-
Help with footage conversion
Since there is no Quicktime thread, and this isn’t really an Hpx 500 issue, I figured this is the best place to ask my question.
I rented a studio and HPX-500 for a day-long shoot yesterday and after the shoot, the owner transferred the footage through his FCP system and converted the .mxf files to .movs and copied them to my hard drive.
After church today, I plugged the hard drive up to my computer and wanted to make sure there were no problems with the transfer. Well, all the files were in the hard drive and I when I played a random clip, I can hear the audio, but I cannot see any video – this was the case with all of the files.
Quicktime is up to date, but a warning came up that “additional software may be needed” or something similar – the message hasn’t come up again. I am using a Powermac G5 with FCP 5.1 and OS 10.4.11. I believe the computer we did the transfer with is an intel mac pro using fcp 7.
I’m assuming the problem is with the files being created on an intel machine, but it could be that the files were transferred with FCP 7. I don’t really have any ideas. I thought to update Quicktime, but like I said, I already am running the newest version.
I look forward to any thoughts,
Denton
-
7 Replies
-
Sounds like a codec issue Denton. When you open the movie in QT, look at the info pane. It should tell you what codec the footage is — mov is a wrapper, just like mxf is a wrapper. You’ll probably just need to download a plugin and drop it in your QT library. Depending on the actual codec of the media, it should be pretty easy to find one.
Best luck.
Josh
-
Josh,
Thanks for the response. I checked the codec of the file, and it says “DVCPRO HD 1080p30.”
I’m a bit over my head here, so if you could indulge me, I would be most appreciative.
In my Quicktime folder, I have a DVCPROHDCodec.component file – is this not the correct codec? If it is not the right codec, how do I go about finding the one I need?
Like I said, this is over my head, so I am not sure how to move forward.
Thanks for your help,
Denton
-
I believe that DVCPRO HD comes included in FCP packages–but it sounds like if you have that specific file in your QT library, it should work.–someone should correct me if I’m wrong. There might be separate plugins for the different DVCPRO HD codes (1080i60, 1080p24). I’m not exactly sure how their packages work. However, what software are you editing on? If you have FCP, it should work. Some other software, probably won’t. Hopefully you won’t need to re-transfer the footage.
Josh
-
Josh,
I talked with the studio owner today, and copied his codecs from his folder, but when I tried it again on the files they wouldn’t open.
We believe the problem lies with his computer running FCP v7 and my computer running FCP v5.1. While I have the DVCPRO HD codec in my FCP bundle, both he and I figured the new codec just wouldn’t work with FCP v5.1.Going back and forth a few times, neither of us figured out the best path forward, so in the end, he is letting me borrow the camera and cards to recapture the footage into my FCP system using my codecs.
Thank you so much for your help in figuring out the problem – I know it is difficult to diagnose a problem and find a solution without looking at the original material, so I do again appreciate your help.
Denton
-
Hey, no worries about the help. That’s sort of what these types of communities are for. Sorry that I didn’t mention that FCP 5 didn’t have deep support for DVCPRO HD–that came more in 6 I think. (I learned on 5, but didn’t get into HD stuff until I was already running 6, so it didn’t cross my mind.) There should be a good set of codecs to choose from, so hopefully you’ll find something that you can work in.
Good luck!
Josh
-
The DVCProHD QT components installed in my MBP (Leopard, FC3, QT7.6.4) are from 2007 and they work.
What QT version are you using?
rafael -
Rafael,
I have the newest Quicktime installed: 7.6.4, I believe is the version number. I think the problem may lie in the fact it was an intel machine that created the files in the first place, and I am editing on a Power Pc G5.
Almost everything I read on individual codecs specified if it was for Intel or Power PC macs. I did come across a few universal binary codecs, but those were few and far between and I didn’t find any FAQs that dealt with a situation like mine.
I talked with the studio owner, and thankfully he hadn’t wiped the P2s clean yet – and he let me borrow the camera to transfer the files into my G5. He’s a heck of a guy.
So I am really no further forward with the original files, but I have usuable files straight from the camera that work flawlessly, so my shoot is saved. I can go on to edit the greatest music video since Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy.”
Thanks guys for all of your help!
Denton
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up