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FCP newbie question
I am an AVID user and recently got final cut. I exported some footage from my work’s AVID MC to quicktime using the DVCPRO compression with H.264. (standard def footage). I was told that this would be compatible with Final Cut.
But now that I’ve imported these quicktimes in FCP, they require a render. Its funny because they play fine in the viewer, but if played through the timeline the canvas monitor says to render.
Sorry if i’m offending the users here for a Final Cut question in Avid forums, I know there’s animosity.^^ But I’m hoping to find someone with a similar cross-platform issue. I just don’t want to render hours of quicktime footage just to start editing my reel.
Thanks in advance!
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7 Replies
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Make sure your sequence settings match your clip settings
Scott Cumbo
Editor
Broadway Video, NYC -
[David Park] “I am an AVID user and recently got final cut. I exported some footage from my work’s AVID MC to quicktime using the DVCPRO compression with H.264. (standard def footage). I was told that this would be compatible with Final Cut. “
This is wrong. H264 is not an editing codec compatible with FCP. Export from your Avid as ‘same as source’. Download and Install the Avid codecs on your FCP computer, then use Compressor on the FCP computer to convert to the DVCPRO HD codec (the standard one, not the Avid one) which will give you lots of realtime on FCP.
[David Park] “But now that I’ve imported these quicktimes in FCP, they require a render. Its funny because they play fine in the viewer, but if played through the timeline the canvas monitor says to render.”
Everything plays fine in the viewer, but FCP only supports realtime editing in the timeline using the codecs listed in the Easy Setups.
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Actually, upon re-reading your post, I may have to adjust my advice…
Is your footage DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO50, or plain old DVCPRO?
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Final Cut is very different to Avid in regards to its timeline. In Avid you have your project setup/framerate from the beginning and the timeline always reflects that. In Final Cut you can have all sorts of different standards in multiple timelines. So, whatever format/codec you have made your source footage, also use those same settings for your timeline. You won’t need to render if you do that.
As for using Avid Codec source files in Final Cut… never had an enjoyable working experience with an Avid codec based timeline. It’s very possible it was something I was doing that affected it but nevertheless, use another FCP friendly codec if you can.
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My footage was exported in DVCPro standard. Not HD. So I guess just DVC Pro.
I actually don’t have access to the avids anymore, (unemployment blows), so do you think I can still use these quicktimes in compressor to make them realtime?
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You can always download the 30 day free trial…
Michael Phillips
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If you are working in NTSC, dvcpro is the same codec as dv…. DVNTSC. Download the Avid codecs fom the avid website. Install them on your computer. Use Compressor to convert the Avid DVCPro files to ProRes 422. edit away.
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