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AVI files straight from FCP timeline
I am a freelance FCP editor and know it very well. One of my clients uses a WindowsMedia Encoder program on a PC to make streaming WindowsMedia Files. This program will only see AVI files as the only codec we can use, as the quickest & easiest out of a FCP timeline into that PC program. Normally They have me digitize the footage then transcode it into an AVI format quicktime. Most of the time they range in length from 5-10 minutes and they come out just fine. I usuallly use the DV compression at high quality 29.97 4×3 interlaced as my settings for the AVI.
Today , I have a 30 minute program that doesn’t work with my normal settings. I set it and make sure it goes to an open drive with enough space and speed, and the final result is the issue. I get a file that is the correct file size, 6.x gigs for a half hour show in DV, and it even has the right QT icon. When I open it is quicktime it doesn’t show me a video window, like its an audio track and does not have any playhead locator. It doesn’t play at all. So I tried to bring it into Motion and Motion says it is a file that it can’t understand.
So I tried making a smaller section of the same timeline to see if it was a media problem and that worked fine, with the same settings and everything else the same. It played fine. I tried to export one clip that is the same length as my timeline, but one clip not a timeline of many clips with the same settings and it did NOT work, giving me the mystery QT file that doesn’t play.
I am at a loss. Does anyone make AVI’s regularly that has run into this problem? Is it that FCP just can’t make an AVI correctly enough to handle making a half-hour video file? One thing of note, this client has a really full internal HD. I was able to get 14 gigs available, but not sure if that’s part of the problem. Dual 2.5 PowerPC G5 2.5g RAM FCP 5.1.1 QT 7.1.2 OSX 10.4.7
Thanks a lot in advance for any help,
Matt James
Freelance FCP editor
Denver, CO
pe********@*ol.com -
4 Replies
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James,
Don’t know precisely why you’re encountering this issue with the 30-min file, but why don’t you get Flip4Mac and encode your client’s WMV files yourself. Its a great plugin that works right from the timeline, from compressor, or via QT conversion? Its a whole lot easier than sending large and cumbersum AVIs.
DRW
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Popwire is exactly what we are doing now. I can make it a high quality WMV file and they bring it into thier windows encoding program and can make multiple flavors of WindowsMedia files for streaming, from my one master. They do a lot of streaming and don’t want to tie up a hole edit system just for encoding stuff.
There is a darkness issue when making WMV files from a Mac, but the client says they can make it brighter in this PC encoding program. I think this is because of the difference in color space between the PC os and MacOSX.
Thanks a lot. Any other thoughts about what’s happpening with the AVI’s?
Matt James
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Hey James…head on over to the compression forum or better yet the Windows Media and Hardware forum were I have posted a couple exhaustive expose’s on encoding with AVI’s from FCP to A PC using AVI…my secret? the new MPEG Streamclip version 1.7 (free) which does AVI’s with many more compressor settings that work fine in the PC.
Have a look over there!
Rich Rubasch
tilt Media -
I think there may be a 4 or is it 2GB filelimit size on avi files. Also Fat32 has filesize limitations. Perhaps this is the problem.
Alan PALland
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