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FCP, Transport Streams, Surround Sound and More
Hi there I’ve had a look across the forums and although I’ve found a lot of useful info on surround sound in FCP I’ve not managed to find anything that completely addresses my issue.
We’ve just been sent a load of files from a client that are encoded into a proprietary MPEG transport stream format to play on certain TV’s. We have been asked to cut these down and reassemble some of them into new loops. Some of these files have 5.1 surround and some do not. I think I am OK with the files that are simple Stereo mixes but….
QUESTION: Is it possible to re-encode the MPEG files to something that I can work with in FCP and maintain the 5.1 audio (I have access to MPEG Streamclip and Episode as Compressor and Quicktime wont open this file type even with the MPEG component).
QUESTION: Assuming I can extract the information from the files to a ProRes or similar, maintaing the 5.1 audio how will I be able to get that into FCP? Will it need to go through Compressor to give me 5 separate audio channels? Is this even possible or has someone been writing cheques his body can’t cash again?
Once more, thanks for all the time that everybody puts in to the great help available on these forums.
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1 Reply
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[Jack Bonnett] “Assuming I can extract the information from the files to a ProRes or similar, maintaing the 5.1 audio how will I be able to get that into FCP? Will it need to go through Compressor to give me 5 separate audio channels?”
Might be the easiest way to stay in control/sanity check, but you may not have to extract anything deliberately if the first ProRes conversions are properly executed. I capture 12 channel audio from SR tape on a routine basis and it maps to FCP just fine. Change your “monitoring” in the FCP sequence Audio settings to the 5.1 surround mode, then make the appropriate “Dual Mono” selections in the first six channels and re-check the monitor/channel routing in the timeline — its a right-click option if you have never set up a discrete multi-channel output. You will have to be careful to keep the channel assignments consistent. SMPTE convention is L,R,C,Lfe,Ls,Rs, (A1-6), but there are others that Apple will offer. Making a new mpeg output can be accomplished in Compressor, but this might be complicated if you need to turn these back around in the supplier’s “proprietary” codec. MPeg itself is lossy, so this is by no means an ideal workflow in terms of quality preservation.
jPo
“I always pass on free advice — its never of any use to me” Oscar Wilde.
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