NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2003

Michiel van der Zeeuw · October 27th, 2003, 11:06 AM

Hello

I'm having a problem that I've seen a lot of discussion on, both on this and other boards: titles in FCP look fine until rendered, then a lots of rough edges appear (both on desktop and external video monitor).

I've been playing around with render settings, the effect settings (font Helvetica, outline text, opacity 90%, changing edge values etc etc) even made my titles in after effects, but the problem remained. I then figured out that even if AE titles have this problem, it must have to do with the way FCP renders these files and then found that the only thing that seems to improve the rendered titles is changing the compression settings of the entire sequence from DV PAL to uncompressed! Obviously, this is not my favorite option because it'll mean I have to render the entire sequence before mastering to tape!

Any advice greatly appreciated!

FCP 4, G4 Powerbook 1 Ghz, 1 GB memory

Michiel van der Zeeuw
Amsterdam, NL

Michiel van der Zeeuw · October 27th, 2003, 11:07 AM

PS Boris Calliigrahpy also doesn't solve the problem
Michiel

John Locke · October 27th, 2003, 11:09 AM

Michiel,

I had the same problem until I bought the "Text Collection" plugin from http://www.chv-plugins.com. It creates beautiful text (but the render times can be pretty long).

One word of warning...this plugin has been updated for FCP 4 but is still buggy. You might want to wait a bit longer, if you think you might want to buy it.

Ted Springer · October 27th, 2003, 01:05 PM

10.3 promised to fix a bunch of issues. Did it? I haven't heard from anybody using it on this forum yet except "Be careful you don't cripple everything when you install" default folder buzz. Did 10.3 make the G5's run like a dream? How does Final Cut Pro 4 work with 10.3? Did 10.3 fix Quicktime 6.4? Does 10.3 make regular G4's faster?

10.3 looks awesome but I want to know how it performs in real life. Of course Apple will say it's great. Maybe I should wait for 10.5 because it will be way better anyway. :)

Jeff Donald · October 27th, 2003, 01:43 PM

The school I teach at nor I, have G5's so I can't help there. But the 3 G4's I've installed on all seem snappier. By that I mean windows open faster, redraws seem faster. Feels like when you get your car tuned up. It feels faster. The most noticeable improvement is on my wife's G4 iMac (flat screen).

Heath McKnight · October 27th, 2003, 07:30 PM

Will Final Cut Pro 3 run on Panther? I have a G5, but I'm awaiting my $20 Panther upgrade. Any idea if it will run FCP 3?

heath

Heath McKnight · October 27th, 2003, 07:35 PM

Called an Apple store and got this:

Just an FYI to us FCP 3 users awaiting Panther to come in the mail (or just me). No need to upgrade to FCP 4 to enjoy it!

heath

Boyd Ostroff · October 27th, 2003, 08:11 PM

This sounds good Heath. My copy arrived, but is still sitting in its Fedex envelope while I muster up the courage to install! ;-)

Heath McKnight · October 27th, 2003, 08:28 PM

I keep hearing there are certain ways to install it. For some unknown reason, I can't seem to find my original G5 install disks. I hope my roommate (or I) didn't lose them...

heath

Duane Martin · October 27th, 2003, 08:41 PM

I have opened FCP 3.0.4 in Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) with the latest QuickTime 6.4 update and it seems to be working fine. I, needless to say, have not completed a project in it (currently using FCP 4.0.2) but initial tests seem positive.

Oh, and my old QPS 80GB Firewire drive is still a piece of crap after the Panther installation, but it is a working piece of crap. I did follow the rule of ejecting and disconnecting my Firewire drive before Upgrading to Panther. I normally do a clean install, but was feeling adventerous/lucky/lazy and seem to have gotten away with it.

So far...

John Locke · October 28th, 2003, 02:21 AM

I'm about to send some cash to my sister in the States so she can pick up the new OSX system, but before I send it, I wondered if anyone can tell me if the "i" programs are included in that (iMovie, iPhoto, etc.)...or whether I need to also get the iLife CD for those?

Also, is it worth it to get iLife? Are there lots of extra templates and stuff on the CD that you don't get with the downloaded versions? If you don't get any extras, or the ones you get are lame, I'll just forget it and use the download versions.

Peter Wiley · October 28th, 2003, 06:39 AM

I just installed the Panther upgrade and all the iLife stuff was upgraded/installed.

Jeff Donald · October 28th, 2003, 06:47 AM

iDVD is not included. It would be only on the iLife disk and not Panther. John, if your sister has kids you may want to remind her of the education discount. I got my copy of Panther for $70.

Graeme Nattress · October 28th, 2003, 07:32 AM

I've just released Film Effects for FCP, a 24p (3:2 pulldown)/ 25p plugin set with lots of film presets, all manner of options for changing the frame rate, intelligent DV chroma-upsampler, smart de-interlacer etc.
You can read more on my web site

www.nattress.com

Thanks,

Graeme

Peter Wiley · October 28th, 2003, 08:02 AM

Jeff is quite right -- my mistake.

October 27th, 2003, 11:06 AM	#1231
Michiel van der Zeeuw Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 27	rough edges in FCP titles Hello I'm having a problem that I've seen a lot of discussion on, both on this and other boards: titles in FCP look fine until rendered, then a lots of rough edges appear (both on desktop and external video monitor). I've been playing around with render settings, the effect settings (font Helvetica, outline text, opacity 90%, changing edge values etc etc) even made my titles in after effects, but the problem remained. I then figured out that even if AE titles have this problem, it must have to do with the way FCP renders these files and then found that the only thing that seems to improve the rendered titles is changing the compression settings of the entire sequence from DV PAL to uncompressed! Obviously, this is not my favorite option because it'll mean I have to render the entire sequence before mastering to tape! Any advice greatly appreciated! FCP 4, G4 Powerbook 1 Ghz, 1 GB memory Michiel van der Zeeuw Amsterdam, NL

October 27th, 2003, 11:09 AM	#1233
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Michiel, I had the same problem until I bought the "Text Collection" plugin from http://www.chv-plugins.com. It creates beautiful text (but the render times can be pretty long). One word of warning...this plugin has been updated for FCP 4 but is still buggy. You might want to wait a bit longer, if you think you might want to buy it. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

October 27th, 2003, 01:05 PM	#1234
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	Did 10.3 Panther fix everything? 10.3 promised to fix a bunch of issues. Did it? I haven't heard from anybody using it on this forum yet except "Be careful you don't cripple everything when you install" default folder buzz. Did 10.3 make the G5's run like a dream? How does Final Cut Pro 4 work with 10.3? Did 10.3 fix Quicktime 6.4? Does 10.3 make regular G4's faster? 10.3 looks awesome but I want to know how it performs in real life. Of course Apple will say it's great. Maybe I should wait for 10.5 because it will be way better anyway. :)

October 27th, 2003, 01:43 PM	#1235
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The school I teach at nor I, have G5's so I can't help there. But the 3 G4's I've installed on all seem snappier. By that I mean windows open faster, redraws seem faster. Feels like when you get your car tuned up. It feels faster. The most noticeable improvement is on my wife's G4 iMac (flat screen). __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

October 27th, 2003, 07:30 PM	#1236
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Will FCP 3 run on Panther? Will Final Cut Pro 3 run on Panther? I have a G5, but I'm awaiting my $20 Panther upgrade. Any idea if it will run FCP 3? heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

October 27th, 2003, 11:07 AM	#1232
Michiel van der Zeeuw Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 27	PS Boris Calliigrahpy also doesn't solve the problem Michiel

October 27th, 2003, 07:35 PM	#1237
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Called an Apple store and got this: Just an FYI to us FCP 3 users awaiting Panther to come in the mail (or just me). No need to upgrade to FCP 4 to enjoy it! heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

October 27th, 2003, 08:11 PM	#1238
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	This sounds good Heath. My copy arrived, but is still sitting in its Fedex envelope while I muster up the courage to install! ;-)

October 27th, 2003, 08:28 PM	#1239
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	I keep hearing there are certain ways to install it. For some unknown reason, I can't seem to find my original G5 install disks. I hope my roommate (or I) didn't lose them... heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

October 27th, 2003, 08:41 PM	#1240
Duane Martin Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 41	I have opened FCP 3.0.4 in Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) with the latest QuickTime 6.4 update and it seems to be working fine. I, needless to say, have not completed a project in it (currently using FCP 4.0.2) but initial tests seem positive. Oh, and my old QPS 80GB Firewire drive is still a piece of crap after the Panther installation, but it is a working piece of crap. I did follow the rule of ejecting and disconnecting my Firewire drive before Upgrading to Panther. I normally do a clean install, but was feeling adventerous/lucky/lazy and seem to have gotten away with it. So far... __________________ Duane E. Martin Earth to Sky Productions Apple Certified Trainer - FCP

October 28th, 2003, 02:21 AM	#1241
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	OSX pre-order info I'm about to send some cash to my sister in the States so she can pick up the new OSX system, but before I send it, I wondered if anyone can tell me if the "i" programs are included in that (iMovie, iPhoto, etc.)...or whether I need to also get the iLife CD for those? Also, is it worth it to get iLife? Are there lots of extra templates and stuff on the CD that you don't get with the downloaded versions? If you don't get any extras, or the ones you get are lame, I'll just forget it and use the download versions. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

October 28th, 2003, 06:39 AM	#1242
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	I just installed the Panther upgrade and all the iLife stuff was upgraded/installed.

October 28th, 2003, 06:47 AM	#1243
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	iDVD is not included. It would be only on the iLife disk and not Panther. John, if your sister has kids you may want to remind her of the education discount. I got my copy of Panther for $70. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

October 28th, 2003, 07:32 AM	#1244
Graeme Nattress RED Problem Solver Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 1,365	Film Effects for FCP I've just released Film Effects for FCP, a 24p (3:2 pulldown)/ 25p plugin set with lots of film presets, all manner of options for changing the frame rate, intelligent DV chroma-upsampler, smart de-interlacer etc. You can read more on my web site www.nattress.com Thanks, Graeme __________________ www.nattress.com - filters for FCP

October 28th, 2003, 08:02 AM	#1245
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	oops Jeff is quite right -- my mistake.