Final Cut Importing Woes (non-DV files)

[panhype]

I'm trying to understand the basics of FCP (i have FCS 2). Have been 'playing' with various web clips - random .mp4, .wmv clips just good enough for testing - before i'll do my first 'real' project. Since i'm fairly new to this, please bear with me if i missed all too obvious aspects.

I used MPEG Streamclip (1.9.2 and 1.9.3b) for converting random clips to a format FCP can handle.

1 - When i chose DV Stream, FCP always gives me the "Audio not rendered" error. Whatever i tried, MPEG Streamclip always exports audio to PCM (48 KHz, 32 bit). FCP adjusts the sequence settings to match the imported file. Still i have to render the audio after each cut. Very odd way to work.

MPEG Streamclip allows to export the audio from the DV Stream to AIFF, and to save only its video track. I haven't found a way to remux these 2 files. Or can FCP handle that?... I can get both the video-only DV Stream and the AIFF to the timeline, they seem to play in sync - but how to turn that into editable footage, with out re-converting the video?

2 - When i make MPEG Streamclip to convert my source files to Apple ProRes 422, FCP can handle those with no problem. I also learned that i can do all my editing in Apple ProRes, and later reconnect my sequence to a DV Stream. Okay - that would give me a much better work flow. But to the expense that i have to fill an x-amount of hard drive space.

Any suggestions? Or is the 2nd option the only 'good' workflow?

[terryj]

I'm trying to understand the basics of FCP (i have FCS 2). Have been 'playing' with various web clips - random .mp4, .wmv clips just good enough for testing - before i'll do my first 'real' project. Since i'm fairly new to this, please bear with me if i missed all too obvious aspects.

I used MPEG Streamclip (1.9.2 and 1.9.3b) for converting random clips to a format FCP can handle.

Good tool to choose, not a problem thus far. (You do have the QT Mpeg-2 add on installed correct?
Your computer details say your running 10.4.8, so I assume you have Quicktime 7 or higher,
which means you should have the QT Mpeg-2 Plugin for QT 6.4 or higher installed. $20, store.apple.com)

1 - When i chose DV Stream, FCP always gives me the "Audio not rendered" error. Whatever i tried, MPEG Streamclip always exports audio to PCM (48 KHz, 32 bit). FCP adjusts the sequence settings to match the imported file. Still i have to render the audio after each cut. Very odd way to work.

MPEG Streamclip allows to export the audio from the DV Stream to AIFF, and to save only its video track. I haven't found a way to remux these 2 files. Or can FCP handle that?... I can get both the video-only DV Stream and the AIFF to the timeline, they seem to play in sync - but how to turn that into editable footage, with out re-converting the video?

Sounds like you DO need to go by the correct QT Mpeg-2 add on, if these play around files are MPEG files,
which enables QT based apps like MPegStreamclip, QT Pro, iMovie, etc. to be able to playback
and properly decode Mpeg files, which means that they can properly demux the audio and video out
of the file to transcode into your target file of choice, in this case DV Stream.


If this is happening on say wmv files, then possibly your Flip4Mac components are out of date,
and you need to install the newest one. If it is happening on mp4 files, chances are your
Perian plugin needs to be updated.

Please post back which file types you are trying to convert to DV Stream that is producing this error.
i have only personally seen this on MPEG-2 files myself, when I was using the older QT Mpeg-2
plugin made for QT 6, and not the one made for QT 6.4 or higher. Updating it fixed the issue.

2 - When i make MPEG Streamclip to convert my source files to Apple ProRes 422, FCP can handle those with no problem. I also learned that i can do all my editing in Apple ProRes, and later reconnect my sequence to a DV Stream. Okay - that would give me a much better work flow. But to the expense that i have to fill an x-amount of hard drive space.

Any suggestions? Or is the 2nd option the only 'good' workflow?

ProRes is good but again your trading more steps and space for a workaround to a particular problem that can
be easily remedied. But that's not to say if you have the HD space and the Processor that it isn't valid;
ProRes was built for a "mixed media" workflow so that you didn't have to bother with codecs,
you just drop your files straight into FCP 2 and let ProRes handle everything until your ready
to finalize the project out to DVD or an end file, and then you render EVERYTHING
to get a clean end file, tying up the computer more at the end than at the beginning or middle.

[panhype]

Thanks for your reply, terryj.

I've updated my specs in my profile. So OS 10.5.7, Perian, Quicktime etc - all quite recent versions. And as far as i can see, those are not the problem because MPEG Streamclip converts to Apple ProRes everything to work in FCP without rendering.

But if i export to DV Stream, audio always has to be rendered. No matter what the source file was - WMV3, mp4 from YouTube or a MPEG-1 video i just tried.

The audio track of the DV Stream and the Apple ProRes file are both PCM. Here you can see the MediaInfo stats side by side:


A difference i can see in MPEG Streamclip: Export to Apple ProRes doesn't have extra options, 'Ton' (= audio) will always be 'uncompressed'. DV Stream on the other hand has the general option 'audio - yes/no' plus the options tab (valid for video and audio adjustments) where you can adjust the sample rate. I've set it to 48 KHz, 16 bit and left the box 'geschützt' (= protected) unchecked. Checking this box doesn't change anything (i tried that as well).

Here's a screen capture with my settings - MPEG Streamclip and FCP sequence (some info is in German but you should get the details)


I have the feeling that something basic in my setup is wrong. But i have no idea where to look.