[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

The first thing to always try is to Quit FCP, Restart the Mac, Open your FCP project and try again.

Next:
THE FOLLOWING COMES FROM THE KEN STONE WEBSITE:
“Over 5,000 years ago Confucius wrote: ‘If you are toiling away, you have changed nothing and FCP heads South on you, [starts behaving in strange ways] then it is time to trash your FCP Preferences.’ ”

A great way to do this is to use “FCP Rescue” a free Apple Script that will Trash the Preferences for you (and restore nearly all of your user settings afterward).
There are versions for FCP (Pro) & FCE (Express) and a new one for FCP 5.

Download these free Apple Scripts at

https://fcprescue.andersholck.com/
or
https://pistolerapost2.com/fcprescue/

This is one FCP tip that has helped in solving hundreds of “odd” problems.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

For what you’re doing you want a “real” character generator (to heck trying to use a stnadard computer for CG stuff, it never works very well).

I have a stand-alone Videonics Titlemaker.
Its titles look very clean and the type/edge/shadow options are plentiful.
It inserts in the line after the “switcher” or “mixer”.
It keys the titles over the output inside its own electronics.
It can be composite (RCA jacks) or S-Video.
I don’t know if these are still being built, but there are plenty still available.
Here are a couple of links:

https://www.atbatt.com/product/817.asp

https://shopping.msn.com/specs/shp/?itemId=169651781

https://www.videomaker.com/scripts/article_print.cfm?id=2424#videonics

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

On most Sonys you throw a switch called “Character-ON” (or its a menu choice).

Some decks will have a separate composite out (that displays overlays) with the label “Super”.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[edit] “It is called hit the space bar on the keyboard. A client did a great “Key Note” presentation this way for the boss. Hit the space bar the transitions play – new slide, hit the space bar they stop on slide. Save your Keynote as a quicktime movie and it plays on PC.”

I don’t think that’s it.

As I understand the question, the poster wants a QT to “pause” AUTOMATICALLY at a specific point and “wait” for a command to “go”.

Then, pause at a given point again, etc.

That sounds like what you’d have to “PROGRAM”, for instance, a DVD to do with DVD software.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Did the other dude steal your “ad copy”???

I just found the link I posted on a quick Google Search.

Did you know about this before I posted the link?

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[Mike Cornett] “It’s funny how Apple has hand picked all the great features that an Avid can do (makes it easier and/or better) and forgets the most basic.”

I don’t get what you mean.

This is not some workaround that we’ve discovered.

This is how FCP is designed to perform this function.

It IS a “feature” in FCP.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

This is unclear.

Pauses and THEN what?

Waits for a “play” command?

Or just freezes for X amount of time and then starts playing again?

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[Zander] “i mean it’s come so far, and yet, itm kinda hasn’t. it’s a grief that i recently herd about in a review of a book, and it was a subject that made the author(of the review) sad to find that there really is no way”

I’m thinkin’ you need a NEW BOOK.
That one is WRONG!

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Then there should be NO reason for this to happen.

I suggest you “TRASH the FCP preferences” and try it after that.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Since the Firestore is not simply a HARD DRIVE (but it is a stand-alone device that CONTAINS a Hard Drive) I assume FCP will not “treat it the same way” it does captured files coming directly from a HD.

Don’t KNOW, but this would be a principle difference.