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Final Cut Pro X Proxy and export workflow question
I cannot seem to get a clear answer on this. I have been fighting with FCPX and performance on my dual core i7 8GB ram laptop so I am starting to use proxy instead of optimized for editing. My issue comes on getting a clear answer when sharing/exporting the project. I have seen posts that say it will use the original media when exporting and some say that you need to go to the preferences and change the playback settings to use “original or optimized/high quality” from the proxy playback before export. Does anyone have a clear answer so I can get the best quality out of my export? I understand fully what proxy is and what situations to use it in so my question is only really a final output issue. ??????
Thanks
G
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6 Replies
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To be safe, I’d assume that FCPX exports based on the media it is connecting to (though I can’t say for sure), so the safe thing to do is to switch back to Optimized in Preferences > Editing prior to an export. It is just the one radio button to immediately switch everything, so it is easy to stay on the safe side.
If you have After Effects, you could do an export each way and do a difference map in AE to see if there is indeed a difference in exports from Optimized vs Proxy.
Incidentally, the likely culprit for your poor performance with Optimized media (which is ProRes 422 standard) is disk speed. Laptop hard drives, unless they are SSD, will not be able to deliver all the bandwidth you need for smooth operation with high bitrate codecs like ProRes 422. This is why the lower bitrate ProRes Proxy proxies are performing better for you.
Best,
Andy -
I am guessing you mean the “playback” menu under preferences and not the “editing” menu. I don’t see an option on the editing menu. My internal disk is the upgraded 7200 RPM but I always use an external drive…in this case it is the GTECH G-raid mini and then I copy it to a G-Raid at home for backup and editing at home. Let me know if you are referring to a different menu that i am missing.
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My mistake, yes, the Playback tab. You have plenty of bandwidth with the G-RAID mini, but if it is very full and fragmented that will degrade performance a bit. You’ve got your Events on the G-RAID, right? For both Optimized and Proxy media, FCPX only puts that media in an Event’s storage. If you have your original media on the G-RAID, but your Event in your Home folder (in Movies), you will be pulling both Optimized and Proxy media from your internal drive.
Best,
Andy -
Definitely speaking, you must turn OFF “Use Proxy Media” on playback if you want to export the highest quality.
FCPX Proxy mode is actually quite good and can fool you into thinking you might be working with the high quality media. I LOVE editing in Proxy Mode on my MBP Retina, but always kick myself when I export Proxy to Vimeo or YouTube because I have to do the whole thing over again.
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Hi!
FCPX does not use the proxy media to export your time line.
To be sure I simply exported my project when I was in proxy playback mode and sure enough the resolution of the exported file matched he original media and not the lower resolution proxy. Try it yourself! 🙂
It would have been a little wierd if fcpx used the proxy media frankly.
Cheers!
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Hi!
FCPX does not use the proxy media to export your time line.
To be sure I simply exported my project when I was in proxy playback mode and sure enough the resolution of the exported file matched he original media and not the lower resolution proxy. Try it yourself! 🙂
It would have been a little wierd if fcpx used the proxy media frankly.
Cheers!
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