Importing PC avi or mpg2 into Final Cut 4

[Jon Omiatek]

I am new to final cut and I am transitioning from PC to MAC. Are all my old MPG2 and AVI files useless now? If I import a mpg2 into finalcut, I lose the audio. I can't even import uncompressed AVI files.

Any ideas, it making me not want to switch.

Is my best way to send my uncompress AVI files back to tape and recapture as MOV?

Thanks

[Jon Omiatek]

Originally Posted by Rob Lohman

Anyone can help Jon?

I figured it out... I have the mpg2 files but final cut only sees the video. I had to encode the audio as an aiff file. I then imported both the mpg2 and aiff, then I can edit again. I use Vegas, as well and it accepts all file types. This client wants it edited with final cut, so I am learning it.

I just wish it would accept AVI files instead of MOV only. Its a real pain to convert it to MPG2 and AIFF files.

If anyone has a better way, please let me know.

Thanks

[Rob Lohman]

Why not simply convert it to (uncompressed?) MOV? Vegas supports that
(as long as you have QuickTime + authoring components [seperate option
during install] installed).

[Jon Omiatek]

Originally Posted by Rob Lohman

Why not simply convert it to (uncompressed?) MOV? Vegas supports that
(as long as you have QuickTime + authoring components [seperate option
during install] installed).

I have quicktime 6.5 and I tried converting but he MOV files are 5 times or more the size of a avi file, which are very large as is. Unless I am doing something wrong. I render as default template as mov and the mov file was too big. I think I had a 33 min clip and it wouldn't fit on 65gb of available hd space.

Jon

[Rob Lohman]

You exported to an uncompressed MOV. As with AVI you need to select a
codec (either from the pulldown under templates or under the advanced
settings).

Almost NO fileformat (with the partial exception of MPEG1 & 2) knows ANY-
THING about how to compress a file! These are CONTAINER format to store
data. How you store it is UP TO YOU!

That's why we call DV AVI the way we do, instead of plain AVI. DV is the
codec in this instance. As with AVI, QuickTime needs codecs as well. DV is
also a codec that QuickTime knows (make sure you match interlaced/progressive)
and there are a lot other lossy forms like sorenson.

DV is a lossy (you loose information) codec as well with a compression ratio
of 5:1, that's why if you go to uncompressed your files grow 5 times.