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Hey guys, this ain’t SCSI.

FireWire can make longer runs with ease.

I’d suspect a faulty FW cable (or end) in this case.

We operate with 80 ft. to 100 ft. FW cables between the FCP Macs and the machine-room DV decks every day.

That’s not with an AJA I know, but it controls the deck and sends/receives A/V just fine.

With cameras we have used several long FW cables.
Two cameras at over 75 ft., and one camera thru FW cables connected end-to-end for over 200 ft. run with perfect images into the FW switcher.
We thought we might have a problem, but it worked great.

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The first thing to always try is to Quit FCP, Restart the Mac, Open your FCP project and try again.

Next:
THE FOLLOWING COMES FROM THE KEN STONE WEBSITE:
“Over 5,000 years ago Confucius wrote: ‘If you are toiling away, you have changed nothing and FCP heads South on you, [starts behaving in strange ways] then it is time to trash your FCP Preferences.’ ”

Click the following link for instructions.

https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/trashing_fcp_prefs.html

A great way to do this is to use “FCP Rescue” a free Apple Script that will Trash the Preferences for you (and restore nearly all of your user settings afterward).
There are versions for FCPro & FCExpress.

Download these free Apple Scripts at

https://fcprescue.andersholck.com/

This is one FCP tip that has helped in hundreds of “odd” problems.

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[Marc Buhmann] “What am I doing wrong? When I used by XL-1s to capture I got audio.”

Sorry, but if you don’t hear it with the DSR-11, you didn’t hear it with the XL1.

Unless you have made changes in your settings, there is no difference between the FW inputs of either.

This is a VERY frequently-asked question.
You can find answers in seconds if you will use the “Search Posts” function here on the COW.
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The audio is, by default, intentionally MUTED to the Mac’s speaker output during Log and Capture.

So you should normally monitor the audio directly from the camcorder or deck you are using to capture. (It is the preferred method.)

CAUTION:
Many people have reported that noise or “pops” appear in the captured clips if the Mac’s internal audio is left on WHILE capturing… so may want to choose “Off During Capture.”

However, there is a way you can turn ON the Mac’s speaker if you really WANT to:
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In FCP4x and earlier:

Final Cut Pro (menu) > Audio/Video Settings… > Capture Presets (tab)

“Duplicate” the Capture Preset you are now using, when the window opens rename it (I added “MacAudioOn” to the file name).

Click open the “Advanced” button in the Audio section and turn speakers to “ON during Capture.”
The Mac speakers/audio-out will now play Audio during the preview in the Log and Capture window.
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In FCP5x and later:

In the Record Tool:
Clip Settings, near audio buttons, choose: Preview: “ON”
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Hi Jake and lpress.

Here’s a cut from the original question:
[lpress] “I purchased a wireless mic in order to record classroom lectures. I figured I would just plug it into my portable and record using Audacity.”

My response was directly to “fixing” this “small” problem:

[Matte] “…need to buy a small “Mic-level” input device for the computer.

https://www.camcor.com/cgi-bin/cat/id=1050334494

This is a reliable inexpensive unit.
You can Google for others.”

Then you correctly said:

[Jake Tolbert] “Be leary of inexpensive solutions, you get what you pay for.”

Now, here’s where this goes a little off-track.
If we were attempting to record a professional-quality voice-over where low-noise, broad frequency response and very low distortion were an issue, then spending $250 (and up) for a better sound card would be a great idea.
However, I was just offering a VERY GOOD solution (and the iMic is very good) to the presenting problem… recording a classroom lecture to a PC for note-taking.
I assumed (and I might be wrong) that the poster might not want to invest a few hundred dollars more in a device that he may not have further need of.

[lpress] “Do you think the amplifier Matte suggested — the iMic — would be sufficient if I am recording speech, not music.”

MY answer to this (and that’s why I suggested it in the first place) is “Yes. It will work very well.”

What do you think, Jake?

Sometimes its hard for professionals to remember that there are those who may not make their living by recording, who can actually derive benefit from using the lower-priced gear if it suits the purpose needed.

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[Tom Ackroyd] “If you insert edit video after laying anything on A3 you will overwrite it – A3 on Betacam is an FM track “under” the video.”

DING DING DING

That’s absolutely correct.
I got so enmeshed with the “oddity” of this query, I forgot something so basic.

Thanks for the “jog”.

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[Kevin C.] “I was hoping for a mini DV Duplicator like a cassette duplicator or a vhs duplicator. Does not exist?”

Well, no…

and yes (kind-of).

A one-to-one “duplicator” would basically be just two DV units connected together.
Since the copy would be at “times-one” speed anyway, there’s no need to spend a lot of money on what a “built-in-one-case” unit like this would likely cost.

[Kevin C.] “You ask, if you need timecode to match. Match to what?”

What we are discussing. That the copy’s TC will exactly match the original’s TC.

[Kevin C.] “If you make a duplicate, aren’t you getting, by definition, a duplicate of the original tape?”

Of the Audio and Video, YES.
But there’s never a guarantee in making copies (of ANY format with TC) that the TC will be transferred intact.
And that means you can have a CHOICE in this matter and that is sometimes a GOOD choice to have.

TC is very valuable… if it is “good” continuous TC.
The edit system can tell exactly where on a tape it is, both NOW and in future edits.

But, if the master tape (any format) has discontinuous TC (blank holes, TC re-sets, “jumps” in time) depending on the system and the operator, the editor can make inaccurate “decisions” based on the faulty TC… and future edits (re-edits, or edits made off-site) might be MUCH more difficult or inaccurate.

If the master does have “bad” TC, you can easily make a copy on another unit that will have (self-generated) new “replacement” TC.

With digital tapes, if you make a direct “clone” of the audio and video (in DV, that would be a FireWire copy) there will be no A/V generation loss, but (in most cases) the TC will be generated by the record unit and it will be NEW and continuous.
Then you would only use the NEW copy of the tape for the edit.

Making a FW copy of a mini DV tape is as easy and inexpensive as connecting ANY two DV camcorders via FW (even a very basic “home-video” camcorder will make a perfect no-loss digital copy of even a pro DV tape). I own several used DV “home video” camcorders that I bought at pawn shops for LESS than $150 each (!). They work great as back-up “decks” and for dubbing.
But, they will NOT make copies that have the original Timecode coming from the master, they will generate their own new TC as they copy the A/V.

If, however, you NEED a DV copy that DOES have the exact TC of the original master tape (so you have a “perfect” back-up) then you need to record to a DV unit that has the ability to accept and record EXTERNAL TC along with the audio and video.

Not all units have this feature.

FWIW, the least expensive (but very reliable) DV deck that DOES have the ability to record the incoming TC along with the A/V is the Sony DSR-11. (Google for more info.)

At about $1500-$1600 USD the DSR-11 is not as inexpensive as just making a copy between two DV camcorders, but I guess that price would still be WELL BELOW what you would have to pay for a commercially-made “DV Duplicator” (if such things were available).

Sorry for the “mini-book” length, but from the basic nature of your questions, I took the time to more fully explain some of these concepts.

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[CoastalFog] “re read my post as i stated rather clearly I was outputting to an NTSC monitor”

My post was “pasted” from a previous post of mine (actually several).
You “stated rather clearly” that you thought this was probably a common problem.
I just performed the SEARCH POSTS for you.

And, from the basic nature of your question, it never hurts to cover all aspects of a problem for the original poster and for those lurkers out there who are searching for answers to their problems.

Sorry you did not care for my help.

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You need to RENDER all effects to see them in full quality.

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[Alexander Signer] “Aren’t tapes supposed to be ‘neutral’, neither NTSC or PAL?”

Of course.

I was asking about the RECORDED tape, not a blank one.

Again, are you SURE that the tape was RECORDED in the PAL format?

With FCP set to DV PAL, its looking for a PAL signal.

Something to consider:
You need to create a NEW PROJECT in FCP, with the Easy Setup configured for DV PAL, for everything to be “ready to work”.

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I always use two monitors as well.

I’ve never had this problem, but if Title 3D works like most Mac window-based programs:

You just need to open it, drag it onto the monitor you wish it to be viewed on and then CLOSE IT while its still on the window you want.
The next time you open a new window, it should pop up on the correct screen.