How to fix a corrupted clip?
 

Hey guys,

I'm importing footage I shot this weekend for a documentary I'm working on and so far I've had three corrupted clips. In the FCP P2 Import manager the clips appear in their entire duration, but the clip itself is just static, albeit in little blocks of color, and the audio is white noise. I'm attempting to import these from a G-Raid, so the clips are not still on the cards, unfortunately. Is there a program out there anyone recommends that might be able to repair the clips, or salvage any of the footage? Many thanks as always!

Peter

The big question is, do you still have the ORIGINAL MXF files/folders that were transferred off the P2 cards, or did you import directly from the camera into FCP?

If you still have the original MXF data you can do two things: Try re-importing them into FCP - or use P2Log Pro to convert them into QT's and see if the corruption still exists. Or, you can re-copy the MXF data back onto P2 cards, put the cards in the camera and see if they play properly. That will verify whether or not the original data is good.

If you don't have the original MXF files and only have the converted QT's then no, there isn't anything that can repair that.

This goes hand-in-hand with my post answering your question about archiving methods. It's always best to create direct-copies of the MXF files PRIOR to conversions and store these on whatever media-type you prefer. This copy becomes your "digital masters" and never gets converted or touched and kept strictly for safety/archival purposes.

Hey Robert,

Fortunately I do have the original files. I think I am just as anal about this stuff as you! In fact, I have a duplicate copy on a second drive, so no shortage of original files.

When I view the clips in the P2 Import Manager in FCP is when one of them shows up as just a mess of colored pixels and white noise. Iv'e never seen this before. Regardless, the import in FCP won't work.

How do I copy the data back onto the card? Just drag and drop?

I will try P2Log Pro. Do you prefer this to P2Genie, or am I comparing apples and oranges? Thanks,

Peter

BTW, what version of FCP do you have? The latest is 5.1.4.

I did use P2Genie but did not find it as robust or reliable as P2Log Pro or HDLog.

Make sure you copy both the folder and the .txt file together onto the P2 card and drag-n-drop should be fine. Make sure the P2 card was camera-formatted first, not formatted by the Mac.

Yep, 5.1.4. I will give it a shot and let you know how it works. How do I know if the card is camera-formatted or Mac formatted?

Peter

I don't think you can know that without the card actually being in the camera - in which case I'd make a clean "wipe" and format the card in the camera prior to dropping new files onto it from the Mac.

Hey Robert,

So I formatted the card in camera and have it mounted to my desktop (it is in my P2Store -- I have an MBPro, so no PCMCIA slot). However, when I attempt to copy the P2 data to the card, I get a msg saying I can't copy there because "NO NAME" can't be modified. I checked permissions and the volume is read only. Any suggestions?

Also, I tried the repair clip function and tried importing into HD Log but the clip is still corrupted. There are two clips on the card. One is corrupted in its entirety, the other gets corrupted about half way through. There are two cards that have corrupted clips.

I copied the cards to two different G-Raids when I did the original file transfer and both have the same corrution, so I'm guessing it occurred when the file was originally recorded, or when it was transferred to the P2Store.

Also, there is another card that has data (including txt file, of course) but neither FCP or HDLog can import it. They both see the folder, but see it as being essentially empty. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!!!

Peter

If you go into INFO on the card and manually change permissions you should be able to copy right over.

There are many things that can cause a corrupted clip, most are due to user error such as removing a card while it's being accessed (read or write), removing a card while it's Thumbnails are being displayed in VTR mode, power failure/low battery during recording and turning the camera off while still recording.

If user error or power issues aren't the cause and you're getting corrupted clips at all then I'd suggest either the card/s or the camera needs to be looked at by Panny repair.

There have been a few scattered reports of corrupt clips that seem to have no reason but every report I heard about was either lacking good information about the exact workflow the shooter was using or, they didn't follow through with what Panny tech support related was the problem, so I've never heard of one "corrupt clip" incident that wasn't user error that I could track from beginning to end as to the real cause or solution.

I'm not sure, but if memory serves Leonard Levy had a similar issue and I believe he was going to send his hardware in for diagnostics, but I don't remember the end-disposition of his case.

Thanks Robert. I tried manually changing permissions using Get Info, but I don't see that option. It only says the Volume is Read Only -- no drop down menu to change permissions. Any suggestions?

It is certainly possible it was user error in one of the scenarios you describe (most likely battery running out while recording). Strange that it would be two clips on the same card, but there you go. Let me know if there might be another way you can think of to change the Permissions on the card. Thanks!

Peter

Did you make sure the "Protect" tab on the P2 card is NOT in the protected position? This would prevent any modifications if Protect was turned "on".

Yep, the protect is in the "off" position. Any guesses?

Peter

Not without being able to load the card onto my own system and doing some troubleshooting, sorry.

No worries Robert. Thanks anyway for your help. I'll let you know if I'm able to repair the clips.

Peter

Peter,
Leonard Levy here and sorry I don't have anything to add as Robert was wrong I've never had any corrupted clips. I am very careful about downloading exactly the same all the time though. Frankly I'm even squeamish about using P2Genie. One thing I always do is hit the write protect switch on the card before reading it into the computer to protect against any possible corruption affecting the card itself in the process.

I am very confused by why some peop-le hseem to have these problems while others don't.

Good luck.

I've got the same problem as Peter (I think due to an interrupted power source on my P2 store) I've been doing research and although I hope that we can prove this post wrong and that if the info is there it can be repaired- I am getting a sick feeling from this following thread in DVXuser.com
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread...ght=corruption
Someone PLEASE help us out on this! Would an avid system help for files corrupted this way?
Anyone?!
Thanks,
Philip