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How do I work around incorrect capture scratch disk use estimates in FCP?
Hi Everyone,
I am trying to find a work around solution for FCP incorrectly estimating the space required on my capture scratch disk. I am using a Panasonic AJHD1400 to play back some DVCAM footage. I want to capture it 720×480 Anamorphic H264, via the firewire output on the deck. I am able to “free” capture the clip by hitting play on the deck and crash recording (“capture now”) on the log and capture tool. From this process, I know the final captured file will be somewhere in the 3GB range, give or take. The clip is a little less than an hour long. I have 343 GB available on my scratch drive according to the information in the “Capture Settings” tab of the log and capture tool but according to the same info FCP thinks only 36.9 minutes of footage will fit on the disk. Consequently I can’t log and capture the clip properly due to “insufficient disk space”. What Gives?
Any suggestions and responses will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
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8 Replies
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[Ross Millward] “I am using a Panasonic AJHD1400 to play back some DVCAM footage. I want to capture it 720×480 Anamorphic H264, via the firewire output on the deck. I am able to “free” capture the clip by hitting play on the deck and crash recording (“capture now”) on the log and capture tool.”
So, are you saying you’ve sucessfully done this? And, are you saying you’ve done this without dropping frames?
Frankly, I don’t think this is possible, as transcoding I doubt FCP is fast enough to transcode to H.264 on the fly. And, more importantly, I can’t imagine why it would be valuable if it were even possible, as H.264 is not an editing codec, it’s a delivery codec.
Why are you even wasting your time with this?
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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David,
Thanks for the response.
So, are you saying you’ve sucessfully done this? And, are you saying you’ve done this without dropping frames?
Yes I have. Successfully. Numerous Times.
I can’t imagine why it would be valuable if it were even possible, as H.264 is not an editing codec, it’s a delivery codec.
I understand the fact that H.264 is a delivery codec. To be honest I am not a video editor and I won’t be using the H.264 files to edit video with. We have numerous SOUND editors who need the clips to edit to in Pro tools we also do split ADR sessions with post houses overseas and I need files that will fit on a data DVD to be overnighted or that can be easily uploaded and downloaded via ftp. If I just capture uncompressed DV the files are like 20GB. If I use my method, I don’t need to waste the time waiting for the files to render after I capture them. Time is money…
Why are you even wasting your time with this?
Its not a waste of time if it is the means to the end I am looking for.
I would appreciate any other thoughts on the subject.
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Ross,
Okay, now I know why you want to do it… Nothing personal, but everything I know tells me it’s just not possible to transcode to h.264 on the fly via firewire. I traded emails with Shane Ross on this one last night and he and I agree that this should not work, as H.264 simply requires way too much processing. If I were you I would look into the Elgato Turbo h.264 encoder at https://www.amazon.com/Elgato-Turbo-264-Encoder-Hardware-10020500/dp/B000PCVIEU, which is made for doing precisely what you want.
David
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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David,
Thanks for the info. I will check it out and take that info to the powers that be… Skymicro also makes a card which will do direct H.264 encoding as well as HD mpeg encoding. I use their SD card all the time for some of our digital asset management work and it functions very well. http://www.skymicro.com. Digital Rapids also makes a hardware encoder that works exceptionally well, http://www.digital-rapids.com/Products/IndividualProducts/StreamZHD.aspx, but it’s tough to pitch a $100,000+ piece of gear to the boss without a direct payoff. 🙂
For the present I will continue to use “capture now” and use 360×240 Anamorphic H.264 and let the editors “fit to screen” when they spot the picture in pro tools.
Aside from the organizational aspects, is there a difference in the actual captured file if it is “captured now” or properly “logged and captured” with FCP controlling the deck?
Ross
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Hi
Most Pro-Tools guys I know would begrudge the not inconsiderable CPU hit and stuttering caused by scrubbing through highly (= widely spaced) keyframed H.264 video synced to audio regions – especially those using older PT rigs who don’t have the benefit of an octo-core Mac…The QuickTime Photo-JPEG codec at around 50% quality is a non-keyframed cross-platform solution which is highly scrubbable – and the quality percentage can be precisely adjusted to optimise the trade-off between small file size and visual quality.
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Hi Paul,
Thanks for the info. I was using PJPEG for a while for the editors and in order to make the files small enough, I had to compress them to a point where some would complain about the quality. The audio editors using the Pro Tools HD rigs (like myself) are able to play back h.264’s no problem, though i am sure that particular discussion would be more appropriate in another forum…
I guess it just goes to show you can never please everyone with the simple solution. lol. 🙂
Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to respond.
Ross
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[Ross Millward] “The audio editors using the Pro Tools HD rigs (like myself) are able to play back h.264’s no problem,”
Hi
That’s useful feedback – for users in this forum. Thanks[Ross Millward] “is there a difference in the actual captured file if it is “captured now” or properly “logged and captured” with FCP controlling the deck? “
Hi
No difference in theory – but long captures done ‘Capture Now’ might have had audio sync-loss problems in the FCP 3 era.In answering another thread a moment ago I linked to this software, which should do exactly what you need:
https://www.squarebox.co.uk/lcplus.html
Compress clips in background while capture is in progress, automatically pausing tape if necessary. -
In answering another thread a moment ago I linked to this software, which should do exactly what you need:
https://www.squarebox.co.uk/lcplus.htmlThanks! I will download a trial version and check it out. It looks promising.
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