Audio drifting with Canon XL1 at DVinfo.net

Andrew Khalil · August 15th, 2005, 01:37 AM

Hi everyone,
this is the first video I'm editing on Mac since I just switched from PC and so far Final Cut Pro 5 has been awesome.
Now for the problem: I've captured about an hour of footage with a Canon XL1 and the audio and video slowly drift out of sync. It's not too bad at first, but after about 15 minutes it gets really bad.
Thanks

Andrew Khalil · August 15th, 2005, 01:16 PM

okay, I've done a search on this forum and it seems like I'm not the only one with this problem, yet no one else has come up with a solution that works. I can't seem to locate the option to sync the clips when capturing (I believe they called it "SAM")? Where in FCP is that?
Thanks

Glenn Chan · August 15th, 2005, 06:10 PM

1- Have you tried reading the manual? It should be in there.

2- The "sync adjust movies" over __ (5?) minutes options is in one of the preferences in the top left area. Not sitting in front of a Mac so I can't say.

3- There's other ways to get audio out of sync.
timecode breaks
capture now

Andrew Khalil · August 15th, 2005, 10:06 PM

I actually did use the capture now option, so would marking the out point at the end of the tape and in at the beginning help?
Thanks for the help

Greg Boston · August 15th, 2005, 10:37 PM

Andrew,

This is a known issue with the original Canon XL-1. The problem is that the audio is slightly off the 48khz sample frequency and capturing long clips will cause the sync issue. Best way to do this is to limit the time of your individual clips to a few minutes each. This seems to be what has worked for others.

I know you said you had a lot of footage to capture but it's best to break it into smaller chunks by using the log and capture method.

-gb-

A.J. Briones · August 17th, 2005, 12:45 AM

nothing new to add here... this made my life hell when editing xl1 footage with a panny and a vx in a 3-camera shoot.

i've since moved on to 3 matching vx2100s.

Richard Alvarez · August 17th, 2005, 06:41 AM

Odd, I shot the first half of my doc with and Xl1, the second half with an Xl2. Captured whole tapes at once in both instances, never had a problem with synch. Is this strictly a FCP problem? As I edit on Avid.

Glenn Chan · August 17th, 2005, 08:25 AM

1- Turn SAM on, but don't use capture now to capture.

It may help to do an end search to find the last timecode, and then manually type in "5." for the in point (5 seconds; you may be able to reduce that if your device control settings have a lower preroll). It's hard for FCP to log&capture off the first few seconds, you you may need to grab that in another pass with capture now.

I recommend you record room tone in the first 15-30 seconds, which is a good practice anyways.

August 15th, 2005, 01:37 AM	#1
Andrew Khalil Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 424	Audio drifting with Canon XL1 Hi everyone, this is the first video I'm editing on Mac since I just switched from PC and so far Final Cut Pro 5 has been awesome. Now for the problem: I've captured about an hour of footage with a Canon XL1 and the audio and video slowly drift out of sync. It's not too bad at first, but after about 15 minutes it gets really bad. Thanks

August 15th, 2005, 01:16 PM	#2
Andrew Khalil Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 424	okay, I've done a search on this forum and it seems like I'm not the only one with this problem, yet no one else has come up with a solution that works. I can't seem to locate the option to sync the clips when capturing (I believe they called it "SAM")? Where in FCP is that? Thanks

August 15th, 2005, 06:10 PM	#3
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	1- Have you tried reading the manual? It should be in there. 2- The "sync adjust movies" over __ (5?) minutes options is in one of the preferences in the top left area. Not sitting in front of a Mac so I can't say. 3- There's other ways to get audio out of sync. timecode breaks capture now

August 15th, 2005, 10:06 PM	#4
Andrew Khalil Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 424	I actually did use the capture now option, so would marking the out point at the end of the tape and in at the beginning help? Thanks for the help

August 15th, 2005, 10:37 PM	#5
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Andrew, This is a known issue with the original Canon XL-1. The problem is that the audio is slightly off the 48khz sample frequency and capturing long clips will cause the sync issue. Best way to do this is to limit the time of your individual clips to a few minutes each. This seems to be what has worked for others. I know you said you had a lot of footage to capture but it's best to break it into smaller chunks by using the log and capture method. -gb-

August 17th, 2005, 12:45 AM	#6
A.J. Briones Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 275	nothing new to add here... this made my life hell when editing xl1 footage with a panny and a vx in a 3-camera shoot. i've since moved on to 3 matching vx2100s.

August 17th, 2005, 06:41 AM	#7
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Odd, I shot the first half of my doc with and Xl1, the second half with an Xl2. Captured whole tapes at once in both instances, never had a problem with synch. Is this strictly a FCP problem? As I edit on Avid.

August 17th, 2005, 08:25 AM	#8
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	1- Turn SAM on, but don't use capture now to capture. It may help to do an end search to find the last timecode, and then manually type in "5." for the in point (5 seconds; you may be able to reduce that if your device control settings have a lower preroll). It's hard for FCP to log&capture off the first few seconds, you you may need to grab that in another pass with capture now. I recommend you record room tone in the first 15-30 seconds, which is a good practice anyways.