[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

You can buy any brand-name DVD “set-top” recorder you like because one of them can be controlled by FCP (none have FireWire remote control.)
There are some combo DV/VHS decks that allow the DV deck to be controlled by FCP, but no DVD or DVD/VHS combo units that can be FW controlled.

If you buy a unit with a FireWire INPUT, you can send your edit directly to the DVD recorder in digital real-time.
But a better method would be to first record your FCP edit to DV tape, then play that tape into the DVD recorder. (It frees up your Mac for other things while the dub takes place, and there is no chance of a “sticking” FCP timeline while dubbing “live-to-DVD”.
If you don’t get a FW input unit, the quality can still be very good if you use the “S-video” input.

There are many units out there. Some are more reliable than others.
I’d bet the Panasonic and Sony DVD recorders would work pretty well.
I own a very inexpensive VHS/DVD recorder (Sansui) that I bought at a Sears closeout.
It actually works very well.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

This is one of THE most-misunderstood situations with FCP (or FCEx):

It is essential when attempting to monitor the QUALITY of images… that you use an external NTSC VIDEO Monitor (or PAL, if that’s where you are).
Especially after you render…
the Canvas is never high-quality (by design) and should not be used to make determinations of image quality of clips or graphics.

VERY IMPORTANT:

If you position the graphics, make SURE the VERTICAL setting for each KEY-FRAME (start, stop or hold) is always a EVEN INTEGER. (examples: 4, not 3 / -144, not -143.27 / 336, not 335.62)

I sometimes forget to check this and I can end up with images that look fuzzy when in-position.

This info applies to re-positioning ANYTHING on the Timeline: moving video, freeze-frames, internally-generated titles, and imported graphics.

It can be quite detrimental to the quality of your final output to not double-check this every time you reposition and/or re-size an image.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Just to get things started, it would be a pretty safe bet that you would find an “external microphone” to be of substantial benefit for recording a voice-over.

The only benefit of recording to your computer “live” is if the VO needed to be recorded by someone who had to watch the video playing on your computer at the same time as they narrated.
(This could be accomplished otherwise by making, say, a VHS “rough-cut” dub.)

Yes, “they” could record a track on a CD and give it to you.
But you might consider that this VO could be best done by a VO pro in a recording studio.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[symonprod] “I did the mixdown and it worked.”

It usually does the trick. Its just so easy to overlook.

[symonprod] “Should I be doing the export through conversion (batch) rather than the quicktime movie for better quality?”

No reason to do that.

[symonprod] “I do see blue lines above the time line. Does that mean anything?”

Blue lines just indicate that section has been rendered.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[bogiesan] “”Thax Cheese Rocks?””

Thax Cheese… not just for breakfast anymore!

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Questions like this are posted very frequently. And many (most?) of the problems are solved by a simple procedure.

There is a function in FCP that is often overlooked… and it can help with many audio and video “skipping”, “sticking” and “missing” problems.

You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video stuttering, drop-outs or freezes.

NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.

First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:

Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.

You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.

It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.

NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[Rick Dolishny] “You rock.”

Not really, but I do wobble a bit. ;o)

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Here’s how I always do it:

Import (“drag and drop”) the image you want from any Mac folder into the FCP Browser.
Then, “drag and drop” that image right into the little “window” for the “back” image.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

There is a function in FCP that is often overlooked… and it can help with many audio and video “skipping”, “sticking” and “missing” problems.

You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video stuttering, drop-outs or freezes.

NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.

First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:

Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.

You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.

It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

… and a gold pen (and/or pin) at your 5-year anniversary.