[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

You need to set your FCP “Capture” to NON-CONTROLLABLE DEVICE.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

I frequently email QT movies exported from FCP for client approval.

I’m rendering a long effect RIGHT NOW in the background while I type this.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[Brian] “Is this a bug with the XL1, or does the camera just not support simultaneous video out the DV port and RCA ports?”

Sounds like a camcorder and/or DVD deck CONNECTION problem.

The FW out, the S-Video, and the composite RCA outputs can ALL be used at once.
(Camcorder won’t “know or care”.)

You might have a bad (loose or intermittent) FW jack on the camcorder or deck,
or the DVD deck may have a glitch in its FW sensing circuit.

BYW, my DVD deck does not STOP if it loses its FW signal, it just continues to record a black image.

I’d try another DVD deck to see how it reacts.

If its still a no-go, I’d connect your camcorder’s FW output to ANOTHER DV camcorder (so you can see the FW signal on the 2nd camcorder) and see if THAT set-up works.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

And for heaven’s sake STOP the practice of recording through a DV tape before you shoot it!

Its an “uban video myth” that this “blacking” of a record tape is good practice.

That accomplishes nothing but create TWICE as much head-wear as you need.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

The streaks are a well-known artifact of the small CCD chips the camera imager uses.

You can buy “lens shades” (or sun shades)of various kinds, but the way sports shooting works is that you’ll likely end up with lights in the shots (close enough to cause the streaking) no matter how much “shade” you add to the lens.

Best bet is to get as HIGH a camera position as you can, so you are tilted down away from as many of the strong lights as possible.

You might try a different model of camcorder to see if the streaks are reduced.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

My best advice from years of editing is to DUB the VHS to a Timecode tape FIRST.

If your camcorder had “input-recording” abilities, just connect a VHS deck to it, drop in a DV tape and start making the dub.

Then you will have a digital DV “master” with repeatable TC which can be VERY useful.

Also, the transfer to DV can make the VHS (one of the worst video formats EVER) more “stable” and easier to digitize/capture.

But, if you don’t like this “transfer to DV” idea (“you’ll thank me later”), it MIGHT be possible to connect the VHS deck to your DV camcorder and capture “live” via FireWire as the VHS plays as the camcorder does an A-to-D “pass-thru transcode”.

This all depends on whether your camcorder has this “pass-thru” feature.

If not, there are some capture cards or boxes that can convert analog A/V into FW for direct capture into a computer.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

You can adjust the settings for “limiting”.

But a “limiter” HAS to COMPRESS the levels above a certain threshold… how else could it work?

“Plain old” analog limiters (including your Sony deck) work just that way.

The “top” setting in the filter determines at what point the compression kicks in.

If you set it high enough, it won’t “bring up” the lower levels, but just compress the ones that go above a certain amount (as a limiter would).

Just play with the adjustments until you get the proper effect.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

The first thing to do is shut down FCP and re-start the Mac.

Open FCP and try playing again.

AND…

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, sync-slippage, 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]

[Adolfo Rozenfeld] “In my experience the FCP audio limiter works, but not just from the filter controls but in combination with an adjustment to the gain settings in the clip.”

I agree.

I use the FCP Compressor/Limiter every day. Sounds great.

As a starting point, adjust the Settings to an “all 2’s” formula:

Threshold (db) -20
Ratio 2
Attack Time 20
Release Time 200
Preserve Volume CHECKED (very important!)

Now click the viewer to display the actual audio track and set the Level to “2” or “3.”

Now, when you play the track it should be at a “more consistent” level.

You can play with my “all 2’s” formula if you want, but its a good starting point for compressing the levels without a lot of compressor “pumping.”
The “Threshold” setting will affect the clip the most… as you slide left, it brings more of the low levels UP.
The actual volume adjustment now comes from the “Level” slider on the actual audio track (and you can key-frame that if you want.)

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[lcdavid] “Best Cow tip ever.”

We don’t abide no COW TIPPIN’ ’round here, son.

😉