Avid Mojo with FCP

Hi,
I work for a broadcaster which predominantly uses Avid products on PC's.
I've managed to buck the trend and have ordered a 17" MacBook Pro to use with FCP (and possibly Avid DV Express).
I will have access to an Avid Mojo to import my Beta SX rushes, has anyone had any experience of using this with a mac before? Will it even work?
Thanks for any assistance...
Mac Mini, G4 iBook, G4 Quicksilver, G3 Powermac Mac OS X (10.4.10)

John
Sorry to do so much avid stuff in this forum but the avid site, (like many FCPro v Avid issues) is much less easy to use. IMHO
I also run avid and FC. The mojo is of no use to FC ( I'm happy to be corrected on this point). But there are a few other Avid things you need to be aware of.
1. the mojo needs its own firewire bus. you cant have drives on the same bus as the mojo. The power book only has one firewire bus, several connectors, but one bus. I think the mac book pro is the same. This means you can either have the mojo or material drives connected to the laptop. Not both. (it will drop every other frame on record or playback). I even bought a PCIMCA firewire card for the powerbook but this still uses the same bus.
I understand that you can get a PCIe Sata card for the Macbook pro which can be used to run sata raid drives leaving the firewire to the mojo.
2. Avid say you must turn off software update. This is true as the latest qt has caused problems for avid. The way I run my G5 and MacPro desktop is to have FCStudio on the main hard drive and a second hard drive which is a boot drive loaded with the avid. This is kept for avid only. I then have a pcie firewire card to run the mojo so disks go on the built in firewire. That works fine but I have now upgraded to external sata raid drives so thet the firewire problem goes away.
3. You may know this but only the mojosdi has sdi in/out. the light grey MOJO does not.
I tend to use the avid only for jobs which have been started on an avid. Then I copy the digitised rushes to my system and send the pjoject or an avb bin back to the main system for output etc.
Hope that helps avoid some of the costs I needlessly incurred.
John

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Just turned off background rendering.
I'm not certain what you mean for specs in a specific point in the video, but here are the specs for the entire edit I initially received:
Dimensions: 1920 X 1080
Codecs: H.264, AAC, Timecode
2 Audio Channels
Total bit rate: 12,083
Size: 951,735,770 bytes (951.7 MB on disk)
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Dimensions: 1920 X 1080
Codecs: H.264, AAC, Timecode
2 Audio Channels
Total bit rate: 12,274
Size: 966,817,082 bytes (966.8 MB on disk)
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NO you can't, but I just had to point that out.
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Very.
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http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/Compatibility/en350875
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Hello,
I'd greatly appreciate any recommendation for an external hard drive for a PowerMac G5 for use with FCP Studio.
Thanks.
-graziemile

We see alot of Lacie issues here and elsewhere.
Drives fail... period. I believe you hear more about Lacie drives failing because they sell a ton more of them than many other suppliers. I've got 8 of em sitting right here on the desk and two more at the second station. I've lost one since I started using them years ago (and it had problems right out of the box) and I use them pretty heavy.
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The guy said the G Techs were a little overkill for his needs. Lacie doesn't pay me. But if someone asks "how are Lacies?" I'll tell them they've been great for me and many others I know, especially if your requirements are capturing DV.
In five years, I ain't heard anybody say anything about it.
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The drives X mentioned are designed for video work.
What Studio said, well he gives out some of the best advice on this board
(and maybe the most! ) and my reply to his post... that's why I used the little smiley face. No offence intended X.
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rh

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Hi @ all,
I updated to FCP 5.1.2 to fix a dublicate bug with a Sony XDCam HD in 5.1.1 (http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3269745#3269745)
This Problem was solved, but now i can't connect my Sony DSR-25 with Firewire to Mac. I have only one Firewire Onboard Slot and in 5.1.1 the DSR-25 worked fine. FCP doesn't finde the Deck
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TOM

This is a good workaround for curing your camera recognition problem with FCP (if that's what it is):
First, check that your Easy Setup / Timeline / Camera or Deck Settings are all exactly the same, then making sure your camera or deck is in VTR mode, try to capture again.
FCP uses a different form of QT than iMovie for capturing, so if the camera works in iMovie (or if it's listed in System Profiler) but not FCP, it obviously means your Mac can see the VTR but FCP can't, so you need to do this QuickTime fix.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301852
Follow the instructions carefully and you should have things running in no time - it's quite safe but you must Trash the Receipts AND re-install QT from the link provided.
If the Camera / Deck isn't recognised by iMovie or System Profiler, try resetting the Firewire Bus . . . Turn off the Mac and disconnect the power and all Firewire cables. Leave it for 30 mins then connect back up.
Still not working? Try a different Firewire cable.
Failing all this, try resetting the PMU (Power Management Unit). The method varies from machine to machine, so visit the Apple site and search for it in support.
Don't use iMovie for capturing - it doesn't give you a timecode and that's very important.
Let us know how you get on!
Andy
Quad 8GB. 250+500 HDs. G-Raid 1TB. NORTON. FCP 5.1.2. Shake 4.1. Sony HVR Z1E Mac OS X (10.4.7)
"I've taught you all I know, and still you know nothing".

Non-functioning cross-dissolves with FCP 5.1 on intel

I am having trouble with FCP 5.1 running on my macbook. My cross dissolves work when used between two clips but as a fade to black, it doesn't work, or rarely does. I have 8 hours to finish this project to be showed at a wedding reception tomorrow. I've tried trashing the prefs and it did nothing, i emptied all my render files, checked for updates and nothing makes a difference. Please help, I'm runnng out of time.
Patrick

Thanks for trying...
Very strange...and not discounting your proficiency with FCP.
When you place the dissolve end on edit, the dissolve shows up on the end of the clip? but then the clip never dissolves to black?
Yes, the dissolve will show up on the end of the clip, but it plays back as if it is not there. This happens whether it is rendered or not. If I use a cross dissolve between two clips, it plays back perfectly. 'Some' of the clips will dissolve to black but the majority play back as though the transition is not there.
Any chance you're working with a 'favorite' dissolve that may have it's begin/end parameters adjusted?
Tried that and went back and got the original transition and made sure everything was set how it should be. I thought for sure it owuld be the prefs, but no such luck.
Any chance you've got your video layers scrolled downwards and there's a clip on a lower track?
No, I have made sure there is only one track with nothing underneath.
Are any of these clips nested?
Nope.
Thanks for trying though.

IMac which one with FCP 5.1.4 ?

Hello, I have been using a Powerboog G4 with my FCP no problem so anything would be better!!
Now that I have FCP Studio with Motion and would like to to upgrade. Can't afford a tower... So I'm getting an iMac but I'm stock with which modeel and graphics card is best.
The 20" it comes with 2 400firewires, the 24" with one 400 and one 800 firewire. Save the money or spent an extra $500??
I edit DV from a Panasonic DVX100. Except for Motion I have no other need for a super duper video.
Three options ( withstudent discount)
$1,900:
iMac-20", 2.33GHz, 2GB SDRAM, ATI Radeom x1600/256MB-VRAM
$2,336:
iMac-24", 2.33GHz, 2GB SDRAM, NAVIDIA GeForce7300 GTO/128MB-SDRAM
$2,449:
same as aboe 24" but w/NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM
To the above I have to add Apple care plan. If I get the more affordable option I can also buy an exteranl drive. with the other option, I'll wait.
Thank you in advance for your feedback.
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

It's always advisable to get the best that you can afford, but if you're going for the imac, you need an external drive so I'd recommend going for the middle option with a decent external HD.
Have you absolutely checked that you can't source maybe one of the earlier Mac Pro models via an authorized reseller or maybe the apple refurb store (the refurb store currently has one at $2199, I'm sure you could find one cheaper).
The imac is compromised in terms of expandability - do a search on this forum for more details.
Having said that, I coped for a couple of years with FCP 4.5 and a G4 imac and an external HD with no probs, so if you can cope without the expandability and you'll be sticking with SD you'll be OK - don't forget FCP 6 is just around the corner and you'll have to check the system requirements carefully to see if it'll run on an imac should you decide to take this route.

XL H1 24F with FCP 5.1.4

hallo dear FCP users,
I will be shooting a dokumentary in Berlin in the next couple weeks using 2 Canon XL h1 and will be editing the material on my Macpro 2,6 with FCP 5.1.4. I do not have an Aja Kona or anything like that and would like to edit the material at home, then when finished, take my projekt to a Post house where I can reonline the material uncompressed. I do have a few questions being that this is my first HD projekt...
I would like to use this 1080 24F setting on the Canon, are there any drawbacks to this. Would I be able to capture the material using my fire wire to Macpro? In my "Device Control" flip down tab I have only 2 HD settings DVCPRO HD 1080i 50 and DVCPRO HD Fireweire. Which shoudl I use?
I also have a slew of settings in the "Capture/Input" tab, I would imagen that I should use DVCPRO HD 100pA24 48kHz? is that correct?
If all this is possible how fat would the data be? I have some 400 GB free on my second drive. I am expecting a good 6 hours of material, 3 from each Camera, with 4 audo tracks. Would I have enough disk space for that, or should i run out and buy me another 500gb and set up a RAID?
If I were to set up a RAID are their any problems, is it very difficult? I have my normal mac drive 250 gb in slot 1 and a Maxtor 7H500F0 in slot 2. I have heard that there have been some issues with the 3rd harddrive slot? Should i avoind this? is it even necessary?
Ok thanks sorry to send so many questions at once. I would appreciate any help...
thanks a million,
Aaron
ps- i will also be doing some rather simple compositing with Shake. Would there be problems with this if i wold the re online my projekt?
mac g4, macpro 2,6 Mac OS X (10.4.9)
mac g4 Mac OS X (10.3)

I would like to use this 1080 24F setting on the
Canon, are there any drawbacks to this?
You should read and understand what 24f really is on your own
Would I be able to capture the material using my fire wire to
Macpro?
Yes as long as you have FC 5.1.2 or newer.
In my "Device Control" flip down tab I have
only 2 HD settings DVCPRO HD 1080i 50 and DVCPRO HD
Firewire. Which shoudl I use?
Well you can't use either of those listed because Cannon is HDV and if you use 108024p while shooting then that is what your capture should be.
I also have a slew of settings in the "Capture/Input"
tab, I would imagen that I should use DVCPRO HD
100pA24 48kHz? is that correct?
NO, follow the easy setup setting for HDV, 1440x1080 and read the manual of these Cannon H1's to know the edit time base for the camera record mode you chose.
If all this is possible how fat would the data be? \
Only 13 gi's per hour
I have some 400 GB free on my second drive. I am
expecting a good 6 hours of material, 3 from each
Camera, with 4 audo tracks. Would I have enough disk
space for that, or should i run out and buy me
another 500gb and set up a RAID?
NO you will be good to go.
If I were to set up a RAID are their any problems, is
it very difficult? I have my normal mac drive 250 gb
in slot 1 and a Maxtor 7H500F0 in slot 2. I have
heard that there have been some issues with the 3rd
harddrive slot? Should i avoind this? is it even
necessary?
No not necessary just make sure your capture drive is separate from the boot drive.
Good Luck
Z1&V1user

Compressor 2 with FCP 5.1 workflow

I've been reading about using Compressor 2 with FCP 5.1 and have been a bit surprised by some of the following suggestions:
These are from Larry Jordan's website:
"Compressor 2 has problems with both motion estimation and 2-pass VBR. If you are using Compressor 2 make sure to select 1-pass VBR Better and set Motion Estimate to Better. Using Best settings creates very poor video.
There is a lot of talk on the Apple discussion site that 2 pass VBR gives artifacts, especially on transitions and is generally to be avoided.
To compress the file in Compressor, DON'T use "Export to Compressor" in FCP -- it doesn't work reliably. Instead, open Compressor, then drag the file into Compressor and adjust settings.
In their effort to tackle the problem of overshooting data-rates in C1, Apple seems to have ruined the quality of 2-pass VBR encoding to some degree. I've seen quite a few cases now where 2-pass VBR doesn't look as good as the simple 1-pass.
The new version of Compressor has technology in it that is not duplicated using QuickTime conversion.
I have never been comfortable with exporting using QuickTime Conversion. For one thing, it automatically down-samples your movie to 8-bit. For another, it will not be as good a quality as Sorenson Squeeze for the web, or Compressor for DVD. Third, Apple removed the MPEG-2 compression option with the release of QuickTime 7. Finally, the codecs it contains, while adequate for home use, are not up to professional standards either in terms of file size or image quality."
So, from what I gathered from Larry's website...
Use VBR 1 pass instead of VBR 2 pass for best quality
Use Motion Estimate Better instead of Best
Compressor offers better quality compression than Export>Quicktime Conversion
Don't use Export>For Compressor from FCP, instead export a FCP reference file from Export>Quicktime and use that in Compressor.
What do you think?
Thanks,
Richard
ref:
http://www.larryjordan.biz/articles/ljdvdexport.html
http://www.larryjordan.biz/articles/ljbitrate.html
DUAL G5 2GHZ Mac OS X (10.4.6) 2.5 GIGS RAM

Well, different "experts" with slightly different views.
This from hanumang's response to Jerry Hofmann over in the FCP discussion forum:
FCP unrendered to Compressor 2?
hanumang, have you seen a quality difference using the compressor method?
Jerry
In my experience, yes, there is most definitely a difference in quality.
For sake of completeness, when it comes to exporting for DVDSP, this is how I'd break it down:
File > Export > Using Compressor on unrendered timelines in FCP. The best way to do things with FCP & Compressor - especially true if (as mentioned) you're working in some compressed format like DV and doing lots of filters, motion effect and compositing within FCP. In my experience, color correction comes out much cleaner on DV-sourced footage.
On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the best that Compressor outputs, this method is a 10
File > Export > Using Compressor on rendered timelines in FCP. While inferior to #1, this tends to work better on high-motion footage that needs to be encoded at a low bit rate (which I'd consider 5 Mbps or lower) than #3 because of the frame-by-frame processing. Also, transitions tend to come out better (again, at lower bit rates).
I'd rate this method a 7 out of 10
File > Export > QuickTime Movie with DVD Studio Pro Markers, then import into Compressor 2. While this rates at the bottom, in many cases it's hard to distinguish the output from #2 & #3 unless you're encoding at a 5 Mbps or lower bit rate
I'd rate this a 6 out of 10
In terms of encoding times, if #3 is my baseline, #2 takes about 2-3x as long. #1 takes about 4-5x as long as #3 for me (depending on the level of complexity).
Dual 1.42 G4, 2GB RAM, 9800 Pro, 20" Cinema; Mac OS X (10.4.6) Final Cut Studio 5.1

What is the Definative answer to JVC HDV 24p compatibility with FCP 5.1

I spoke with JVC yesterday and they claim that the 24p HDV codec is now supported with FCP. I am shooting a PBS piece in two weeks and wonder if it is safe to shoot in 24p HDV with the JVC HD100u. Is there a current state of the craft answer?
Dual G4 Mac OS X (10.3.7) FYI we are getting new G5 for this project

http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/prc/6436.html ...quote from this link...
Rob Schoeben, Apple's vice president of Applications Product Marketing. "The JVC GY-HD100U works seamlessly with Final Cut Studio today and future 24p support will give independent filmmakers an even more flexible HD workflow"
The article was written April 24th...note the statement "future 24p support"
You might check David Harbsmeier's response in this thread and the following link from that thread as a possible solution.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2307338#2307338
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2307338#2307338
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