[Gary Milligan]

Okay, here’s the truth – I don’t use Final Cut… not as an editing tool anyway. I purchased FC Studio 2 (FCP 6.0.6) mainly for the other tools in the bundle – DVD SP, Compressor, etc. I sometimes bring clips into FCP to apply an effect (SmoothCam, or a CrumplePop filter, etc.) that I don’t have in my editing tool of choice – Media 100. So, for me to say with any certainty that you won’t have any issues would be unfair. However, knowing how ClipWrap works, I don’t see any reason why you would have problems fitting it into your workflow with FCP 6.0.6. I edit in Media 100 using ProRes files transcoded in ClipWrap from the original AVCHD files. When I first started using ClipWrap I had a problem with long shots but it turned out ClipWrap has a built-in fix – the NX5 has a maximum clip file size of about 12 GB (or 12 min at full quality HD). That doesn’t mean you can’t record longer – I’ve recorded 2 hours at a time without stopping, but the shot gets split into 12 minute segments. In ClipWrap you can select multiple segments and join them to be transcoded into one long clip, thus avoiding a 4-5 frame break in the shot if you transcoded each file individually and tried to join them in your timeline.

The best way to see if you might have issues is to download the free trial of ClipWrap and put it to the test. If you can get hold of a Sony camera that shoots AVCHD, record some long shots (more than 12 min.) and see how it goes.

In your reply to David you said:

Hi David,

I read on earlier Creative Cow posts that v 6.0.6 and earlier versions were getting error messages when importing long running files.

Were those posts referring to a particular codec? Or maybe ClipWrap transcoded ProRes files that weren’t joined?

HTH.

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

I agree with both David and Shane – the NX5 and ClipWrap is a good combination. Go for it! If you can afford the optional FMU-128 flash drive it’ll give you close to 11 hours at best HD quality and you can record to SDHC cards simultaneously which gives you an immediate back-up as you go.

HTH

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Ian Williams] “So did I do the right thing in rendering the film at 720 x 576? And is it true that all commercial PAL DVD Videos are 720 x 576?”

Yes, you are correct on both counts.

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

That’s what I like about the COW… I learn something new every day!

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[eric pautsch] “+1”

?

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Bill Chen] “The media can’t be bad if it plays fine on my dvd player right?”

Wrong. Try using a known better quality media – such as Taiyo Yuden. Please excuse me for being anal about it, but where I’m from, Maxwell makes coffee – Maxell makes discs 🙂

[Bill Chen] “Average bitrate 6.2 and max bitrate 7.7 with the two pass VBR best mode. I think I’ll lower the average/max bitrate a bit to see if it works.”

You should also try setting the bitrate at 6 or7 and use the CBR setting instead. It could be that the DVD player can’t handle any spikes in the VBR on the disc.

[Bill Chen] “-Build in DVDSP and burn in Toast. That way I can adjust the burn speed.”

That’s a good option to try as well. Burning as slow as you can offers more playback compatibility.

HTH
Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Kim Gwydir] “I have HD video that was shot with a great camera and since it is sports its fast action.”

A great camera doesn’t necessarily mean anything… but I guess if the footage looks good going in, then it should look good coming out… as long as you follow the right workflow. What are the specs of the original footage? Codec (HDV, P2)? FPS (24, 30)?

[Kim Gwydir] “I edited using final cut pro and exported using the quicktime conversion option. The length is about an hour and size of file is 13 GB at this point.”

How did you import the footage? What are your sequence settings? Exporting using QuickTime conversion is not the best way to go – you should export a QuickTime Movie, de-select ‘Recompress All Frames’, and select ‘Make Movie Self-Contained’. The resulting file should then be used to compress for DVD. Your 1 hour video/13 GB file leads me to believe you have compressed it when coming from FCP and then compressed it again using Squeeze (which I’m not familiar with so I can’t suggest anything there).

[Kim Gwydir] “Until I burn to a DVD and result is grainy, words are fuzzy, faces and stuff blurry on my 32 in Sony Bravia.

I have tried creating DVD using iDVD, Burn and some other DVD create and nothing helps – please help need this for convention sat!”

Is iDVD the only DVD authoring tool you’ve tried? What file did you use in iDVD… the QuickTime export from FCP? Keep in mind that DVDs are SD not HD, so any HD files also have to be downscaled when they are compressed for DVD authoring and your Squeeze settings may have to be adjusted for this. HD footage is always going to take a hit in quality after downscaling… and some tools are better than others. Maybe someone else with experience can help with settings in Squeeze… or try Compressor. I use BitVice for making .m2v files from HD footage.

HTH

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Paul Evans] “I am trying to log and transfer clips I shot on the 128 gig external drive of my nx5u to fcp 7 project , but when I use USB connect on the camera, it won’t connect to the external drive to access the clips, only gives me ability for flash drives A & B??? “

Have you tried removing the 128 GB drive from the camera and connecting directly to your computer via USB?

[Paul Evans] “The first time I hooked it up, it worked fine, what am I doing wrong this time??? “

How did you format the drive after you cleared it – on the camera or computer? You should use the camera to format the drive.

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

Could you tell us more about your Mac? What model… what operating system? As a start, you should open Disk Utility and repair your permissions.

Good luck.

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

I agree 100% with Shane and I’d also like to point out that you’ve given no indication as to what your original picture looks like. How can we help you get to where you want to go if we don’t know where you’re coming from?

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw