Dropped frames on playback

Why am I getting dropped frames on playback when editing? I am thinking I might not have some of my setting correct. I was wondering if someone could please help me out. I recently made a change to editing in Hi Def. I am using FCP 6.0.5. I have a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and running 4 GB of memory. I just cleaned out my hard drive so I know I have enough room. I still get the problem when I work off a 1TB LaCie d2 Quadra hard drive or the regular internal Mac hard drive. I even ran a copy of FCP rescue 5 and it didn't seem to do anything. My RT is set to Safe RT. The only thing can think of is that my compression is not set right. Can anyone help me out please?

Why are you editing on FCP5?

Is it 5.0.4 or 5.1?

You need 5.1 for editing on an Intel mac.

Even so you should be using FCP 7 and upgrades aren't too expensive to FCS3.


What flavour of HD are you attempting to cut? (ie: What CODEC is the timeline and footage?)

Don't use a LaCie Quadra for anything other than a doorstop. (From personal and consulting experience).

It is most likely one of the above or that your HDD is not fast enough for the HD you are editing.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Sorry it is 6.0.5. I was looking at the wrong thing. I am kind of new at this. I was in too much of a hurry to post up that message. I am using a Canon HV40. Under Audio/Video Settings. My Sequence Presets is: Apple ProRes 422 1920x1080 24p 48 kHz, Capture Preset: HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec, Device Control Oreset: DVCPRO HD FireWire. But recently I have been using the Hi Def video clips shot from a Canon 5D and just clicking and dragging them into the timeline. Would that make a difference? They are .MOV files. What do you recommend besides the LaCie Quadra drives? I used it for audio and never had a problem. What would you probably think I need to have my Hi Def settings at? Or is it possible to even edit Hi Def with the equipment I have?

Would it be easier for me to take screen shots of my presets and show you?

Woah there - loads of mixing formats!

Pick a format - ProRes is good.

Convert all your footage to ProRes - preferably the same framerate.

Edit on the Timeline in in the same settings.

Note: You cannot use the Canon 5D footage in the timeline without a plugin - you need to transcode it to your sequence settings on import using the Canon 5D plugin for FCP [www.usa.canon.com]

Or use MPEG-Streamclip [www.squared5.com] or 5DtoRGB [rarevision.com] to convert the .mov files from the 5D to ProRes

Also I would not recommend using a LaCie Quadra for ProRes HD you should buy a decent FireWire 800 RAID 0 or RAID 5 that actually kicks out close to 100MB per second.

Check if it is the HDD speed. You can check the speed of your LaCie by using the AJA System Test [www.aja.com]


You really should get FCP 7 as it will help.



There are some other issue you maybe having as I don't recall if the Canon HV40 shoots true 24p (but rather 29.97 which you need to do a pull-down either during or post capture).

Unfortunately I need to get to sleep its 2am here in the UK but if someone else doesn't waltz in and help I'll be back in the morrow.

Post your disk speed and we can eliminate the Quadra from the equation.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

You can edit the H.264s in your FCP timeline, but you shouldn't as it does exactly what you're experiencing. Apart from all the mixed format stuff, that's an important one to get right.

Thank you very much. Rarevisioin worked awesome. I ran a few tests today and did a ton of cuts with dissolves and everything went so smooth. Thanks again. But how do I get dMaxrix to actually color my frames? I messed around with it a little and it just saves a dmtx file. Do I import that into color? Do you know much about that program? It's like a whole new world.