-
Crazy re-write back to SXS card
I am attempting to write some files back to an SXS card. The clips currently reside in a Final Cut Pro (ver 6.0.5) project, and I am using the Export- Sony XDCam choice that pops up when I control-click the clip.
They were originally shot on an EX-1 and likely brought into the project using “Log and Transfer” when I was first learning what my workflow might be. However, I have doubt that the method of ingest should affect the export.
I have done this many times before with other projects, but today, I filled a card and upon checking the card with Clipbrowser I found only some of the clips appeared. I pulled the card from the reader and tried to “Restore Media?” in my EX-1, thinking that would help. It actually brought up a never-before-seen warning indicating “Media cannot be Restored”.
I mounted the card back in my MacPro and opened the BPAV files and found that the clips I could not see, were being written as Quicktime files to the card unlike the other clips I could see, which were appearing as folders. Within those folders are 5 files ending in MP4, SMI, PPN, XML, and BIM.
The rougue files are seemingly random, appearing around other files which are written correctly. I can have one file write correctly, the next 2 that don’t, the following 10 that again write correctly, and then the rest fail. Thier lengths vary between 10-30 seconds, and less than 3 minutes
When exporting, all appear to export the same. The Export window comes up with the settings as follows- Destination is the SXS card, Filename is the numerical value assigned by the camera and unchanged by me, Format is MP4(XDCAM EX), with intermediate files written to the /Volumes/Untitled, which is the SXS card.
As a test I deleted all the loose Quicktime files I could see within the BPAV and the camera could once again recognize the card and the correctly written files, yet trying to re-export the “bad” files yields the same results. They stubbornly write as Quicktimes.
I fear this has something to do with the latest OS updates I just downloaded. There have been other crazy thigs happening like one monitor not coming to life at boot-up, monitors having bad contrast after “waking up”, and a few other wierd things.
I hope someone can help me figure this out.
Final cut Version 6.0.5, Mac OS X ver 10.5.7, 2 X 3 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon, 6GB 800 MHz, DDR2 FB-DIMM, GSpeed 6TB Fibre Channel drive
-
3 Replies
-
A real mess Robert.
To write back from FC to an SxS card, the card must be formated but empty. Also there is a limit of 4GB that you can upload. This because the FAT32 formating.
Rafael -
Are you saying no clip larger than 4GB? Or 4BG is all you can ever write back to the card? I thought that was part of the Sony write-back software, to be able to bridge those 4GB barriers, and give you a seemless clip.
I have filled cards before, never with this much hassle. Of course the “Sony XDCAM HD & EX Workflows” manual had nothing- about a half a page on exporting from Final Cut.
The cards, I should have said, are the Sony SXS cards, 16GB. I reformatted the card I am using to see if that made a difference- It didn’t. Nor did a re-start. Still working on it…
-
[Robert Semeniuk] “Are you saying no clip larger than 4GB? Or 4BG is all you can ever write back to the card?”
4 GBs in total Robert.
A 16 GBs card in camera get recorded in 4x4Gbs chops. Is the old story with all the FAT 32 HDs: No file bigger than 4GBs. FC or whatever reason can write only one 4 GB piece.
Rafael
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up