AVCHD/H.264 in FCP 7 Question ??

[Rodger Smith]

i have sold off all my DV and HDV equipment and converted 100% to Canon HF G20 cameras (multiple) and am now getting to edit my first file based video.

i have been reading a lot of background on this subject and have come to the conclusion that the best workflow is just log and transfer via final cut pro 7 and then use the QT clips as my edit footage . . HOWEVER . .

...when i look at the clips i see this saw toothed edge at the edge of all lines in the video. as an example say there is a man in the video walking . . the edge of the man's outline will be sawtoothed edges like there is a linear line problem. now if the man is standing still, there are no sawtooth look.

my question is . . will this sawtooth look be in the final output or is this just a final cut inadequacy that will disappear in output?

if the lineariation is a problem is there a lossless method of conversion so that i can have better video. the whole idea is i want as perfect a video that i can get without loss.

[Les Wilson]

What is "lineariation"?

A screen shot (cmd-shift-4 then draw a rectangle over the window) of the "sawtooth" would have helped. Lacking that, what you describe sounds like an interlacing problem. aka your footage is being interpreted by the timeline wrong.

If you've read up on AVCHD and FCP 7, you'll know that FCP 7 does not handle AVCHD natively and what people do is convert the AVCHD footage to Prores using compressor. Changing the file to a .mov with L&T isn't enough. You have to convert the video to a different codec. Conversion to Prores is lossless and will allow you to edit in FCP with ease. However the files are 4x the size of the originals. Alternative is to switch to FCP X.

Whatever your workflow, your timeline needs to match your footage. If you shot it interlaced, your timeline needs to be for interlaced footage. If you shot it progressive, your timeline needs to match. Fortunately, FCP recognizes this and when you put a clip on the timeline for the first time, it warns you and gives you the option to conform the timeline to the footage (as it calculates it)

[William Hohauser]

That sounds like reversed interlace fields. How did you get the files into FCP7?

Open a new sequence and drop a camera file in, the timeline should ask if you want to convert to the format of the file. Click yes and you should be good to go.