[Ryan Holmes]

mp4 using the h.264 codec will give you the best results. To output a 30MB file, a rough guide using Quicktime 7’s export option may look something like this:

File Format: mp4
Video Format: h.264
Data Rate: 1000kbits/sec
Image Size: 640×480
Frame Rate: 29.97
Keyframe: Every 30 frames
Video Options: Baseline, Best Quality
Audio Format: AAC-LC
Data Rate: 128kbps
Channels: Stereo
Output Sample Rate: 44.100kHz
Encoding Quality: Best

If you “enable streaming” then it will ensure the file will start playing as soon as the device has downloaded enough of a buffer. If it’s not enabled, it’ll wait to play until the entire file has downloaded.

Ryan

[Ryan Holmes]

Apple did offer FCS3 (which contains Final Cut Pro 7) for a limited time over the summer after the backlash from the FCPX release. However, the software is discontinued and is no longer available from Apple. Some third-party resellers still have copies and you can still by it used on ebay.

I would be more than shocked if Apple doubled back on it’s FCPX paradigm. They’ve spent years developing FCPX and seem convinced this is the editing metaphor they want to move forward with for the future (next 5-10 years). FCPX is built on current architecture and a modern code base and they’re not going to give up more ground to Adobe and Avid in that area. Even if Apple dumped FCPX and came out with something new again, it still wouldn’t be reselling FCP7. It would be FCP11 or FCP2012 and would likely not have much in common with FCP7 anyhow. FCP7 is dead.

If it were my plugin I’d put my time and talents towards software that is currently in development – FCPX, Premiere Pro, and or Media Composer.

Ryan

[Ryan Holmes]

If your folder structure isn’t in tact then Log&Transfer won’t be able to read the files on the card (or hard drive in the BPAV folder).

FCP won’t take .mp4 files. You need to rewrap them into a .mov container. XDCAM Transfer (where they set in and out points) does this just fine. Log&Transfer can as well provided all of the card structure (mp4, xml, etc.) is in tact exactly how it was on the card.

It sounds like you need to get those mp4’s into a mov format and you should be good to role (also provided that his computer does in fact have the XDCAM codec installed).

Ryan

[Ryan Holmes]

Why write plugins for EOL software? Sure plenty of people are still using FCP7 but that number is only going down. There is no long-term upside to supporting FCP7.

Why not write the plugins for FCPX or Premiere Pro or Avid?

Ryan

[Ryan Holmes]

Transcode your footage to 1 common codec. You can use Apple ProRes or DVCPRO HD within FCP6 without any problems.

You can use FCP, Compressor, or MPEG Streamclip to accomplish the transcode.

Ryan

[Ryan Holmes]

I’ve always liked DVDxDV for this kind of stuff. Bad website. Good product.
https://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm

Shane’s method is certainly cheaper (i.e. free).

Ryan

Ryan
http://www.studio006.com
“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.”

[Ryan Holmes]

Agreed. You should have DVCPRO HD codecs if you have the FCP Studio. However, I’ve seen stranger things happen. You can easily check what codecs are installed just open a Finder window and go to your:
BootDrive/Library/Quicktime

In there you should 5 or 6 different DVCPROHD components. 1 of them should say DVCPROHDCodec.component

Ryan

Ryan
http://www.studio006.com
“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.”

[Ryan Holmes]

AVI is just a wrapper, like Quicktime. FCP can ingest AVI files, but their playability depends on what codec was used inside of the wrapper. If you don’t have the correct video codec the picture won’t show. If you hear the audio then your system has the correct audio codec.

You’ll need to download the video codec associated with the camera you shot and you should be good to go.

Ryan

[Ryan Holmes]

Neat Video Noise Reduction is not available for FCP X just yet. However, you can use it in Motion 3/4/5 or FCP6/7.

From their website:
Neat Video v2.7 is the first 32-bit/64-bit build of the plug-in for Final Cut. Currently, it can run in one 64-bit host application: Motion 5.
(the plug-in continues to support the older 32-bit hosts too: FCP 7, 6; Motion 4, 3; FCE 4)

The new 64-bit version of Final Cut Pro itself – FCP X – is not yet supported due to several bugs and missing features in the initial release of FCP X. We hope that Apple will fix the discovered bugs and will add the missing features in one of the nearest updates of FCP X and then it will become possible to use Neat Video plug-in directly in FCP X. Until then, it is possible to run Neat Video in Motion 5 and then use the results in FCP X.

https://www.neatvideo.com/

Ryan

[Ryan Holmes]

Question 1: Use MPEG Streamclip to transcode files to .mov. I would use ProRes422 (LT) or ProRes422 as the codec you are converting to (depending on how much disk space you have – (LT) being the smaller of the 2 options). Apple ProRes plays nicely in FCP7, but it’ll take awhile to transcode the footage depending on how much you have and the speed of your Mac.

Question 2: You should transcode (what you’re calling convert) the footage to a similar spec. 720p60 in = 720p60 out. You can conform it to 24fps using Cinema Tools. That way it’ll play back in slow-motion. Crisp slow-motion will only be created if you’ve shot a higher frame rate than what your final project is demanding. So if you shot 60fps and play it back at 24 then you’ll have a 2x slow motion effect. But if you’ve shot 30fps playing it back at 24fps won’t give you a noticeable difference. Additionally, taking that 30fps and converting it to 60fps so you can “slow it down” to 24fps won’t give you a smooth slow-mo effect. The transcode will be attempting to add frames into your footage to get to 60. So you either shot it at 60fps or you’ll have to rely the speed change effects within FCP7 to create slow-motion, and that can work fine sometimes.

MPEG Streamclip (free software):
https://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html

Ryan