flip video / audio rendering

hi, we're running final cut pro 5 and were trying to edit video shot on a flip camera.

we converted the video from mpeg4 to dv using mpeg streamclip => exporting to dv25 (and tried selecting to both resample the audio to 48khz and also tried not selecting it as well).

have gone into the sequence audio/video settings in final cut and altered the sequences accordingly (changing sequence settings and then starting a new sequence to see the changes).

we're not having to render the video as we've matched the settings to dv... however, it wants us to render all the audio. have tried everything to match settings, but haven't figured it out after 5 hours of trying.

our clip format from flip to mpeg streamclip: dv/dvpro - ntsc.
audio: 1 stereo
audio rate: 44.1 khz
aud format: 32 bit floating point.

my sequence presets audio settings in final cut are:
Rate: 44.1 khz
Depth: 16 bits
Config: Stereo Mix.

the clip seems to match the presets for audio in the sequence, no? why the render time? in the sequence, i am using dv/dvcpro - ntsc as the compressor.

i also tried "resampling the clip to 48khz" in mpeg streamclip and then changing the sequence presets in final cut according (to 48khz) and then starting a new sequence. but still no luck.

help please!!!
thanks.

hey guys,

just wondering if you had any ideas. keep messing with final cut settings and mpeg streamclip settings and can't get it right! the flip video is the regular kind of mpeg4 format, it is not an hd camera.

any ideas for settings in mpeg stream clip and final cut 5 that would get me up and running without having to render? what makes these things compatible?

do i need to upgrade to a later version of final cut? would that help me?

thanks so much again! looking forward to your thoughts

MPEG-4 in itself is not an editing-friendly format. Convert the clips to QuickTime movies in an editing codec (eg. DV, ProRes, DVCPro HD) first.


www.derekmok.com

thanks so much for getting back, derek. appreciate your help. i had converted to dv using mpeg streamclip, so i don't have to render the visuals of the video in final cut, but always still having to render the audio.

do you have any suggestions for audio settings in mpeg streamclip/dv export and then audio settings in the final cut sequence so that final cut will read the dv files (formerly mpeg4 files) so that i don't have to render the audio? again, i have found settings that work for the visual part of the video, but still haven't found the right match for the audio settings.

thanks so much for your time!

Export Quicktime. Use the DV compressor if you want, but audio will be linear pcm 48khz 16 or 24bits.



www.strypesinpost.com

ah!
you used File Menu > "Export to DV" in mpeg streamclip.

that will give you a "DV Stream".
that format works in iMovie,
but not in FCP.
(as you discovered, the audio needs rendering)

to get a format that works in FCP,
use File Menu > "Export to QuickTime"

from the pulldown menu, choose a codec.
Apple DV
Apple DVCPro50
Apple Uncompressed 8-bit

these are all standard def format that work for you,
listed in order of quality "goodness".
what you use depends on your delivery requirements.
how do you plan to finish and deliver your show?


nick

nick,

thanks so much for figuring out what i was doing wrong. your help is saving me hours and hours of time (rendering time). thanks so much, man. you were right -- i was exporting to dv rather than selecting dv/dvpro within export to quicktime in mpeg streamclip.

i guess i'll convert to apple dv/dvcpro (which is the highest quality?) as it would be cool to be able to bounce to dv tape and the like. immediately though, i'll be delivering videos to youtube. i'm sure i could find a whole score of info on export settings out of final cut using compressor for good youtube videos, but do you have any quick suggestions?

in mpeg stream clip and also in compressor out of final cut, do you recommend deinterlacing the video or keeping it interlaced?

thank you so, so very much for your help.

best quality for you would be uncompressed 8-bit,

i don't think there is a difference between DV and DVCPro,
but DVCPro50 is a different matter, that is a better format, quality wise.

"it would be cool to be able to bounce to dv tape and the like"

the like?? what other formats do you have available to you?


for youtube, i try to make a file that conforms to their settings.
last time i looked that was a frame size of 640 x 480,
but things change fast, so best you should check that out.

yes, files for the web are best de-interlaced.
computer screens are progressive,
so you don't need to waste bandwidth on that extra information.


hope that helps,
nick

"the like?? what other formats do you have available to you? "

depends who and how much money the people have to print our film one day, haha. 35 mm! i only have dv available to me, but more formats available close by at lightning dubs for a fee

so uncompressed 8-bit is the highest quality then?

on the de-interlacing -- is it best to go into final cut de-interlaced and also out of final cut, de-interlacing? would i be cool going into final cut interlaced (using mpeg streamclip) and then out of final cut de-interlaced for the web using compressor?

yes -- it has all been extremely helpful. thanks so very much for your time, nick. really means a whole lot... happy holidays to you, man.

sorry to revive an old thread, but to anyone else running fcp 5 -- the only way final cut would read the flip mpg-4 files was when i converted them with mpeg streamclip to pro res 422. that'll work for ya

that's weird.
i didn't think ProRes came out till FCP6.

i have used ProRes in FCP5,
as i had both versions (5+6) running on my system.


nick

Non-FCP users used to need a separate decoder to read ProRes files until Apple added decoding support to QuickTime. Did they add encoding support too?

Nick Meyers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> that's weird.
> i didn't think ProRes came out till FCP6.
>
> i have used ProRes in FCP5,
> as i had both versions (5+6) running on my
> system.
>
>
> nick

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Nope. It's read only.



www.strypesinpost.com