[Alan Okey]

[Don Walker] “Aren’t Mpeg 4 and H.264 basically the same thing, and if not what are the differences and what are typical applications of each?”

MPEG-4 is not a single format, it’s a broad group of specifications that consists of a number of different standards, or “parts,” not just h.264. h.264 is technically MPEG-4 part 10. h.264 is the newest and most efficient MPEG 4 codec, but it’s not the only one. h.263 is still widely used in videoconferencing, for example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4

h.264 is not an Apple technology, it’s an open standard that Apple has thrown its weight behind to help speed mass adoption. h.264 has been hugely successful, to the point that specialized h.264 hardware decoders are now embedded in many mobile devices for efficient, low-power decoding.

[Alan Okey]

[Chris Babbitt] “In Compressor, look under FORMATS/QUICKTIME and you will find H.264. At least that’s how it is in FCP 6.
“

That preset produces an h.264 encoded video with a Quicktime .mov file wrapper. Matt needs an .mp4, not a .mov. They are different file wrapper types, and .mp4 files are preferable in some cases.

Adobe Media Encoder can produce h.264 encoded files with an .mp4 wrapper, but it doesn’t appear to be possible in Compressor.

[Alan Okey]

[Arash Sahba] “I know if we do prores it won’t be use able on windows.”

As long as the latest version of Quicktime is installed on the Windows PC, it should be able to read ProRes files just fine – it just can’t create ProRes files, as the codec is read-only on Windows.

[Alan Okey]

It\’s an FCP quirk. The timeline window must be selected immediately prior to adjusting any of the CC controls in order for the external display to update with the correction. Annoying, but true. It\’s just become second nature for me to click on the timeline window prior to dragging the sliders or moving the cursor in the CC wheels.

[Alan Okey]

Try posting your examples over in the Imagineer Systems forum for their expert opinion regarding Mocha Pro’s suitability for your problem.

[Alan Okey]

Sorry to be the voice of gloom and doom, but I think you’re screwed. If a slight image shift were the only problem, you might have a fighting chance, but it looks like the image is actually blurred within the frame, so simply repositioning the frame (which is what stabilizing software does) isn’t going to help. The repositioned frame will still be blurry. You might be able to fix it with Mocha Pro, which can look at frames preceding and following a damaged frame to create a new frame, but it would be a lot of work and far from an automated process.

[Alan Okey]

Your footage is easy or sprightly in manner or bearing?

[Alan Okey]

[walter biscardi] “Project file should always live on your internal Mac HD.”

By “internal Mac HD,” I assume you mean the system (OS) drive.

I’ve been using FCP since 2003 and I’ve never saved FCP project files on the system drive. I’ve never had any problems keeping FCP project files on a RAID (media) volume, either on my own either system or on any other system I’ve used.

Can you explain why one “should” store project files on a system drive?

[Alan Okey]

Sorry, it’s a reference to a humorous scene from the film This Is Spinal Tap.  I won’t bother explaining it as I think it’s probably pretty easy to find that scene somewhere online.

I posted the earlier link for its humor value.  I wasn’t implying that I think using and SSD for media storage is really an option. Obviously the price premium doesn’t make SSDs a competitive choice at this time.

[Alan Okey]

But this one goes to 11…