Dropped Frames in FCP HD

My sequence keeps dropping frames in FCP. I have Safe RT selected, high quality video playback, and don't alert on dropped frames. The clips are all rendered? Anyone know what's going on? My computer is new, with a RAID 5 and Dual 2.7GHz so I don't think it is that the cpu can't handle it? Are there any settings that I'm missing...

Check the Stock Answers post at the top of this forum. Check #12 and #16 and others.
One thing that got me recently (though in FCP5), was this whole render checkmark thing. In the Sequence menu under Render, make sure the appropriate render levels are checked, then Render All.
Doug

Similar Messages

Dropped frames in FCP 6.0.4

Hello,
I have just shot a wedding and have 4 x 40 min. mini-dv tapes that I have captured. I had the 'there are dropped frames' message after capturing the footage but have had this before several times and have not experienced any problems so just ignored it, however this time appears to be different.
My audio is way out of sync with my video because the audio obviously continued to be captured over the dropped frames which has pushed the video out of sync.
I am half a country's distance away from my physical tapes so cannot re-capture the footage. I have isolated the dropped frames within FCP using the 'analyze long frames' tool but would really rather not have to go through the icky process of re-aligning the audio with the video between these points.
I was really hoping that someone may know of a plug-in that could do this re-syncing job for me, I have googled but couldn't find anything, this or any other help/advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers.

My current thinking is I will have to make the journey to perform a re-capture, but to make sure the journey is not in vain should I amend my user preferences?
I have the 'sync audio to video source if present' checked which I think could be causing me problems, because FCP might be trying to sync audio to the dropped frames, which is causing the sync-issue.
I have the 'abort capture on dropped frames' unchecked, otherwise the capture would be ridiculous.
Is the only practical solution to dub the tapes to new tapes with unbroken timecodes? Help much appreciated.
Thanks.

Can't Get Rid of Dropped Frames in FCP 7

Hello all,
I am editing in FCP and have only gotten as far as laying down a music track (MP3), and some b-role. I have given myself some space at the beginning of the track, and as soon as the video kicks in I get the dropped frames message. There are no fancy edits or effects, just the video. It happens with both .MOV files taken with my Canon 7D, and with footage I had converted from .MTS.
The RT drop-down menu in the timeline only offers the following options:
Play Base Layer Only
Use Playback Settings
Full Quality
I have gone into Playback Control under System Settings and adjusted the options to the following:
RT: Safe
Video Quality: Low
Frame Rate: Quarter
I am still receiving the dropped frame message. My footage is stored on a 500 GB external Rugged LaCie drive, and is connected using 8-pin FireWire. The footage is being edited in 1080. Everything is up to date.
Much appreciation for your help.

Thank you both for replying.
I converted the audio file (but still getting the error message) to AIFF/16bit/48kHz using iTunes. I had converted the .MTS fils to .MOV with iSkysoft Converter to the following settings:
Resolution: 1920x1080
Frame Rate: 23.97
Bit Rate: High Quality
Channel: 2 Channels stereo
Sample Rate: 44100
Bit Rate: Medium
I did not convert any of the Canon files to Pro Res. What do I need to do with those files? and is there something I can do during capture to help save a step in post?
Thanks again to you both!
Warmest regards,
~Shawn
Message was edited by: ShawnSpitler

Problems with dropped frames in FCP 4.5 Log & Capture

Thanks for the advice on my previous post regarding sound problems - those are now sorted, but I am having problems with dropped frames in Log and Capture. I am using FCP 4.5 with OS X 10.4.10 on a Powermac G4. CPU 867 mhz dual processor. L2 Cache 256 kb, L3 cache 1 mb. Memory 1g. Bus speed 133hz. I am capturing from a Canon XM1 via Firewire. The scratch disk is a 500gb Seagate FreeAgent USB 2.0, 7200rpm.
Basically, the video and audio are fine while playing back in Log and Capture and I can control the device, but any attempt to capture, whether Capture Now or Clip result in a very jerky picture and aborts with dropped frames after a few seconds. The sound is ok for the few seconds before it aborts. There do not appear to be any problems with the timecode.
My capture preset is DV Pal 48hz.
Any advice or pointers gratefully received.
Thanks, Ally

Well quite. I have just tried it in the internal hard drive and it works fine now. I am going to have to capture everything to my small hard drive and move it across to the external. Then, when I have finished I am going to bang my head against the wall and buy an external HDD with Firewire.
Thanks,
Ally

Corrupt media causing dropped frames? FCP shuts down without warning.

Hello,
I have a project that was working fine, then one day we started getting numerous dropped frame warnings during playback on the timeline (specifically during sequences that have multiclips); then two days later, playback causes the entire project to freeze and FCP shuts down.
We are on 17" MacBook Pro, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB 667
Mac OS X 10.4.9
External drive: Western Digital 1 TB, My Book Pro Edition, FW 800, 7200rmp, 650GB used
FCP 5.1.4, DV-NTSC project, source media captured from DVCam
I have tried all the normal adjustments for dropped frames issues including boosting the ram allocated to FCP, closing additional sequences and applications, hard drive is formatted OS X Extended, etc. Multiclip squences have only 2 video/audio streams at a time, so I can't imagine that its bottle necking here.
One thing to note is that the second external drive, which has duplicates of all the same media and copy of the most recent project is working fine. The only difference is that the problem drive also has media that was ripped from DVDs using Mac The Ripper, and then compressed using MPeg Streamclip into .dv (then changed to .mov before importing into FCP). We are using the DVD material as scratch until we can obtain the original footage as we get closer to going online. We are in the process of obtaining permissions from directors/distributors/studios, but this obviously takes time.
DVD material is totaling close to 55GB. Also, even though the clips are .mov, we are still getting a red bar and having to render the media. Audio is at 48hz so no problem there. Not sure why it still requires us to render.
Is it possible that the project is somehow corrupt? Is all the rendered material too taxing for FCP? Am I handling this extra footage inefficiently?
I have spent hours on this forum looking for the answer, but haven't come across a solution yet. Thank you for your help.

I'm not sure I understand. You have duplicate media on another drive? You're having problems playing back the media from one drive but NOT the other? Sounds like your drive might be failing. Try running Diskwarrior (to repair any possible directory structure problems) and techtoolpro (to see if there's any physical problem).
I have had problems with multiple firewire drives from different manufacturers connected at the same time. Try disconnecting everything BUT the problem drive.
You shouldn't need to do any rendering if the clip settings exactly match the sequence settings. Try this: select one clip, control click and choose make multiclip sequence. Is there a red bar in the sequence? If not, your clip settings to not match your sequence settings in the problem sequence.
Good luck

Drop/non-drop frame default

Is there a default setting for drop frame/non-drop frame in FCP?

Depends on the Easy Setup you use...and the format of video you are cutting.
DV defaults to Drop Frame. As does DV50 and uncompressed 8-bit and 10-bit. Because typically people need to deliver drop frame masters.
HD formats default to NON drop frame, like DVCPRO HD and Uncompressed HD formats. Got me why they do this, as HD decks do indeed still have drop frame modes. Makes timing a show properly a bit of a task.
Shane

Network connection slow when capturing video to SAN, dropping frames

I'm currently connected to a storage area network via Windows Server 2003 64bit (with ExtremeZ-IP for AFP connections) with 1000baseTX Gigabit Ethernet speeds. When transferring files through the finder I'm getting about 50-70MB transfer upload/download. When I am capturing HD video I noticed the upload speed is roughly 3MB/sec with many peaks and valleys in the transfer. Quite often I get dropped frames.
Does anyone know why this would happen? It seems to me the issue is somewhere in the network. I don't know for sure but I would think 3MB/sec is to slow to capture 1080p HD video. My CPU and memory have plenty of inactivity so I don't think the issue is there.

HDV video runs at 3.6MB/s. If that's what you are capturing, that data rate makes some sense.
Capturing from tape is not the same as transfering files as FCP wants the next packet of data to arrive RIGHT NOW and if it doesn't, it will interpret the delay, not as a lost packet to be re-sent, but as a dropped frame.
FCP is not designed to work this way. It really is set up to work as a stand alone workstation with connectivity. People have gotten it to work as you wish, but there are lots of tricky issues.
x

Manually drop frames for stop-animation look and feel?

Hi, is there any way to manually drop frames in FCP? I need to make a scene (shot in mini-dv) look and feel like "stop motion animation". I was thinking if I could randomly drop frames and then slightly slow the footage down, it would give me the kind of "jary" effect of stop motion animation. And seing as dropping frames would essentially speed the fotage up, I would slow it down slightly to compensate. But individually dropping frames will take me forever!!! Is there a filter that can do this (FCP5)?
Thanks,
Lela

Here's another option...
Speed the clip (or sequence nested)up with no frame blending - FCP will drop frames. Experiment as using specific %s will do this for you.
Then go into Cinema Tools and conform back to 29.97... This will make it look faster -- then slow it down without using frame blending and FCP will just duplicate frames.
I've done this in Shake at it works great - I'm reaching just a bit that it will also work in FCP the same way.
Good luck,
CaptM

Dropped frames during playback in FCP 7

I have searched high and low, asked every FCP expert I know, and noone can help me.
So I turn to this forum and you the users for help.
I just upgraded from an old DVCAM to a new Canon 60D, which shoots full HD. Usually I never have problems editing with or without text, but all of a sudden I got dropped frames when I put text on my project. No warning of dropped frames though. Just some skipping and pausing before the clip continued.
I was running FCP 6 but upgraded to FCP 7 in hopes of it removing the problem. It just got worse. Now I can't even playback video or text by itself (I am testing with 5-10 second bits). Whenever the screen should go blank I instead get the unpleasant warning of dropped frames. The same thing happens when I play text by itself or over the video. When I try exporting it (to see if it is just a playback error) QT and VLC Player both show the most hideous grey, green and pixellated versions of my (still very short) clip.
And if anyone suggests changing RT options - where do I find those options? The RT button on my timeline only shows the options: "play base layer only", "use playback settings" and "Full quality" - and the problems keep showing up in all three selections.
Could my settings be off? I am not sure I have found the right ones for the footy from a Canon 60D.
I hope someone is able to help me with this. It is the most frustrating experience I have ever had through my many years with FCP.

Switching from DV to HD can be a nightmare if you were 'getting away with things' using DV material that you really won't be able to in HD.
First - Where is the media? If it is on the system drive of the macbook pro... get it off of there!! It should be on an external drive - FW800 will get you going better than anything else...
Second - simple fix, but make sure... are any of your windows overlapping? is your canvas window set to FIT TO WINDOW? If there are scroll bars in your canvas or viewer that would be bad too.
Third -- let's figure out what and how you are converting the material off the 60D.
What is the workflow you are using? You should probably be editing in some form of Apple ProRes... I like the LT setting - minimal quality loss with max gain in bit rates.
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/rossshane/tapeless-workflowfcp-7/video-tutorial
Check out that video and see if it doesn't answer a few questions...
Good luck,
CaptM

Optimizing work flow in FCP on new iMac? (dropped frames)

Hello-
I've recently purchased a new iMac, first in about 6 years. I'm looking for some advice about optimizing my work flow in FCP. I am largely self-taught, using FCP for hobbyist/amateur video.
Until this new computer, I have been using FCP on other people's Macs (schools, arts institutions, etc), only resorting to my old Powerbook when absolutely necessary. So I have not had to worry about performance issues until now.
I am shooting on a Kodak Zi8 pocket cam in 1080p HD .MOV files, 1920x1080 H.264, AAC audio.
In my first attempts at editing the footage, I find that I am getting dropped frames on playback at every edit point - any time I cut between shots, add titles, etc.
(I also tried editing some much smaller, compressed files (QT 854x480, H.264, AAC audio) in the timeline and had the frame drop problem.)
Also, when I add titles, they do not preview render - I have to render them completely to be able to playback.
When I allow FCP to change the sequence settings to match the clip, I get the following:
1920 x 1080
Aspect: HDTV 1080i (16:9)
Pixel Aspect: Square
Field Dominance: Upper (Odd)
Editing Timebase: 29.97
In this instance I am editing footage that is stored on the local HD, but I have also tried editing footage from a USB 2.0 external drive, and got the same dropped frame problem.
...its a little frustrating to get these performance issues on this new computer, so I hope that someone here can help me resolve some of my problems. Hopefully this is a work flow issue, but if its a lack of hardware, well, shame on me for not looking into it enough.
thanks in advance.

Hi -
H.264 is a recording and delivery format, but as you have discovered, it is very difficult to edit. Its qualities of recording a high quality image in a small file size, which make it attractive for use in Flash based camcorders, makes it very difficult for FCP to work with. Attempting to work in H.264 makes FCP drop frames, require constant rendering, etc.
The best solution is to convert your footage to an edit friendly file format, such a ProRes LT or AIC. There will be minimal impact on the quality of the image. This conversion will result in files that are much larger than your original files, but will work easily in FCP.
You don't say if you have FCS or just FCP, but if you do have FCS then you can use Compressor to do the conversion.
Hope this helps.

FCP X multiclip dropped frames?

After playing a multiclip for a few seconds, it begins to drop frames, then freezes. And up comes this image.
What's up? It's on my new 8gig iMac

This is an update;
     After finding that the proxy clips you mentioned ran fine, discovered that I couldn't edit the Multicam footage as described in the manual. No Blade. No cuts. Just angle switches. So today started hunting thru FCP X Support and discovered something.
     Once you get a Multicam Clip going on the timeline, you've got to create a New Project in the Browser, then open it and drag the Multicam Clip from the Browser to the empty Storyline. Ta Da!!. Everything shows up correctly. And works even better than it used to in older versions of FCP.
     But here's the point;
Nowhere in any of the FCP X Help files does that necessary process get mentioned. And that kind of sloppy oversight is not like Apple. Please fix it.
     As a matter of fact, it would be a great idea to make those extra steps not even necessary. That's what Steve would want done
     Also
Remember that problem about dropped frames? Well, it's gone away. Even Optimized/Original 17 minute Multicam clips are running fine now.
Go figure.

FCP UB iMAC Dropping Frames, playing stops!

It's fine (new here with this program so be easy on me) also a recent swither, after beta testing Vista, I said, that's it. Even though I have thousands invested in software for PC...
Anyway, FCP 5.1
If I use the arrow tool, and move across timeline, the part plays fine with effects.
If I hit space bar I get error, it stops.
Media on second FW drive.
Not sure how to turn off/down compression?
RT set at unlimited, otherwise I wont see the effects.
What is wrong?
Thanks!

Render files are never seen or accessed by the user.
If you want to convert a bit of media, cut it into
your timeline, render it, export it using Export QuickTime Movie...
(keeping it on Current Settings...), import the clip
you created and use that for your source. No more
need to render.
make sense?
Patrick
Ok, I tried this, check it out...exported a 3 second clip, imported back in, no problem, played great!
Added one (as in "1") zoom effect and got a dropped frame rate warning, now, sure, I could turn it off, but surely there must be a way to see this FX in the chain to see how it works or not without an error (2 GB DDR2).
I noticed you can double click the FX than use the time line to see it, but it's a far cry from realtime speed.
Surely there is hope for me yet!
Thanks again

FCP Dropped Frames Freeze Up

Gurus, I've had a bad day, and I need your collective wisdom. FCP 7.0 S2 is up on two machines -- the 3-yr-old MacBook Pro and the brand new Mac Pro 8-core. I have a five-minute inspirational video to show in church today with a lovely 6K lumen DLP projector onto a 12-ft screen. It is great! I generated the timeline on the Mac Pro with an external G-Tech 800FW HD. Smooth as cake. And then I took the HD with this timeline to the MacBook Pro and took it on the road to the church with the brand new Matrox MX02 Mini box generating HDMI. In three showings: the system ceased to to a dropped frame stop everytime. Argggghh! Now I get that the MacPro octo 8-core whiz-bang water-cooled home machine is bigger, but the MacBook Pro is not underpowered -- 2.33GHz C2D Intel with nothing else running but the FCP timeline. It's a 2 track video/6 track audio simpleton timeline. What did I do wrong here? What's harder/more reliable than running the FCP timeline in real time?

I can't do your work for you. I do a great deal of research and testing on any job that involves a new workflow, format, whatever.
However,
Try this. Export a selfcontained qt with sequence settings. Create a NEW project in fcp, and import this selfcontained qt. This will probably play just fine. When you are playing your timeline of an edit out of fcp, fcp has to access media from all over the place and perhaps even attempt real time rendering. Exporting a selfcontained qt and playing it may solve your problem.

"Dropped Frames on Playback" - when playing back FCP's Bars+tone

We've been having a problems with one of our edit suites dropping frames when playing back to tape (Edit to tape).
In checking it out, I created a new project and added DCP's PAL Bars and tone to the default sequence. FCP is stopping playback with the "Dropped Frames on Playback" error after 13"-15". I've tried all the usual stuff - trashing FCP prefs, zapping PRAM, repairing preferences etc.
Has anyone any further suggestions??
RT is set to Safe, with dynamic frame rate and video quality.
The Mac is a Dual 2.66GHz Dual Core Xeon, 4Gb RAM, with an AJA kona lhe card, connected to an XServe Raid via fibre. The tape deck is a DigiBeta M2000.
I've read all the posts I could find, and checked Shane's stock answer #12.
Cheers
Steve

Try creating a new user, log into that and test FCP.
In my case, a new user worked, for awhile.
Through a lot of trial and error and a reinstallation that was ineffectual - properly surmised by a very learned friend of mine, Mr. Sheffield - I found a project to be corrupt. So thoroughly corrupt that it would corrupt FCP and any projects opened downstream which is why my new user worked for awhile. Took me some time to figure out the proper order to open things after a system restart. Looks like I'll be doing a rebuild of the project through xml which shouldn't take to long.
In your case, if a new user doesn't help and you go the reinstallation route, uninstall FC Studio with this jewel of a utility. Many thanks to Jon for writing and distributing. http://www.digitalrebellion.com/blog/posts/fcsremover_1.0.6released.html
Zeb

Dropped frames when playing section in the timeline w/audio, Viewer plays fine. Plays for 1 sec, no sound, nothing on audio meters. Problem out the blue, made no conscious changes. FCP 7.0.3. iMac, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5. OS10.8.4. Thanx.

New to FCP. Dropped frames when playing section in the timeline w/audio, Viewer plays fine tho. Plays for bout 1 sec with no sound, nothing showing coming through the audio meters. Problem came out the blue, made no conscious changes to settings. FCP 7.0.3. iMac, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5. OS10.8.4. If any other info needed please let me know, will be happy to provide it. Thanx.

Thank you for the help. Below is my Source footage and sequence settings.
The other footage I have on the timeline is an mp3 file made in Garage Band and some footage I sent to Motion to edit. I do have some offline media on there since I switched computers but FCP had been working fine for a few months with it on there. I have not tried trashing my FCP Preferences. If I did would I have to back up my project?

Dropped Frames in FCP HD

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