[Dave Mac]

Braden,

Yes, that’s what I thought I had said. 😉

I wasn’t sure that anyone would understand it as such.

In the System Settings window/dialog in FCP (shift-Q), you would set everything there (scratch disk, thumbnail and waveform caches, and autosave vault) to your second internal drive (non-startup drive). Render files go to the “scratch disk.” Sorry about not being more specific.

Another way to look at things is to make a flowchart of what happens while you use FCP. Media files are only read (except for certain media manager operations), project files are read and written, render files are read and written (probably the heaviest disk I/O of all file types, cache files are read and written, etc. Depending on the media/CODEC you’re using, number of tracks, and so on, you benefit by separating these file types onto different hard drives, or hard drive arrays (volumes don’t count).

Again, for your current situation, the above suggestion will serve you well. I should comment that most FW800 external, multidisk drives work better (faster I/O due to the use of multiple drives in the case) than single-drive units. Keep FW400 and FW800 drives off of the same bus (the current G5s, PowerPC at least, only have one FW bus). Using a PCI FW800 host card for your media drives may give you better performance, especially if you capture from your deck/camcorder via FW to the external FW800 drives.

This should give you a little to think about….

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

Regarding where to store project files…

One of the general rules of thumb is to keep your project files on your startup drive. Since you have both a second internal drive and external FW drives, I would recommend that you put your caches, autosave vault, thumbnails, and render files on the second internal drive, leaving the media on your external FW drives. Of course, this advice works well for DV-25 media. You could also put someof your currently active project media on the second internal drive.

For more info on system configuration and optimization, I would suggest you get a copy of “Optimizing Your Final Cut Pro System” by Sean Cullen, et al. It covers a lot of what you’ve been asking about.

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

The choice of what FCP project file versions to keep, and how many, is a personal choice. Fortunately, you can put an awful lot of project files on a DVD, especially a dual layer one. Depending on the complexity and length of your FCP project, you could store every version on a DVD.

As far as the frequency of project file “recreation” goes, I would suggest that it’s done whenever “significant” changes have been made to the project. Once-a-day may be reasonable, more frequently may work better (I make a completely new project file at least once-a-day).

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

By doing a “Save As…” periodically in FCP to create different versions of a project file, you are making an entirely new project file each time. In between these versions, you would save the current project file normally. A plain ‘ole file save just updates the file, adding more stuff to the original file. After a while, this updating process itself can create a corrupt project file. By doing a “Save As…”, you are forcing FCP to write a completely new file.

By copying a file in the Finder, you may be copying a file that is already corrupt, rendering the copy/backup no better than the original file. So, if you keep using the same project file in FCP, saving every hour or so, you will be building a larger and larger FCP project file, which at some point may become corrupt. Simply copying this file won’t stave off any of the corruption issues.

Now, if you make back-up copies of your project files that you save “as different files/versions,” that’s fine.

Let me know if you are confused by what I’ve stated.

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

I didn’t mean to imply that no one was reading/following this topic thread… I was more concerned that I wasn’t explaining things clearly enough.

Hopefully, I will be able to revise my comments into an increasingly concise set of points over the next several weeks/months 😉

(I just hope that the info Apple provided in their webcast remains accurate….)

[Dave Mac]

Thanks for the feedback. I had hoped I didn’t add to the confusion about this….

From what I’ve heard, the codebase for FCP had several sections with “nasty code” (no finger pointing at Macromedia here… likely, some original sections of the FCP codebase haven’t been revisited since version 1).

I had the same thoughts about possible “optimizations” in the move to the Universal version. Motion already better utilizes the graphics card processor, memory, and so on, so it is not surprising (or unexpected) that these “benefits” would end up in FCP… it’s just a matter of when.

So, I am expecting an improvement at some point because of the code transition. Performance jumps? I’m hoping. Robustness improvements? Certainly.

I do feel that the need to move to the Universal codebase was serendipitous… commercial/business/time pressures don’t often afford developers the “luxury” to rewrite outdated/underperforming/inefficient portions of an application, even portions that could really improve overall robustness and performance. As users, we will certainly benefit from this transition, whether we use PowerPC or Intel Mac systems.

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

It seems that no matter what you do your project file won’t open. It is likely corrupted. Check out your autosave vault folder/directory to get the most recent versions, one of which may be good. Keep separate back-up copies of your FCP projects from now on (using “Save As…” in FCP, not by simply duplicating project files in the Finder).

The LaCie drive seems to be okay (not the cause of the kernel panics or FCP crashes). I think it’s too much to expect from Apple or LaCie to get much help, beyond what they’ve already told you, for a “complex” issue like this, unless you have an Apple “pro video” support contract.

The problem may be just with your FCP project file (and possibly media files???). You may have issues with your G5. Memory (RAM) is often a source of kernel panics.

I would suggest that you first try to use an earlier version of your project file, or create a new one and try to recreate the last good state of your project. Or, try a few other test projects with FCP. If things work okay, then it was likely something in your project file.

You may also want to back up your cache, thumbnail, and render files (or deleted them). They could be contributing to the problem.

I would also suggest that you keep your project file on your startup drive and your media files, caches, and render files on the second internal drive. Later on, you could move your media back to the LaCie drive.

If none of the troubleshooting of FCP seems to be working, you may, in fact, be having hardware issues with some part of the G5… I would suggest that you try the “software” solutions I mentioned above first, then ask for more help if that doesn’t clear up things.

Hope this gets you started down the right path….

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

Hi,

I think I have responded to this issue a few times now over the past week….

[velma] “How about this upgrade from FCP 4.5 to FCP Studio Universal? Is this for real? Is the Universal version the same as FCP 5?”

According to Apple (from one of their sales webcasts), the upcoming Universal version of Final Cut Studio (FCS), which replaces all individual component applications, is for both PowerPC and Intel Mac systems. A few more points made in the webcast:

• Universal versions of the applications are NOT only for Intel based Macs. FCS applications have been ported to the native Mac OS X development environment (Cocoa). Some applications, such as FCP, needed more work than, say, Motion (which has always been a pure Cocoa application). With Universal applications, the vast majority of the program code is the same, regardless of the target platform (PPC or Intel).
• All future development of FCS will be based on the new codebase of the Universal version. This applies to users of current, non-Intel Macs, as well as users of the Intel Macs. This conversion process was done now, so that the next version of FCS (related to FCP 5.5 or FCP 6) would be Universal.
• Any updates to FCP/FCS that occur once the Universal version of FCS is released in early March will require that the Universal versions of the applications are installed. So, let’s say you are using a G5 tower right now with FCP 5.0.x or the entire FCS. If an update to FCP/FCS comes out prior to the next paid upgrade of FCS/FCP, you would need to have the Universal version installed to update.
• The Universal version of FCS should include version 5 of FCP. I haven’t heard whether Apple will actually rev the version to 5.0.5 to “tag” the Universal version, or whether it will stay at 5.0.4 (currently), or use some other designation.

[velma] “Also, if I upgrade, doesn’t that mean I won’t have the actual application in case I ever have to re-install?(like if I do a clean re-install of my OS)”

If you upgrade to the Universal version of FCS, you will have to send in your current set of install discs. If you are worried about not having them for a couple of weeks (less? more?), I would suggest that you hold off until the Universal version of FCS is actually shipping and when you are in-between projects. For more info on upgrades/crossgrades, visit Apple – Pro Appllications Universal Crossgrades.

Another hedge would be to create a backup of your working sytem disk that you could use if your primary setup dies while you’re waiting for the new set of Universal install discs.

Hope this helps.

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

The likely reason for the change in estimate shipping time is because of the release of the Universal version of FCS.

Once the Universal version is released (supposedly at the beginning of March), all software updates to FCS will apply only to the Universal versions of the software (the Universal version is based on a new codebase for both PowerPC and Intel Macs). So, if any updates are released prior to the next paid upgrade to FCS, you’ll need to have the Universal version installed to apply them.

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

If you go with the Mac -> FireWire -> Camcorder -> TV route, you should be aware that many camcorders don’t add (or subtract) the proper American NTSC “setup” to the signal once it is converted, so your video may not be accurate. This behavior can also happen when using your camcorder as an analog to digital converter (in reverse).

I would strongly suggest getting one of the Canopus “boxes,” or a Decklink or AJA card that will generate the proper video signal, rather than using your camcorder.

Any of these solutions is infinitely (almost) better than relying on a computer display to judge a video image.

-Dave