AVCHD footage and Final Cut Express 4

Can somebody tell me how to transfer 1080/60i footage recorded with a Panasonic AG-HMC40P in Final Cut Exptess? Please try to explain step by step in easy language because I'm a bit of a moron when it comes to computers I'll also mix this footage with the SD video recorded in DVCAM format on cassette with a SonyDVCAM. What kind of setup would you think is the best for minimum hassle? My MacBook Pro is one of the first ones with only 2GB of RAM! Cheers

Hello, later versions of FCP can do it, but see this maybe...
http://www.bigasoft.com/articles/how-to-import-avchd-to-imovie.html

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Best export method of footage from Final Cut Express to DVD?

I'm exporting footage from Final Cut Express using Quicktime Player and then burning the footage to DVD using iDVD.
The end result on DVD has very jagged interlacing (or noise) on objects in motion which aren't present when viewing the footage on FC. I don't think the problem is with iDVD (I assume I'm burning a pristine copy of an already reduced-quality clip).
Are there any changes I can make to the system preferences either on FC or Quicktime Player to reduce or prevent loss of digital information, or can anyone suggest better methods of export from Final Cut Express to DVD?

Hello
I'm not sure if this is relevant:
I've been using the Quicktime Conversion settings;
http://www.locationstudio.net/Settings.jpg
29.97 Frame Rate
Highest Quality
NTSC/PRO
I was under the impression that this was usually best - haven't had any problems with iDVD
Mike

Trouble capturing footage to final cut express

hey this is quite urgent....
i am trying to upload footage to final cut express from my sony DCR-HC52E. it sais VTR OK and plays and pauses and stuff but i cannot see anything it just stayed on those coloured bars.
i can see it playing on the camera though...
i got it working once with this camera, just cant remember how
any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi
My table for this was once for iMovie - BUT it's more General than that so You might find help here.
*NO CAMERA or A/D-box*
Cable
• Are You sure that You are using the FireWire Cable - USB-Cable will not work for miniDV tape Cameras
FireWire - Sure not using the accompany USB-Cable but bought a 4-pin to 6-pin (or 9-pin) FW one ?
• Test another FW-Cable *very often the problem maker*.
Camera
• Test Your Camera on another Mac so that DV-in still works OK
• Toogle in iMovie pref. Play-back via Camera (on<->off some times)
• Some Cameras has a Menu where You must select DV-out to get it to work
• Camera connected to "charger" (mains adaptor) - not just on battery
• Camera set in Playback mode - NOT Recording mode
Does Your Camera work on another Mac ?
Sorry to say it is to easy to turn the 6-pin end of the FW-cable 180 deg wrong.
This is lethal to the A/D-chip in the Camera = needs an expensive repair.
(Hard to find out - else than import/export to another Mac ceased to work
everything else is OK eg recording and playback to TV)
A/D-box
• Is the dip-switches set right ?
• Set to same standard as recorded/editing eg NTSC 29.97fps or PAL 25fps
• Try resetting it
Connections
• Daisy Chaining most often doesn’t work (some unique cases - it’s the only way that work (some Canon Cameras ?))
Try to avoid connecting Camera <--> external HD <--> Mac but import directly to the Mac then move
the Movie project to dedicated external hard disk.
• FireWire-port - Can be re-setted by - Turn off Mac and disconnecting Mac from Mains/Power for 20-30 minutes
Mac
• Free space on internal (start-up) hard disk ? Please specify the amount of free space.
(Other hard disks don't count)
I go for a minmum of 25Gb free space for 4x3 SD Video - and my guess is 5 times more for 16x9 HD ones
after material is imported and edited.
• Does Your Mac have a FireWire Port
• White MacBooks - don't
• MacBook-Air - don't
if not then a few Mac’s has a PCM-CIA slot and there are FW-Cards that makes a FW-port this way
else - NO SOLUTION
Only option as I get it is either
• Use another Mac to Capture material (to an external USB2 - Mac OS Extended formatted hard disk - or -
• Change to another Camera that can be used with Your Mac (no there are no miniDV tape Cameras that can)
• If Your Mac-Book has a PCM-CIA Card place - then there are FW-port-Cards and then
You can import via this - but I've not seen this on more modern Macs. My PowerBook G4
has one and this FW-Card-port works greatly.
SoftWare
• Delete iMovie pref file may help sometimes. I rather start a new account, log into this and have a re-try.
• Any strange Plug-ins into QuickTime as Perian etc ? Remove and try again.
• FileVault is off ? (hopefully)
• Screen Saver - OFF
• Energy Saver - OFF
Using WHAT versions ? .
• Mac OS - X.5.4 ?
• QuickTime version ? (This is the heart in both iMovie and FinalCut)
• iMovie’08 (7.1.?), 09 or 11 ?
• iMovie HD 6 (6.0.4/3) ?
*Other ways to import Your miniDV tape*
• Use another Camera. There where tape play-back stations from SONY
but they costed about 2-4 times a normal miniDV Camera.
• If Your Camera works on another Mac. Make an iMovie movie project here and move it
over to Your Mac via an external hard disk.
(HAS TO BE Mac OS Extended formatted - USB/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange WILL NOT DO)
(Should be a FireWire one - USB/USB2 performs badly)
from LKN 1935.
Hi Bengt W, I tried it all, but nothing worked. Your answer has been helpfull insofar as all the different trials led to the conclusion that there was something wrong with my iMovie software. I therefore threw everything away and reinstalled iMovie from the HD. After that the exportation of DV videos (there has not been any problem with HDV videos) to my Sony camcorders worked properly as it did before. Thank you. LKN 1935
from Karsten.
in addition to Bengt's excellent '9 yards of advice' ..
camera set to 'Play' , not rec/computer/etc.?
camera not on battery, but power-line?
did your Mac 'recognize' this camera before...?
a technical check.
connect camera, on, playback, fw-connected...
click on the Blue Apple, upper left of your screen ..
choose 'About../More..
under Firewire.. what do you read..?
More
• FileVault - Secure that it’s turned off
• Network storage - DOESN’T WORK
• Where did You store/capture/import Your project ?
External USB hard disk = Bad Choise / FireWire = Good
If so it has to be Mac OS Extended formatted
----> UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange is NOT Working for VIDEO !
mbolander
Thanks for all your suggestions. What I learned is that I had a software problem. I had something called "Nikon Transfer" on my Mac that was recognizing my Canon camcorder as a still camera and was preventing iMovie from working properly. After uninstalling Nikon Transfer and doing a reboot, everything worked great.
I never liked the Nikon Transfer software anyway--I guess I'll get a cheap card reader and use that to transfer photos in the future.
*No Camera or bad import*
• USB hard disk
• Network storage
• File Vault is on
jiggaman15dg wrote
if you have adobe cs3 or 4 and have the adobe bridge on close that
or no firewire will work
see if that halps
DJ1249 wrote
The problem was the external backup hard drive that is connected, you need to disconect the external drive before the mac can see the video camera.
MaryBoog wrote
Maybe your problems is solved in the meantime, but for all others this might help as I had the same problem, also have the Sony HDR-HC7, but the 7e (Europe, PAL). I found this link today and it works perfectly
//support.sony-europe.com/tutorials/dime/videotransfer/vtransfer.aspx site=odwenGB&sec=DVH&m=HDR-HC7E
What I exactly did.- put camera in play mode - open guide - choose connection guide - choose comp./printer (where to transfer movie to) - select connection.- i-link (on my camera) but equal to firewire - OK - choose HDV - choose NO for conversion of i.link.
Settings are shown then (VCR HDV/DV.- HDV and i.link-conv..- OFF), press OK, OK, END.
Switch camera off. Connect firewire cable to camera & Mac. Switch camera on, in play/edit mode.
Open i-movie, choose import from camera. On screen below the camera connection is shown.- DV (HDV). Now you can import, automatically or manually.
This worked perfectly for me. Took me 2 days to find out. Could not find any clear thread explaining what I had to do on the camera and the manual was not clear either.
Yours Bengt W

Best Settings using the new Canon HV30 and Final Cut Express HD v3.5.1?

My wife presents programs at schools and uses digital movies that we make and edit as one of her media materials. We want to present higher quality videos that look more film-like. I am hoping that the combination I described above will enable this improvement. In the past we used a Canon ZR20 and iMovie HD and put these on DVD's that were then played on a MacBook Pro with with QuickTime or iDVD hooked up to an Epson PowerLite projector.
I am now the proud owner of a new Canon HV30 and Final Cut Express HD3.5.1 (had FCE for a while so know how to use it). From my research, though, it looks like FCE will not be able to handle CINE MODE recording in combination with 24fps progressive frame rate [HDV(PF24)] which would allow the enhanced effect of the Cinema Mode. I can't justify the cost of Final Cut Studio 2 so I am hoping that the new [HDV(PF30)] will allow me to more easily edit in FCE.
Does anyone know if this is true and if so can please tell me the settings that I need both on the camera and in FCE to get the best quality movie that can played directly from my MacPro using QuickTime or iDVD or from a DVD in the MacPro using the iDVD player. I won't have the opportunity to always play the videos directly from the camera to an HDTV because of the school setting and the need to use a projector.
I know this is a lot to ask for, but I am sure that it will come up again and again as more people purchase this new camera. Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Lou Hosta

Without totally repeating myself with my post to MaccyLeopard, I haven't shot any footage yet. After doing a lot of reading I think I confused myself more than helped myself as far as settings go. So if you remember from my initial post I am asking for advice and guidance primarily on camera settings with the HV30 that will be used in a classroom (artroom) setting and then edited using FCE HD v3.5.1. I wish I was the type of person that could jump right into using a new piece of equipment but I like to get the advice of others beforehand. That way I'm not always questioning myself as to 'whether or not is this the best I can get'. I also am wondering if the 30fps frame mode would be the best to use in the classroom setting? From my reading, this mode should allow more light onto the tape allowing me to shoot in conditions with lower light levels that are typically found inside? Finally, is FCE HD able to edit this new 30 fps frame mode of the HD30? I've heard that FCE HD can't handle the 20 fps frame mode.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out.
Sincerely,
Lou Hosta

User Contributed Tips in Final Cut Express and Final Cut Express HD Forum

*The following User Contributed Tips are located in the Pro Applications: Video > Final Cut Express and Final Cut Express HD Forum:*
skalicki` - Working with AVCHD: Log and Transfer FAQs
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2672530
Publish date: December 03, 2010
skalicki` - Final Cut Express: Basic Troubleshooting
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2662419
Publish date: November 26, 2010
*The following related tips are located in other areas of Apple Discussions:*
Please see the User Tips Library

I'm relatively new to FCE myself, so I'll answer with what I know. I'm sure the more experienced folks will either add to or correct what I say.
1) For the Inconvenient Truth thing, I believe this would best be done in LiveType, which does allow you to do animations, and to work on individual letters and characters. Whether or not it could exactly reproduce the effects in the clip, I'm not certain, but I'm sure it could come very close.
2) For the Crowd or the Cross effects, there are two things going on at once: effects on the text, and effects on the video. My gut feeling is that both FCE and LiveType can do these, with lots of work and patience, but I'll defer to other people to answer.
3) The page peel is a transition built into FCE.

Adobe CS4/5 and Final Cut Express On a MacBook Air?

Hey all
Im planning to get a MacBook for my GCSE's, and im leaning towards the air.
I will be running applications such as Adobe Photoshop CS5, After Effects CS5, Lightroom CS5, and Final Cut Express regularly, so would a 13" 1.86ghz MBA C2D Processor with 4gb of RAM be able to run these apps fast and efficiently with no lag? Or should I opt for the baseline MBP 13"? Im also looking for portability, as im going to be taking it into school
Thanks

After effects!? Yikes... that is a beast of a program! Depends how in depth you plan on using it. Are you going to be doing 3D animations with several camera layers? If so, I don't think a MBP is going to work too smoothly. If you are doing basic to moderate use of AE functions then I think it would work fine.
Just a heads up before buying, check out the apple refurb store. They have a bunch of MBP with different specs for a very reasonable price. I got my 17" MBP from there and it works awesome with the same warranty as new... for like $500 off!

Final Cut Pro 4.5 and Final Cut Express 3.0 - 5 minute captures then freeze

Something I have found with Final Cut Pro 4.5 and Final Cut Express 3.0.
After Updating to Tiger - 10.4.11 and Quicktime 7.4.1 - Both Pro 4.5 and Express 3.0 will not capture more then 5 minutes and 12 seconds. If you are having this issue the solution I used to fix both Pro and Express issues was an update on the software. Final Cut Pro 5 fixed the problem (or 6 if you can) and with Final Cut Express, version 3.5 fixed the issue but if you can go with FCX 4.
Let me know if this helped or if you have found a different solution. Downgrading the os might help but that is too much of a pain and it's time to upgrade the software anyway.

#29: Need AGP Graphics card
Shane's Stock Answer #29 – Error: “Need AGP Graphics card”
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302667
The Final Cut software is looking for a graphics card type that is required for that version of the software. FCP 4 and FCP 4.5 were released when AGP cards were the requirement. Attempting to open this on a Mac with a PCIe graphics card, such as an Intel Mac, will cause this error. FCP 4.5 is not supported on the Intel Macs. If you happen to have a PowerPC Quad processor Mac and get this error, you can try this hack:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/finalcut_pro_on_oldmacs.html
You can also press the "esc" key as you launch FCP. This enables FCP to open and run, but know that it might not work optimally.
If that doesn’t work, or if you have an Intel Mac, you are going to have to upgrade to a supported version of FCP…and FCP 6, part of Final Cut Studio 2, is the latest version.
Shane

Upgraded to Mac OS X Snow Leopard and final cut express 4 will not work

upgraded to Mac OS X Snow Leopard and final cut express 4 will not launch but my final cut express HD 3.0 version comes up. I reinstall my final cut express 4 upgrade disc and it still will not launch.
Where do I go from here?

You installed from the discs, right?
What happens when you try to launch? What are you doing to launch and what happens you do it? Can't see you computer from here. If you probably need to contact Apple with an installation issue on a new computer.

Final Cut Pro Studio 5.1.1 and Final Cut Express HD 3.5

Hi,
I have a client with both of these installed on the same machine (running 10.4.6).
When they try and launch either application, the splash screen comes up, loading various filters, etc. then they get an error message:
"File Error: A file of this name already exists" "OK"
Clicking "OK" closes the app.
Any idea:
1. What the file in question is?
2. Can it be deleted to let the app run?
3. Can Final Cut Pro Studio 5.1.1 and Final Cut Express HD 3.5 be used on the same machine?
I'll post this on the Final Cut Express HD 3.5 thread too (but with the order reversed).

What you did was not enough to delete the preferences properly.
This article tells you how. It is for FCE2 but works the same for FCE3 so I assume it is also OK for FCE 3.5:-
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93690
It's simple to do so try it before reinstalling etc. - You should completely uninstall before reinstalling:-
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301182
Ian.

Panasonic SDR-H80 and Final Cut Express

Does anyone know whether the new Panasonic Camcorder Type SDR-H80 is compatible with an iMac running under the Leopard OS and Final Cut Express version 4.0.1?

Hey ,.. I just purchased the same videocam and I am having the same dilema? Did you figure something out on how to make itr work yet?

Iphone footage into Final Cut Express

I left a question earlier in this forum and would like to update (hopefully that's proper process!). I'll repeat the question, in case:
I'm trying to get footage from iPhone 4 to Final Cut Express. I'm using MPEG Streamclip 1.9.2. In the tutorial I found, they did an export to Quicktime, selecting the Apple Intermediate Codec as the compression, 29.97 as the Frame, and "1280 x 720 (unscaled)" as the frame size option (I'm also selecting frame blending and better downscaling, and turning off interlaced scaling; the rest are Streamclip defaults). My version of Streamclip doesn't have a 1280x720 (unscaled), so I've been forced to select 1280x720 (HDTV 720P). Not sure if this is my problem.
On recent attempts, I've managed to get the clip into a QuickTime format (using the settings above) in a way that doesn't look stretched (can't tell whether it is or not). When I import the clip into FCE, it comes in without having to be rendered, and looks as if it's not stretched there either. But as soon as I drop the clip into the sequence and try to play it, I get the "Dropped Frames" warning. I'm already operating in RT Safe mode, and rarely/never have problems w/ dropped frames with clips that were captured from my Sony camera/tape. Is the AIC codec more demanding of faster drives? (I'm using a 200Gig external Apple drive at the moment). Or is it because I have been forced to export as a 1280x720 HDTV 720p as opposed to unscaled?
In FCE I've set easy set up to:
Apple Intermediate Codec, 29.97, and HDV AIC 720 p30; Is this a match with the Export QT version?
And if so, would the clip be coming into my sequence without having to be rendered? Since I haven't had to upgrade my hardware for my other camera, I'd be reluctant to go out and buy more external disk power, in the event it doesn't do me any good.
I know there are several posts on people trying to get iphone footage into FCE already, but they don't seem to apply and, after hours on the internet looking for a solution, I'm at my wits end. PLEASE HELP
Thanks in advance!!

The 4s records video as MPEG4/AVC (H.264)/1080p/30fps in a .mov filetype. Final Cut Express is NOT designed to edit this kind of video. You need to convert the 4s video clips to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec/1080i before importing them into FCE. You can use MPEG Streamclip to do the conversion. In FCE you also need to select a matching Easy Setup (should be AVCHD Apple Intermediate Codec 1920x1080i60 for converted 4s clips) and create a new Sequence to edit your video. This should eliminate the constant re-rendering problem.
ps. Final Cut Express was discontinued in 2011 even before OS X Lion was released. It is no longer supported by Apple and there is no guarantee it will run properly on Yosemite. Just so you know. Final Cut Pro X is the currently supported app.

Canon HF M400 and Final Cut Express?

I'm planning on buying a canon Vixia HF M400 camcorder and was wondering if anyone knows about or has had experience with its Final cut express compatibility. I know that with some AVCHD cameras final cut does not recognize the imported footage even when using log and capture, so i just wanted to make sure i don't buy a camera that i will not be able to edit with. if it matters, i plan on buying the latest version of FCE and editing on my macbook, using an external hard drive as a scratch disk.

Tony,
I have a HFS 10 which appears to be similar to the one you are looking at, and I have no difficulty ingesting the AVCHD video with Log and Transfer into FCE (note that this is different from Capture). However you should note that FCE is no longer available for purchase through Apple. You can find copies of FCE4 available on Ebay, but you should be aware that it not supported by the latest Apple OS Lion. Additionally there have been many reports of difficulty using FCE after upragrading to Lion.
Regards,
Marc

Is it possible to transfer stored (b-roll) video footage from Final Cut Express to Final Cut Pro event library? Is so, what do I need?

I have been editing in final cut express and now that I'm working in Pro X I would like to transfer my b-roll footage from FCX to Pro X. I read that there is an app. that you can buy that does this for Final Cut Pro 7, is this possible with Final Cut Express?

Any media used in FCE can be used in FCP. No third party software is required.
You cannot take an FCE project to FCP. 7toX will not help as FCE has no XML export.

Xacti HD and Final Cut Express -- It used to work great! How do I go back?

I have a Sanyo Xacti HD700. It gives me 1280x720 MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 files, which my Mac just loves. I used to be able to quickly edit the clips together in Final Cut Express, export using complementary QuickTime settings (specifically, those recommended by Vimeo for HD playback), and get beautiful MP4 files, relatively quickly.
Then, one day, a friend needed me to edit a quick video using a DV camcorder. It was confusing as heck getting the footage into FCE, and not particularly elegant getting it out. But, the project was done overnight, I washed my hands of it, and wanted to get back to making beautiful MP4 files again, relatively quickly.
Except I can't! Now, for one, encoding takes hours. Hours! My source videos and export videos are very similar, yet I sit and watch as the estimate for completion actually goes up for an hour before slowly coming back down.
And frankly, that would be fine, except now my exported videos are the wrong size. They include letterboxes, and the video itself is squished, stretched. So I wait four times as long for a ghastly video. The best I could do is use the Quicktime export settings to "crop off" the letterboxing, but there's still some black bars and it's just not the same.
Here's how my videos used to look:
http://vimeo.com/1067235
Here's how an exported video looks now:
http://vimeo.com/1655414?pg=embed&sec=1655414
What happened? Out of the box, everything worked perfectly. Now, tainted with actual tape, Final Cut Express seems like it's running my videos through six extra wringers and giving me clips worse than I'd get just cut-and-paste editing the Xacti files in QuickTime Pro!
I Googled my brains out, and all I've learned is, if I had Final Cut Pro, "Project Settings" would have all the switches I need. Well, I don't have FCP, just FCE.
Somewhere, something was set that I want to unset. Can anyone help? Do I have to delete every trace of FCE and just reinstall?
Mahalo for any advice!

It sounds like you didn't change the settings after you made the DV video. Did you switch it back to 1280x720 and make a new sequence in that format? Check item properties for the sequence you edited. What does it say? Also check item properties for any media you captured since working in DV.

Importing HD footage to Final Cut Express?

I am going to edit my own wedding video and I am hiring a professional to shoot the raw footage in HD. I have a small, hand held Panasonic PV-GS300 that shoots in SD on Mini DV tapes. I understand that I cannot effectively upload HD footage through this small camera and still maintain the HD quality from the original footage. My conclusion is that I am going to have the HD footage converted into Quicktime files and loaded onto my external hard drive that I can import into Final Cut Express. Will somoene just confirm that this will work? Is there anything I am missing? I just don't want to pay for professional footage and ultimately not be able to edit it, so if you think I'm forgetting something or if there's a specific type of footage or setting that is optimal for Final Cut Express, please let me know and I can pass this on to my videographer. Thank you for your help!

Hi there,
Yeah, it should work fine to get the videographer to give you the files. Make sure he/she shoots in a frame-size of *1280x720, 1440x1080, or 1920x1080* at a frame-rate of 29.97fps.
Ask him or her if it is possible to give you the files in the *Apple Intermediate Codec* with *uncompressed audio* at 48kHz.
Sasha

AVCHD footage and Final Cut Express 4

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