Bouncing Account needs new email address
Forum Replies Created
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I’m not clear on what you want to do.
Are you are trying to import and edit a full quality, full frame DV QuickTime movie?
If so, you do not want to use any “extra” compression codec when you export from Avid Express.
You should export a QT movie in “DV” (PAL or NTSC depending on where you are) from the Avid Express.
If you are putting the QT file on removable media, make sure the QT is “self-contained”).
This full-sized QT should import perfectly into FCP.You will probably need to RENDER it for it to play.
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Many choose to peak their levels at -12 dB on the scale. This allows 12 dB of headroom before digital CLIPPING is reached.
Others prefer -18 dB as the “top” level for peaks.
Then there are those who happily let the hottest peaks approach -6 dB (or hotter).So its up to you to make the choice… then STAY with that level throughout the project.
When using PEAK-reading meters, it is very difficult to judge relative LOUDNESS (as opposed to just the wildest peaks).
I send my edit monitor audio to a tape deck with analog VU Meters DURING my mixing so I can make more accurate “real-world” level decisions.
Every room is different. PA systems vary tremendously.
Make your audio mix as “clear” as possible (voice tracks relative to music and SFX) so your audience will be able to distinguish the dialogue if the room is a bit reverberant.A bit of compression can certainly help if your levels vary, but be careful with that.
Its easy to “pump” the lows up too high and clamp the peaks into mush.When in doubt, listen to the mix with the monitor speakers at a very LOW level to make sure you can discern clarity. Then, jump back to the same audio and listen with the speakers cranked up HIGH to see if you’ve got any noise you should control and to see if the mix is still clear at those levels.
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DV is DV.
Timecode is part of the DV format.
I would not have recommended a consumer camcorder if it was in any concrete way different than a deck.
This is why its so amazing that DV has blurred the line between professional and consumer gear.
Assuming heads are aligned and the gear is operating “normally”, there will be virtually NO difference in audio/video quality, timecode or any other property on a DV SP recording copied by FW to/from a consumer camcorder or a pro deck.
Decks: MAY last longer, MAY rewind/search faster, MAY have more features, and MAY have DVCAM record speed.
Decks: DO stack on the shelf better, DO load/unload tapes easier, and (most likely) DO cost more.
Those are the main differences.But not one DECK that I have ever seen doubles as a cool little “extra” CAMCORDER on vacation or in a “pinch”.
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DF and NDF has nothing to do with LENGTH in any way.
The FRAMES are never “dropped”… only the NUMBERING SYSTEM is altered.
(i.e. A frame NUMBER is dropped.)This issue is always confusing.
A 29:50:00 program is always 29:50:00 in length on the STOPWATCH regardless of what the numbers on the timeline say.
If you use a timeline to judge the LENGTH of a show, you can be very mistaken if you don’t take into account the difference between DF and NDF NUMBERS (think of them as frame “addresses”.)
That’s why the IS a DF TC… it COMPENSATES the TC numbers to MATCH the stopwatch reading so a 29:50:00 show’s end read 29:50:00 on the timecode.
A real-world analogy:
If you live in the “third house on the left from the corner” of your street, the location of the HOUSE won’t change (nothing “physically” changes) if the city decides to change the street address.GOOD WORKAROUND when in doubt:
If you mark an IN-point at the head of your show, segment, or clip… and and OUT-point at the end of your show, segment, or clip, you’ll see the true LENGTH of it in the DURATION window regardless of the timecode reading.Likewise, if FCP can generate a 2:00:00 slug, still, bars, etc. it will be identical in duration regardless of DF or NDF setting on the timecode.
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[Marc Hermann] “Can it cause any trouble to install Avid (FreeDV for starters) on that same Powerbook that already has FCP5 on it?”
I’ve done both.
I’ve never heard of any problems. -
Do you have your capture preset for DV PAL?
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I don’t think you should feel like you’re the only one with this idea.
There must be thousands of FCP users who don’t own a deck and just use a DV camcorder for input and output back to tape.
This is how the FCP system was originally designed.
Its certainly EXACTLY how iMovie is designed to operate. -
[AngelG1] “Everytime I try to change my Audio/Video settings on my project on FCP 5, I get an error that reads “General error””
Which of the settings are you trying to change?
Does just opening the menu cause a problem?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 on how to do this.
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/
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I re-read my post (shoulda done that before I sent it, huh?) and I should have said “zinc chloride” instead of ” lead-acid” in describing so-called “Heavy Duty” standard batteries.
Also, for RECHARGEABLE batteries (all depending on the composition) the Amp readings should be very close to that of the good Alkaline batteries.
To find out for sure what a “good” battery should read on the meter with YOUR brand/kind of rechargables:
Fully charge one of your (known-to-be-good) batteries and put it briefly on your meter.
Whatever it reads, you can use that as the relative “benchmark” for that kind of battery. -
[Pat King] “Does a battery just lose voltage as it dies?”
The “voltage” is the last thing to go (on the meter) so that’s not a good way to check any battery.
Current (Amps) under LOAD is what equates to battery “power”.
There’s a quick way you can test any small battery using an inexpensive multi-meter.
The meter needs to have a “DC Amps” (or DCA) setting that is at least capable of 5 amps or more (usually they are 10A or 20 A).
This Amp reading usually has a separate CONNECTION (only for the AMPS reading) for the red probe on the front of the meter.Connect the probes, and observe the polarity on the battery.
CAUTION:
Make these readings very SHORT (about 3-5 seconds is max.) as the meter will put a virtual SHORT across the battery while it is connected. This simulates a full LOAD across the battery which makes the reading very accurate to actual battery condition.For 1.5v Alkaline batteries a “good” reading should be 3 to 4.5 A. (The higher, the better.)
For 9v Alkaline batteries a “good” reading should be 4 to 5.5 A. (The higher, the better.)For standard lead-acid (ironically called “heavy duty” by most manufacturers) batteries the readings
will be about an amp LOWER (2.5 to 4.5) and still indicate a “good” battery.Again, don’t let the meter stay across the battery but a very few seconds so you don’t overheat (and run down) the battery.