[Andy Mees]

[Kyle Cox] “parts of my video came through altered and maimed (thick lines through the video at parts, etc). “

Your sequence settings show that you have created a 720i29.97 timeline … bit weird. Where was your source footage from? Anyhoo, try changing the Field Dominance setting to “None”, then re-export a small (previously bad) section and see if that helps

[Andy Mees]

or another workflow is to use the Cmd Opt K shortcut (Add Level Keyframe) to add an audio level keyframe at the playhead position without using the mouse/pen/whatever

[Andy Mees]

Hey Rafa

You press and hold down the 6 and 4 keys immediately after the boot chime.

Cheers
Andy

[Andy Mees]

Bizarre! Thanks for posting back with your solution Luke.

Cheers
Andy

[Andy Mees]

[ilja bayerl] “so the compression program interprets the file as 4:3.”

Hi Ilya

In FCP the raw capture will still retain it’s true 4:3 native aspect … the display aspect is then handled on the fly based on the anamorphic flag thats attached to the clip in the FCP project metadata. It’s not embedded in the clip itself. There’s no way to change this in your FCP capture but you could batch process the captured files using an app like MPEG Streamclip to resave them, otherwise unchanged, but with the 16:9 metadata attached as needed.

Then again, most compression apps are easily capable of handling untagged anamorphic files correctly if you just set up an appropriate preset accordingly. Wouldn’t that be the easiest option?

Hope it helps
Andy

[Andy Mees]

Hi Marcello

I just looked and am getting the same result here, so the function seems to be a bit broken in the current FCP version. Try toggling your RT setting (using the RT button at top left of the timeline window) … this fixes it for me.

Example:
Disable/Enable Filters in the Sequence Settings > Render Control tab, then click OK.
Then in the timeline, switch from Unlimited RT to Safe RT and then back to Unlimited RT (or visa versa)

Cheers
Andy

[Andy Mees]

Hi Kesten

Judging from your screen shots, you took 1080p23.98 (progressive) from your 7D … then converted it to 1080i23.98 (interlaced) in MPEG Streamclip … then dropped that in a 1080p23.98 sequence (back to progressive again) in FCP … and to top it off you are using an interlaced 1440×1080 “Easy Setup” (although this is only going to cause you issues if and when you create new sequences).

Go back to your 7D source files. Open them in MPEG Streamclip … change ONLY the Compression setting ( to Apple ProRes 422 ) … leave the “Frame Size” as is (should be 1920 x 1080 unscaled) … leave the Frame Rate alone (you don’t want or need to mess with this) … basically just leave all the other settings alone.

The result should be fine in a native Apple ProRes 422 1080p 23.98 sequence in FCP.

Hope it helps
Andy

PS What on earth does any of this have to do with your post’s subject “Converting 16:9 to 4:3 without letterbox” ?

[Andy Mees]

C’mon Rafa, appreciate the loyalty buddy but many stalwart Final Cut Studio users also have (and regularly use) Adobe’s Production Suite too (for After Effects and Photoshop).. And anyway, just because someone suggests a commercial software solution outside of the immediate Apple Final Cut Studio apps does not make it bad advice. If Tim has Premiere and AME then he may appreciate Daniel’s tip.

[Andy Mees]

[Tim Allen] “…and I still can’t read .MTS files that are allegedly just AVCHD H.264 files?!?”

Maybe you want to provide a bit more detail regarding these files. Where did they come from? Might help folks in helping you to diagnose and resolve your issue in a means more to your liking.

By the way, your attitude really sucks.

Cheers
Andy

[Andy Mees]

Hi Dean

Our boys in the field use 3 channel Shure FP33 mixers (overkill for what you need) … a Glensound GS-CU005 would be more suitable for you but they’re a UK based company and I don’t know price or availability details for that one.

But before you take out a second mortgage, perhaps a simple Y split cable solution (usually for splitting a single channel rather than joining two disparate ones) is worth a try :
https://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/Set-of-2-XLR-Y-Cables-p/2-xlry.htm

Hope it helps
Andy