[Brian Stokes]

Yeah, anything would be great. I just want to do some testing on them.
See how the large the file sizes are, bitrates, etc. How my computer handles the files.
Workflow in FCP7 and Premiere Pro, etc.
Let me know.
Thanks,
Stoker

[Brian Stokes]

My main reason for using 5DtoRGB is that i feel it matches my original files perfectly. With MPEG Streamclip while way faster doing transcodes, it does something to my footage to make it lighter. Not sure what is going on there. Same with Compressor. Like a gain in exposure or gamma. 5DtoRGB makes it look exactly like my original file. I have done screenshots, zoomed in, etc. Nothing has worked as good as 5DtoRGB. Just my opinion though.
Do a google search on 5DtoRGB vs Compressor

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

Do a search on 5DtoRGB and the comparisons it has to programs like MPEG Streamclip, etc.
MPEG Streamclip is really fast to transcode and 5DtoRGB is slower, but i like 5DtoRGB better. Do some searches on MPEG Streamclip vs 5DtoRGB, etc. Some good info out there, sorry i dont have any links off hand. Compressor is ok for tons of different kinds of encoding, but if you have DSLR footage, i would highly recommend those two programs mentioned above. WAY faster and simple. Compressor is just slow. Does a decent job though.
Actually here is a link. https://www.nofilmschool.com did some good comparisons.
Here is just one…

https://nofilmschool.com/2010/09/does-5dtorgb-yield-the-absolute-best-quality-dslr-footage/

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

I second 5DtoRGB and MPEG Streamclip, both free.
I would never use Compressor to do my transcodes.
Just my opinion.

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

Use free applications like MPEG Streamclip or 5DtoRGB to convert it to a file you like for example Apple ProRes, etc.
Then bring it into FCP.

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

My suggestion would be to convert the footage to ProRes or ProRes LT, then import that footage into FCP.
But yeah, technically your footage shouldn’t look crappier, it should just make it more or less have issues with playback, etc.
I think H.264 has a GOP structure and FCP has an issue with the “I” frames or something to that effect. I could be way off on that, but i have always learned to just never put a H.264 file into the timeline.
Whether that was shot on a 5D, T2i, GoPro, etc.
Convert it first, then import the new files. I personally use ProRes LT for most of my stuff.
Then when you make a new sequence in FCP, choose a ProRes LT sequence.
Sometimes you need to change a few settings here and there in your sequence settings too.
Just depends on what your original footage was shot at.
When you drag a file into your timeline, you should not have to render or “optimize” the file.
That is when you know your sequence settings match your footage.

So… when you say you make a sequence in H.264, what exact codec are you choosing?
When i make a new sequence, it brings up a prompt with Apple Intermediate Codec, All the Pro Res codecs, DV NTSC, DV PAL, DV50, DVCPROHD, HDV, IMX, Uncompressed, XDCAM codecs, etc.

Let me know.

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

Not sure if you did this first, but…
You need to use MPEG Streamclip or 5DtoRGB to convert your footage.
I use those free apps above and convert to Apple ProRes LT or just ProRes.
Then make a new sequence and match those settings.
Then edit.
When you drop your footage into your timeline, you should not have to render or optimize it, etc.

FCP does not do well with native H.264 straight into the timeline, hence why just about everyone uses MPEG Streamclip. I just started to use 5DtoRGB and prefer it. Both are free.

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

Probably just eating up too much of your system. That is the only thing i can think of. Usually whenever in the past when i have ever had problems like that, i just sort of start all over from scratch like how you did. That usually fixes it. But depending on how in depth the project is, that can be a nightmare sometimes.

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

Glad to see you fixed it. Like i said i always couldn’t stand those post productions stabilizers. If the shot was that bad, then just re shoot or dont use the shot.

iStoker.net

[Brian Stokes]

Use either MPEG Streamclip or 5DtoRGB to convert your footage to any ProRes codec first. I would suggest ProRes LT. Both of those applications are free.

iStoker.net