Certain tapes crash FCP during batch capture

I'm doing an autoconform from HDV tapes via Blackmagic Decklink HD Pro, using HD uncompressed 10bit. I'm digitizing via SDI (Sony 1900) and while I've managed to capture 75% of a 100min doccie there are 8 tapes which crash FCP when I try to batch capture them. Any suggestions?
I'm using FCP 6.0.4 on Quad Core 3Ghz intel mac pro with the BMagic Decklink HD Pro card.
Thanks

I read a few more posts and thought I'd be more thorough and add more info.
I'm in PAL space, HDV shot at 108050i and I'm capturing using the BlackMagic HD uncompressed 10 bit codec.
My Quad Core 3Ghz has 8Gb of RAM, I'm monitoring via HDLink to 23" Apple Cinema Display and I'm capturing to a rocket Raid controlled 1.8TB RAID made up of 9 200Gb platters. The RAID was newly formatted just before the job began. And as I've said, I have captured 75% of the footage already.
Thanks.

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FCP 5 Batch capture broken...

I've been fighting with FCP since version 1, so I know it's not a simple case of bad prefs or something, this is a real debilitating problem... HELP!!
I'm using a Kona LS and a rented A500 Digi Beta deck and I just upgraded to FCP 5 and now batch capture no longer works. It started out with drop frame messages while trying to capture 8bit to DVCpro50. last week with fcp 4.5 I was capturing 10 bit uncopressed on the same set up. the only thing i've changed is the recommended system updates (security, etc) before upgrading to 5.02. I'm capturing to a series of g-raid 500s. AJA tech support told me to get a FW800 card, so I did and the drop frame messages went away, but then FCP started shorting the clips. what I mean is that on a 45 minute capture, it stopped 3 and a half minutes before the end and sent me back to the insert reel window with "Ready" next to the clip and the wrong, shorter time showing for the capture length. Now I've noticed that if I try to batch capture a clip the logged duration does not match the capture duration. I've tried rebooting from my backup drive with 4.5, and it has the same problem, so I think it was one of the system and or QT updates that broke things.
I've tried the latest updates, I've tried a manual uninstall and re install, i've tried going back to an older version of QT, I've tried qoing back to FCP 4.5 but nothing works.
Any one come accross this yet?

Have you tried resetting your fcp preferences? You're going to have to do some digging to find out how to reset them as it's been years since many of us have worked in fcp5.1 Someone may pipe up, but if not, do some searching here and google.

Failed Batch Capture - Broken Timecode

Hello,
I'm attempting to capture some old footage from a project I had done in Premiere about a year ago.
There is clip in particular I'm trying to capture where the timecode was broken - premiere attempts to capture the first 8 minutes of my clip and then stops and gives me an error stating that the timecode was broken.
Is there anyway to force premiere to capture this clip all the way through and ignore the broken timecode point?
It's not a big deal to capture the clip "manually" but the problem is that I had split up and edited this clip so much, I'd rather batch capture it so that it will automatically appear on my sequence and I won't have to re-edit the whole thing.
Thanks!
FOO

I also have a Canopus card (in a system with Premiere 6.5) and broken timecode ("timecode hell" as I call it) was really only an issue when the tape pre-rolled over the break point during batch capture.
Do you still have the old Canopus .avi? You could use their util for CDVC <-> DVSD conversions:
http://download.videohelp.com/download/Canopus_DV_File_Converter.exe

HDV Batch Capture Preroll

Others have had the problem of not being able to do effective Batch Captures due to the computer's inablity to locate the timecode (it seems especially true of Canon cameras and HDV--so, the XLH1). The solution is to just capture the whole tape and then delete the unwanted clips. I'm wondering if there is a smoother way of fixing this problem.
I can get FCP to batch capture as long as I'm willing to sit by the computer and tell it to "Continue" 3-5 times each time it has to fast forward. The computer fliddles around the timecode point until it finally decides that the timecode indeed exists.
Thus, it's not that the computer doesn't know what the timecode is at that moment. Rather, it seems to get hung up on just when to strat rolling so it can begin capturing at the right time. This, as far as I can tell, would be a Preroll problem.
So, is there a way to force FCP to give the tape a little more space and just start rolling? Or, could we petition for Apple to give the computer a bit more time? Or... something.
Any other ideas, thoughts, comments? Am I way off?
Sorry for such a long post.
~Luke

Hi everyone,
Just thought i'd take a minute to post back and update the forum with the outcome. After many more tries and batch capturing with HDV and DV and in great frustration, I came upon a wonderful post (sorry can't remember who/where) in which the OP said they were having the very same issues as me. The solution was staring me in the face the whole time: Quicktime.
All I did in the end to overcome my problem was to plug in the camera, check QT preferences were set to source: HDV camera and Native resolution, then just hit play on the camera and start up a new movie recording!
This captures the tape in one complete clip. Though obviously it does not pull across timecode, and due to the nature of manually hitting play on the camera and record in QT, would make it difficult to reconnect media in the future, however it HAS successfully captured footage in its original resolution, ready to be imported into final cut and subclipped.
Hope this helps someone. It was by no means my ideal workaround, but having backed up the file taken from QT, has at least saved me this once!
Thankyou for all your help,
Best,
Adam

Help with Batch Capturing, Timecode Issues?

Hi Final Cut Pro Pro's. I've just come over from Avid.
I have a problem with capturing - I have a lot of tapes to capture and there is no way I will make deadline doing it by individual capture - I need to batch capture. My tape shows no timecode breaks and I have already spent hours logging all the various clips. It shows it has registered all of the media start/end timecodes, but when I click on batch capture, it says
BATCH CAPTURE: TIMECODE ERROR: UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SPECIFIED TIMECODE. YOU MAY HAVE SPECIFIED A TIMECODE WITH INSUFFICIENT ROOM FOR A PRE/POST ROLL OPERATION.
I don't understand as there is clearly a functioning timecode? This is going to break my balls if I have to go through this individually, no time! Anyone? Any ideas?
Thank you.

I'm capturing from the camera directly, a Sony DSR-250...
It turns out that yes, if you have marked the in/out point too close to the head or the tail of the tape, or even if you have marked it okay and are currently at the start/end of tape when pressing on batch capture it cannot send the command to the device. If you move forward or backward accordingly by five or six seconds it doesn't come up anymore.
Thanks for all the responses, I'm going to make deadline now. Apple forums are my hot hot S€X.

Batch Capture from Offline Sequence

I have some older projects that I need to revisit and since the original capture files are no longer around I told FCP to batch capture the sequence from the original media (actually AVCHD files on folders). However it only brought in about 80% of the footage leaving the remaining 20% offline.
I went to the browser and manually brought those files in - so I managed to recover the sequence in the end, but is there anything I could have done wrong to make it only bring in 'some' rather than 'all' the offline media for a given sequence?

Create a new sequence and delete all the audio in the timeline. This should reduce the amount of media needing to recapture. It still may show a time larger than the length of your sequence. Even with out handles. Not sure why.
Also, make sure all the clips have timecode and a reel number. It won't deleted the unused portions if it doesn't have it.

Batch capturing entire tape...recomended???

Is it a good idea to attempt to batch capture a tape in its entirety? I am having problems doing this...I do a lot of events that last often over 2 hours. Instead of capturing footage in clips, I just capture the entire tape. When I'm done with the project, I simply make the clips offline.
I'm in the process of reviving a project now, and one tape in it's entirety(55 min approx), captured OK, but I am having problems with another tape. I am getting a broken timecode error, when I don't see how this is possible...because I let the tape freely run. Also, under the logging info, the media ends before the tape ends, which means that is space left on the end of the tape without any timecode. Yet when I batch capture, it still goes to the end of the tape.....isn't a batch capture suppose to go by the clips media in and media out points?
All help is greatly appreciated.

I do this often. There are two shools of thought on this method -
Capturing entire tapes allows one to scroll through non-linearly and make subclips. The advantage to subclips is that they are serachable and you can add comments. The downside to this method is that the files are large, and you may be capturing much more metarila than you need. I often do this when working on docs with very high shooting ratios. The most recent one had 190 tapes for a 1-hour program, which led us to use offline RT for our cutting format and then recapture for online.
Logging and capturing single clips fives you the advantage of starting out capturing only what you know you might use, you can input the logging info at the start, and will have several small clips that may be easier to manage. Since at some point you'll have to familiarize youself with the matreial anyway, you might as well do it at the logging stage.
Several factors can contribute to perceived TC breaks - reusing tapes, camera stops, shooting format (HDV, for instance, will show a TC break each time the camera stops). If you are capturing whole tapes, you might do well to let FCP create new clips on TC breaks and just let it roll. Make sure the TC format matches between your tape and settings (DF vs. NDF)
Regarding rolling off the end of the tape during capture, you might be very close to the end with the clip you are capturing. You might try lowering the post-roll value in the device control preset in your A/V settings.
Hope this helps -
Max Average

Batch Capture Error: Timecode Error: End of Tape Reached

I have been having issues doing batch capture with my JVC VS30U. I logged all my clips on the fly and did the entire tape, so the OUT point of one clip is the same as the IN point of the next clip. When I attempt to batch capture it gives this error between every clip.
I have to hit retry, sometimes more than once, in order for the deck to properly cue and FCP to start the digitize. I don't know if this is a weird pre-roll issue, or something else, but it completely defeats the purpose of a batch if I have to sit here and hit retry after each clip.
There are no TC breaks, and obviously its not really the end of the tape. I've read where people have similar problems, but didn't find a solution. Have already trashed prefs, but to no avail. Using FCP 5.0.4 with OS 10.4.3 and said JVC deck via firewire.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

I don't know the deck but a simple test would be to move a couple of i/o points so they are not adjacent. Or test with a single, longer clip and break it up into subclips.
Tell us what you've tried so we don't waster your time and ours with fruitless suggestions.
Errors displayed by FCP are usually irrelevant and rarely helpful.
bogiesan

Batch capturing tapes Wowsa what a Hose! Please Help...

Hi all, i have a bunch of tapes I did not shoot. Yesterday I was on a mbp with latest FCP and a Sony DV Cam. Long story short, the MBP burned up and the Sony had to leave for a shoot. So today I have the same tape with a new Imac and a Canon XL1s cam. The iMac was restored using Time Machine, so it's the same software. The Canon cam will record and allow me to capture just fine...but with the tape I was using yesterday, I get all kinds of broken timecode errors. I can't even recreate the a clip from yesterday, even though in the Log and Capture window I can see that the timecodes match up between what was logged on the Sony and what I want to capture today on the Canon...arg!!!! any idea on what to do?
I tried going device control=none (or whatever) and I get "Capture encountered a problem reading the data on the source tape. This could be due to a problem with the tape. Capture has been aborted and your clip has been saved.
The video looks okay but the audio is all choppy, so perhaps there is some strange thing between a sony and canon on audio? I can't get ahold of the shooter as he is out in a village somewhere shooting, but he told me he shot the tape in PAL SD 16bit audio, and what was captured on the Sony the other confirms that. I think. Very confused and stressed out now...first a blown PC, now this. Thanks!
It seems when I try and log a clip, say 30 seconds, and go to batch capture it, FCP is stopping a lot and saying [locating timecode break (press 'esc' to stop]. FCP pauses here for some amount of painful time, then continues with the capture. And is captureing random bits it seems. If I turn off device control, I get Capture encountered a problem reading the data on the source tape.
I was using a Sony the other day and the same tape was capturing fine. Now I have another machine and another camera, a Canon XL1s, so I am not sure what's up. Can anyone help me diagnose this problem?
If I record a bit of film on the Canon and capture that all is fine. I don't have access to the Sony anymore, so what to do?
The timecodes look consistent

You should try this on the Final Cut Pro forum.
Are you sure it's a PAL camera?
"The iMac was restored using Time Machine, so it's the same software."
You can't install pro apps like this. It will always causes problems. You must install the software properly on a correctly installed OS. Restoring will not provide a correct OS installation for pro apps.

FCP "general error" on hdv batch capture

help!
i am trying to batch capture around 3k clips that went down when we installed a bad raid controller card that scrambled our RAID, and also 28 hrs of HD footie. OUCH!
anyways i'm trying to batch capture as much as i can to retieve our logging notes and rebuild some of our assemblies, but FCP keeps kickin me hard. after a reasonable amount of success, FCP generates a GENERAL ERROR message, leaving me unable to capture anymore (every time i hit batch capture i get the general error)...
I hate HDV n all, but i think this one is coming from FCP as after i re-install (3 hrs later), i can start crankin out the tapes again....
any ideas how i can avoid this boys n girls? its really killing me and making our sundance deadline of sept 18 a bit of a dream.
peas
andrew stromotich
www.dropframestudios.com

reinstalling FCP rarely fixes anything. If you want to be sure you have a good installation, you need to do an erase and reinstall of the system drive. This gets you a clean version of OSX, FCP and QT. If that doesn't work, you likely have a hardware issue.
Good luck,
x

Batch capture bug.... keep asking insert tape after already captured

I know that many ppl also has this problem: after finished batch capture, instead of the "done" screen pop up, it says "continue" or "cancel". If I click "continue" the tape then re-capture. If I click "cancel" then the clips are there "captured".
So is this a known bug? I trashed the preferences but no help. also this is the new installation on the the brand new drive on my quad g5.
anyone has any luck finding out why?
thanks
JP

I am also having this issue with FCP 6 after updating from FCP 5. I get the continue button instead of the finished button. Clicking on the cancel button allows the capture to finish, where as clicking on the continue button would just recapture the clip again.
I hope there is a fix for this issue soon.
I also tossed my FCP preferences, but that had no effect on the problem. I also am capturing on a G5 quad 2.5Ghz.
I have an additional copy of FCP 6 installed on my Mac Pro 3.0Ghz Mac and this issue is not there. But I should also say that the install was on a pristine install of the OS X, with no other copies of FCP having been installed before.
It looks as though this may be an issue with the G5/quad Macs.
I'm probably going to wipe the drive on the G5 and install the OS again, to a pristine state again, then install FCP 6, just to see if this issue may be due to a previous copy of and earlier FCP having been installed. Sometimes updates don't work and a wipe of the drive an fresh install of everything is needed.
This is defiantly a new issue for me, but I have also had other issue in the past that required this draconian kind of measure to fix past issues.

BATCH CAPTURE TAPELESS workflow still FCP is looking for a capture device when going ONLINE

Hi,
I am working on a documentary and about to go online with my edit.
I used Sony FS100. Tapeless. I did Log and Transfer to ProRes 422 in FCP 7.
Later when I run out of space I used Media Manager to RECOMPRESS everything to ProRes Proxi. Worked well.
But now when I try to batch capture to ProRes 422 FCP is looking for a capture device thinking I am working with tapes.
How do I make FCP undrerstand I am tapeless? Does the recompress kill the possibility of bach capturing back to online full quality 422?
Thanks for the support!
Gabor

I have read through some more forums and I only found one mention of the Media Manager 'Recomress' function.
It said:
"Transcoding with MM (recompress). It preserves timecode/reel name, file names, etc... Except the clip ID, which is used along with reel name and timecode to batch capture from source files (at least for P2)."
Clip ID is the metadata relyable for the work of batch capture. It seems without it it is impossible to batch capture.
I wonder why they designed Recompress like that, if it is true?

File Crashing FCP - Can import from different tape brand be at fault?

I always use Sony Premium mini DV tapes and import my video through my Sony DSR-11 miniDV deck into FCP.
I was recently handed a Fujifilm miniDV tape. The video imported fine. But once I dragged it to the timeline, rendering any transitions or filters caused big gray boxes to appear on the video. Sound also fell. I was able to make it work - but the exported file retained the boxes at different places each time I exported.
Now the file doesn't open at all and it crashes FCP. All other files on my system still open and export fine except for this one.
My question is 1. whether the change of tape brand can cause the import to go haywire.
and 2. Is there any way I can open this file? I trashed preferences and restarted with no luck.
Any suggestions ar emuch appreciated. Thanks!
Dual 1.8 GHz G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 4 GB DDR SDRAM

I've never had the same experience, so this is purely speculation.
Changing brands used in the same camcorder has been reported as the cause of recording & playback problems. But, since the playback from the DSR was okay, I'm guessing the brand isn't the problem.
Could be the camcorder settings don't match your FCP settings?
What if you copied the Fuji tape to Sony tape in your camcorder. That way you would have control of both the tape and the camcorder settings.

G5 - Leopard Upgrade & FCP will not capture instead causes Crash of FCP.

I looked elsewhere on the forums and could not find my same problem.
After the upgrade to Leopard with my FCP it all seems to work just fine. Unless I try to capture. And at that point FCP crashes. I have this same thing happening on 2 machines. Where before the upgrade it was all fine. This happens with or without camera attached.
Any ideas?
FCP version 5.0.4
OSX 10.5
One thing you would like to hope is that Apples stuff works on their system. I really do not want to upgrade computers this week.
I have tried reinstalling the software (FCP again), I have repaired permissions.
Thanks for any help
Christopher

I have the same problem, log and capture just crash if I have the HDV capture preset selected, I cannot capture any high definition footage! I am running Leopard, FCP 5 and latest quicktime. It crashes FCP immediately I click on log and capture.

BATCH CAPTURE QUITTING DURING COMPRESSION

I'll try to simplify an earlier question:
Why, during COMPRESSION would I get the message,
"BATCH CAPTURE APPLICATION HAD TO QUIT UNEXPECTADLY?"

Did you ever get a response? I'm having the same thing happen once I start compression. Compressor was doing the same thing until I deleted the pref file. That didn't fix Batch Monitor though.

Certain tapes crash FCP during batch capture

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