bit float precision.) Use the 32-bit mode for everything in FCP. The newer updates are faster, but it everything is work fine, you could hold off. We are seeing some activation problems, but not with everyone, we're looking into that. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

December 3rd, 2008, 04:46 PM	#3
Abraham Lim New Boot Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Los Angeles, S.Korea Posts: 18	Mac Neo Thanks for the quick reply David. I was also wondering, is the Mac Neo HD a stand alone program now? Or since I bought Neo HD Windows can I just download the Mac version? In simple terms, do I have to pay for a whole new version?