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Media is out of sync only in FCP
I’ve been freelancing at a Post house occasionally and lately, on the machine I’ve been using, almost all the media we take in is out of sync.
As far as I can tell, the audio is actually fine and the video jumps at some point, causing it to go out sync. So fortunately, it’s not drifting, and once I figure out the length of the delay, it’s easy for me to re-sync, but it’s still a problem.
We’ve had all different kinds of media, captured from DV decks, ripped from DVDs, just taken in as quicktimes, etc… and they all seem fine when you look at them. But it’s only when they are imported into FCP that this happens. It happens in both the viewer and the timeline.
I’ve recommended a clean re-install, but every time I go back, they haven’t done it yet. Is there another way to fix this problem?
I’m not in front of the machine right now so I’m unsure of the specs, but it’s a pretty standard G5 FCP machine.
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17 Replies
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Hi,
I’m experiencing a similar problem, but also, I’ve finished with an edit and when I try to play it out either through compressor or quicktime conversion I’ll get a file which has got nothing to do with the actual content on the sequence on the edit. I’ve trashed the preferences, but that didn’t help either.
Has anyone experienced anything like this?
Thanks
Bela
Bela Molnar
HiFi Entertainment -
I’ll get a file which has got nothing to do with the actual content on the sequence on the edit…Has anyone experienced anything like this?”
That’s a pretty damning statement. I have had instances of video media, incorrect clips or frozen video in an output though the sequence seems fine. this is a render issue. My non-scientific guess is that Final Cut has lost track of the render files and doesn’t know what to use. Delete ALL render files and re-render.
I’ve also had audio disappear on export or output when there are several tracks in a sequence. I find it best to do an audio only export and then bring that back into a copy of the sequence for my output with video.
none of this speaks to the original post. Sync. If you look at the clips with the audio waveform, do the audio and video line up? Could this be a configuration issue with monitoring?
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Double check that your audio and video playback devices are the same. Go to View > Audio Playback. Bu sure Audio Follows Video is checked. If you use any type of video playback device the audio must be routed to the same device in order to keep sync. I use a Matrox MXO. If I have my video playback set to the MXO, and audio playback set to built in audio, it is always out of sync. When both audio and video are sent through the MXO everything is just fine.
If the media plays just fine in other apps besides FCP, then this or some other hardware issue is likely what is causing your problems.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com
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I think you mean export, not play out.
When you are ready to export, you need to be sure that what you want to export is selected. If you want to export a sequence, be sure the sequence is open and the respective timeline is selected. If your viewer or an item in your browser is selected, that is what will be exported, not the sequence you want.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
Also, be sure to your frame offset. Go to Final Cut/System settings/ playback control…there you’ll see the ‘Frame Offset’, make sure it is set to ‘0’.
Is it still out of sync when you export it out of final cut?
Cole
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[Dino Sanacory] “this is a render issue.”
Render file are primarily for preview. They serve serve 3 purposes:
1. To provide a full quality real time playback for preview purposes
2. To provide a full quality real time playback for print or edit to tape
3. They are used when exporting a QuickTime movie with current settingsYou can export a sequence without ever rendering it. The only time it will make a difference is when you go to Export > QuickTime Movie and choose current settings. If your sequence is rendered, this process goes very fast. If not, then FCP will have to render the sequence. If you export through Compressor or using QuickTime Conversion, the render files are completely ignored, whether you have rendered or not.
I doubt this is a render issue. Especially when natively supported media (such as DV) is played. More likely a configuration issue.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
Thanks for the replies so far, here’s answers to the questions people have been asking:
“Sync. If you look at the clips with the audio waveform, do the audio and video line up? Could this be a configuration issue with monitoring?”
I haven’t checked the waveform. But it’s not the whole clips that are out of sync. They just jump out of sync at some point. It’s more likely the longer the clip is. On some of the short clips, the sync is fine. On the longer clips, it’s in sync at the beginning, then it isn’t.
I have the computer monitor and an external monitor and it’s out of sync on both.
“Double check that your audio and video playback devices are the same.”
I’ve tried several combinations of different audio and video playback settings and they’re always out of sync. As I mentioned above, that I seemingly didn’t make clear originally, is that the clips always start in sync. They just jump out of sync at some point. But it’s seemingly not a drift, because it’s just a set amount of out of sync after a certain point. Again, it’s fine if it’s a quicktime and I view it in the quicktime player. It’s just when I import it and play it in FCP that this happens.
“Is it still out of sync when you export it out of final cut?”
I always resync it before I export so I’m not sure. But the re-synced exports have been fine as far as I know.
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I have had a similar problem on a couple of clips. I’m editing with XDCam footage shot on an EX3 so there’s no issue of machine setup. In my case it was a couple of shots that I had blown up. they would jump out of sync a few frames in. The timeline would actually NOT reflect the correct edit point. I eventually just cut the shot in again. I suspect the problem may have started when I edited part of one sequence into another. It may have also been sunspots or the phase of the moon.
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Try exporting a clip that you have a sync issue with, but don’t resync it. Just import it, then export it.
What version of FCP are you using by the way?
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
“In my case it was a couple of shots that I had blown up. they would jump out of sync a few frames in. The timeline would actually NOT reflect the correct edit point. I eventually just cut the shot in again. I suspect the problem may have started when I edited part of one sequence into another”
In our case, they are out of sync the minute you look at them in the viewer right after importing. Nothing has been done to them, they’re out of sync before you put them in the timeline (but again, are fine when you view them outside of FCP). I think the phase of the moon is the most likely explanation.
The only similar thing I’ve found to this in my search, is when some people have updated their Mac OS without a clean re-install of FCP. Obviously not everyone has problems with this, but some people seem to. I don’t know if this company has done that. But either way, I can’t think of anything other than a clean re-install that might fix this.
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