David,

I can't say that your trouble rests with your cd imports but I can say that I've had some mix-ups with importing tracks directly into FCP3 in the past. (Apple's instructions are at

http://kbase.info.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/kbase.woa/112/wa/query?type=id&val=KC.61032 )

I've had the best results using PeakDV (supplied with FCP3) to read a cd track, save it as an AIFF file and then importing the AIFF file into FCP3. It might be worth a try if other alternatives continue to fail.

I've never had trouble importing AIFFs or WAVs into FCP and using them in the timeline, even if they are 44.1K and the rest of the audio is 48K. Importing mono sounds is kind of goofy, though. Instead of taking up two tracks like normal stereo audio, they only take up one yet come out of both speakers. I am not sure if you can pan the audio or not to where you want it to play, say extreme left for example.

Help! Audio render
 

I think my problems stem from using Toast Titanium which I was using the other day to burn an audio CD from FCP. Somewhere along the line the settings have got changed. However I have managed to work round the problem by exporting the audio file from FCP to the desktop as an AIFF file at 48 KHz and then importing back into FCP. This works OK so I'll have to stick with this 'till I can sort it out.
Many thanks to you all for your help.
Regards

Yes Vic,

eventually it was very good. And appart from that one hickup it is a really easy program to use without reading manuals.

I just started to export into dvcpro and found that using quicktime pro, you can export audio from its source rate to whatever your final sampling rate needs to be. This is great to swap out an audio track from 32k to 48k. Also the audio track is small and fast to rewrite compared to doing the clip as a whole.

I don't suppose they used a word like "mofo"...:-)

Actually, I can recall hearing about "gig line" as early as Boy Scouts (scoutmaster thought he was still in the Corps) and the habit of checking it persists to this day.

Potential User Questions
 

Hi All,

I'm about to make the jump from PC to Mac. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to go with the Dual 1ghz G4. I will be purchasing this to edit with Final Cut Pro. I have a few questions...please forgive me if they seem stupid, but remember I'll be new to Mac and FCP.

I keep hearing/reading about RT effects, etc. I know with FCP I'll have to render, but are you able to see your effects at all before rendering? My question is: are you able to view your effects with some type of preview quality? I'm coming from working with PCs and the Pinnacle Studio software and the Vegas Video software I've used both let you see your effects before rendering the final full quality project.

What are the titling capabilities in FCP 3? I've read that it includes some type of Boris plug-in for text? I've seen very few examples of what the type looks like in FCP.

Also, does anyone have any experience with the Shuttle Pro device? Do you like it? Dislike it?

I've already found some good info here on this board. I'll be saving my money that I was going to put towards the Matrox RT. Doesn't look like its worth it if it doesn't work with OSX. The thread about monitors was really helpful.

I'll be here with plenty of questions once I get the system and start working with it. Thanks in advance for any help!

-Mike

I'm also interested to hear peoples opinions on the Shuttle Pro and also FCP dedicated keyboards

Video Card Question
 

I'm looking for ways to save some money when purchasing my new Mac. I'm thinking of going with the Radeon video card versus the nvidia. What do you think? I'll be using the computer mostly for video editing, won't be using it for games and right now do not plan on any 3D projects. Is this an ok option to save a hundred bucks to put towards more memory or a second hard drive?

-Mike

Both cards are more than enough for video editing. The Radeon will do the job well. It has 32MB of DDR RAM which is more than enough for video application

I have used the shuttle pro for almost a year now and I find it a big help. I have it plugged into the left USB port on my stock Apple keyboard and a Microsoft trackball into the right USB port. I alternate using the two input devices and keyboard shortcuts. When I am logging footage and such the contour works real well for me. i've been editing for years so I use alot of keyboard shortcuts to speed things up. The buttons on the contour are programable and you can download setups for other programs like After Effects and Photoshop. They sent me an email several days ago that they would have a big announcement at NAB. So wait and see. If you don't edit with the keyboard I suggest trying to learn it. In my opinion the best way would be to get one of the custom keyboards and force yourself to do it on the keyboard. it will really make you a faster and better editor.

Jeff Donald

I've been using the Post-Op Video keyboard for FCP for a couple of years, and wasn't aware of how much I depend on it until bringing home my new system recently and booting up FCP--looking down at the stock keyboard gave me a bit of a shock! I definitely recommend it...

Mike -
I think that that's a very good idea. The Radeon will do the job just fine.

Hard Drive Partitioning?
 

I've heard that it is a good idea to partition your hard drive. Will this help the computer's performance when it comes to video work? Also, is this easy to do and do any of you recommend it or not recommend doing this?

Honestly I don't see an advantage of doing this. I'd rather have two separate large capacity hard drives.