final cut pro hd
 

anybody seen it in action? any info

torrey c. harris

Viewing on TV while editing?
 

I know I can view edits on TV if I run the firewire to the camera and then connect the camera (or deck) to the TV but is that the only option?

The graphics board on the G5 has two outputs. Apple makes a DVI to TV adaptor (s-video, RCA video, no audio) but does that somehow just pick up the TV part of the signal in editing software? I talked to the salesman at the Apple store and he seemed to think that all it would do is allow me to set up a TV as a second monitor - not much help.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

You can use a video monitor/TV connected to an additional monitor port without problem. If you have the monitor connected and working then just go into the FCP A/V settings dialog and your second monitor will appear on the drop down list of external video devices. Just choose it from the list instead of firewire and FCP will send the previews to that device. Another option would be to add a second PCI graphics card that has s-video output (assuming these are G5 compatible... not sure here, but I have one that works fine on my G4).

I also use a Sony standalone DVD recorder that has firewire input. I send video over firewire from FCP and have my monitor connected to the component video output of the recorder.

Final Cut Pro uses Quicktime (MOV) as its native file format, however they must be 720x480 and compressed with the DV codec to avoid rendering. If that's what your file is but you still need to render then there must be a mis-match between the file and your FCP sequence settings.

But if the .MOV file has been compressed with some other codec (like Sorenson) or if it's a non standard size (like 320x240 for example) it will require rendering. Or at least that's the case with FCP 3 on my G4's. Perhaps FCP 4 on a faster machine would provide some sort of RT extreme preview, but I think you would need to re-render for final output regardless.

Do you have any problems with it? I'm upgrading my comp to 768.. According to specs only 512 is necessary isn't it??

Thanks.

Can you not set FCP to use a different output codec for the project? (i.e. the same codec as the .mov) thus it might not have to render averything. I used to do this with Premiere on the Mac. I don't have FCP4 at hand right now so I can't test this.

Wow. I didn't know you could do that...

However...

If you want to be able to judge your colors correctly, and external monitor routed thru your camera or deck would be the only way to go. The footage viewed thru a CRT monitor are not as true as those thru an NTSC monitor.

well, if you own 4.0 you get an upgrade to HD automatically.

I haven't edited any HD footage yet but all the other upgrade elements seem pretty nice.

Little speed increases, refinement of a few tools.

nice upgrade for free!

here's a great review of it:

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage...hd_jordan.html

Uh..... I think you need to check you link, it goes to some airline.


The keyboard you get from EZ is a regular keyboard but it has all the shortcuts on custom color keys so it's easier to see them and use them.

If your USB keyboard works connected to your powerbook (ie: you can type, all the keys work like a mac-made keyboard) then there is no reason you can't just replace the keys or add tags to them for the shortcuts.

I bought an EZkeyboard for FCP and like it--- it's helped me get my shortcuts down so I can use it or another keyboard quickly.

The thing I also like is the Shuttle Pro. I don't use the pre-sets buttons as much but I love having the jog shuttle wheels available to me.

you can NEVER have enough RAM.

The more RAM you have, the smoother things will run, the faster things will run, the more actions FCP specifically can load into memory at once and speed them up.

Max it out.

One thing to look at is finding the REAL specs on how much memory a computer can hold. My older G4 says it can only handle something like 768 but it holds a gig of memory.

Yes, but this adaptor will allow you to theoretically go straight through to an NTSC monitor rather than to a CRT by-passing the firewire through the camera/deck option and freeing up firewire bandwidth for drives.

Okay, since nobody wants to put a toe in the water first, let the amateur stick her neck out. Bookmark macfixit.com if you haven't already done so and visit regularly to check out what kinds of problems people are reporting and fixes. Make sure you format your firewire drives for Mac usage - or buy the ones that are preformatted for Macs. When you can't get an answer here - and the answers here are usually better because people don't distract you as much trying to interject their own problems into the thread - don't forget Apple has support/discussion fora for hardware and Apple software. So probably you knew all that already, but hey...

I'd highly recommend setting up a striped RAID for storage. Check out barefeats.com for comprehensive reports on hard drives and cards.

I was doing some research into what it would take to do HD on a G5 (I have a G4 right now) and this is what I would do for a hard drive setup:

Two 250GB Hitachi/IBM Deskstar 7K250 7200RPM SATA/150 HD with 8MB Data Buffer.
$480 ($240 each)

FirmTek SeriTek/1S2 Serial ATA/150 Dual Channel Mac PCI Controller - Use Serial ATA (SATA) drives in any PowerMac with an available PCI Slot.
$64.

This would give you 500 gigabytes of storage, and it would be inside the G5's case, eliminating the need for any external firewire cases or power supplies. It's also very, very fast. About 111 to 120 megabytes/second sustained read/write.

Half a terabyte of fast storage for just over $500. Not bad!

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

I saw the demo at the announcement at NAB in Las Vegas. It was very impressive.

Had 4 streams of HD video (one full-screen with three more scaled down at 1080i) running simultaneously with a keyframed gausian blur on the main image. It all ran without a hitch. And it could be mastered to tape without rendering.

I ordered the upgrade for my old v1.2. I'm editing on Media 100 but am now seriously considering making a change by next year.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

Making Photoshop masks for FCP?
 

I need to make a mask in Photoshop that I can use on some video in FCP. So far I've been trying to use the 'Image Mask' filter under 'Video Filters' in the 'Matte' folder. I import my image, drag it from the bin to the 'clip box' in the filter's dialog, and select 'Alpha' for the masking (as opposed to 'Luminance'). However, I get nothing.

I have a feeling I'm creating the mask in Photoshop improperly. So my question, then, is how do I go about creating a mask image in Photoshop? Also, what is the best filter for applying this mask in FCP (without 3rd party plugins).

Thanks!!!

Never heard of firewire on dvdplayers before.. Did a search and only found a Denon that claimed it was for audio only..

Where do you find these DVD players.

Hey Kevin,

Thanks, that's what I thought, though I hate to just throw out the 256mb memory. How can I find out if I can add more than the specified memory?
It's wierd in "About this computer" it says that one slot has 256mm one has 512 and one is unused, but it's suppose to have only 2 slots and that's what tech support says though they cant (or wont) tell me why it says that there is another slot that is showing up as "unused".

Chris

There are quite a few models from all the major manufacturers, but not PLAYERS, they're RECORDERS. The consumer models only have firewire in. They offer device control through firewire out, but no video stream. I have the Sony RDR-GX7

<<<-- Originally posted by Kevin Burnfield : My older G4 says it can only handle something like 768 but it holds a gig of memory. -->>>

I suspect this is due to the fact that larger DIMM's have become available and the spec was written in consideration of the largest module that was available when your machine was introduced.

EMERGENCY | 720x480 Anamorphic in Final Cut Pro
 

HELP!!!

I'm submitting a short film for a screening at a theater, and my deadline is tomorrow afternoon ....


I have a sequence of the film in Premiere Pro, and saved it as a .mov Quicktime file to import it into Final Cut Pro. In Premiere, the Project Settings and Export Movie settings both are set at 16:9, anamorphic, 720 x 480.

When i play the file on my PC, it plays back as it should. But when I import the file into Final Cut, it squeezes back up, leaving black bars at the left and right -- even though it's been rendered.

People are telling me that the problem is in Premiere -- that there must be other settings i'm missing that's changing the 720x480 settings to the standard one -- but i can't see where that might be ...

Does anyone know what the problem might be?

Thank you!

Check your FCP sequence settings, they need to be anamorphic. But from what you describe (black bars left and right) it sounds like they are correct. So probably the clip itself needs to be flagged as anamorphic. Select your .mov file in the browser (or drag it there if you have not already done so) then go to Edit > Item Properties. Check the anamorphic box.

Note that you need to do this BEFORE you drag the clip to the timeline. Now since this question came up before I just tried a little experiment: if you want to fix a clip that's already in the timeline you can double click it to open in the viewer. Go to the distort property on the motion tab and note that the aspect ratio should be .33. Change this value to 0 and the clip will be properly stretched horizontally.

Hope this helps, good luck with the deadline.

Thank you, Boyd ... I'll try your suggestions today!
Teresa

Does the problem only happen when you are sending video to your cam deck from home? you may just have dirty heads on your camera. Run a cleaner tape through it and see if your results change.

VHS/FCP setup
 

Hello! I am certain I just don't have things configured correctly, and am seeking help!!! I want to be able to digitize from a VHS deck. I have a Sony Media Converter, a VHS deck, an NTSC monitor, and a G4 with FCP 4.0.

Which cables go into what inputs/outputs to be able to digitize and see my VHS video through my NTSC monitor (has an A/B switch)?

Do I choose non-controllable device when I'm digitizing, and no time code?

Please help if you have a similar setup or know the answers to my questions.

Also, unrelated...am trying to join the DC Final Cut Pro Users Group, but have not been able to get any response from Abba Shapiro on when/where they meet....anyone got any thoughts/answers on this?

Sharon Lawler
www.picturethisvideo.net

Thanks, Boyd! You are right about the FCP anamorphic setting -- it did the trick.

Thanks, I'll run the head cleaner thru it just in case. Last night, I was at another post house and tried laying it back to tape there. It came thru pixelated. Someone made the suggestion that it might be the firewire drive not playing at a good speed. The only time it's worked is when I've transfered the footage to the hard drive on another computer and laid it back from the project that way. It's an interesting thought that I'll experiment with today. I'm going to put some footage on my hard drive and some on another external and see what happens.

Thanks,
Suz

This is indeed the exact problems I've seen using a slow external firewire drive. But I've never had any problems with 7200 RPM drives that use the Oxford 911 chipset.

Oh my gosh! I have success! I tried cleaning the head, didn't work. I tried laying back from a different drive, didn't work. Then (in addition to the other drive), I went into the Playback settings under options and set the Video Track Pitch to SP mode-DV. I thought I had that checked already, but I guess not. It's always the simplest things that drive you crazy!

Thanks for everyone's help. If this happens to you, I hope you can benefit from my discovery.
Suz

new g5
 

Ok I am so tired of waiting for the newer G5. I called apple today and spoke with one of there sales guy and he said the same thing. They don't know when they will be out. I heard may 18 even so you'll have to wait another month or 2 before you can even get them. Is anyone hearing anything different. I have projects that I need to get started on.

Modify Timcode in FCP HD
 

Since updating to Final Cut Pro HD I have noticed a horrible bug (it had better not be a feature) in the modify timecode. As of Final Cut Pro HD you can only modify the timecode if the playhead is at the start of the clip, while on all previous versions you could modify the timecode at any point in the clip. When working in a production environment, many times I am given clips that have the playhead not at the start, and it is annoying to have to modify the timecode only at the head of the clip! Many of our assistant editors tend to modify the timecode in the middle of the clip, and this can no longer be done!

I am working on something with all sources have Viz Timecode. Well I am working with stems that match up to the Visuals on the tape. The Problem is that there is only timecode on the stems tapes, when it is matching where there is picture on the tape. Otherwise there is no timecode run up. So to capture the entire run of the stems, the head doesn't have any Visual Timecode on it. To change the timecode so it matches, I need to be able to modify the timecode at any point where the playhead is, not just at the head of the clip! THIS BUG REALLY NEEDS TO BE FIXED VERY QUICKLY!

If you have $49 to spare, I recommend Aron Ranen's 2-hour training DVD, "Final Cut Pro 4.0 Basic Training." A complete fast-track course for beginners, from Logging and Capturing to Outputting to DVD.

Diclosure: I'm one of his students in San Francisco, and I really find his methods teaching methods effective.

Available at:

http://www.dvworkshops.com/fcpdvd.htm

New mounted Lacie FW HD now won't mount
 

I hooked up a new Lacie 7200 rpm FW HD to my TiPB laptop.

It's icon appeared and I initialized, set up (HFS+) and mounted it. I captured to it and then shut down.

Returning, I find the icon doesn' t appear and the Silverlining Pro, tho seeing it, can't mount it.

What's up? Why doesn't it recognize the HD? Will I have to initialize again?

thanks,
elmer

Clustered rendering coming to FCP?
 

According to this rumor -

http://thinksecret.com/news/prorendering.html

clustered rendering may be coming to FCP and DVDSP. This is the Qmaster technology currently used in Shake. According to the rumor it could mean something as simple as clustering two laptops together to take advantage of the additional processing power.

Which version of OSX?

What did you do when you returned? Was it plugged in the whole time (firewire - FW)?

When you say it doesn't mount do you mean it asks to reinitialize or do you mean the laptop won't even recognize it?

Some things to try -
Make sure the FW cable is unplugged when you power up the laptop. Power up the laptop, plug in the FW cable then turn on the drive.

Try a different cable.

I'd suggest resetting the FW port but I don't know how you do that in a laptop (in a desktop you unplug it for 5-10 minutes).

FireWire is hot swappable. Turn off the drive, unplug the FW cable, start the drive and let it spin up (about 5 to 10 seconds), then plug in the cable. disk should appear on desktop.

Sharon, did you get your questions answered? If not post back and I'll try to help.

FCP4 Slipping Sync During 23.98->29.97
 

Ok, I am in need of some troubleshooting/workaround advice for a particularly devastating problem with FCP4 sound sync. It is for my senior short film that is supposed to screen this friday. Yikes.

The project is a short 12 minutes on a 23.98fps timeline in FCP4 on OSX. When I play it back using pulldown (the option on the sequence) as NTSC 29.97 (external NTSC monitor displays fine), the sound sync drifts slowly, and by 8 to 10 minutes into the piece, it is pretty noticable. I believe the sound begins to come early, and the video starts to lag behind. If the timeline is simply stopped then started again, things are back in sync nomatter where the playhead is on the sequence.

My problem is I need to get this project recorded onto a beta deck, with sound in sync the whole way through, no stopping. Any ideas on how to fix or where to read about this issue? Anyone even seen this before? I admit I haven't searched too hard because time is so short and I am still doing 100 other things.

Thanks,
Rob

What camera did you shoot the raw footage with? A DVX100? The footage is 24fps?

Yes, the original footage was shot in 24Padvance on the DVX100. It was then captured into FCP4 at 23.98.

Also- the individual clips play in sync fine alone (sound was all manually adjusted per clip), its just gets out of sync after several minutes of continuous playback.

-Rob

See this FCP support page.