Watching a clip while using another app?
 

I recently bought Final Cut Express. One problem I have is that I can't use another program or do anything with the computer without it automatically stopping the playback the instant I click a mouse on something else. Is there a fix for this?

I've never used FCE, but this is also how FCP behaves. As soon as you click anywhere outside of its windows all playback stops. But if you want to watch a clip while you do something else, just open it in Quicktime player. FCP (and I assume FCE) clips are just Quicktime files. Naturally this doesn't work with sequences, just clips.

OK, thanks. That isn't all that useful, as I wanted to be able to mark the in/out points of segments too, not just watch them, it doesn't look like Quicktime would be very useful for that. Unless there is something I am missing, I think it is unfortunate that it is this way as it makes the computer use very single-task for me. Many times, the footage doesn't need my undivided attention, I need to review a lot of material, a lot of which is boring stuff that will not be in the final product.

Obviously Apple wants full access to all your computer's resources while FCP is running. Personally this doesn't bother me in the least. If I really need to do something while FCP is running on my G5 (which I rarely do), then I just fire up my laptop... :-)

I can understand that Final Cut can be demanding, though just playing a raw clip to review its overall usefulness doesn't really need undivided computer attention, heck, if I even move the preview window or try to rearrange things, it halts. I was hoping to avoid using the laptop, but I guess that's what it takes. Thank you.

I'm not quite sure why you would want to play a clip in FCP and then switch to another app while it continues to play? You would have to switch back to FCP to mark an in or out anyway.
Personally, I am usually running about 5 other apps while I edit in FCP.
Typically I keep Mail, Safari, Photoshop, Livetype, iChat, and sometimes iTunes running in the background and it doesn't slow FCP down at all.

Interestingly, I can digitize and output DV or Decklink/BetaSP and then switch out to another app without dropping any frames. And I'm only running a dual 1.2Ghz G4.

i get alot of projects where its like a family vacation or some sort of documentary with the camera person having a slight idea of what they're doing and they aren't creating a log. in this situation you can only sit through the material, watch it, and mark it when something interesting happens. during this time period, i would rather be doing other things.

i believe quicktime has a selection function, but it seems crude at best.

In that case, just play the footage from tape in the log & Capture window and switch back to FCP to log the interesting clips when they appear.
I think the tape will continue to play in log & capture when you switch to another app.
I believe this is what my assistant does all the time since he is always surfing the net everytime I walk in the suite!