Various questions FCP3
 

Just got FCP3 and I'm trying to import from the XL and I'm getting 'Firewire Protocol' errors. Its basically saying that the firewire is not hooked up to anything. I think. Has anyone gone through this? I did a round about way of getting footage in, with I-Movie I have no problem importing, I even tried importing a saved I-Movie clip into FCP3 and it would drop frames. If this sounds familiar to anyone let me know. Thanks.

When I used FCP, I had to make sure the camera was connected and on before booting the Mac. Try checking the FCP manual for the troubleshooting guide.

With FCP I can turn on the camera or external DV device at any time, just as long as it is on before I start up FCP. Importing iMovie frames that normally are fine but drop frames in FCP3 is odd. Does your system meet the minimum specifications for FCP3? With FCP3 they have gone up a bit, especially if you have the realtime rendering and all that turned on.

Gotta get me one of those dual GHZ G4's. I hear they are supposedly 3 times faster with digital video than a 2GHZ Pentium 4. Oh yeah, and it's a Mac, so you know it's good for creative stuff and not just programs like Excel. Need cash now.

Joshishido,

Have you tried changing the Firewire setting? Apple explains how to do this in their Knowledge Base:

"If you find that the device does not accurately go to specified timecodes or fails to execute, try the Apple FireWire Basic protocol.

To switch between FireWire protocols in Final Cut Pro:

* Choose Preferences from the Edit menu and click the Device Control tab.
* Choose Apple FireWire or Apple FireWire Basic from the Protocol pop-up menu."

I just received FCP 3.0 in the mail yesterday, but haven't had time to install it yet. I remember I had a problem like yours when I loaded my previous version of FCP which was cured by the remedy above.

Keep me posted on what happens. I'll take mine out of the box tonight and see if I have the same problem. If so, we can forge through it together.

Joshishido,

Good news for me, but bad news for you, I'm afraid. I loaded in my new FCP 3.0, hooked up the XL-1, and presto...it connected fine.

I also noticed that they've changed the Firewire selections in version 3.0. You can only choose between NTSC and PAL versions...so make sure you have the proper setting (In the "Audio/Video Settings" under the "File" menu.

If you do have it set up correctly, something's amiss.

Joshishido,

If you are using FCP on Mac OS 9, it's important that you disable Virtual Memory in the Memory Control Panel. Other than that, it's critical that your machine and OS fulfil the installation requirements stated in the FCP manual, particularly with regard to OS version, processor speed and amount of RAM.

In general, it's critical that your FireWire cam or deck is the only device connected to the FireWire port you are using. What particularly causes problems is capturing to a FireWire disk that's hooked up to the same port as the DV cam or deck.

Further, there are some extension conflicts in OS 9 that cause FCP to drop frames. Some extensions installed by Discreet's Cleaner 5.x are particular culprits. Let me know if this applies to you, and I can give you specifics on what extensions to disable.

Also, try to quit all applications other than FCP. OS 9 is terribly bad at parallel tasking...

Furthermore, there are rare problems with malfunctioning FireWire ports that can crop up in older G4s and G3s. Usually requires replacing the motherboard...

One thing that's definitely worth a try - only if you use OS 9, though - is to install a fresh copy of OS 9 on a separate partition, and apply all the recent OS updates (brings you up to OS 9.2.2). Then install FCP 3 and NOTHING else. If you still have trouble, it's either due to your config or you've got hardware problems. Again, virtual memory needs to be disabled!

One last thing (actually one of the first things I check when I have FireWire problems) is the FireWire cable. Apple's FireWire DV cables are not the most robust, and I've had one fail on me before...

Hope this helps,

Ron

Using FCP3 Voice over tool
 

Hi all, does anyone know if it's possible to connect the XL1 mic to a Panasonic DV2000 deck in order to use the VO tool in FCP3 on a G4. If this is not possible how does one connect a mic to the G4 as there doesn't appear to be a mic-in socket.
David

isn't thaT a mic input right under the speaker/headphone output? (to the left of the telephone RJ11 for the modem) But I don't know about the quality, earlier Macs were known to have low quality audio through that input--plus it was compatible with only their abominable (but included) microphone. Plus this little bitty hole is certainly not any standard type mic connector!

There is a USB microphone for the powerbook G4. I have one just can't remember the offical name. I will post another replay when I have more information. It cost around $35 and also allows input from a CD player, record player or radio through a 1/8" mini jack on the device.

What the heck is another "replay" - you know I meant reply. Sorry.

USB Options
 

Plantronics has a nice headset/mic, the DSP-500 (rated 4 mice), that uses USB to connect

http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/catalog/display_product_detail.jhtml?rootId=cat640035&prodId=prod440044&productTypeId=cat1430032.

There's also a little brother version of the one above, the DSP-400.

Another option is iMic (rated 5 mice) which supposedly "allows the connection of virtually any microphone or sound input device to the iBook, G4 Cube, Titanium PowerBook G4 or any other Mac with USB ports."

http://www.griffintechnology.com/audio/imic_main.html

I'm not sure if they work with OSX yet...worth a look.

backwards compatability
 

Hi,

I'm helping a friend with a short film. I want to help him get organized with properly named clips and a rough edit and then let him tweak it and finalize it all on his own. I use FCP3, he uses FCP1.something and is reluctant to upgrade at the moment.

If I used my machine, with FCP3, in 'cutting station' mode to L&C and do a rough edit, would the project file be backwards compatible to my friends FCP1.something?

If not and we must do ALL the editing on my friend's machine, with FCP1.something, can I at least log the footage in FCP3 and somehow transfer the info over to him so he can do the capturing onto his system?

Thanks ,
Aren.

Aren,
I am not the last word on this subject, but I do not believe that FCP3 project files will be backwardly compatible with FCP1. The FCP support pages at Apple.com may have more info on this subject. If you have the time I suggest running a small experiment before making a committment.

Your FCP 3x file will NOT work in FCP 1x.
You can install FCP 1x in OS-9 and then do all of the editing for your bud.

However, it might be possible for you to export your FCP 3x EDL and for your bud to import it into FCP 1x. I can't say that it'd absolutely work, but it may be worth a try.

- Chip

Can the iBook 500 run FCP3?
 

Well, I'm still on my quest for an inexpensive, portable non-linear solution and I stubbled upon Apple.com. They are currently offering refurbished iBook 500mhz for only $799. I was thinking about buying one and upgrading the memory, getting a firewire hard drive, etc. My question is is this iBook powerful enough to run Final Cut Pro 3? I would mostly use it to edit in OfflineRT, then render it with regular DV when I was finished. Any opinions on the iBook?