DV Stream is a lower quality setting. Change your video settings.

Unfortuantely, this is a common complaint here... You can find some info about this if you search for "out of sync" under the search function.

In brief, the problem seems worse with Canon cameras and sync issue just gets more pronounced the longer your capture is. I don't know what software you're editing with or what version it is, but FCP 3 has a User Preferences option where you can designate the program to keep audio/video in sync, whereas in FCP 4 (some or all versions, I don't know) the sync adjust is built in.

Anyway, a quick search on this site will turn up many explanations and some workarounds that other people have used. Good luck.

Try trashing the FCP preferences, the instruction are in the post at the top of the page.

What should I set my LCD monitor for closest possible video output match. I don't have an external monitor.

Thanks

anybody? this is really slowing my progress in finishing up videos....

Sorry for all the questions, I really am. This is my first few days on a mac/fcp and I want to get all my major gripes worked out so I can be happy. This is my last question for a while, I promise.

Ok when I have the capture window open it doesn't play any audio, but it captures it as normal. Is there anyway to get it to play the audio while you have the capture window open? Because I kind of need that.

<<<-- Originally posted by Steve LaClair : Sorry for all the questions, I really am. This is my first few days on a mac/fcp and I want to get all my major gripes worked out so I can be happy. This is my last question for a while, I promise.

Ok when I have the capture window open it doesn't play any audio, but it captures it as normal. Is there anyway to get it to play the audio while you have the capture window open? Because I kind of need that. -->>>

You would need to plug in the audio rca inputs (white and red) from the camera to the computer.
Or you can do what I do, if you have a camera with a LCD screen that plays back the audio too, use it as your audio source.

Oh damn, I thought it was just something I was missing, Or could I even get the left and right stereo cables that turn into the headphone jack at the end and just shove them in the audio in jack. But thanks for letting me know I didn't screw anything up, I have a lcd on my vx2100 but I don't think i'm going to be using that much longer for capturing footage. But most one chips have lcd's anyways, so I'll be in good shape either way. Thanks.

Check out this thread. Your questions should be answered.


http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28215

You can try using the "SMPTE-C" or "NTSC (1953)" profiles. Alternately, if you have access to a monitor color calibration system you'll want to create a custom profile for your monitor.

But, honestly, no matter what you do the color space on your Mac's monitor will not really match that of your video's true color space. So be cautious of attempting to make accurate color corrections if you need to do so.

THanks Ken, maybe i should consider a monitor. Is there an inexpensive monitor that you can recommend that can output from FCP firewire?

No production monitors (that I know of) will take Firewire input. All will require an analog signal, such as a composite. That means you'll have to come out of a deck, your camera or some type of a/d converter.

There are many good production monitors. Browse through B&H's site. Sony is the gold standard, but JVC and Panasonic have very good units, too. A 13" is a good, economical size. 9" is just a bit small and generally a bit too low of resolution for desktop color work, in my experience.

i just replaced my old viewsonic crt with a 17" apple cd. i've found and annoying bug it has while playing back footage in the FCP4 viewer windows. i see a strange ripple effect (on/off) that doesn't show up in the quicktime clips in my scratch disk and isn't on the original footage. my "system settings" for playback are rt unlimited ~ high etc.. i've moved them all around and the bug remains. i've also laid it back to tape (from FCP4) and the image is clean. it appears as if it some playback conflict/refresh rate issue the 17" apple cd has with final cut. any advice or tips? if it were a slow refresh rate issue (tearing) wouldn't it appear in my quicktime viewer or when i view a dvd with idvd? i can't figure out why it only appears in the fcp4 viewer windows! what gives......


powermac g4 1.25 ghz (sp) ~ 1.25 RAM ~ os x (10.3.4)
200 gb western digital firewire drive ata 100

Sorry, I thought I'd posted my solution. I put the Qt file in the trash then clicked into FCP and when it cried 'missing file', I brought the file out of the trash and reconnected it and everything was wonderful.

Thanks,
elmer

Lowering the quality setting didn't help? Do you have the latest video drivers installed?

Jeff, you always seem to be able to answer the questions i have about DVDSP2 very quickly. Have you ever built a DVD9 or anything bigger? I have heard that there are now dual layer DVD10 and DVD11. can DVDSP2 or 3 handle burning the image of a DVD10 (dual layer) or a DVD11 to a hard drive? All i know is that it can handle DVD9s. If you have can you shoot me an email to alfredbot9000@yahoo.com becuase i was wondering if it would be possilbe to give you a call or have you call me because we are in a slump with making a dvd9 for a band because of size constraints we may have to go to a dvd10 or 11.

thanks much.

I'm still using DVD SP 2 and as far as I know DVD9 is it for this version. DVD SP 3 might do DVD10 or 11, but I doubt it. It will do a Video_TS file to a hard drive and your replicator may be able to do a DVD10 or 11 from the HD. You might also want to ask on the Apple support forum here. (http://discussions.info.apple.com/dvdstudiopro/)

I would think that you could author two separate projects and burn each to a side of the DVD10. I don't see why that wouldn't work.

After re-installing FCP 4.0 (to fix other problems involving inability to export to Compressor) on my G4 (have OS X 10.3.4, and two external hard drives), I tried to open projects that I had worked on before, and got the message: "Cannot read file. It appears to be corrupted." Tried multiple projects that had been on other drives, same answer. Then, I download the FCP HD upgrade, restart my computer, and try to launch it from my dock, but it won't launch. Other programs will launch, though. Closest I can get into my FCP projects is to launch the project's shortcut off my desktop, and then FCP 4.0 opens, with the "corrupted file" message.

Can anyone help me? To see what else I've already tried, go to the thread at: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?threadid=28158&goto=newpost

Thanks for any help you can give.

hmm thanks for the link ray but thats not the same problem i am having.
FCP is taking the quality out of my audio track - i can still hear the music but it sounds much worse than in iTunes

Possibly your memory - be sure you have at least 1 to 1.5 gig of ram. I had the same problem where I thought the music (which was an imported MP3) was cutting in and out but only marginally. When I actually exported it, it was fine, but while previewing edits it seemed skippy (like it was choppy) so to speak. Also when I exported it to a Quicktime Movie, the audio did seem to be the same. Memory should solve that issue.

After you let us know about the memory config your using, maybe someone else can chime in with some advise.

Good luck.

Projects in FCP HD can not be read (in most cases) in FCP 4.1 You'll need to update here (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/finalcutprohd.html)

Hey everyone...
I'm working on a video project that is a montage of still pictures. I have created videos like this many times before and am familiar with the whole keyframing process, but there is one problem I can never seem to figure out:

When I add motion to these pictures (slow zooming or panning, or both), the more detailed areas in the picture will become jagged and shaky. this appears in the final cut viewer window as well as the NTSC monitor. Can anyone tell me how to fix this problem, so that the pictures appear smoothly as they move across the screen?

I am using 3.2 megapixel images, and have not modified them in photoshop in any way before hand, and I don't want to unless that's the only way to fix this issue. I have tried deinterlacing the montage video but it does not fix anything.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all

I'm amazed by FCP 4.5, it's really great but there is a bug in capture (under my setup anyway) that is getting really annoying. When I try to "Capture NOW" it seems to behave very slugginsh but it eventually pops up the window showing the footage from the tape. Usually it has lost a few seconds from the point I hit capture now.

Leave it logging for a few minutes and I press escape. Now I get the spinng beachball and it fills the remaining space on my drive with a file called untitled-av. I need to reboot to get out of this loop.

I have tried to search for this on this site but there are no answers. Soembody mentions that I should limit the capture to 30 mminutes and I have done that to no avail.

This bug or misconfiguration is really annoying and I have started to use GCam to log my footage but I lose the information about the tape doing it this way and cannot relog in the future.

Anybody else having this problem? I've seen mention of it on the apple support forums and the solution was to stop Norton. I had Norton installed but I think I've stopped it. Does it need to be removed from the disk completly?

I have not dumped my configuration files as mentioned at the top of this forum but I will try that if somebody has noticed that doing this will solve the problem.

Any input is appreciated...
Many thanks
Donie

<<<-- Originally posted by Jerry Ricciotti : hmm thanks for the link ray but thats not the same problem i am having.
FCP is taking the quality out of my audio track - i can still hear the music but it sounds much worse than in iTunes -->>>

Go into Easy setup and check what way you have the audio setup. Is it set to stero 48Khz? Just guessing.

I had the problem with audio as reference by the link above and it solved it by converting it to aiff. Have you tried that? Make sure to convert it to the format you are using in the timline ie: stereo 48Khz I presume you are using. If you set it to something else you are putting a lot of strain on the playback as it has to convert in real time and there may be problems with that if your machine is being stressed by other stuff on the timeline.

Just some thoughts. Hopefully you'll sort it out. Let us know if you solve it.

regards
Donie

I would guess you are still having issues with Norton. are you sure it's not running in the background? You can always use Batch Capture instead of Capture Now.

Hi. .
Shopping for hard drives.
I am getting confused by the wordage.
Looking at Maxtor 250GB SATA for my G5, 1.8 Dual. Want to have video scratch, storage & render disc for FCE2.
Any one know what "Ultra" means as opposed to not. The price is less, as well as the warranty period, however, I don't know what the difference would be compared to other models, without the "Ultra" wording.
I have gone to the Maxtor web site and cannot find good explanatory descriptions in layperson terms.
Thanks.
Any feedback appreciated.
Loretta

ULTRA - $154.
Maxtor 250 GB Complete Ultra Series Hard Drive Kit
Huge 8 MB Cache!
7200 RPM Ultra ATA/133
w/ 1-year warranty
Model: L01P250


NOT "ULTRA"
Maxtor 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model 7Y250M0, OEM Drive Only

$199.00
Model# 7Y250M0
Item # N82E16822144327
Specifications:
Capacity: 250GB
Average Seek Time: 9 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: Serial ATA
Features: S.M.A.R.T. compliance features
Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years
Packaging: OEM Drive Only

I believe "Ultra" refers to the Ultra/133MHz buss they use. Depending on the age of your computer, you may or may not be able to take advantage of the faster buss speeds.

Has anyone tried BOTH the Bella DV keyboard (with jog shuttle) and the Contour Shuttle Pro? If so, which do you prefer?

Do the colored keys really make a difference to editing?

Thanks.

have a Sony Media Converter and a Panasonic AG-DV2500. Now I've gone through enough posts to realize that FCP cannot recognize two capture devices simultaneously. So I turned off the Panasonic, as I need to capture from my media converter. However, I have my device control set to non-controllable device (I'm coming from a VHS deck), and am using the DV 48khz capture preset, and have set my scratch disk. I have checked my cabling, and am going out of the vhs deck to the media converter via RCA cables, and then into the back of my G4 via a firewire cable. The converter is set to Analog In, and is powered up.

The message I get is:
Attempt to capture video without a video device selected. Please select a video device in your capture presets and try again.

Perhaps related, when I go to "Video Playback" under "View", my choices are:
None
(Missing) Apple Firewire NTSC

And under Audio Playback, my choices are grayed out. And also perhaps related, I cannot playback any audio.

What should I do?

Try start FCP with the convertor on and then off and see if FCP will recognize it one way or the other. Some devices are particular about being on or off when the software starts. Once the capture device recognized, you should have options for playing back audio, internal sound and external, if a device is detected.

Hi Jeff- well, I re-did all my cabling, and now, I get my choices back. But I'm back to a problem I had before, and can't recall how I fixed it---I go to capture from the VHS deck, and I get the message that "the operation cannot be completed as there is no video."

I also must still have something wrong, because when I hit the DV "in" on my converter, while I have my analog device hooked up (and the Panasonic DV deck powered off), everything plays okay through my monitor. When I change it to "analog in", (which logically should be pressed if I'm digitizing from VHS, right?), I get a tone sound- constant- and the video starts flickering between a blue screen and snow on my NTSC monitor. This is not something I experienced before, but it seems everytime I fix one problem I end up with another anyway, so I guess it's par for the course.

It appears that you may have a video and audio feedback loop created. You may need to re-cable again. You can try disconnecting just one set of wires, and the feedback should be gone. But a constant tone, as you describe, is almost a sure indication of cables connected in a loop. A loop is when the A/V Outs of one device are connected to the A/V Ins of another device. Then the outs of the second device are feed back into the in of the first device, creating a loop.

Hi Jeff

I seem to have fixed it. Removed Norton completly after a struggle, it sure gets around... Uninstalled didn't work, just failed miserably. Had to delete everything manually.

Anyway, didn't solve the problem...

Took your advice and removed the preferences etc as mentioned at the top of the forum. OK, lost the custom settings I had created for the XL1 and capturing audio etc but it seems to be working OK now.

I can capture short clips and press escape and it doesn't freeze. I will be capturing longer stuff over the weekend so I'll give it a good testing then.

One thing I noticed is that in the capture directory it's creating

untitled-av
untitled-av-1
untitled-av-2
...
untitled-av-21

Is this normal to create these 22 files? I deleted them and I can still play the other proper clips it captured. These files are all small at 8K each. Should I ignore them?

For now I'm happy to start using it agian. thanks for the help. really appreciate that.

Donie

Is it legal/permited/ok to use an educational version of FCP to learn video editing and to also work on a project that may be commercially profitable in the future?
Where is the line drawn?

The FCP that we are about to purchase will be used for educational purposes and to edit a documentary we (2 fellow students) are trying to produce on dvd and then sell to a distributor.

Is it ok to use an educational version to learn editing and to edit the documentary, then upgrade to the FULL version of FCP as soon as we start selling the dvd? (Informed answers would be greatly appreciated)

Cheers,
Mark

Your 2nd paragraph expresses your intent to use FCP to develop a project for commercial use. That is not allowed under the terms of an educational license even if you are also using it for education.

We are all getting educated when we use these products, that does not mark them as educational use.

Donie,

It's normal for FCP to name files in that manner, however, if you name them in the description field of the capture and log window, they will show up as what you named them. If you capture and leave the description field blank and then rename the clips in the Browser, they will still have the generic names FCP gives them. The names will only be references in that case. It's best to name them as you capture them.

If you delete them you are screwed.

The small files you are deleting must be from either the Auto Save Vault, Thumbnail Cache Files, or Wavfoerm Cache Files folders.

FCP sets up 7 folders by default, 3 of which should NOT be located on your system drive but rather on a dedicated media drive, whether internal or external:

Audio Render Files
Capture Scratch Files
Render Files

Project Files can be saved any where but FCP defaults to Documents/Final Cut Pro Documents/PROJECT NAME. In the FCP System Preferences you can tell FCP where to save files. Below I have copied and pasted this same info that I prepared for my boss. He recently invested in an FCP set up after switching from a PC. Hope this helps. Just replace MEDEA Raid with whatever your drive is named.

------------------------

Non-Media Files

Project Files:
Documents/Final Cut Pro Documents/PROJECT NAME

Auto Save Vault:
Documents/Final Cut Pro Documents/Auto Save Vault/PROJECT NAME

Thumbnail Cache Files:
Documents/Final Cut Pro Documents/Thumbnail Cache Files/PROJECT NAME

Waveform Cache Files:
Documents/Final Cut Pro Documents/Waveform Cache Files/PROJECT NAME

Note: these folders and files are stored in the default location that FCP sets up and should never be put on a media drive because they are constantly being written and re-written and can cause fragmentation of the media drive.

Capture and Render Folders/Media Files

Audio Render Files:
Medea Raid/Audio Render Files/PROJECT NAME

Capture Scratch Files:
Medea Raid/Capture Scratch/PROJECT NAME

Render Files:
Medea Raid/Render Files/PROJECT NAME

Note: Final Cut will automatically make audio render, capture scratch, and render sub folders for any project and use the name that was given to the Project File.

I need to stick a countdown at the head of my project and am specifically interested in the old classic film academy leader. Is there some sort of sight that may provide such a thing? Would love some help locating it....

What NLE are you using, Tim? FCP actually provides one free, although it reads "Final Cut Pro".

Offhand, I don't know of a site that provides these countdown leaders free. But I can tell you that they're relatively simple to create using something like Photoshop. For that matter you can create one directly in FCP.

HI Dave

The *-av-1 files were in the capture directory along with the actual video logged. I will look at this again in case they had been dumped there during a previous run. I'm sure they were'nt.

I logged that last test without regard to the project layout and I am aware that I shouldn't delete the dirs you mention.

It's just these av files that worry me. I have a feeling that there is some sort of bug here and it'll be addressed in a future release but for now I'm happy to work around it.

Thanks for the help
Donie

I think you will have to read the actual FCP educational license if you want the real answer. Have you done that Ned, or are you speaking in general terms? Conceptually I'd agree with you, but that isn't the same thing...

As Boyd points out, your concept is a great idea, who wants to pay for something before we use it. However, Neds comments are more to the fact of the matter. I teach, and this topic has come up before and our school's counsel took the view that if the intent of the project was commercial, even though there were no sales, it was violating the EULA.

Actually I was agreeing with Ned's concept, not Mark's! :-)

Donie,

That's odd. I now understand what you are talking about. I use Final Cut Express at home and Final Cut Pro HD at work. I'll check the folders this A.M. to see if I see anything like what you've described.

I edit in FCP 3...does it provide a countdown and if so where?

Thanks,
Tim

I was afraid you'd ask that. I use FCP 4 but I believe 3 is similar in this matter. When you use "Print to Video" you are presented with a panel offering several options, one of which is "Countdown". From there you can select FCP's built-in countdown or a clip of your own.

. . . Note before reading: I am a former PC NLE guy turned Mac out of desperation to find a system without stupid bugs that makes everything crash all day long, so you're listening to a very angry individual right now . . . that said . . .

I'm installing new software on a brand new mac G5. (FCP HD)

The software comes bundled with other software like live type and Cinema tools and what not. As usual, the stupid read me files don't say a word about where to put things like the plug ins for some of these things in the "Extras" section on the FCP HD DVD, and sense they also don't self install, I was trying to figure it out on my own . . . .yes, I hate the entire computer world . . .

Anyway,

I didn't know where to put this crap, but decided to stick it all under a personal folder so I'd have access to it and wouldn't have to stick the DVD in and everything again, and I could just copy it from the personal folder to the correct folder when I found out about it.

Then later, I found some info in one of the manuals regarding the installation of After Effects plugins, it said put the plug ins into . . .

Home/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data/Plugins

I checked my computer and sure enough it had that set up
And I assumed this is where all FCP plug ins go, so I copied the files into that folder and then tried to delete them from my personal one and I get a meassage saying I'm not allowed to do this, which I assume has something to do with the stupid "security access" or something.

Anyway, I still had the installation DVD in the machine and figured it might have something to do with that, so I took it out, and then suddenly I was allowed to delete the folder I created in my personal folder with all the plugins I had put there. So, I didn't want that there anymore, naturally, I put them in the trash and emptied it.

Then I went back to:

"Home/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data/Plugins"

. . . accept . . . .

The damn thing no longer listed "Final Cut Pro User Data" folder. Naturally, there wasn't a "Plugins" folder either.

WHAT THE HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know what the hell happened, but now I'm worried the "Final Cut Pro User Data" folder had something else in it besides plug ins, and the "Plugins" folder had plugins I might have somehow deleted . . . I REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO ANOTHER FCP INSTALL AS I AM TERRIFIED THE DAMN THING WILL NOW HAVE STRANGE BUGS . . . can someone give me if I deleted crap I needed, and then explain to me IN DETAIL what to do with all this extra crap on the FCP DVD please:

1. Boris Caligraphy

2. DV camera Tuner Scripts

3. EDL Access

4. Head Leaders for Cinema Tools 2

5. Live Type Extras

6. This other DVD called PEAK TYPE EXPRESS


Sorry to sound so angry and pointed . . . but I've dealt with crashing PC's for 7 years and simply can't give any leeway on my new system.

Thanks!

I was also a "long-time PC guy". (Actually a vast understatement, but clarity on that point is not important here.) I, too, was bewildered when first faced with installing and de-installing software on the Mac. I was accustomed to placing apps in cubbies of my personal preference.

Big mistake, particularly with OS 10.x.

My first recommendation is that you just go to bed Laurence (if you've not already done so). You seem pretty frustrated and fried...been there myself many times.

My second suggestion is that you remove the software you've installed and start fresh. Yes, painful. But just write it off as a learning experience.

ALL Mac applications should be installed in the Applications folder. I've not yet encountered an installer that does not prefer this and it makes for a tidy system. It also makes for a system that's far easier to manage. The apps know where they want to place their plug-ins. FCP, for example, places them in Library > Application Support > Final Cut Pro > Plugins.

In general, when installing Mac apps let the installer "do its thing", making sure only that it wants to install to Applications.

Have a good weekend.

Hi Chris,

Are the images jagged and shaky after rendering? Do you have your renders set to high?

I've done a bunch of photo montages and the RT previews have always been shaky. On rendering and print-to-video / export to Quicktime, everything is smooth.

I was trying to figure out how to build a similar title effect that I have seen many times on commercials with Boris Graffiti with no luck... Was wondering if there was anybody out there that could try to help...

The effect is like this... You have a simple title and then from with in the actual title you have a wave of light that is emitted and pans across the screen...

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Brian Gauthier

Hi. .

I have made the biggest blunder. while filming an interview..my big finger must have hit the date and time button on my 8mm camera, and it recorded through the whole piece. And, yes I looked right at it in the view finder and it didn't register. I was thinking about so many other things.
We learn as we go and gotta laugh about it.!

So, I'm sure somone else has done this and been brave enough to admit it and ask the following question . . .
Can it be edited out, separated from, removed in FCE?
Hopeful