XDCAM codec or Prores in FCP?

[Craig Seeman]

FCP 7 allows one to edit XDCAM (and HDV) native and set renders to ProRes so one doesn’t have GOP confirms when rendering effects during editing.

[Noah Kadner]

Yup- that’s what I do…

Noah

Check out my book: RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera!
Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook, Panasonic HVX200, Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon 7D.
Watch Formosa- My indie movie shot with the SDX900 and finished with Final Cut Studio.

[Robert Foote]

Be sure to set your sequence settings properly, render to the ProRes format instead of the “same as sequence codec” or it will tell you it is conforming an mp4 when you try to render.

Adapt and overcome!

[Craig Moore]

Thanks! It seems to do the trick.

Spider Video
https://spidervideo.tv
XDCAM Ex1-R
MacPro FCP3

[Rafael Amador]

But be aware that these renders are for nothing.
When you export, are trashed.
Unless you deliver in XDCAM, set your sequence codec to Prores.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Craig Moore]

SO are you saying to set the entire sequence to prores not just the renders? If so then it’d be best to transcode the XDCAM files into prores first before beginning anything…if not delivering to XDCAM?

thanks

Craig

Spider Video
https://spidervideo.tv
XDCAM Ex1-R
MacPro FCP3

[Rafael Amador]

Craig,
There is no need to transcode anything unless you intend to work with a few layers.
If you set your sequence to Prores, is the same that when you set “render to Prores”, but in the end you have all the renders available.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[David Burch]

Good to know. I typically edit native xdcam, as I’m typically working with 3 clips at a time in multiclip editing, and transcoding 3 2+ hour clips is a waste of time and drive space. I’ve never had much of a problem with this workflow, but I have noticed that exporting finished movie files can take exceedingly long.