Setting up FCP Production Suite on Powermac G5??????? at DVinfo.net

Cleveland Brown · April 4th, 2005, 11:40 PM

Just got my New Powermac G5 in today. I have the FCP production suite that comes with a stack of CD ROMs as well as a Giant Stack of Books that may take me a few years to read. OK maybe not that long. Anyway, I am in the process of installing everything but the computer is not online and probably won't be until tomorrow when I dirll the hole in the floor/ceiling. I think some of the updates online will actually complete some of the installation for me and clean things up a bit. Could be wrong though.

Long story short! Anyone else who has done the full install of this softare package must have had some of the problems I am running into. Can someone give me the breakdown of the installation process as a whole and not just little parts. There are some disks that don't have instructions telling me what they are.

Boyd Ostroff · April 5th, 2005, 07:08 AM

Hmm... I recently upgraded to a G5 and got the FCP HD upgrade and Motion. These were pretty much a no-brainer to install. I think the only thing different in your case would be DVD SP.

Along with FCP HD you have a disk for Peak 3 which is an audio editor - a separate application which is completely optional. Docs should be included in a file on the disk. Then there are a couple LiveType data disks which I didn't install since I really don't think I'll need to do that sort of thing (and I think Motion would do it better even if I did). They are not required to run FCP. There is another disk of music loops for Soundtrack which I also did not install. Again, I don't plan to use Soundtrack. If I want to create my own music I'll use GarageBand with its loops and my Midi keyboard. Now you very well may want to install Livetype and Soundtrack if you want to use these features. I would assume it's pretty straightforward.

Finally, they included some sort of Panasonic disk in the package which is apparently sample HD video clips to play with. Didn't bother with that either. There should be a booklet "Installing your software" which has the serial number stickers on it. Of course I didn't read that either! ;-)

Installing Motion is very simple, there is a program disk and a disk full of content. Run the installer and it will prompt to change disks. I don't know about DVD SP since I've never used it.

As far as going online, you need that to register the software but I don't think it's required, so you can go ahead and install. There are no updates available for FCP, but there was a Motion update available for my version. You can use the software update in System Preferences, or go to Apple's support site with your browser and manually download/install.

Unfortunately you have to take the time to mess around with all this stuff when you change computers and software. I hate the whole process, it's very disorienting. I have made a huge change in my computer hardware/software during the past few weeks and in addition to the Apple software have just switched to some complicated 3d modelling programs. It will take awhile to get up to speed on all this, but I'm doing it as a crash course now so I can use it all on a big project this summer.

Eventually everything falls into place and you suddenly will realize how far you've come.... that's the payoff! Enjoy your new system.

Cleveland Brown · April 5th, 2005, 02:17 PM

Thanks Boyd,

Do you even know what is on the live type data disks? It will take me a long time to figure out how to do a lot of this stuff. Fortunatly, I am going to a class that will help with some of it this weekend. Got FCP, Motion, and DVD Studio Pro as well as Soundtrack 3 all sucessfully installed. I'm sure I'll need something else added to the system because there has to be something this software and hardware configuration can not do. I'll let you know when I find it.

Peter Wiley · April 5th, 2005, 05:26 PM

The live type data disks contain various live type effects, backgrounds, textures, etc. There is some overlap between the capabilites of Motion and Live Type but it's not entire.

Murad Toor · April 6th, 2005, 11:18 AM

Since you posted in the HDV Editing Solutions section, I suppose you intend to edit HDV material.

I recommend using MPEG Streamclip to convert your m2t files to whichever timeline codec you wish to use.

I bought LumiereHD, which should be great because of its XML stuff, but a lot of my shooting involves events with shots that last longer than 30 seconds. After 30 seconds or so the audio starts to drift with LumiereHD's conversion. LHD blames it on Apple's MPEG component, calling it the Apple MPEG bug. I believe them, but I also know that MPEG Streamclip keeps perfect audio sync, even for shots that last an entire tape start to finish (I've recorded some lectures with my HD10).

MPEG Streamclip is free, but you need to have the Quicktime MPEG component installed, which if I recall correctly is included with DVD Studio Pro 3.

Boyd Ostroff · April 6th, 2005, 05:21 PM

That's a good point Murad... Cleveland: if you aren't working with HDV let me know and I will move this thread to the Mac Non-Linear Editing forum.

Murad Toor · April 6th, 2005, 05:37 PM

Lumiere HD has a great web page explaining the audio drift issue, complete with pictures:
http://www.lumierehd.com/audio_drift/

It's a great program for a lot of purposes and I'm hoping it develops into a Media Manager (like FCP's) except specialized for an HDV offline-online workflow.

Cleveland Brown · April 6th, 2005, 08:48 PM

Sorry Boyd,

You are correct I must have mistaken this for simply FCP, However, isn't it true that since I am using FCP HD, I should be able to render my final cut as an HD signal? Don't know as I am still a newbee to digital technology. From what I am reading though, digital is soo much better.

Boyd Ostroff · April 6th, 2005, 10:10 PM

Moved to the regular Mac NLE forum...

Cleveland: you could do that, but it probably would not make much sense. HD involves a lot more data and storage space than SD, and also faster disk drives, better monitors, etc. You'll be fine just editing in NTSC DV, and your machine will handle that like a charm.

Have fun learning how to put all the pieces together!

April 4th, 2005, 11:40 PM	#1
Cleveland Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 138	Setting up FCP Production Suite on Powermac G5??????? Just got my New Powermac G5 in today. I have the FCP production suite that comes with a stack of CD ROMs as well as a Giant Stack of Books that may take me a few years to read. OK maybe not that long. Anyway, I am in the process of installing everything but the computer is not online and probably won't be until tomorrow when I dirll the hole in the floor/ceiling. I think some of the updates online will actually complete some of the installation for me and clean things up a bit. Could be wrong though. Long story short! Anyone else who has done the full install of this softare package must have had some of the problems I am running into. Can someone give me the breakdown of the installation process as a whole and not just little parts. There are some disks that don't have instructions telling me what they are. __________________ CLEVE-ij

April 5th, 2005, 02:17 PM	#3
Cleveland Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 138	Thanks Boyd, Do you even know what is on the live type data disks? It will take me a long time to figure out how to do a lot of this stuff. Fortunatly, I am going to a class that will help with some of it this weekend. Got FCP, Motion, and DVD Studio Pro as well as Soundtrack 3 all sucessfully installed. I'm sure I'll need something else added to the system because there has to be something this software and hardware configuration can not do. I'll let you know when I find it. __________________ CLEVE-ij

April 6th, 2005, 08:48 PM	#8
Cleveland Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 138	Sorry Boyd, You are correct I must have mistaken this for simply FCP, However, isn't it true that since I am using FCP HD, I should be able to render my final cut as an HD signal? Don't know as I am still a newbee to digital technology. From what I am reading though, digital is soo much better. __________________ CLEVE-ij

April 5th, 2005, 07:08 AM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Hmm... I recently upgraded to a G5 and got the FCP HD upgrade and Motion. These were pretty much a no-brainer to install. I think the only thing different in your case would be DVD SP. Along with FCP HD you have a disk for Peak 3 which is an audio editor - a separate application which is completely optional. Docs should be included in a file on the disk. Then there are a couple LiveType data disks which I didn't install since I really don't think I'll need to do that sort of thing (and I think Motion would do it better even if I did). They are not required to run FCP. There is another disk of music loops for Soundtrack which I also did not install. Again, I don't plan to use Soundtrack. If I want to create my own music I'll use GarageBand with its loops and my Midi keyboard. Now you very well may want to install Livetype and Soundtrack if you want to use these features. I would assume it's pretty straightforward. Finally, they included some sort of Panasonic disk in the package which is apparently sample HD video clips to play with. Didn't bother with that either. There should be a booklet "Installing your software" which has the serial number stickers on it. Of course I didn't read that either! ;-) Installing Motion is very simple, there is a program disk and a disk full of content. Run the installer and it will prompt to change disks. I don't know about DVD SP since I've never used it. As far as going online, you need that to register the software but I don't think it's required, so you can go ahead and install. There are no updates available for FCP, but there was a Motion update available for my version. You can use the software update in System Preferences, or go to Apple's support site with your browser and manually download/install. Unfortunately you have to take the time to mess around with all this stuff when you change computers and software. I hate the whole process, it's very disorienting. I have made a huge change in my computer hardware/software during the past few weeks and in addition to the Apple software have just switched to some complicated 3d modelling programs. It will take awhile to get up to speed on all this, but I'm doing it as a crash course now so I can use it all on a big project this summer. Eventually everything falls into place and you suddenly will realize how far you've come.... that's the payoff! Enjoy your new system.

April 5th, 2005, 05:26 PM	#4
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	The live type data disks contain various live type effects, backgrounds, textures, etc. There is some overlap between the capabilites of Motion and Live Type but it's not entire.

April 6th, 2005, 11:18 AM	#5
Murad Toor Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 125	Since you posted in the HDV Editing Solutions section, I suppose you intend to edit HDV material. I recommend using MPEG Streamclip to convert your m2t files to whichever timeline codec you wish to use. I bought LumiereHD, which should be great because of its XML stuff, but a lot of my shooting involves events with shots that last longer than 30 seconds. After 30 seconds or so the audio starts to drift with LumiereHD's conversion. LHD blames it on Apple's MPEG component, calling it the Apple MPEG bug. I believe them, but I also know that MPEG Streamclip keeps perfect audio sync, even for shots that last an entire tape start to finish (I've recorded some lectures with my HD10). MPEG Streamclip is free, but you need to have the Quicktime MPEG component installed, which if I recall correctly is included with DVD Studio Pro 3.

April 6th, 2005, 05:21 PM	#6
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	That's a good point Murad... Cleveland: if you aren't working with HDV let me know and I will move this thread to the Mac Non-Linear Editing forum.

April 6th, 2005, 05:37 PM	#7
Murad Toor Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 125	Lumiere HD has a great web page explaining the audio drift issue, complete with pictures: http://www.lumierehd.com/audio_drift/ It's a great program for a lot of purposes and I'm hoping it develops into a Media Manager (like FCP's) except specialized for an HDV offline-online workflow.

April 6th, 2005, 10:10 PM	#9
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Moved to the regular Mac NLE forum... Cleveland: you could do that, but it probably would not make much sense. HD involves a lot more data and storage space than SD, and also faster disk drives, better monitors, etc. You'll be fine just editing in NTSC DV, and your machine will handle that like a charm. Have fun learning how to put all the pieces together!