The new AIC in Final Cut Pro 5
 

How's the new Apple Intermediate Codec in FCP 5? I didn't mind the one in iMovie HD too much, but the artifacting wasn't too good. Is it cleaner?

I'm thinking about editing in a DI because of the long GOP structure of HDV (one I frame every 15 frames) and color correcting, seeing the footage via scrubbing, etc., is a nightmare.

Thanks,

heath

Heath,

If you put enough memory in your G5, HDV editing in FCP 5.0 is great. As far as the MPEG nature, it's a non issue reagarding compositing and color correction. The edits go into a 4:4:4 color space before the final render so it's just as good as converting everything to uncompressed and then rendering the final product.

Frederic

So editing native HDV is okay? What about cutting on non-I frames? I'm guessing the AIC isn't as good in FCP 5 then?

heath

Heath - FCP5 does something called split GOP editing, which means if you cut in the middle of a GOP (which 14 times out of 15 you probably will) then FCP iserts a NEW i-frame inside. Obviously this isn't HDV anymore as there are now going to be irregular I-frames all over the place, but the advantage is when you send the stuff back to the camera/deck in HDV it only needs to render any split GOPs (plus effects, CC, etc), rather than the entire timeline, which I think other NLEs do have to do when exporting HDV to tape.

AIC has improved a lot, but there's no batch capture or deck control with it, which makes it painful.

Graeme

But, as I've tested, AIC still captured darker.

heath