MAC vs. PC Video Data

[kevin.handley]

I am switching from a PC to a Mac and have about 400 GB of video (MPEG 2) from my PC. How ever when I place it in Final Cut on Mac I can not hear the sound. What should I do to hear sound, or do I have to convert each file in order to use it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

KH

[Baldrick]

What is the audio format in your mpg files? AC3?

[kevin.handley]

I am not sure
How do I determine that

[Ai Haibara]

One way to do it is to run the video through a utility like MediaInfo (which also has a Mac version); that should give you more information on a video file. Also, some players may also have an Information/Properties/etc. feature that would tell you more about the video.

[edDV]

FCP is not friendly to consumer or sharing formats.

It is for video production. You need to convert everything to supported formats.

See here, anything familiar?
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/support.html

"Our garage will accept most anything you drive be it a Benz, a Rolls or even a classic Jag."

Trade entrance must carry uncompressed SD or HD, 8 bit or 10bit.

[kevin.handley]

I am still a little confused as to how to use my PC video files. Do I have to convert them to use them. Or are there any final cut plugins that can assist with being able to hear sound. The video is fine but the audio is not working. The files are MPEG 2 files. Should I just convert them for Mac and make sure that I never save them on the PC side.

K H

[edDV]

I am still a little confused as to how to use my PC video files. Do I have to convert them to use them. Or are there any final cut plugins that can assist with being able to hear sound. The video is fine but the audio is not working. The files are MPEG 2 files. Should I just convert them for Mac and make sure that I never save them on the PC side.

K H

Sure they aren't AC3? AC3 decode takes a licensed codec.

Mac's like PC don't play MPeg2 out of the box. You need to add decoders and encoders. With those installed, Quicktime Pro will convert many formats for use on Mac. Depends on what they are.

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/
http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutpro/

[rumplestiltskin]

I believe FCP installs the MPEG2 component. The problem is (as stated elsewhere) that FCP isn't very accepting of other formats. You might need to export as Apple Intermediate. Another workaround is to use MPEG Streamclip to export the MPEG2 to DV. FCP loves DV.