final cut pro acts up when editing .avi files at DVinfo.net

Dan Farzad · February 15th, 2007, 03:26 PM

i have captured all of my files using premiere since the intention was to edit there however i decided to change and edit the video in FCP.
After about 5-10 min of editing files start to go bad and if i dont quit and unplug the hard drive and restart FCP, i start to lose picture and sound.
the video starts to have those color pixles that appear when your tape or head is very dirty, it follows with the sound getting very distorted and then i start losing picture. when i reboot the HD and final cut things are fine for another ten minutes and then the same thing.
running final cut 5.0.4
footage are SD shot with z1

Dick Campbell · February 15th, 2007, 04:58 PM

I haven't seen your particular problem, but my FCP says "video file not optimzed ..." on AVIs, but I use it anyway. If you have QT Pro 7, you might try a conversion to MOV and see if that clears it up.

Nate Weaver · February 15th, 2007, 05:28 PM

As a rule, any media files that are not .movs are a crapshoot at best on FCP.

Quicktime tries to make a go of it in the background, trying to make things work, but it just don't fly.

The FCP manual states as much, btw.

Dan Farzad · February 15th, 2007, 06:00 PM

i'm sorry but damn apple is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much in love with its .mov and .aiffs
i'm talking about 15 hours of footage cut to different sections i can convert and redit the whole thing its really dumb....
anyways thanx for your help

Nick Weeks · February 15th, 2007, 06:06 PM

Dan, have you tried using MPEG Streamclip to convert the AVIs to Quicktime? I've had pretty good luck doing this with short clips, but I've never tried doing anything over 20-30 min.

I hate that you can't use MP3... I always have to convert to a soundtrack pro file or aiff to use it and that gets old. They could easily fix this... and also add support for itunes purchased music so I don't have to convert it manually

Dan Farzad · February 15th, 2007, 06:55 PM

gready duds
anyways...
my problem is being caused from somewhere else that i can't figure out.
nothing helps untill i turn the hard drive (external) on and back on and start the sequence even if i just restart fcp or even trash the prefs.

i know that when i bough my dual 2.7 they loaded it with 256 rams in order to give me the 2.5 gigs of ram promissed and i fell for it.
i have been having problems as far as performance over all some time i even rebooted the os....
i dont know if it could be the prob
!!!!!!!!!!!

Nate Weaver · February 17th, 2007, 02:38 PM

I'm telling you what the problem is. You're trying to cut .avis. Read the manual.

I've been cutting with FCP since 1999. It don't work with AVIs, not really. Convert you AVis to DV Quicktimes using Compresor...you can do them all as a batch overnight.

David W. Jones · February 17th, 2007, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate Weaver

I'm telling you what the problem is. You're trying to cut .avis. Read the manual.

I've been cutting with FCP since 1999. It don't work with AVIs, not really. Convert you AVis to DV Quicktimes using Compresor...you can do them all as a batch overnight.

I edit NTSC DV/avi-2 files transfered from Firestore to FCP 5 days a week.
It works just swell!

Nate Weaver · February 17th, 2007, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David W. Jones

I edit NTSC DV/avi-2 files transfered from Firestore to FCP 5 days a week.
It works just swell!

It doesn't work swell in all cases, which is why Apple will tell you not to do it. Quicktime always tries it's best in the background to parse non-mov files, sometimes it works just fine, sometimes it doesn't.

If you want to save yourself headaches, you'll convert your files first.

Dave Perry · February 17th, 2007, 08:16 PM

Nate is correct. If you are cutting on FCP, then learn to do it the correct way. There is no reason for Apple to support anything but .mov.

Both MPEGStreamclip and Compressor will batch all your captured media, then you are ready to rock.

David W. Jones · February 18th, 2007, 08:18 AM

avi, or audio video interleave is just a wrapper.
The dependent factor is what codec is the file using, and do you have a compatible codec installed on your mac.

David W. Jones · February 18th, 2007, 10:29 AM

I see The powers that be have decided to edit my comments.

If I remember right, have a look at chapter 22, page 305 in the manual.

February 15th, 2007, 03:26 PM	#1
Dan Farzad Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 107	final cut pro acts up when editing .avi files i have captured all of my files using premiere since the intention was to edit there however i decided to change and edit the video in FCP. After about 5-10 min of editing files start to go bad and if i dont quit and unplug the hard drive and restart FCP, i start to lose picture and sound. the video starts to have those color pixles that appear when your tape or head is very dirty, it follows with the sound getting very distorted and then i start losing picture. when i reboot the HD and final cut things are fine for another ten minutes and then the same thing. running final cut 5.0.4 footage are SD shot with z1

February 15th, 2007, 05:28 PM	#3
Nate Weaver Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,100	As a rule, any media files that are not .movs are a crapshoot at best on FCP. Quicktime tries to make a go of it in the background, trying to make things work, but it just don't fly. The FCP manual states as much, btw. __________________ My Work: nateweaver.net

February 17th, 2007, 02:38 PM	#7
Nate Weaver Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,100	I'm telling you what the problem is. You're trying to cut .avis. Read the manual. I've been cutting with FCP since 1999. It don't work with AVIs, not really. Convert you AVis to DV Quicktimes using Compresor...you can do them all as a batch overnight. __________________ My Work: nateweaver.net

February 17th, 2007, 08:16 PM	#10
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	Nate is correct. If you are cutting on FCP, then learn to do it the correct way. There is no reason for Apple to support anything but .mov. Both MPEGStreamclip and Compressor will batch all your captured media, then you are ready to rock. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

February 15th, 2007, 04:58 PM	#2
Dick Campbell Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 117	I haven't seen your particular problem, but my FCP says "video file not optimzed ..." on AVIs, but I use it anyway. If you have QT Pro 7, you might try a conversion to MOV and see if that clears it up.

February 15th, 2007, 06:00 PM	#4
Dan Farzad Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 107	i'm sorry but damn apple is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much in love with its .mov and .aiffs i'm talking about 15 hours of footage cut to different sections i can convert and redit the whole thing its really dumb.... anyways thanx for your help

February 15th, 2007, 06:06 PM	#5
Nick Weeks Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL USA Posts: 722	Dan, have you tried using MPEG Streamclip to convert the AVIs to Quicktime? I've had pretty good luck doing this with short clips, but I've never tried doing anything over 20-30 min. I hate that you can't use MP3... I always have to convert to a soundtrack pro file or aiff to use it and that gets old. They could easily fix this... and also add support for itunes purchased music so I don't have to convert it manually

February 15th, 2007, 06:55 PM	#6
Dan Farzad Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 107	gready duds anyways... my problem is being caused from somewhere else that i can't figure out. nothing helps untill i turn the hard drive (external) on and back on and start the sequence even if i just restart fcp or even trash the prefs. i know that when i bough my dual 2.7 they loaded it with 256 rams in order to give me the 2.5 gigs of ram promissed and i fell for it. i have been having problems as far as performance over all some time i even rebooted the os.... i dont know if it could be the prob !!!!!!!!!!!

February 18th, 2007, 08:18 AM	#11
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	avi, or audio video interleave is just a wrapper. The dependent factor is what codec is the file using, and do you have a compatible codec installed on your mac.

February 18th, 2007, 10:29 AM	#12
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	I see The powers that be have decided to edit my comments. If I remember right, have a look at chapter 22, page 305 in the manual.