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A cautionary tale: various major Xto7 woes …
A first foray into the wonderful world of Xto7 translation in the all-new FCPX 10.0.3 and it’s not going well so far.
A fairly straightforward sequence over just over two minutes duration, these are some of the problems:
1) All the video came through more or less OK but one clip (no different in source from various other successfully transferred items) was one frame long and used only the very last frame of the source video – not correct in either case.
2) A lot of the source audio was from an 8-channel source of which I only used one mono channel in the edit. These mostly came through as 32-channel clips – yup, that’s right 32!!! Wherever the audio had been detached from the video (a necessary step in this instance), it did not get translated.
3) The biggest problem however was that the majority of the audio came from two separate non-sync sources, both of them stereo AIFFs. Quite a few of these clips didn’t make it through the translation process at all. Of those that did, all of them use the first frame of the source for the first frame of the edited clip – which is a disaster.
Just to clarify all of the non-sync audio (i.e. from any audio source that wasn’t tied to video) came in using the first frame as the source timecode in each case.Just as I was starting to get excited about using FCPX for some real jobs and using Xto7 as a sort of intermediate OMF translator! I have to say that Automatic Duck, while it still worked, had a number of issues but it worked a whole lot better than this with audio.
I’ll be sending this feedback to IA and hope that there’s something they can do, but for now it’s a bust, for my type of workflow at least. That’s 35 of our English pounds unwisely spent 🙁
A shame.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
15 Replies
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Does your double system sound audio have tc in the Event or does it start at 0 hour?
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Yes, you’re right – all the non-sync audio (from various different sources, including for example sound effects) is zero start. A probable diagnosis but not a solution unfortunately.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
Are you using the latest App Store version? I had the same issue as #1 with the original version and an earlier FCPX version, but it was fixed with an update. Could be back. I know they’ve been having issues with 25fps projects.
Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Oliver Peters] “Are you using the latest App Store version? I had the same issue as #1 with the original version and an earlier FCPX version, but it was fixed with an update. Could be back. I know they’ve been having issues with 25fps projects.”
Yup, the latest version downloaded just this morning (and latest FCPX). Original FCPX Project was at 24fps.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
Can I just mention that Gregory Clarke has just responded to my feedback and is already looking into it? Very impresssive.
I hope my original post didn’t sound critical of the incredible guys at Intelligent Assistance who have done an amazing job and seem to be responding really quickly to any issues that get flagged.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
One more issue that I should mention:
Detached audio seems not to get translated.
I have just confirmed this with a project with just one video/audio clip with the audio detached. Just as in the problem project referred to above, the video came through fine, but not the detached audio.
Has anybody else experienced this? It seems like an issue that would have occurred quite commonly since the initial release of Xto7 so I’m thinking there’s perhaps something odd about the way it’s working with 10.0.3 perhaps.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
Regarding support, this has been my experience with IA as well. I’ve had two contact emails from Greg in rapid succession. Suspect these early glitches will grt worked out and this will turn into a really solid tool for those who need it. The edit that I was testing Xto7 on is delivered already, (finished in X, instead of 7) so I’m keeping out of IA’s hair to let them work rather than add to their distractions in these early days.
It does kinda reinforce the idea that in the new App Store era of constant update, revision and enhancement – pushed instantly to the market – “real world shake out” is somewhat replacing the old system of months of formalized beta testing prior to boxed product release.
Mr Dylan nailed it back in the 60s. The times they are (definitely) a-changin’.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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[Bill Davis] “It does kinda reinforce the idea that in the new App Store era of constant update, revision and enhancement – pushed instantly to the market – “real world shake out” is somewhat replacing the old system of months of formalized beta testing prior to boxed product release.”
Agreed – but is it entirely for the good of the consumer, as I think perhaps you might be suggesting?
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com -
And, once complete, I’d imagine updates (revision updates that is) take a bit longer to actually hit the download waves as they have to be vetted by Apple.
Jeremy
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[Jeremy Garchow] “And, once complete, I’d imagine updates (revision updates that is) take a bit longer to actually hit the download waves as they have to be vetted by Apple.”
Interesting point – I hadn’t factored that in. By that token, we’d be better off getting these kind of products direct from IA and their like rather than from the App Store.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com
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