FCP’s poor handling of mp3 files

[Ben Oliver]

i shall ahve to try that, i just usually find myself goign thru my itunes for my temp music, making playlists, and batch-converting from there, so i get all these duplicates that take up space!

thanks for the info

[Walter Biscardi]

[Tom Adams] “Can anyone enlighten me as to why FCP hasn’t figured out how to properly render/import mp3 files. do i still need to convert mp3 files to aiffs before importing to be sure there won’t be any annoying little ‘pops’ and ‘blips’…”

It’s a lousy audio format to begin with for professional editing. Ensure all of your audio is AIFF or Sound Designer and it will work well for you. Mp3’s should only be used for offline work, not online.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Director, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Rennie Klymyk]

Never mind FCP, you shouldn’t even have mp3’s in itunes. All pro audio sources don’t originate on mp3 and the only time one should degress to useing it is when emailing a sample for approval. MP3 is for your entertainment, not source files for proffessional video. Why even keep them in itunes with the price of storage these days. FCP doesn’t need to support this level of data.

“everything is broken”

[Jeremy Garchow]

Agreed Rennie, but I see the point. At least for me, a lot of audio post houses email draft versions in mp3 while they are still working on the track. It’s quick and easy. Just like Walter says, it’s the audio version of offline. Still, I convert it all in compressor in seconds.

[Peter Wiggins]

Even quicker if you make a droplet on your desktop 😉

Peter

Free Motion Templates

https://www.peterwiggins.com

[Ron James]

[ben] “but dude”

But DUDE, make a droplet, drag and drop. Couldn’t be simpler, DUDE.

But dude, seriously, why would you ever want to use mp3’s (especially on a regular basis) in anything you’re cutting with FCP? Why not go to the source?

This question has always baffled me on FCP forums.

FWIW, mp3 sounds terrible for the most part, despite what any “experts” tell you. Either that, or I’ve got ears of gold. Because I can tell the difference. If you want to compress, at least use Apple’s AAC. It’s noticeable better.

I have yet to be in any pro situation where mp3’s are involved at any level, except maybe an offline quickie.

G5 Dual 2.7 GHz
2 GB RAM
OS 10.4.6
FCP 5.0.4
QT 7.0.4

[Peter Mcauley]

Check this tutorial out over at lafcpug

https://www.lafcpug.org/Tutorials/basic_droplet.html

cheers

Peter McAuley
Axyz Edit
Toronto
G5 dual 2.0
4 gigs ram
10.4.3
FCP 5.04
QT 7.03
Kona 2 v1.1.4 with K Box
4 X 250 gig external F800 Lacie firewire drive
2 X 23″ Apple cinema display

[Tom Adams]

oh come on… get off your high horses. mp3s can sound good depending on your customized settings. of course, they are not the greatest quality but give me a break..open your minds and realize that there are plenty of instances when mp3s could be and should be “usable’ within a fcp editing situation…

whatever.

Regards,

Tom Adams – Director/Owner
Reelife Documentary Productions
“cool digital video stuff…not boring or dumb”
info@reelifeproductions.com http://www.reelifeproductions.com
Williamsburg, MA, USA

1.4Ghz DP mirrordoor G4
OS10.4.3, FCP 5.0.3
Panasonic DVX100a & EZ1

[Kevin Monahan]

I’ll remain on my high horse, thank you. Have fun with snap, crackle and pop. 😉

Using MP3 compressed audio is bad technique period. Just ’cause you can do something, or just ’cause you want to do something (like use crappy audio sources) – doesn’t mean you should. OK, OK, I’m as conservative as they get when it comes to protocol and I strive to live in the real world. If something doesn’t work, move on and go with the flow. If you need something that the masses don’t, well then, there’s always the proverbial “workaround” – that’s what I do.

I wouldn’t wait around for MP3 decoding on the timeline (why spend CPU overhead on that?) – and just ’cause “Vegas” can do it, doesn’t mean FCP should. It doesn’t surprise me that Vegas can handle MP3s, etc., recall that it was audio editing software for a long time before video features were added.

Long Live Lossless Compression!

Kevin Monahan
Take My FCP Master’s Workshop!
fcpworld.com

[Matt Galuszewski]

I have enjoyed reading the various opinions on the use of mp3 files.

I am interested to know what the same people think (for and against the quality issue) about video compression.

storage requirements
subjective quality
measurable technical parameters
DV codecs / HDV, etc