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?

I'm confident that the 500MHz iBook will run FCP3. The two caveats that come to mind are:

- being a G3 processor you will not get "real-time" effects processing (which requires a G4), and

- the smaller screen may make life a bit awkward since the canvas, the browser, the timeline, the tool palettes, etc. will all have to cram into a narrower screen.

If you proceed with the iBook, or even a PowerBook, you should definitely budget to also get a good external FireWire hard disk to use as your capture drive (as you noted).

That was another question I had. Since the iBook only has one FireWire port, is it even possible to capture from my camera to an external drive? I know that they make FireWire hubs, but do these hubs allow for the camera(deck) and an external drive to operate simultaniously and capture footage to the external drive?

Also, I know that memory is important in Windows based systems (which I currently use), and I assume that it is important in Mac based too, but is it to the same extent, or is it more processor intensive than anything else? What kind of render times would i be getting on a G3-500?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Yes, memory is quite important to FCP and you'll want to load up the iBook. OS 10 (which, I assume, you'll be using) is basically Unix and will efficiently use as much memory as you give it.

Re: Firewire ports, good point. Firewire operates as a chain-bus which means that devices can be daisy-chained (somewhat like a SCSI bus but without the device id conflict hassles). When shopping for a Firewire hard disk be sure you get one that has TWO Firewire ports. These will typically be 6-pin ports (one edge is rounded, the other is squared). One will be attached to your iBook and the other will be cabled to your camera during capture. Note that you'll need a 6-pin to 4-pin cable for the camera connection since cameras feature a 4-pin port (small, squared with a dimple on one long edge). You can also use a Firewire hub but you may not really need one to just use a camera and hard disk.

There are several good Firewire hard disks available today. You'll often see 7200rpm drives being cited as a requirement for capture and editing but a good 5400rpm drive will also be able to keep pace with DV's requirements. The Maxtor 80Gb 7200rpm drive may be one of the better values today. Also take a look at www.firewiredirect.com and www.wiebetech.com.

Have fun!

you could also just capture to the internal HD then move off footage onto an external FW HD.....but if you're gonna do offline RT- you wont need too much space.......

have fun.

Don't forget
 

Trent,

Don't forget to add in the $300 Applecare protection plan. At my job we have over 40 books ranging from Wall Streets through Tibooks and every one of them at one time or another has had some kind of service (mostly from impact damage/squished screen/broken ports/ many many many shorting out 45 watt power adapters (($95 ea)) /etc.) . Of course when I got my mac at home I passed on the protection plan. 14 months later I needed a new logic board.....the price for that was more than the 3 year protection plan.

Live and learn. If you are transporting this in any way be wise and get the plan.

jeffyr

The render times are slow because it uses the G3 processor rather than the more expensive G4 that is used in the towers. Like Ken suggests, it would be good for off lining and then finsh on a faster machine.

Jeff

Print to Video problem
 

hello FCP users....

..having a small problem and was hoping someone here might be able to list a solution....

during print to video, I can no longer see the video on the camcorder - i can hear the audio but no video is present...I thought it was the FW cable but if i select the "show current" option in the "View" menu- the viewer on the camcorder will show whatever frame is currently onscreen in FCP... I've tried just about every combination of options and presets in FCP3 but nothing seems to work- anyone know what is happening during the print to video- where's the video???

I can no longer save my edits to tape...very frustrating!

I'm doing this from memory. In Audio/Video preferences check the external video settings. It may have to do with mirror on desktop being checked or unchecked. But I usually do edit to tape instead of print to tape. It's basically just press record on VTR (camcorder) and play FCP. Everything goes to tape, no problem.

Jeff

Re: Print to Video problem
 

<<<-- Originally posted by stevenyc1@aol.com : hello FCP users....
during print to video, I can no longer see the video on the camcorder - i can hear the audio but no video is present...I thought it was the FW cable but if i select the "show current" option in the "View" menu- the viewer on the camcorder will show whatever frame is currently onscreen in FCP... I've tried just about every combination of options and presets in FCP3 but nothing seems to work- anyone know what is happening during the print to video- where's the video???

I can no longer save my edits to tape...very frustrating! -->>>

Go to Audio/Video Settings, and select External Video. Then do this:
1. For "View during Playback using," select "Apple FIrwire NTSC (720x480)." Then, check "Mirror on desktop during Playback."

2. For "View during Recording using," select "Same as Playback." Then, check "Mirror on desktop during Recording."

This should do it for you to resolve your issue. If your inability to save your edits to tape persists, let me know.

Help- FCP 3 Dead!!!!!
 

Hey everyone,

I'm not feeling the best tonight- my XL1S quit on me during an outting to Maryland for taping of a big pocketbike race (I was there to shoot the event with 8 mini-dv camcorders)- of course my XL1S decided to stop working due to dirty heads and weird colors (another new XL1S was on hand and my unit was inferior in every regard to the newly purchased unit)- my buddy had just spent slightly over $8,000 just to cover this event ( we bought jibs, Skycranes, video tripods, Varizoom controllers- the works....)
........and now FCP3 has decided it no longer wants to start up- I was using the program this AM and had no real problems to speak of (although i've noticed a series of hiccups when using external FW HD's).....anyway when I try to start FCP3 (3.0.2) it attempts to start and i can just barley see the viewer and canvas windows but it then abruptly quits and i get a box saying "FCP has suddenly quit- no other applications have been affected"- that's it- no reason- no codes- nothing!!! I thought OS X was supposed to be the "stable OS of the future".....FCP never did this while using OS 9......

....i've been thinking of throwing in the towel and giving up on the whole 'desktop editing" bandwagon......too many issues with devices and non-compatible things.....cameras that quit with less than 15 tapes through it.....new 933 G4 Mac that's suddenly decided it wont run FCP3 anymore....I dread calling Apple- I can only imagine what they're gonna tell me.....

over $15,000 invested in this hobby and I can't get things to work.......

...I gotta admit- the sleek advertising and catchy claims got me to believe I too could create movies on my home computer......

sorry for the sad banter- but if any of you have experienced what i've experienced today- you know where i'm coming from.......update this- update that- get this HD and this camera and this monitor and CL2 class SDRAM and you'll have the baddest editing machine around- yeah i bought into this excellent hobby.

Even if I resolve this issue- i'm not convinced desktop editing is prime time yet- regardless of anything i've read-----search the internet and you'll see tons of "problem" posts....

..just thoroughly dissapointed!

Steve:

Sounds like you need to delete your FCP preferences file (The file contains user preferences for scratch disk settings, capture settings, window layouts, and so forth.).

In OS 9, the Preferences file is located in the Final Cut Pro Data folder within the Preferences folder, within the System folder. In OS X, it is located in the users Preferences folder (~/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data). The file contains user preferences for scratch disk settings, capture settings, window layouts, and so forth.

This should allow FCP to start.

I can understand your frustration, but keep in mind that many of us use both the XL1-S and FCP to make a living and I wouldn't risk my business on equipment that didn't work. The dirty head problem you experienced on your XL1S probably could have been solved by regular cleaning and avoiding use of different brand tapes. Like any computer program, FCP requires regular housecleaning to keep it running at optimum. Software does crash. Equipment does malfunction (I can give you horror stories from Avid suites as well). The key is maintenance and attention to detail.

Doug

Hi Steve,

I know the frustration and empty feelings your having about now. It's no fun. I know this doesn't make it any easier, but we've all been there (so to speak). What OS are you using 9 or X ? Doug's suggestion to trash the preferences is a very good starting point. If that doesn't work the next step would be to back up any media and reinstall FCP 3 and do the upgrade to 3.0.2 If your on 9.x.x I would suggest that now might be a good time to switch to OS X. I've been doing all my editing in X since March or April and I find it better than 9.x.x

I used to own an Avid Media Composer suite and it had it's share of problems, especially in the early days, '94 and earlier. It's sort of the nature of this business. There is still alot of smoke, mirrors and magic going on and sometimes the stuff just refuses to work. I think Dan might be out in Vegas for the WEVA show, so I try to fill in the best i can until he checks the forums.

Jeff

Steve,
We feel your pain. But, as bleak as things may seem right now, don't let discouragement overwhelm you. Remember, I've seen some of your footage and can tell you flat-out that you have just too much skill to just hang it up. Walk away from it for a day or two.

I've not experienced your particular problem with FCP3 under X but I did recently have an oddball start-up glitch which may possibly shed light toward your solution. During start-up FCP seemed to choke when loading my most recent project, specificaly during the "preparing video for display" stage of start-up. While it didn't crash it seemed to just freeze. In my case the problem seemed to be several GIFs that I had imported for panning during a segment. In my case I restored an earlier version of the project file (which did not yet include the motion pans), used Photoshop to reduce the size of the GIFs and then re-imported the GIFs into the project. Problem gone! Go figure.

Scanning a place like 2-pop will inevitably place you in a blizzard of "problem" reports. In the "early" days of FCP 1.x many such reports seemed grounded in product flaws. These days the blizzard seems to come primarily from new users unfamiliar with the product. In any case, such forums will always attract "problems" looking for help.

Any way, dumping your preferences file should have the efffect of at least eliminating FCP's memory of the last project you were using (among other settings) and get you back to a tableau rasa footing. If it still doesn't start-up, I'd re-install...after having a delicious dinner and a few glasses of a favorite adult beverage.

Good luck to you, Steve.

Thanks
 

Jeff & Ken,

Jeff- many thanks for personally offering to help me with these problems- you're a first rate guy.
Ken, thanks for the words. I've gotten FCP3 up and running again- but it involved deleting it completely from the Mac and doing a complete re-install...not a great experience.
I've been a Mac supporter from the day I adopted the Mac. I've gotten many pc users to switch and one complaint seems to surface- Mac Freeze....in OS 9 you'd occasionally get an error message and a code (which would help decipher the reason for the application error) but with OS X- all we get is a message stating the obvious (that the application has quit- duh)..let's hope Jaguar will do better on the promises of OS X.

Anyway- big thumbs up to you guys. I'm still alive and learning.

Steve:

Got you got it worked out (even though a complete reinstall is a major PITA. Sorry I assumed (incorrectly apparently) that you were a novice. After reading Ken's comments, I checked out your work. Very impressive. Do hang in there. Your still work is very nice too.

Doug

FCP- Annoying audio Beeps!
 

Okay- I'm ready with The Homer Simpson "DOH!".....

I'm doing some editing with vers. 3.0 of Final cuts, but whenever I drag any audio or video onto the timeline and check playback, I have a reacurring "beep". I've been looking for misplaced settings, etc.

I have the firewire device turned off (Canopus ADC100), and am playing back on the desktop.

This seems it should require a REALLY a simple solution. Anyone?

Jeff Patnaude :>/

Change your audio resolution to medium or low. That'll do it. It's a common problem.

OKay,
so I checked the resolution setting-- no effect. I figured the dual 1 gig should be able to handle that. Another guy told me that it is just saying that you have to render the piece. Its beeping because it needs to be rendered. That figures. I dig'd in a short clip and it played fine.

Oh yeah....... DOH!

Jeff Patnaude :>)

The fact that your audio had to be rendered indicates it was captured at a setting that is different from the settings used in your project or sequence. This screws everyone up and the prefs can sometimes get set to other values all by themselves.

david

I agree with Bogiesan. Check ur audio rates in the browser. I bet the footage got transferred at 48.1 KHZ or 47.9 or some odd number instead of the usual 48.0 khz. If u check the old postings on here u will notice that I had the same problem. I checked with audio professionals that work on Hollywood features amd most of them assured me that it will not affect the audio quality when it comes down to final mix or any broadcast quality outlet (the only annoying thing is the beeping sound when it is played and u can take care of that by changing your settings on FCP to medium)
I personally didn't want to take a chance so I decided to I REcapture my footage and chanced it over and over again until I got the 48.0 khz but even to this day, no one was able to figure out the discrepency in the audio rate and why it happens in the first place! Maybe it's a flaw with FCP3! Although I tried recapturing using FCP2 and it worked fine upun till the last reel and then I had the same problem again (it got captured at 47.9 khz) so.....as a recap, basically it is up to u, either recapture ur footage in 20 min. incruments and check the browser audio rate at the end of each capture to make sure u get the desired 48.o khz industry standard OR adjust ur settings to medium and u won't hear that annoying beep again! good luck :)

FCP Problems
 

I am having some fairly (ohkay, extremely) annoying problems w/ Final Cut 3.0 for OS X.

Problem 1: FCP crashes randomly when i try to render. Not all the time, but occasionally enough to be very cumbersome. Apple talk is off. No other apps are ever running, except, occasionally, Photoshop. Powerbook G4, OS X Jaguar (is this the problem?), 667 mhz, gig of RAM.

Problem 2: I am trying to import some .psd images from Photoshop. It has worked quite well. But with some files, i get an error message that says "Error: Out of Memory"... it's just a small photoshop image. I'm confused. I literally *cannot* import certain files that i need.

?? Help me.

Can you clearify this "other apps" thing? Jaguar? You know that Jaguar is the system, right? It's not an app.

My suggestion would be to uninstall and reinstall FCP3 on OSX.2 (Jaguar).

There's nothing to specify, as there are no other apps running!
Yes, i know Jaguar is an operating system...

Before reinstalling FCP, trash FCP's preference file. Then restart and and it may be all better.

Jeff

What jumped out at me was that you're running FCP on a Powerbook G4-667. The machine is very capable of handling the job but, like all Powerbooks, the hard drives are small by video standards. The fact that you are getting nastygrams while rendering suggests (to me) that you may be overrunning the PB's hard drive. If the drive is set as the cache location and location for render files this would explain the trouble.

When using a PB for editing it's best to use a fast (5400-7200 rpm) external (Firewire) drive for everything (i.e. capture, caching, rendering, etc.).

Hope this helps.