Ingesting from FCP

[Michael Hancock]

What codec? Will your Avid have FCP installed? Is your Avid a PC?

Some codecs are FCP only so you’ll either need to install FCP on the same machine as your Avid or, if that’s not an option, buy a decoder. But it really depends on what you’re ingesting into FCP, and in what codec.

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Michael Hancock
Editor

[Lori Porter]

Thanks for responding Michael.

My Avid is on a PC.

The footage is coming from a TV show that I produce – and the station only uses FCP to edit. The show’s producers are thinking of archiving the footage (storage) onto hardrives. It will be saved on the hardrive using the FCP – giving the footage a FCP codec (I would assume). For me to be able to use that stored footage (on my avid) I would need to buy a decoder?… I don’t think I will put FCP on my machine. We’re trying to make the archived footage pretty universal… I’m just trying to know as much as I can to be able to anticipate issues down the road.

What would you suggest?

[Michael Hancock]

What is the source footage and how is it being brought it? If it’s DVCproHD or XDCam and they’re just rewrapping it as Quicktime, you’ll need a decoder to read those Quicktimes. If they bring the footage in and encode it as ProRes you can get the decoder from Apple for free if you don’t already have it (I believe you’ll already have it if you have Quicktime 7 or higher, but don’t quote me on that).

Your best bet is to take a handful of files from different sources, toss them on a hard drive, and take it home. Open them up in Quicktime or import them into your Avid – if you can see the video and hear the audio in Quicktime, they should import into Avid just fine. If you get a white screen, you don’t have the codec. Hit Ctrl+i in Quicktime to pull up the inspector and see what the codec is. Let us know and we’ll point you toward a decoder.

A lot of it depends on the source and ingest into their machines.

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Michael Hancock
Editor

[Lori Porter]

Thanks! The footage is DVCpro… I did suggest to them the same thing – to try and dump some footage onto the hard drive and see what happens once I take it home. I do have quicktime 7 (at least).

Thank you for all the helpful information. I’ll let you know how it turns out and will contact you if I do need help finding a decoder.

I always appreciate the support and advise from you guys!
Lori

[Michael Hancock]

If it’s DVCProHD and you’re taking it to a PC, you’ll need a decoder.

Try to open it on your PC. If you get a white screen, download the Raylight decoder demo, install it, and reopen the Quicktime (you may need to restart your computer first). If you see video with an X on it, the decoder works. Buy it, plug in your serial number, and the X will go away.

Here’s the Raylight site: https://www.dvfilm.com/raylight/decoder/index.htm

And the price went down! Only $45 (used to be $95 I believe).

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Michael Hancock
Editor