Audio MP3 on FCP

Marcelo Lima · February 21st, 2009, 02:37 PM

Hello.
I have an MCP for almost a year and always when i import an MP3 to fcp timeline (mostly in HD apple intermediate codec sequence) i have to render the audio file. Up there, its ok, BUT the quality of sound falls apart.. actually in the conversion, because i have a lots of erros on audio like some milisecounds is missing..... usually in the ramdom parts of the media....

If i import the SAME file (mp3) on Premier CS3 / CS4 and export to .AIF and i import on FCP the file plays perfectly! I already changed in FCP preferences to high quality audio playback... but.... Nothings change...

I can't believe that i will have to use Premiere to do a simply task like that because Final Cut Pro (6.05 or less) can;t handle with quality...

is this correct?? Thanks.

Shaun Roemich · February 21st, 2009, 03:09 PM

Convert all mp3's to aiff before importing and your problem will go away.

Marcelo Lima · February 21st, 2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun Roemich

Convert all mp3's to aiff before importing and your problem will go away.

Yes, but i think its a flaw that FCP can't handle well with it.. I know mp3 isnt a pro format for edit, but is the so used.... could be more compatible...

Ian Wood · February 21st, 2009, 04:49 PM

Well most professional editors can easily export to .aiff instead of .mp3, so it's not a convenience thing...

William Hohauser · February 21st, 2009, 08:59 PM

Final Cut has never been friendly to MPEG formats. MPEG1, standard MPEG2, mp3 and so on. It has to do with the way MPEG compresses the signals. HDV (which is MPEG) has to be rewrapped to fool Final Cut into treating it like a standard frame based video file.

However there are some very good programs that convert mp3 files quickly and for free. I use Switch - Audio Sound File Converter Software- Convert to wav, mp3, wma etc.. It has a batch window so you can convert a number of mp3 files to whatever you want.

Robert Lane · February 21st, 2009, 09:57 PM

One of the reasons that FCP *doesn't* want MP3's or MPEG audio in the timeline is because Final Cut was always designed from the get-go to interface with other professional editing applications and be able to transfer work back-and-forth, not to mention that no broadcast standard would accept MP3 for an audio format.

Until recently Premiere was never designed - or considered - to be a "pro" level editing application, more pro-sumer. iMovie, for example handles MP3 audio just fine but that's because it's a consumer-grade application.

The same is true for production audio capture; no sound engineer on the planet will capture in MP3 format, it's always 48k AIFF or an uncompressed format so that it will drop right onto the timeline.

FCP isn't perfect but it's mission is to be a pro-level editor and as such uses industry set standards.

Marcelo Lima · February 22nd, 2009, 03:36 PM

I would like to thank's everybody for your answers... Some of my sources of songs is only MP3, but now i will convert before to import...

I bought the MCP mainly because of the FCP... in my mind this software where perfect (ehehe) but know i see that nothing is perfect. ;)

Mitchell Lewis · February 22nd, 2009, 10:29 PM

Just in case you didn't know this....

You can use Quicktime Pro to convert the MP3 to a AIFF, 48k, 16-bit. Quick and easy. Drops right into the timeline without rendering.

Hope this helps! :)

Elias Neris · February 22nd, 2009, 10:55 PM

I simply use iTunes to convert to Aiff it's free too

Cole McDonald · February 23rd, 2009, 12:05 AM

Old versions of iMovie had this problem too... has something to do with sample rates not converting accurately due to funky calculus math used to go from one bit rate to the other.

IIRC, MP3's were new when FCP was first written (by Macromedia) so probably weren't added as they were really lossy at the time... (still really lossy, but much better sound recreation than then with all that new fangled VBR doothingies and whatnot.).

February 21st, 2009, 02:37 PM	#1
Marcelo Lima Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: BRAZIL Posts: 81	Audio MP3 on FCP - Cannot be like this! Hello. I have an MCP for almost a year and always when i import an MP3 to fcp timeline (mostly in HD apple intermediate codec sequence) i have to render the audio file. Up there, its ok, BUT the quality of sound falls apart.. actually in the conversion, because i have a lots of erros on audio like some milisecounds is missing..... usually in the ramdom parts of the media.... If i import the SAME file (mp3) on Premier CS3 / CS4 and export to .AIF and i import on FCP the file plays perfectly! I already changed in FCP preferences to high quality audio playback... but.... Nothings change... I can't believe that i will have to use Premiere to do a simply task like that because Final Cut Pro (6.05 or less) can;t handle with quality... is this correct?? Thanks. __________________ Sony PMW-EX3 / Sony HDR-FX7 / Canon HG-21 / MacBook Pro 2.4GHz / LG Blu-Ray BR06

February 21st, 2009, 03:09 PM	#2
Shaun Roemich Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (formerly Winnipeg, Manitoba) Canada Posts: 4,088	Convert all mp3's to aiff before importing and your problem will go away. __________________ Shaun C. Roemich Road Dog Media - Vancouver, BC - Videographer - Webcaster www.roaddogmedia.ca Blog: http://roaddogmedia.wordpress.com/

February 21st, 2009, 08:59 PM	#5
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	Final Cut has never been friendly to MPEG formats. MPEG1, standard MPEG2, mp3 and so on. It has to do with the way MPEG compresses the signals. HDV (which is MPEG) has to be rewrapped to fool Final Cut into treating it like a standard frame based video file. However there are some very good programs that convert mp3 files quickly and for free. I use Switch - Audio Sound File Converter Software- Convert to wav, mp3, wma etc.. It has a batch window so you can convert a number of mp3 files to whatever you want. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation

February 22nd, 2009, 03:36 PM	#7
Marcelo Lima Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: BRAZIL Posts: 81	I would like to thank's everybody for your answers... Some of my sources of songs is only MP3, but now i will convert before to import... I bought the MCP mainly because of the FCP... in my mind this software where perfect (ehehe) but know i see that nothing is perfect. ;) __________________ Sony PMW-EX3 / Sony HDR-FX7 / Canon HG-21 / MacBook Pro 2.4GHz / LG Blu-Ray BR06

February 22nd, 2009, 10:29 PM	#8
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	Just in case you didn't know this.... You can use Quicktime Pro to convert the MP3 to a AIFF, 48k, 16-bit. Quick and easy. Drops right into the timeline without rendering. Hope this helps! :) __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

February 21st, 2009, 04:49 PM	#4
Ian Wood New Boot Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 16	Well most professional editors can easily export to .aiff instead of .mp3, so it's not a convenience thing...

February 21st, 2009, 09:57 PM	#6
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,788 Images: 15	One of the reasons that FCP doesn't want MP3's or MPEG audio in the timeline is because Final Cut was always designed from the get-go to interface with other professional editing applications and be able to transfer work back-and-forth, not to mention that no broadcast standard would accept MP3 for an audio format. Until recently Premiere was never designed - or considered - to be a "pro" level editing application, more pro-sumer. iMovie, for example handles MP3 audio just fine but that's because it's a consumer-grade application. The same is true for production audio capture; no sound engineer on the planet will capture in MP3 format, it's always 48k AIFF or an uncompressed format so that it will drop right onto the timeline. FCP isn't perfect but it's mission is to be a pro-level editor and as such uses industry set standards.

February 22nd, 2009, 10:55 PM	#9
Elias Neris New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 14	I simply use iTunes to convert to Aiff it's free too

February 23rd, 2009, 12:05 AM	#10
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	Old versions of iMovie had this problem too... has something to do with sample rates not converting accurately due to funky calculus math used to go from one bit rate to the other. IIRC, MP3's were new when FCP was first written (by Macromedia) so probably weren't added as they were really lossy at the time... (still really lossy, but much better sound recreation than then with all that new fangled VBR doothingies and whatnot.). __________________ Web Youtube Facebook