Preview window is dark

[Jacob Tirey]

I tested it a bit. It has something to do with the video connection. If I use DVI instead of HDMI, the problem goes away.

Anyone have any idea why this is? Its strange that it only affects the preview windows. I suspect it has something to do with the Final Cut Pro gamma correction setting.

[Brendan Maghran]

Do the new macbook pros have an HDMI port? Or are you using an adaptor?

“Where that light source is coming from?”
“The same place as the music.”

[Jacob Tirey]

They use the mini display port. I have an adapter for HDMI, and then another one for DVI

[Neil Waller]

We are having the same issue on a Mac pro using DVI to monitor.

Have been three weeks on the issue.

Have bought a new drive and clean installed it with 10.6.6 and FCP updated to 7.0.3 and as late as last night was still giving same symptom.

Obviously we are not alone in this.

Please someone, can you give us the fix.

Our symptoms are exactly the same. It is not project related because the symptoms are the same even on old projects. The really bizare thing is that if you grab the end of w clip on the timeline and roll the end back or forward the luminance value is correct in the canvas window… But never in the viewer window.

Having stripped the machine completely and reloaded all os and only FCP it is obviously not a bad file etc.

I have a cloned in on Monday at 9.30 am and is has to be fixed by then or I am going to look pretty bad… So much so that I will be walking away from FCP.

I posted this issue on another forum On the 25th of may with no real answers so hope you guys are able to help.

Details are:

Despite the fact that footage looks fine on playback on the camera, we are having issues with our Final Cut Pro suite exhibeted as the footage in the bin, viewer canvas and timeline has very low luminance and this is over assetts from two camera of sources.

1. Sony Z7p recording HDV1080i – Progressive scan (25p):
a. From tape – Log and Capture.
b. From card – Log and transfer.
2. AVI files from Point Of View Camera.
a. DV Mov files. They play fine in Quicktime but are very dark in Final Cut Pro.

Events leading to the issue were:

1. We installed the Sony Recoding Unit plugin for Final Cut Pro 7. (Sony memory recorder unit plugin as supplied with HVR-MRC1).
2. Keyboard was accessed by kids over the weekend and a key may have been pressed that causes this to happen however we can’t seem to reverse it ???

The really interesting thing is that when you grab the end of a clip on the timeline and drag it back it corrects itself in the canvas?????

I don’t have any cards in place… and this is definately an issue because I have used FCP fro some time and even old projects that where fine, if I open then now are dark. Attached please see a screen grab and note the luminance of the frame that is in QT player as opposed to the same shot in FCP.

See attached image.

Not happy Apple.

[Neil Waller]

Thanks – That is better than what I did. Bought an adapter and used a VGA cable and the problem went away. Obvioulsy automatic updates has screwed something. Anyway thanks for that. I’ll try it soon.

[Steven Waltham]

I Just had this exact problem first time i tried FCP7 on my brand new Feb’11 Macbook pro which is using min dvi to HDMI adaptor to a Benq 24″ 1080p monitor. And seemed to have found a work around, in my instance anyway.

It seems if you start final cut with the monitor attached it will always be dark. I found that if you start final cut and then connect the monitor the viewers are normal. This seems to work no matter what your monitor set up is, ie your using 2 displays, mirroring or external display with mac in clamshell.

Hope that helps someone

Steve

[Ian Harding]

Hi there..

Has anyone found an answer to this problem of the preview window playing darker than the clips actually are?

FCP never used to do this, I cant figure out what is causing it, Im on a MBPro, ive tried the monitor fix mentioned above but that doesnt work for me..

thanks.

ian

[Igor Martinovic]

Hi there,

I am experiencing the same problem as discussed earlier (preview window dark. it gets brighter when scrolling through footage but once you stop scrolling it becomes darker again) and can’t find a solution for it.

Anyone has an idea how to fix it.
Thanks
igor

[Peter A.]

Hi Everyone~! Not sure if this has been completely solved but I wanted to share what I found – This was in the FCP 7 User Manual (Top of page 1465, Chapter 85 “Rendering and Video Processing Settings“)

It reads as follows:

Choosing Real-Time Playback Gamma Correction Options
Whenever you watch your video on a computer display (such as video displayed in the Canvas, the Viewer, or via Digital Cinema Desktop Preview), Final Cut Pro applies gamma correction to the video to more closely approximate the way it would appear on a video monitor.

If your computer’s graphics card supports gamma correction, Final Cut Pro automatically uses the card for accurate gamma correction. If your computer has an older graphics card that does not support gamma correction, you have two gamma correction options in the Playback Control tab of the System Settings window.

• Accurate: High-quality gamma correction. This option is the most accurate but also requires the most processing power.

• Approximate: Lower-quality gamma correction. This option leaves more processing power available for real-time effects but results in less accurate color and brightness rendition.

Tip: If your real-time performance is limited, try changing the gamma correction setting to Approximate (if available).

To choose a gamma correction option in the current sequence
1 Open a sequence in the Timeline.
2 Choose Final Cut Pro > System Settings, then click the Playback Control tab.
3 Choose Accurate or Approximate from the Gamma Correction pop-up menu.

I switched the setting to “Approximate” and that solved the problem for me~! Hope this helps!

Here’s a link to the manual from apple: https://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/Final_Cut_Pro_7_User_Manual.pdf

Thanks~
-Pete

[Joshua Sandler]

hey I am dealing wit the same issue but not for an external monitor. Problem happened suddenly a few days ago on my brand new iMac 27inch and the gamma in canvas and viewer is really out of whack and dark. Honestly I can’t imagine editing like this. The only thing that i can come up with is that it is connected to some bug in a software update. changing the Gamma correction to approximate does make it look better, but honestly it is really disconcerting that there is not a more legit solution for an obvious bug in the program. I am a longtime FCP user and I have never been so frustrated and disappointed with Apple. I have been researching for days looking for information about this problem and have found almost nothing. I was even on the phone with a FCP expert at apple who claimed to have not heard about this problem at all. I was just about to reinstall FCP which is a huge pain in the ass before i read this post and realized about changing the gamma settings, but i consider this a temporary solution and really hope Apple offers a more legitimate fix for this very troubling problem, or i am going to finally learn how to use avid.