Painfully Slow G5 with Final Cut Pro

Can anyone help on this one?

I have dual G5 1.8Ghz MAC. I'm using OS10.4.4 and all system software is current.

I am running FinalCutPro HD V4.5.

"Running" is not really the right word... crawling is more like it.

It is skipping frames on playback, virtually nothing works in real-time and all things must be rendered.

The most frustrating thing is my system can't seem to keep up with providing real time video to a monitor via Firewire output to a either a DV Camera or my DVMC-2 converter. So much for a client seeing what I'm doing!

I have good disk space although I'm mostly using the internal drive.

I have increased the RAM to 2.5 Gigs.

The machine seems fairly fast for general file transfer, and burning disks. It seems most affected by Final Cut Pro.

Has anyone else experienced this? I keep reverting back to my old Media100 because this set up is soooooo slow. I don't think it should be. Any ideas on what is wrong?




If it matters...

Machine Name: Power Mac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac7,2
CPU Type: PowerPC 970 (2.2)
Number Of CPUs: 2
CPU Speed: 1.8 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 2.5 GB
Bus Speed: 900 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.1.5f0

DIMM0/J11:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30330
Status: OK

DIMM1/J12:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30330
Status: OK

DIMM2/J13:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-25330
Status: OK

DIMM3/J14:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-25330
Status: OK

DIMM4/J41:

Size: 256 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30330
Status: OK

DIMM5/J42:

Size: 256 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30330
Status: OK

DIMM6/J43:

Size: Empty
Type: Empty
Speed: Empty
Status: Empty

DIMM7/J44:

Size: Empty
Type: Empty
Speed: Empty
Status: Empty

Power On Self-Test:

Last Run: 4/7/06 10:42 PM
Result: Passed

you provide a lot of info, but sadly none of it really speaks to your problems...

first of all, capturing to the same drive you boot from is not advisable. its like trying to write a book and read it at the same time (for lack of a better explanation)

second, check your sequence settings. is your media the same codec that your sequence dictates? did you capture the media with FCP? if not, that is likely your problem...

Tried external Firewire Drives.. but only marginally better. Most of my footage is caputred using a FIRESTORE using the quicktime setting. We don't digitize, but just use the files right off the camera. Final Cut recognizes them instantly. But maybe that's the issue. I'll try a few tests.

i have a firestore that i use from time to time and im not certain. i use both the DV and the quicktime recording settings. one requires rendering in FCP and one doesnt. not sure which is which - havent used it in a while...

what camera are you using?

and how's the marylin manson gig going? ; )

No Rendering needed for the Firestore. Using DV500.
Also... even final rendered Final Cut files, when reimported act up to. So I'm not so sure it's the media, but maybe a setting?
Some of my sick friends have put many interesting articles about "Brian Warner" up on or church bulletin board. We're all troubled!... MM just wears it.
I did change the playback setting in the timeline and things improved somewhat for my monitor playback, but add one or two affects and we go into drop frame mod with Warning Dialog boxes. Thanks for your help Wanye.

hope the MM joke didnt offend - just a weak attempt at humor...

sounds like there may be something in your sequence settings that are effecting your playback. i just arived home from the office, so i dont have a FCP machine in front of me.

if you dont get an answer by mid day tomorrow, i'll be back in the office this weekend, ill check back than have a look.

Your main problem, I'm willing to bet, is working from your system drive. You need to have a second drive and set that as your scratch disk, either internal or firewire. All your media files need to be on that second drive.

I work on a 800 dual and don't have the issues your writing about.

good luck,

kevin



"A problem can never be solved by the same consciousness that created it"
Einstein

I think the FireStore is your problem - are you really working with those files directly, or did I misunderstood.
The FireStore - as any of this kind of devices - uses a FAT32 file system, which is the sloooooowest file system you can use on a Mac. So copy the files to a Mac formatted HD, before using them.

Regards
Andreas

P.S.
DV format needs rendering because of the embedded audio, QT files do have the audio in independent tracks, which doesn't require rendering in FCP



Some workflow tools for FCP [www.spherico.com]
TitleExchange -- juggle titles within FCS, FCPX and many other apps.
[www.spherico.com]

WOW i HOPE that andreas misunderstood, i cant imagine anyone WORKING from a firestore, that would be totally ludricous...

brian, please tell me that you are indeed COPYING the files from the firestore to some other drive before using them???

Yes... I do copy the files from the Firestore to the hard drive generally. However, there is no noticeable difference between working right from the Firewire connection of the Firestore disk or the bounced files.

Starting today, I am transfering all my files to secondary firewire wire and USB 2.0 devices. I'll make sure no other functions of FCP happen on the main drive.

Honestly, if I can't use the actual files of the Firestore, or a copy of them... what's the point of a firestore?

Honestly, I don't think Firestore is the problem. Here's why. I often do a "rough cut" of my broadcast commercials for timing purposes. I render the 30 sec spot out to hard drive and reimport it, then add global color corrections, broadcast safe corrections, and graphics, etc. If final cut pro is slow using its own files, that it created, then it must not be the firestore. It must be something else.

ok, "generally" is the root of your problem.

firewire (for whatever reason) isnt actually endorsed by apple for capture and edit in FCP - even though ive been doing it for 6+ years without a single problem.

even the best of 7200 rpm firewire external drives have been known to cause FCP issues. the fact that you would even consider editing from your firestore (let alone a USB 2.0 drive) is shedding some light on the source of your problems.

get yourself a dedicated external firewire drive (i suggest something from G-tech, or promax that has the oxford chipset AND and internal fan) and i'd bet all your problems will go away.

neither firestores nor USB 2.0 drives were ever intended to be edit sources. simply a method of acquisition or transfer - and a method that still only a VERY small faction of shooters choose to employ. whoever told you this was a way to go for editing should be vigorously SHAKEN!

go get an external FW drive, external FW RAID drive, external SATA RAID, or even a secondary single internal sata drive, transfer you data to that, make it your scratch disc and get back to us...

This is odd.
I have a very similar setup at home and my system runs very well, even when working straight off the system drive.

I did get an extra hard drive at 350gig which makes it more stable but by no means faster.

Something else must be the problem.
Have you tried to re-install your FCP?



Johan Polhem
Motion Graphics
www.johanpolhem.com

Umm... You are using Tiger with FCP 4.5? BINGO. You must use FCP 5.x or higher with Tiger.

I would also install an additional SATA drive for all your media.