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audio clipping in FCP 4.5
I have just started running FCP 4.5 on my 15″ Powerbook G4. Client sent me a CD for volume reference levels, which popped and clicked all over the place. On a whim, I opened the same file in iTunes, where it played beautifully.
Are my settings wrong? What would cause this?
Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
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5 Replies
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You first need to convert the CD to a 48 kHz file for use in FCP (If you did that, great. You didn’t say.)
CDs are usually recorded very near the upper limits of “full” level.
I always need to drop the level of an imported CD cut by about 9 to 14dB for it to come close to matching the “normal” record level of a captured DV tape, MUCH less if its to play UNDER other audio tracks (say, as much as -24 dB).
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Yes, the audio file was already at 48 khz when I brought it in. Dropping the volume within FCP isn’t helping–it’s still popping, just more quietly. In Quicktime and in iTunes it sounds fine, so it’s clearly not the file itself. I’m convinced there’s a setting somewhere in FCP that I neglected to check.
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How was the file converted to 48 kHz?
Clicks and pops are associated with mis-matched audio files (like mp3s).Do you have the following settings:
Final Cut Pro (menu) > User Preferences… > General >
Real-time Audio Mixing: (I always set to 12 tracks or more, every audio “effect” is counted as a “track” as well)
Audio Playback Quality: High -
You’re very right–I converted it to a .aiff in Quicktime Pro and now it sounds fine in FCP. (I had a bad Quicktime key, so was trying to do a workaround to convert the file. Apparently the workaround wasn’t working.) Thanks for your help!
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[kerplunk!] “(I had a bad Quicktime key, so was trying to do a workaround to convert the file. Apparently the workaround wasn’t working.)”
Remeber that iTunes works great for this as well (that’s what I use, always).
QT PRO does work great… but iTunes seems to be faster, after the initial set-up presets:
iTunes > Preferences > Importing > AIFF > Custom > 48.000 kHz, 16 bit, Stereo >OKOnce these are set, you won’t have to set them again.
Put a CD in the Mac (or use an imported audio file that’s already on the HD), open it up in iTunes, click once on the track you need, and choose:
Advanced> Convert Selection to AIFF.Works VERY fast and stores new 48 kHz file in the iTunes library. You can just “drag and drop” this new file (.aif) onto your open Browser.
I know some use FCP directly to re-sample their CD audio to 48 kHz, but I find the iTunes approach a good one that works well for me.
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