Working with the XDCAM Transfer Tool

[Andy Mees]

I’m assuming you have already imported this footage using XDCAM Transfer, correct? And where have you imported the footage to, as you import location? If you want good performance from your compressed HD source footage then you need to store that footage on a suitable fast external hard drive, not the internal start up disc which is already quite busy enough hosting the operating system and your various active applications. Bottom line, you need good fast dedicated storage for your media.

If thats not the issue Henning, maybe you could post some more specific info regarding your hardware and software setup and your workflow then we’ll be better able to have a bash at helping you troubleshoot the problem.

Best
Andy

[Henning Stirner]

Dear Andy,
thanks for answering our post!

We don`t imported our footage into FCP yet. It still lays on our external harddrive, Lacie 500GB, connected to the MacBook Pro with FW800. We try to preselect our rushes to avoid importing all the 20h footage into FCP. But theres the problem: by watching the stock in XDCAM Transfer the image freezes, stucks or do not run fluently at all.

Our MacBook Pro runs with MacOS Version 10.5.6, IntelCore Duo, 2.2 GHz, L2 Cache 4MB, RAM 4GB.

We allready tested some clips in FCP and there they did run without problemes.
But we thougt it would be better to preselect and not to import everything into FCP, because we`ve been afraid off slowing down our editingsystem, with this 20h rushes.

What do you think?

Thanks a lot so far!
Best
Henning

[Andy Mees]

Hey Henning

I’m sorry man, but that workflow is outside my direct experience … I’m an XDCAM HD guy rather than XDCAM EX so I’m used to using XDCAM Transfer to view proxies of the high res rather than the high res itself. With the low res / low data rate proxies of course the playback is very easy.

That said, a 500GB hard disc is around 460GB of usable disc space and those 20 hrs or rushes must be running you about 320 GB or more .. if thats the case then you’re already fast approaching 80% full on that drive which is about when disc performance will start to be affected. Is your Lacie a single disc or a RAID pair (2×250) … if its a RAID then you should be good a while longer but if its a single drive then that might be the problem right there.

I’m sure some of the EX guys here will be able to weigh in with specific experience of the issue you’re having if its something more unusual, otherwise I’d be tempted to suggest you go ahead and test with a small sample of the same footage you’re having trouble with, but moved to another more suitable (faster, emptier) media drive and see if the problem persists.

Best
Andy