FCP XML handling needs improving

[Andy Johnson-laird]

I can’t speak to the specific issues that you have been having, but I did have a look at the FCP XML specification (I found it via Google) because I couldn’t understand how to set markers colored other than red in CatDV — and I discovered that the FCP XML specification doesn’t allow for colored markers other than red ones.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the FCP XML specification (and FCP’s XML implementation) is a subset of the capabilities of the actual FCP software. That’s, of course, something way out of the control of CatDV.

Regards
Andy

Forensic Software/Internet/Image Analyst
Portland, Oregon

[Rolf Howarth]

Hi Carsten,

First off, if you’re experiencing problems please make sure you’re using the latest version of CatDV (currently 8.1.8, see https://www.squarebox.co.uk/download1.html). We’re constanly improving the XML support and recently made some changes to handle some specific situations, such as multi-track sequences with certain kinds of dissolve transition.

Secondly, you have to remember that Final Cut Pro and CatDV are there for different purposes. CatDV is a primarily a logging and cataloging tool and only has limited editing capabilities. Things like transitions, effects and filters have no representation within CatDV, for example.

Finally, you should be aware that all the main editing applications CatDV integrates with (FCP, Avid, and Premiere Pro) all have their own idiosynchracies and bugs. For example, you can export XML from FCP and reimport it again and find that the duration of some your clips are now out by one frame, or create an XML file and send it to Premiere (which can read FCP XML files) and find it crashes if a particular tag is missing, but that Final Cut does the wrong thing if that same tag is present! We work very hard to support all these idiosynchracies, and by and large the integration is very successful.

If you’re using an older version of CatDV then getting the latest update will almost certainly fix the problem with sequences that you’re seeing, but if not, please mail a copy of the XML file that doesn’t work to support@squarebox.co.uk and we’ll investigate for you.

-Rolf

[Carsten Orlt]

Rolf, appreciate your response and I made sure now I have the latest version and will try again. If I’m not successful I’ll email you the XML.

I also appreciate your problems with the idiosynchracies of different handling of XML between apps. And yes FCP and CatDV are made for different purposes and therefor I do not expect CatDV to understand all the effects and extras that are part of the FCP XML. I just think naively that a XML has a tag for the media description and software like CatDV just extracts this tag and ignores the rest. But I’m sure it’s not that easy 🙂

Cheers
Carsten