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FCP 5.0 Woes!
Hey gang…
I’m becoming very disappointed in Apple lately… 🙁 Final Cut Pro 5.0 recently added support for IMX and HDV, which my company jumped in and converted everything to this based on the fact that FCP 5.0 will have support for this.
Well, the first disappointment is HDV. Its awesome if you stay in its codec and timelines BUT if you want to use a downconverted version of it without having to digitizing analog component – you’d better forget it! Its not going to happen. The video when rendered looks absolutely awful.
Ok, the second disappointment. IMX support. Yes, it has it too BUT it only supports IMX 50 natively. You can use IMX 30 and 40 but you’ll have to render it very slowly and the quality is reduced. I do realize that a slow bit rate wil give a lesser quality but it does look as bad a FCP does it. I can still use footage, which was recorded at IMX 40, but I have to convert it to DVCPRO50 to quality needed. Then I’ll have to edit at DVCPRO50. So much for IMX and saving money. We’ve already shot 12 shows at IMX 40 but I guess we’ll have to change the camera back to IMX 50 so that we can edit in IMX. Well, there’s an added cost factor! IMX 50 only records about 45 min per disc, IMX 40 records about 60 minutes per disk. That’s a big difference when the disks cost $30 each.
I’m bummed! What happened Apple?
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions -
14 Replies
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I’m assuming that most of the difficulties with both of these codecs stems from their very nature as MPEG video. That’s a lot of decoding to work on a single frame.
I’m not using IMX, but I am using HDV quite a bit. What, specifically, are the problems you are having? Especially elaborate on the downconvert issue.
The cheese stands alone.
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Are you sure you are set up for high quality rendering? Is your Sequence>Settings Video Processing tab have motion filtering quality to Best? Are you in Safe RT at High Quality? Are both the Preview and Full bars checked in the Sequence>Render menus?
Not sure what to say about the IMX stuff.
By the way, $30 bucks a disk doesn’t sound outrageous to me. We used to have to pay more than $50 for every Beta SP load. I’d say use what works right now and learn to accept the workflow.
O&O-Gunner Productions
FCP-Avid-After Effects -
Our HDV software downconverts to 10 bit SD look great! What is your full workflow.
Steve Connor
Cardinal HD -
The renders we are doing with HDV look great. The slo motion is the best I have seen yet to come out of FCP.
Dajen Productions
Santa Barbara, CA
G5 Dual 2 Gig – AJA IO & LA
Huge 1.2 Raid
FCP 5-OS X 10.4.1-QT 7 -
Yeah, as long as you stay in the HDV codec but if you want to mix it with anything else… That’s where the problem is for myself.
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions -
Of course, I’m using the “Best” motion quality setting. I’m using Unlimited RT. And yes, I have the Preview and Full bars check under the Render menu.
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions -
[Wayne Carey] ” I’m using Unlimited RT.”
There’s the problem. You need to be in Safe RT and High Quality.O&O-Gunner Productions
FCP-Avid-After Effects -
Ok, can you tell me how I can Batch Digitize. When I do my Log and Capture, and log my tape, I, then use the Batch Capture command. And it opens the log and Capture window and then closes. Nothing. It doesn’t seem to want to Batch Capture. All I can do is Live Capture.
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions -
Someome else mentioned this, try and batch capture but make sure you close your log and capture window first. See if that works.
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Just curious if IMX 50 can be captured into FCP 4.5 via an xdcam device through SDI out.
Is this possible?
Cheers
Justin Heaney
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