Timeline shows one thing, but the audio playing is different!!!!!! HUH?!!

[David Jakubovic]

Hi guys,

I appreciate all the feedback! Actually, EVERY single project on my computer does indeed have a different name, and same goes for sequences – the projects are all very well organized, so I don’t think that is the problem. So far the answer that made the most sense might have been the 48khz vs. 44.1 khz and that using tracks from CD’s (which are generally 44.1) can create that rendering problem. I don’t know… it all seems idiotic to me, since right after I reconnect media of the clip that went off-time, it comes back. It’s just some weird bug, that probably comes up when the sample rates are different. I’m surprised most people haven’t encountered this problem! What do you guys do when you import music into FCP from a CD? Do you change the sample rate? The thing is that even in a 48 khz project, you can use music off CD’s without needing to render it, usually.

AVID NEVER DID THIS!!!!!!
🙂

But we must move with the times!
And once again, thanks very much for the feedback.
David Jakubovic

[Walter Biscardi]

[davidjaku] “‘m surprised most people haven’t encountered this problem! What do you guys do when you import music into FCP from a CD? Do you change the sample rate? The thing is that even in a 48 khz project, you can use music off CD’s without needing to render it, usually.”

All audio should 48khz before it gets to FCP. I use Quicktime Pro to export all my audio CD’s to 48khz, others use iTunes to do this. Either way, all audio should be 48khz before it gets to FCP, this has been covered numerous times on this very forum.

[davidjaku] “AVID NEVER DID THIS!!!!!!
:)”

I really don’t care. FCP is not Avid and Avid is not FCP. Media 100 didn’t have any sort of issues with audio files either in my experience, but that doesn’t translate to FCP.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”

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

[Shane Ross]

Avid CONVERTS music and video files and stills when you import them, FCP does not. FCP just points to the media, therefore you need to convert the footage for it. This is what I do.

#5 Imported music from CD or iTunes

Shane’s Stock Answer #5:

To get music into FCP, it needs to be an AIFF file at 48khz, 16 bit stereo. So if you want a song from a CD, you go into the iTunes Preferences and set this up under the IMPORTING tab:

File > preferences > importing > import using – AIFF encoder > Setting – Custom
Sample Rate – 48.000 kHz
Sample size – 16 bit
Channels – Stereo

If you have an mp3 that you want to use, then you can convert it thru iTunes as well.

If the piece of music you want to use is something you purchased thru iTunes, I’m afraid I can’t help you there. There are copywrite issues that prevent files from being converted into the format that FCP can recognize.

Shane

FCP Preferences set to UNCONTROLLED ADVICE
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Jason Porthouse]

David, you’re not mad. I’ve had odd things happen with audio files that I have no explanation for… I work with many audio files imported from CD as AIFFs. 99 times out of 100 fine, but then I’ll get a file that, whilst appearing to be fine on the timeline (one solid, uninterrupted file with correct waveform)has a cut in it… as if I’ve made an edit by mistake. The fix for me is usually to re-lay the file. Shortening then stretching the file makes no difference (I thought it might ‘refresh’ the timeline)but I haven’t tried re-linking the media…

I have had one occurence of this on a footage file (as opposed to an imported music file) and I’m leaning towards the 44/48 mismatch theory… It seems that whilst FCP should be able to cope with the sample-rate conversion it sometimes gets its knickers in a twist. Never had it happen in 4.x, only in 5…

Jason

[David Jakubovic]

YES!!!! Thank you! IT DOES THAT TO ME ALL THE TIME!!!!! That “Cut” in the music – it drives me MAD!
The 44/48 theory seems to indeed make the most sense.

Lots of luck in never having this annoyance again!
Happy new year
David

[Jeffrey Surgeon]

I have the exact same problem weekly. All I can do is reconnect the media, and the problem goes away, but it always comes back.

Jeff

[David Jakubovic]

Great! Another one!

I really hope FCP techs are seeing this because it is a truly annoying problem. I just cut a couple of features on FCP and it’s so frustrating to constantly have to stop and fix something when you play back, something you’ve already done! Anyway… once again, thank you to everyone who chimed in, and I will definitely try the sample rate conversion.

David

[Nick Ryan]

Let us know if you figure anything out. I really don’t think the 44.1 vs. 48k thing has anything to do with it – we’re fighting the same problem and all of our audio is captured at 48k. Not imported, captured. Granted, the audio is a seperate file than the video, but that’s because it’s coming from a seperate source. I agree, it is frustrating. Sometimes the problem doesn’t hit until you’re exporting a quicktime – at which point it randomly switches up the audio on you. When you go back to the timeline to fix the audio: everything’s fine.

We simply don’t have the time to edit an entire program together, and then go back and proof the entire export – but that’s what it’s coming down to.

Nick