Avid Codec, Rosetta, and Final Cut Pro

[John Pale]

Hate to break it to you but the Avid codec is not really very usable within FCP. Right now, there is no Intel compatible Avid codec…as Avid does not currently run on Intel Macs. I think Quicktime player supports codecs thru Rosetta, but FCP does not, probably because it needs more horsepower for editing. Even if you were working on a PPC system, I still would not recommend trying to use the Avid codec in FCP.

Though you might be able to get it to work for small amounts of footage, the Avid codec not really intended for realtime editing. Note that Avid is not a Quicktime based editing system and does not itself work with Quicktime footage…when you import an Avid Codec Quicktime file into an Avid system, it is converted into OMF/MXF media.

Then there is this issue….

Some people (including ME!) have reported problems with FCP not being able to launch if the new Avid Codecs are installed.
After some experimentation, I was able to solve the problem…..

The latest Avid codecs Version LE 1.20 installs 5 components into Library/Quicktime

Remove the following components:

AvidAVdvCodec.component
AvidAVpkCodec.component

FCP will now launch normally. At least it does for me.

I would recommend using Compressor to batch convert all your Avid Codec footage to something more usable. 10 bit Uncompressed would be a good choice for SD footage. If the media has an alpha channel, then use the Animation Codec.

[Elliot Pollaro]

I get a error in compresser saying “FAILED: Codec not intstalled”

[John Pale]

I guess you will have to wait until Avid comes out with an Intel compatible codec. They should have something available soon. Probably around NAB, in April, if not sooner.
Or find someone with a G5 who can do it for you.

Or do them one at a time in Quicktime Pro, which you state does work using Rosetta.