[Mike Sussman]

Actually I haven’t tried using iMovie as the acquisition application. I just tried it once (not repeatedly to see if the problem persists). I see it creates several files but I don’t know which one I want to take.

It created a file called
clip-135-02-05 05;27;15.dv
It appears that my FCP (version 5) can can handle a .DV file format. This 30 second test created a file that was 103 MB.

(Among other files) it created a file called
Cache.mov
I wasn’t sure if I should stick to using .MOV file formats instead of using the other file that was .DV file extension.
This identical 30 second test created a file that was only 12K. I figured that it was a reference file and couldn’t possibly play but when I brought it to a different computer for testing, it seems to play fine in FCP. Huh?

So later I’ll do more testing to see if the alternating canvas size problem can be avoided by using iMovie, but is there any problem with me using the .DV files that iMovie creates (something I wasn’t expecting)?

[Mike Sussman]

Yes I have Quicktime 7 Pro installed and I’ve already tried it with the exact same results.

The only footage I’m every trying to import is SD NTSC (no widescreen) imported via FireWire which should always be 720×480. But that’s the problem! 25% of the time it’s coming out with the wrong canvas dimensions. And I can’t really fix it in FCP because even if I make it fit the screen (which FCP does automatically) it just looks horrible, unsharp and distorted.

[Mike Sussman]

But that’s the problem. It absolutely should do that but for me it gives me odd alternate sizes about 25% of the time. I can’t figure out how to prevent it from staying in NTSC (720×480 sq px)

[Mike Sussman]

Thanks.

Regarding QTX as a recording device, I know it’s an odd situation I have but the problem stems from the fact that my FCP is in a different physical location than where I need to digitize my footage. That’s why I’ve been forced to use QTX and QT7P to digitize my footage. Do you have any suggestions for another Mac application that I should perhaps try avoiding QT in the first place. The end result is that it will be imported in to FCP but I need to digitize it someplace else first and literally walk it over.

[Mike Sussman]

No, it has nothing to do with FCPX. I don’t even have that application.

Like most Apple products that drastically limit options and customization, neither version of Quicktime actually tells you exactly what “Maximum” or “Device Native” means (not in depth). The only way to see what these settings do are to test it out and then analyze the resulting files. After doing so I can tell you that the under normal circumstances both the “Maximum” setting in Quicktime X and the “Device Native” setting in Quicktime 7 Pro will produce video that is…

Video Canvas: 720 x 480 9:10 PAR(640 x 480 1:1 PAR)
– (*But this is the part that sometimes comes out different for no logical reason.)
Video Codec: DV/DVCPRO – NTSC
Color Depth: Millions
Color Profile: SD (6-1-1)
FPS: 29.97
Time Code: Yes
Audio Codec: Linear PCM
Audio Data Type: 16-bit Integer (Little Endian)
Audio Frequency: 48 kHz
Total Bit Rate: 30.3 Mb/s

So when I said the “Maximum” setting in Quicktime X seems to be the same as the “Device Native” setting in Quicktime 7 Pro, I meant exactly what I said. The only difference at all is that Quicktime X under “Maximum” setting produces stereo audio channels while Quicktime 7 Pro under “Device Native” setting produces Dual Mono audio channels. That’s the only difference.

But that is all completely beyond the point of my question. I’m not trying to compare QTX to QTP7. I was just pointing out that I’ve already tried both versions of QT so that nobody would say “just try Quicktime Pro 7 and it should work”, because I’ve already tried it does the same fluxuating-canvas-size thing too.

So still, does anybody know why my digitized files would vary like this even when digitized with the exact same settings?

[Mike Sussman]

Yes, that helped. I converted it to an AI file and bam the mystery box was gone. I don’t quite understand it but now I don’t need to. Thanks for your help.

[Mike Sussman]

That is as odd as my original problem. I don’t know about saving any specific format, but I did try to import that very same file so I don’t know why it would be different. Since the file is exactly the same, the only other differences I could think of would be the OS and the version of After Effects. Don’t know if it matters, but I’m using iMac OS 10.6.7 and After Effects 5.5 (version 10.5.0). Seems like none of that should matter either. Really weird.

[Mike Sussman]

???

[Mike Sussman]

Thanks guys.

[Mike Sussman]

You mean like version CS4? No, but I’m sure CS3 should render out dissolves properly.