upgrade from media 100 to FCP

[John Pale]

No, not exactly. Not to the level of what you are used to with the 844/x, anyway. FCP is a software based system. You can get 3rd party capture cards, but they do not add realtime capability. Its all based on the host computer and your drive array. It can do much of what you suggest in realtime but when you start combining and keyframing effects, your milage may vary depending on your system specs. It will not be realtime all the time, as the 844/x is performing that magic with hardware.

[Jeremy Garchow]

No. FCP does not do keying in real time. Working in uncompressed you will get some cc and fx depending on how fast your disk drive array is and how fast your processor is, but for the kind of work you are trying to do FCP is not for you. FCP is a great editor that will do all those thing you listed with rendering, but it’s not a real time compositor. For keying you will also need a 3rd party plugin such a Boris Continuum Complete. It’s too bad the 844x flew by the way side. I looked at it when it first came out and what a sweet machine. Good luck in your quest.

Jeremy

[David Bogie]

Never used Edius. FCP has a mythical and unsupportable claim of being the supreme edit platform. It’s cool but you will never enjoy the same real time performance you enjoy with Media 100 because FCP is not hardware-based. Even Media 100 is almost useless without its proprietary hardware-based codec.

You have a chance to dump Media 100, great. But shop very carefully. Edius is a PC system, eh? That’s enough to make me run away screaming.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[Todd Beabout]

You might want to check out the new “Final Cut Extreme” that is RUMORED to be coming out at NAB next month. It sounds like it would do the real time work you are looking for. You could always look into a Smoke/Flame system, too.

I would mention that I, too, work all of the time with clients in my edit suite behind me. I haven’t seen any of them whine about the short render times that FCP requires cutting in 10-bit uncompressed. If I’m messing with a lot of keyframes and motion-blurs the times can get a bit long, but honestly that’s what I use After Effects for anyways. FCP is one tool in my editing tool box, and I find it to be quite sufficient (in most ways) for the tasks I require of it. And it really all depends on the budget that you have to work with. If you can afford a really high-end Real-Time system, then look at something other than FCP.

-Todd Beabout
Vazda Studios

[Walter Biscardi]

[macdiv] “The clint is always with me so i need realtime playback at all times without render , my previous system is capable of doing this (keying, color correction, background colour, 4 layer pic in pic video +key , defocus , sizing, croping, rotation , desolve )”

The 844X is really a compositing engine made to do editing so that’s why you’re getting so many realtime layers and effects. That being said, with Final Cut Pro and a very fast hard drive array, along with something like an AJA Kona board, you’re going to get very performance somewhat similar.

As for editing with clients being in the room, I switched from Media 100 to FCP in 2001 and haven’t heard any clients complaining about our workflow. We cut anything from a 700 layered After Effects corporate open to 1 and 2 hour documentaries on our three systems. I’ve built 35 track composites in Final Cut Pro that really worked out well too, so depending on your compositing / FX needs you may be able to stay right in FCP or you may need to drop out to Motion or AE.

There’s really nothing out there like the 844/X as far as the compositing / editing capabilities within the app.

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

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Todd Beabout] “I haven’t seen any of them whine about the short render times that FCP requires cutting in 10-bit uncompressed.”

Me neither, unless it’s a green screen project and then they go away and come back in the next few days. He requires real time keying and FCP just won’t cut that, either will AE.

Jeremy

[Mac Dev]

Hi guys ,,, first iam very soory not to respond quuickly to the thread , materfact i was in the midle of the dissert ,,,, i just come back and read your coments , it did helped me for FCP …As for Edius i will tray to go deep in the Edius manual to see what it and what it cannot DO !!
thanks Again