dropped frames in FCP

[Michael Peele]

Is he dropping frames on capture – or is this a playback issue only?

Erase preferences, double check all capture, playback and timeline setting to make sure that the settings are consistent. Start a new project. Now try.

Still dropping frames?

If it is playback only, make sure that the video playback size in the canvas window is not larger than the canvas window – i.e. no scroll bars in the canvas window – set the video playback size at the top of Canvas window (try “Fit to window”).

If it is a capture issue, then try capturing to the internal drive. If this works, you can be fairly certain that it is a conflict between the camera (or deck) and the Maxtor. First, make sure the Maxtor is formatted HFS+ (get info on the drive, Format should read “Mac OS Extended”). Reformat drive (BACK-UP FIRST!) as Mac OS Extended. If this was already correct, then you may have a firewire bus conflict between the camera (or deck) and the drive. Try connecting the Maxtor to the PB using the FireWire800 port and the camera (or deck) connected to the FireWire400 (i.e. no daisy chaining). You may need a FW400 to FW800 cable to achieve this, depending on your Maxtor HD. The final option is a FireWire PC Card. This slips into the PC Card Slot and provides an additional FireWire bus, separate from the internal FireWire bus. Attach the drive to the card and the camera to the PowerBook FW400 port.

Hope this helps,
Mike Peele

[Joseph Bradley]

Also check that you’re capturing with the right codec to match the way you shot the footage. It could also be that your computer just isnt fast enough to keep up in which case it will drop frames.

[Bouncing Account needs new email address]

[jbrad2] “It could also be that your computer just isnt fast enough to keep up in which case it will drop frames.”

More likely its related to the external drive.

With a Powerbook, you should use a FireWire PC Card (PCMCIA) inserted in the computer’s card-slot and connect the camcorder or deck to that card (for capture and monitoring) and connect the External HD to the built-in FW port.

Also, even though many do use external FW drives, they are not officially “sanctioned” to operate with FCP.
Many use the internal drive for media with a Powerbook.

If this is a PLAYBACK issue, it would do you well to MIXDOWN YOUR AUDIO at several points during the edit if you experience dropped frames.

More:

You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video stuttering, drop-outs or freezes.

NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.

First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:

Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.

You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.

It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.

NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.