Why won’t FCP6 play an mp4 file straight from iTunes?

[Mike Raff]

Hi, Beau

Let me try to clarify the previous posts.

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Because Apple designed it not to. Walter is right, as usual; it’s a Digital Rights Management issue. Here’s the thinking behind it.

Apple intended iTunes to be used by consumers for the personal needs and just as it intended FCP to be used by professionals. Their presumption was that consumers would have no need to worry about sync rights and that professionals would acquire properly licensed music elsewhere. It’s a fair preseumption, but might not be accurate in all cases.

As you did not state your purposes, we cannot know whether you intended use falls within or outside of the generally understood meaning of “fair use” or is, in fact, a violation of copyright law. As many of us in the Cow Community are creators of intellectual property, we abide by copyright law, respecting the rights of others and hope that others will treat us with the same courtesy.

If you want to know HOW you can import the file into FCP, then follow Dan’s instructions.
If you want to know if you MAY (in the legal sense) import the file, then listen to Walter’s podcast.

Hope that helps.

Mike Raff
Richmond, VA

[Walter Biscardi]

[Arniepix] “Why would anyone “file” their library music in an mp4 format? If I’m storing library music on a drive or server, I store it as a 48k aiff.”

it’s a much smaller file.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[David McGiffert] “t looks like your question is answered to an extent.
But, as I was just wrestling with this the other day,
and I found the quickest way was to select the song (in iTunes),
that you want to import, go up into the “Advanced” setting, select
“Convert Selection to AIFF”…
This duplicates the song as an AIFF.
Drag that converted song to the desktop.
Import it into FCP from the desktop”

No need to drag any file (audio, video or still image) to the desktop.

Just click on it inside its folder (right where iot sits) and drag it into thye open FCP Browser.

[Dan Riley]

Nope. Can’t do that either.
If it’s a protected song, iTunes will not convert it to AIFF the way you describe.
It will however convert it, thus dropping the protected status, in the burning process.

Dan

[13]

Look into iTunes Plus – Its DRM Free

Enable it on your iTunes account, and you have access to purchase available DRM free music. Plus the quality is better.

[Sean Oneil]

[zrb123] “Enable it on your iTunes account, and you have access to purchase available DRM free music. Plus the quality is better.
“

DRM is only part of the problem. Unprotected MP3 files do not work very well in Final Cut. You can import them, put them in sequences, etc. But you get a nasty gargling sound all the time plus a red “I need to be rendered” bar.

Haven’t tried it in FCP6, but I doubt its any different.

[13]

[Sean ONeil] “[zrb123] “Enable it on your iTunes account, and you have access to purchase available DRM free music. Plus the quality is better.
”

DRM is only part of the problem. Unprotected MP3 files do not work very well in Final Cut. You can import them, put them in sequences, etc. But you get a nasty gargling sound all the time plus a red “I need to be rendered” bar.”

And where did I say to just use MP3’s right in iTunes. The post is about using purchased iTunes music, and that is why I suggested iTunes Plus

[Sean Oneil]

[zrb123] “And where did I say to just use MP3’s right in iTunes. The post is about using purchased iTunes music, and that is why I suggested iTunes Plus”

I never said you said anything.

My post is about whatever I put in it.

The THREAD topic was about purchased iTunes music and my post was quite relavent.

I was suggesting that even without DRM, you still have issues with MP3 files – and those same issues are very likely to also be true with Unprotected MP4 like from iTunes Plus (which only offers music from EMI and independent labels).

Have you tried unprotected MP4 audio in FCP? What’s it like?

Sean

[Walter Biscardi]

[zrb123] “Look into iTunes Plus – Its DRM Free

Enable it on your iTunes account, and you have access to purchase available DRM free music. Plus the quality is better.”

Still doesn’t give you the license to use the music to cut to the video unless the person has secured those rights via proper channels before editing. DRM Free just means it doesn’t have the digital protection protocol on the files.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Oliver Peters]

[Sean ONeil] “Have you tried unprotected MP4 audio in FCP? What’s it like?”

I use .MP4 files. These are ripped in iTunes at the 256/44.1 setting and are generally temp music tracks. I use QT Pro to convert them to 48Khz AIF before I import into FCP. They sound fine. Native MP3 files converted by FCP rendering frequently have audible artifacts and breakup.

Sincerely,
Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com