[John Pale]

Sounds like the Horita TC-50 could help you out. It takes audio timecode and inserts it into the RS-422 stream

https://www.horita.com/

VITC/LTC Reader RS-422 Inserter
The TCI-50 reads SMPTE VITC or LTC time code and translates and inserts the time code numbers into the RS-422 data stream going back to an edit controller or personal computer.

Responds to controller commands requesting VCR time code location, as well as cue, preroll, and other time code related commands
High speed reading capability reads VITC and LTC at various VCR search/wind speeds, depending on channel bandwidth and tape formats
LTC input source can be from an audio channel or a time code address track
Front panel switches are provided to select between VITC or LTC, as well as select “auto” mode which automatically switches to VITC as a backup when reading LTC
“Bypass” mode removes TCI-50 from the RS-422 data path
Local mode emulates a VTR to insert time code into the RS-422 data.

FCP, by itself, cannot read timecode on an audio track.

[John Pale]

Yes. The you can RAID additonal drives in the new MacPro.

You should be able to get good performance with Uncompressed SD and DVCPro HD in that setup. DVCPRO HD is actually less demanding than Uncompressed SD.

[John Pale]

[skaren] “I heard that machines that are not running off an intel chip will have a lot of trouble with Final Cut Pro 5.1 and beyond. Is that right? I recently opened a project on that version of FCp and am considering just exporting the project via xml so I can continue to work out of my regular G5+ FCP 5.0. Any pointers?”

No. Universal means Universal. FCP runs fine on both architectures. I think in 4 years you might have to worry about this, as PowerPC machines become less common.

I would strongly urge you to upgrade your G5 to FCP 5.1.x…its not just for Intel machines. There are many bug fixes and all future software upgrades will require you to be using at least 5.1.

[John Pale]

[grinmastah] “Do I need to somehow convert it to a quick time file first?”

Yes. Use the free utility MPEG Streamclip.

https://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/mpegstreamclip.html

Keep in mind, that even though you are in this piece, you may be violating copyright law and various other laws. Make sure you have permission to use the clip.

[John Pale]

[SPeditor] “I couldn

[John Pale]

[JeremyG] “Jagged edges with the logo? What size is the graphic made, 720×480 rendered lower field first? If this is so, make sure that your footage has moved up or down one scan line (in the 10 bit sequence) in the motion tab (it should have a center value of 0,1 or 0,-1). This will ensure proper field order.”

Yes. Do what Jeremy has suggested and your jaggies should disappear. Your graphic was prepared for a DV frame size (720 x 480), but the Uncompressed timeline you are now using has a frame size of 720 x 486. You need to make the adjustment Jeremy suggested the correct the field order.

You could also add the shift fields filter, which will do the same thing.

[John Pale]

After Effects renders in RGB color space.
The default setting for FCP is to render in YUV color space. You can force FCP to render in RGB color space in preferences. Try that and see if it helps (its possible his version of FCP is set for that).

Its probably better for him to render things that look right in YUV color space (you can do that in After Effects) rather than you changing your render settings. YUV is the preferred color space.

Its also better to work in an 8 or 10 bit Uncompressed timeline, rather than a DV one. DV is heavily compressed in the chroma department.

[John Pale]

I meant DVD players.

[John Pale]

All DVD’s are supposed to be able to letterbox, according to spec.

[John Pale]

https://automaticduck.com/products/pifcp/