View Full Version : Does FCPX Read Canopus HQ/HQX Files?


Kris Kohuth
May 24th, 2017, 09:56 AM
I'm considering switching to macOS, and would like to know if Final Cut Pro X is able to read the Canopus HQ/HQX codec.

Grass Valley has a cross-platform codec pack available, but when I posted a question about compatibility with FCPX to their forum, I didn't get a definitive answer one way or the other.

So, has anyone here installed the codec pack on a mac, and gotten MOV HQ/HQX files to read in Final Cut? (All my files are MOVs, not AVIs, so as to be compatible with Resolve.) Thanks.

Nate Haustein
May 24th, 2017, 02:02 PM
Send me one via dropbox and I'll try it.

Kris Kohuth
May 24th, 2017, 09:12 PM
That'd be great.

Here's a tiny zipped clip (a frame counter with tone), followed by a non-zipped version. I'm surprised to see that the non-zipped MOV previews correctly in Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hmix3p49u2qagdx/CanopusHQX_1080_60p.zip?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kkwobnekkmrlrt8/CanopusHQX_1080_60p.mov?dl=0

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The Grass Valley codec pack (Grass Valley HQX/HQ Codecs Pack for Mac OS X 10.7) is here:

https://www.grassvalley.com/support/downloads/products?product=&download=719

It looks like you need to sign-in on their site before you can download...which is just awkward.

Nate Haustein
May 24th, 2017, 11:00 PM
Well, I'm the proud new owner of a Grass Valley website account, and was therefore able to download the codec pack.

Unfortunately, the files you sent don't play nice with FCPX (10.3.3). It will import them, and even play them in the timeline (kinda), but any time you stop the playhead the preview goes black. Same with any export, just blank. Also tried to make optimized media (ProRes), but ended up with a pretty green video file.

The codec pack looks really old – like 2014 old. The raw file you sent plays back fine in Quicktime 7, but FCPX just isn't having it. Though Resolve seems to work fine. Hope this helps.

Kris Kohuth
May 25th, 2017, 07:38 AM
That's a tremendous help; I can't thank you enough. (And sorry about that sign-up; really off-putting, particularly these days.)

I guess the good news is that it works in Resolve. Thanks for checking that, too.

My interest in FCPX is to have access to Motion and DriveX; I guess I could use Resolve as an intermediary. Not ideal, but workable for existing footage.