Batch Capturing from XH A1 into FCP at DVinfo.net

Alain St-Amour · February 25th, 2009, 05:59 AM

Does anyone in this forum batch capture from a XH A1 into FCP?

I always use the 'capture now' mode in FCP, but I'm having difficulties capturing a specific tape. Someone suggested that I try batch capturing, however that option is greyed-out within FCP and I'm not sure why.

I have tried every potential solution that I've come across and still nothing. Anyone?

Jonathan Shaw · February 25th, 2009, 03:44 PM

I use log and capture and it works fine. What is the exact problem that you are facing?

Bill Pryor · February 25th, 2009, 04:16 PM

I batch capture with no problem, XH A1, FCP 6.0.5 on a Macbook pro Intel. Could be something wrong with your specific tape, and the capture now option is a good thing to try. I don't know why it would be grayed out. You might bail out of capture mode, then go back in and see what happens.

Alain St-Amour · February 25th, 2009, 05:06 PM

Thanks Jonathan and Bill for replying.

I was using the 'capture now' feature to capture one specific tape. It would make FCP crash every single time the capture was complete and all the frames had been acquired, or whatever phrasing FCP uses to indicate that capture is done. However, some clips DID import, but there was no pattern that I could identify that explained why some clips imported and others didn't.

It's certainly possible that there is something wrong with the tape, but I can watch the entire tape on my tv (using the camera as a player) and there isn't a single skip, weird audio, or anomaly that I can see which points to a defective tape.

If I looked inside my 'Capture Scratch' folder I would find a text document (anywhere between 1 to 7GBs, which clearly was supposed to be a video file. A friend told me this was because the project wasn't saved between the time it captured and the time it crashed. Makes sense because it always crashes before you get a chance to do anything.

I've tried trashing my preferences, restarting FCP, turning my camera on and off, restarting the computer, opening a fresh new project to capture this tape, ensuring that all sequence settings, framerates, audio settings, matched the tape but nothing helped.

Recently someone recommended using 'batch capture' to see if this would address the difficulties I've been having which is when I realized that I couldn't access that option. I have tried every capture preset available to me within FCP and yet nothing seems to work.

Jonathan, I use log and capture all the time and it's always worked for me until this tape.

Bill, can you tell me what capture preset setting you're using?

Thanks again.

Battle Vaughan · February 25th, 2009, 05:31 PM

If all else fails, you might output from the dv connection as downsampled standard def; you lose something from HDV to be sure, but if it's a matter of sd vs. nothing, might be worth a try. You would need an av to dv converter to then input into fcp.

FWIW I have never had any luck with batch capture but capture now has never failed me...must be a timecode break somewhere in the tape? Dirty heads? Can you borrow another camera or playback deck and see if it works with that? /Battle Vaughan /miamiherald.com video team

David Morgan · February 25th, 2009, 09:17 PM

what are your capture settings in FCP?

Jonathan Shaw · February 25th, 2009, 09:26 PM

Actually I have had a similar issue maybe...
Go to user prefs and see what the settings are for capture and whether you have any of the boxes ticked that say abort on dropped frames etc etc and also set the section on timecode break to "warn on timecode break"

Hope it works

Jon

David Morgan · February 25th, 2009, 09:46 PM

Alain,
when you initialize log and capture (command F8), what are your capture settings? Look at the tab at the top of the capture window. If it's set for "non-controllable device" you can't batch capture. You can however, "capture now".

Ian Lautsch · February 27th, 2009, 04:28 PM

Have you rebuilt your disk permissions latley? Sometimes that can clear up little bugs like this.

Also check your capture settings. If you capture with Pro res it will just capture the whole tape automatically. Might be a good alternative to capture now. Batch capture is mainly used when you go through the tape first and log clips. Then when your done, you can batch capture and it grabs just those clips. If you have no clips, you don't have anything to batch capture, it will be greyed out.

Alain St-Amour · February 28th, 2009, 08:58 AM

My apologies to everyone for having abandoned this post the last few days. I've been knocked out with a serious flu, but I will return to this thread in the next day or two with some new info, and possibly another question or two.

Thank you all for contributing to the discussion! This is very helpful!

February 25th, 2009, 05:59 AM	#1
Alain St-Amour New Boot Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada Posts: 20	Batch Capturing from XH A1 into FCP Does anyone in this forum batch capture from a XH A1 into FCP? I always use the 'capture now' mode in FCP, but I'm having difficulties capturing a specific tape. Someone suggested that I try batch capturing, however that option is greyed-out within FCP and I'm not sure why. I have tried every potential solution that I've come across and still nothing. Anyone? __________________ In Solidarity, Alain St-Amour

February 25th, 2009, 03:44 PM	#2
Jonathan Shaw Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 552	I use log and capture and it works fine. What is the exact problem that you are facing? __________________ www.ginclearfilm.com www.facebook.com/ginclearfilm

February 25th, 2009, 05:06 PM	#4
Alain St-Amour New Boot Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada Posts: 20	Thanks Jonathan and Bill for replying. I was using the 'capture now' feature to capture one specific tape. It would make FCP crash every single time the capture was complete and all the frames had been acquired, or whatever phrasing FCP uses to indicate that capture is done. However, some clips DID import, but there was no pattern that I could identify that explained why some clips imported and others didn't. It's certainly possible that there is something wrong with the tape, but I can watch the entire tape on my tv (using the camera as a player) and there isn't a single skip, weird audio, or anomaly that I can see which points to a defective tape. If I looked inside my 'Capture Scratch' folder I would find a text document (anywhere between 1 to 7GBs, which clearly was supposed to be a video file. A friend told me this was because the project wasn't saved between the time it captured and the time it crashed. Makes sense because it always crashes before you get a chance to do anything. I've tried trashing my preferences, restarting FCP, turning my camera on and off, restarting the computer, opening a fresh new project to capture this tape, ensuring that all sequence settings, framerates, audio settings, matched the tape but nothing helped. Recently someone recommended using 'batch capture' to see if this would address the difficulties I've been having which is when I realized that I couldn't access that option. I have tried every capture preset available to me within FCP and yet nothing seems to work. Jonathan, I use log and capture all the time and it's always worked for me until this tape. Bill, can you tell me what capture preset setting you're using? Thanks again. __________________ In Solidarity, Alain St-Amour

February 25th, 2009, 09:26 PM	#7
Jonathan Shaw Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 552	Actually I have had a similar issue maybe... Go to user prefs and see what the settings are for capture and whether you have any of the boxes ticked that say abort on dropped frames etc etc and also set the section on timecode break to "warn on timecode break" Hope it works Jon __________________ www.ginclearfilm.com www.facebook.com/ginclearfilm

February 28th, 2009, 08:58 AM	#10
Alain St-Amour New Boot Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada Posts: 20	My apologies to everyone for having abandoned this post the last few days. I've been knocked out with a serious flu, but I will return to this thread in the next day or two with some new info, and possibly another question or two. Thank you all for contributing to the discussion! This is very helpful! __________________ In Solidarity, Alain St-Amour

February 25th, 2009, 04:16 PM	#3
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	I batch capture with no problem, XH A1, FCP 6.0.5 on a Macbook pro Intel. Could be something wrong with your specific tape, and the capture now option is a good thing to try. I don't know why it would be grayed out. You might bail out of capture mode, then go back in and see what happens.

February 25th, 2009, 05:31 PM	#5
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	If all else fails, you might output from the dv connection as downsampled standard def; you lose something from HDV to be sure, but if it's a matter of sd vs. nothing, might be worth a try. You would need an av to dv converter to then input into fcp. FWIW I have never had any luck with batch capture but capture now has never failed me...must be a timecode break somewhere in the tape? Dirty heads? Can you borrow another camera or playback deck and see if it works with that? /Battle Vaughan /miamiherald.com video team

February 25th, 2009, 09:17 PM	#6
David Morgan Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Burbank CA Posts: 466	what are your capture settings in FCP?

February 25th, 2009, 09:46 PM	#8
David Morgan Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Burbank CA Posts: 466	Alain, when you initialize log and capture (command F8), what are your capture settings? Look at the tab at the top of the capture window. If it's set for "non-controllable device" you can't batch capture. You can however, "capture now".

February 27th, 2009, 04:28 PM	#9
Ian Lautsch New Boot Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Orange, CA Posts: 5	Have you rebuilt your disk permissions latley? Sometimes that can clear up little bugs like this. Also check your capture settings. If you capture with Pro res it will just capture the whole tape automatically. Might be a good alternative to capture now. Batch capture is mainly used when you go through the tape first and log clips. Then when your done, you can batch capture and it grabs just those clips. If you have no clips, you don't have anything to batch capture, it will be greyed out.