NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2002

Ken Tanaka · August 22nd, 2002, 08:58 PM

DVCPro is Panasonic Broadcast's proprietary response to Sony's proprietary DVCAM.

Jeff Donald · August 23rd, 2002, 02:52 AM

How many real time audio tracks do you have slected for playback? This is a preferences setting. While we're on preferences I would suggest that you delete them. This is the article on The Knowledge Base at Apple that covers deleting preferences, #31197. Go to the support section, Knowledge Base, and enter that number. In OS X Preferences folder (~/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data. Delete this file and restart your computer and try your captures again. DO NOT do this in the middle of a project unless absolutly necessary. All your settings will be lost and need to be entered again. Once I get my preferences the way I like them, I make a copy of the preference file and rename it Spare File. That way if I have to trash them, I don't have to set everything over again.

Other things to look at are what Firewire control are you using? How are your files setup? For optimum performence the OS should be on one partition, FCP on a second partition, and capture to a second drive. If you are running everything and capturing to one large partition that could be part of your problem.

Jeff

Kevin McCarthy · August 23rd, 2002, 09:17 AM

Thanks for your help.
I think I have figured out some of my problems.

I upgraded my OS to 9.2.2 and that made the output MUCH better but still not acceptable. The color still won't sync up. Someone said the DV-Bridge is not very stable and recommended a converter from Canopus, which I have used with Avid DVXpress and never had trouble with.

As for the input issue, I was using DV aspect 720x640 and when I switched to square pixels 640x480 it showed up fine. However, now the clips need to be rendered.

Now for a new set of questions.

1) If I upgrade to FCP 3.0 will I still have to render.
2) can I mix the different clips into the same sequence?

Thanks

Kev

Jeff Donald · August 23rd, 2002, 09:44 AM

When I used the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge it required no rendering in FCP 2.02 I believe. It did what you would expect and the color and everything closely approximated the original footage (VHS). I think the clips could be mixed after rendering. Try one clip if not it can always be deleted. Has Dazzle responded to your questions yet?

Jeff

Kevin McCarthy · August 23rd, 2002, 10:32 AM

I just did another test. I captured VHS composite to FCP at 640x480 and it played in the timeline without rendering. Even though it still had the red line over the clip. I imported a DV captured clip and put it in the seq. and then had to render the VHS clip. But now my color won't lock again.

Dazzle has not gotten back to me yet.

I'm returning the product and going with the Canopus one instead,

Thanks for all your help.

Kev

Jeff Donald · August 23rd, 2002, 10:39 AM

The Canopus product is very nice also. I think you just got a defective Dazzle unit. Sorry for your luck and let me know how the Canopus works out.

Jeff

August 23rd, 2002, 01:47 PM

I just installed OSX on my Mac. After re-installing FCP 1.2.5 (I know, I know, I need to upgrade) it doesn't recognize the firewire and gives me continuous errors. I went back into i-Movie and I can import footage just fine.

Is there a setting somewhere I can get FCP to start seeing that I do have firewire and everything is working fine?

John Kaye · August 23rd, 2002, 02:56 PM

All the settings are basic : R/T is 8 tracks, Audio quality is set on High. I just did a capture and I checked the audio rate on the browser after it was done and it is 42:0000.6 HZ I can play it from the browser at high quality but it beeps! The sync is NOT affetced! again, it is in sync until the last frame! But I was told the beeping when I play it in high quality is due to the discrepency of the capture! I am not rying to stomp u guys I swear :) It's just annoying why I can recapture the same footage and get a perfect 48.0 khz and do it again and get an odd HZ number!

Jeff Donald · August 23rd, 2002, 04:07 PM

Reduce the number of RT tracks and see what happens. What G4 are you running it on? Are you using FCP 3.0.2?

Jeff

Joe Redifer · August 23rd, 2002, 06:19 PM

Forgive my confusion, but you ARE using FCP in OS 9 right? Not in OS X via Classic?

Rik Sanchez · August 23rd, 2002, 06:48 PM

try opening the capture device prefs and set the firewire preference to firewire basic. Or maybe you have Media Cleaner installed, that will have given you extra extensions that will mess with FCP, extensions for another capture card.

BTW, why did you reinstall FCP. Please tell us a little more about the system you are using, what other video software do you have on there as well.

Jeff Donald · August 23rd, 2002, 08:54 PM

Only FCP 3 will run in OS X, FCP 1.2.5 will not run in Classic (if it does it will be buggy). FCP 1.2.5 is designed to run in OS 9.x.x (I recommend 9.2.2 for maximum stability). Basically FCP 1.2.5 can't find the FireWire extensions it needs. Run FCP in 9 and you should be good to go.

Jeff

Daniel Berube · August 24th, 2002, 04:25 AM

http://www.aja.com: Kona 10bit uncompressed card

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage.asp?Product_ID=108: CineWave series of uncompressed cards

http://digitalvoodoo.net: 10bit uncompressed cards

http://www.auroravideosys.com/Pages/igniter.html: Aurora Igniter card

My advice to you is to purchase FCP 3 now and then upgradde when the next rev is released, which is not in this quarter.

For a nice review of uncompressed options with Kona, here ya go:
http://www.lafcpug.org/review_kona_card.html

Happy filmmaking!

Daniel Berube · August 24th, 2002, 12:40 PM

Your JVC miniDV dual deck (model # HR-DVS2U) does not support DVCam. However, for your info, the Sony DSR-11 does. This deck is a fav of mine since I just used it to digitize some PAL footage in FCP with no probs whatsoever.

Jay H. Thompson · August 24th, 2002, 02:52 PM

Hello, hoping someone might be able to give me a hand. I just upgraded to 10.2 today and I cannot capture video off of a non controllable device using capture now. Anyone have any ideas?

I get a black screen that says that it is allocation drive space. After about 40 minutes I used force quit to kill FCP. Checked out the scratch drives after I noticed it was still writing something and one of them had almost filled up with unreadable files. The 120 gig in question had 23 Gig left.

Everything was working just fine until I upgraded today.

G4 733, 1.5 Gig Ram, 380+ Gig drive space, was running 10.1.5.

Upgrading to Jaguar I chose the upgrade option so all of my Pref's would stay the same.

Help is much appreciated.
JayT

August 22nd, 2002, 08:58 PM	#661
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	DVCPro is Panasonic Broadcast's proprietary response to Sony's proprietary DVCAM. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

August 23rd, 2002, 01:47 PM	#667
marcpitre Posts: n/a	FCP doesn't recognize firewire I just installed OSX on my Mac. After re-installing FCP 1.2.5 (I know, I know, I need to upgrade) it doesn't recognize the firewire and gives me continuous errors. I went back into i-Movie and I can import footage just fine. Is there a setting somewhere I can get FCP to start seeing that I do have firewire and everything is working fine?

August 23rd, 2002, 06:48 PM	#671
Rik Sanchez ChorizoSmells Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 424	try opening the capture device prefs and set the firewire preference to firewire basic. Or maybe you have Media Cleaner installed, that will have given you extra extensions that will mess with FCP, extensions for another capture card. BTW, why did you reinstall FCP. Please tell us a little more about the system you are using, what other video software do you have on there as well. __________________ ChorizoSmells Video Barrio Tamatsukuri, Osaka, JAPAN

August 24th, 2002, 04:25 AM	#673
Daniel Berube Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, MA USA Posts: 91	Check these links out then... http://www.aja.com: Kona 10bit uncompressed card http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage.asp?Product_ID=108: CineWave series of uncompressed cards http://digitalvoodoo.net: 10bit uncompressed cards http://www.auroravideosys.com/Pages/igniter.html: Aurora Igniter card My advice to you is to purchase FCP 3 now and then upgradde when the next rev is released, which is not in this quarter. For a nice review of uncompressed options with Kona, here ya go: http://www.lafcpug.org/review_kona_card.html Happy filmmaking! __________________ Daniel Bérubé • BOSFCPUG http://www.bosfcpug.org

August 24th, 2002, 12:40 PM	#674
Daniel Berube Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, MA USA Posts: 91	unfortunately... Your JVC miniDV dual deck (model # HR-DVS2U) does not support DVCam. However, for your info, the Sony DSR-11 does. This deck is a fav of mine since I just used it to digitize some PAL footage in FCP with no probs whatsoever. __________________ Daniel Bérubé • BOSFCPUG http://www.bosfcpug.org

August 23rd, 2002, 02:52 AM	#662
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	How many real time audio tracks do you have slected for playback? This is a preferences setting. While we're on preferences I would suggest that you delete them. This is the article on The Knowledge Base at Apple that covers deleting preferences, #31197. Go to the support section, Knowledge Base, and enter that number. In OS X Preferences folder (~/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data. Delete this file and restart your computer and try your captures again. DO NOT do this in the middle of a project unless absolutly necessary. All your settings will be lost and need to be entered again. Once I get my preferences the way I like them, I make a copy of the preference file and rename it Spare File. That way if I have to trash them, I don't have to set everything over again. Other things to look at are what Firewire control are you using? How are your files setup? For optimum performence the OS should be on one partition, FCP on a second partition, and capture to a second drive. If you are running everything and capturing to one large partition that could be part of your problem. Jeff

August 23rd, 2002, 09:17 AM	#663
Kevin McCarthy Regular Crew Join Date: May 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 30	Thanks for your help. I think I have figured out some of my problems. I upgraded my OS to 9.2.2 and that made the output MUCH better but still not acceptable. The color still won't sync up. Someone said the DV-Bridge is not very stable and recommended a converter from Canopus, which I have used with Avid DVXpress and never had trouble with. As for the input issue, I was using DV aspect 720x640 and when I switched to square pixels 640x480 it showed up fine. However, now the clips need to be rendered. Now for a new set of questions. 1) If I upgrade to FCP 3.0 will I still have to render. 2) can I mix the different clips into the same sequence? Thanks Kev

August 23rd, 2002, 09:44 AM	#664
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	When I used the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge it required no rendering in FCP 2.02 I believe. It did what you would expect and the color and everything closely approximated the original footage (VHS). I think the clips could be mixed after rendering. Try one clip if not it can always be deleted. Has Dazzle responded to your questions yet? Jeff

August 23rd, 2002, 10:32 AM	#665
Kevin McCarthy Regular Crew Join Date: May 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 30	I just did another test. I captured VHS composite to FCP at 640x480 and it played in the timeline without rendering. Even though it still had the red line over the clip. I imported a DV captured clip and put it in the seq. and then had to render the VHS clip. But now my color won't lock again. Dazzle has not gotten back to me yet. I'm returning the product and going with the Canopus one instead, Thanks for all your help. Kev

August 23rd, 2002, 10:39 AM	#666
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The Canopus product is very nice also. I think you just got a defective Dazzle unit. Sorry for your luck and let me know how the Canopus works out. Jeff

August 23rd, 2002, 02:56 PM	#668
John Kaye Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: L.A. Posts: 57	All the settings are basic : R/T is 8 tracks, Audio quality is set on High. I just did a capture and I checked the audio rate on the browser after it was done and it is 42:0000.6 HZ I can play it from the browser at high quality but it beeps! The sync is NOT affetced! again, it is in sync until the last frame! But I was told the beeping when I play it in high quality is due to the discrepency of the capture! I am not rying to stomp u guys I swear :) It's just annoying why I can recapture the same footage and get a perfect 48.0 khz and do it again and get an odd HZ number!

August 23rd, 2002, 04:07 PM	#669
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Reduce the number of RT tracks and see what happens. What G4 are you running it on? Are you using FCP 3.0.2? Jeff

August 23rd, 2002, 06:19 PM	#670
Joe Redifer Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 290	Forgive my confusion, but you ARE using FCP in OS 9 right? Not in OS X via Classic?

August 23rd, 2002, 08:54 PM	#672
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Only FCP 3 will run in OS X, FCP 1.2.5 will not run in Classic (if it does it will be buggy). FCP 1.2.5 is designed to run in OS 9.x.x (I recommend 9.2.2 for maximum stability). Basically FCP 1.2.5 can't find the FireWire extensions it needs. Run FCP in 9 and you should be good to go. Jeff

August 24th, 2002, 02:52 PM	#675
Jay H. Thompson New Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Ballwin MO Posts: 10	FCP 3.0.2 Log and capture Hello, hoping someone might be able to give me a hand. I just upgraded to 10.2 today and I cannot capture video off of a non controllable device using capture now. Anyone have any ideas? I get a black screen that says that it is allocation drive space. After about 40 minutes I used force quit to kill FCP. Checked out the scratch drives after I noticed it was still writing something and one of them had almost filled up with unreadable files. The 120 gig in question had 23 Gig left. Everything was working just fine until I upgraded today. G4 733, 1.5 Gig Ram, 380+ Gig drive space, was running 10.1.5. Upgrading to Jaguar I chose the upgrade option so all of my Pref's would stay the same. Help is much appreciated. JayT