Footage in Timeline/Canvas Doesn’t Mach Footage in Viewer/Full Render Shifts Video That Was Seen In Partial Render

[Tony Silanskas]

What are the specs of your converted DVD clips? And your sequence?

tony

[Braden Piper]

Hi Tony,

Just an FYI, I solved my problem with a workaround – I had to fully render the DVD clips, chop the exact sections I knew I needed and dropped them in. But, the problem of the footage changing when it switches to a partial render still persists, and I’d like to get to the bottom of this.

Specs of Converted DVD Clips:
I ripped the video from DVDs using handbrake into Mpeg-4 format.
Format: Mpeg-4; Codecs: Mpeg-4 Video, AAC; dimensions: 640×480; color profile: SD (6-1-6)
The file sizes were 3.4 GB for 55:19 (total bit rate: 8,182) and 2.25 GB for 33:05 (total bit rate: 9,064).

These files were unmanageable in FCP. They appeared as clips, and I could drop them in the timeline, but FCP would stall trying to load every time I even touched them.

I ran both files through compressor using Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) codec and ended up with files with these specs:
Format: Quicktime Movie; Codecs: Apple ProRes 422, IMA 4:1; Timecode; dimensions: 720×480
The file sizes were 26.26 GB for 55:19 (total bit rate: 63,292) and 15.51 GB for 33:05 (total bit rate: 62,489).
Other info: Vid Rate: 29.97 fps, Data Rate: 7.5 MB/sec, Field Dominance: none

Sequence Settings:
Frame Size: 1280×1080 (HD 16:9)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1280×1080) [Anamorphic 19:9 box unchecked]
Field Dominance: None
Editing Timebase 29.97 fps
Compressor: DVCPRO HD 108060i

Hope that helps,
Braden

[Tony Silanskas]

Thanks Braden for the detailed specs. Your settings look OK so here are some additional thoughts:

– If you’re having issues with the Handbrake files before you converted to ProRes that could be where the problem is. Try a different setting in Hnadbrake, or better yet, a different DVD.

– Final Cut does a terrible job of handling h.264 files so that could be why it was stalling in your HD timeline, though it sounds like it’s a bad clip.

– FYI: No need to use ProRes HQ on files smaller than 2K, as it’s overkill and adds a lot to storage and render times.

– Trash Final Cut preferences and repair the system drive permissions.

– Try making a new sequence and dragging the ProRes clip in it and have Final Cut set the settings for you. Does it play back correctly?

– I also noticed you have the Field Dominance set to none for both your sequence and ProRes convert, which I’m guessing is so you can edit progressive in the 29.97. This is a long shot, but are you setting the Handbrake file field dominance to none? I’m not at my computer right now and can’t remember if you can set that in HandBrake. If not, than your DVD h.264 file is interlaced and when you are converting it in Compressor to ProRes you’re making it progressive so there could be something weird going on there, too. But that workflow should work.

tony