FCP Searching for time code break on capture

Hi. I've been filming a few live events and capturing fine. This morning i went to follow the same procedure and Final cut Batch capture keeps searching for a timecode evert couple of minutes. It's looking for a break that isnt there. This means my footage is sticking.
Any suggestions?

Do you have a tape that you captured successfully in the past? If so, try and capture from it. If it captures properly, the new tape with the problem may be defective.
You might try getting a head cleaning tape and see if that helps.
What kind of drive are you capturing to? You might try another drive. Make sure you have plenty of empty space on all drives connected to the computer including the computer's startup drive.
Do you have any antivirus software installed on the computer? if so, turn it off or uninstall it.
Have you installed any software or system hacks since you last successfully captured material from this camera?
You might run diskrepair and disk warrior (if you've got it) on all drives. You might repair permissions on the startup drive. You might try deleting fcp preferences.

Similar Messages

"Waiting for time code" while Capture Now

My Sony DSC-TRV 460 (Hi 8 digital, not HD) camcorder (digital video output activated because the tape is an older, analog) is attached w/firewire. Click File > Capture. The capture window appears and its controls do control the camcorder and I can watch the tape w/audio there. According the Help, I set the tape a bit before I want to start, click Play (or spacebar), click Capture Now. This launches a big black window that says Final Cut Express w/Apple logo. At the bottom it says "hit escape to exit," "device must be in VTR mode" and "Waiting for time code." The same camcorder with the same settings brings video into iMovie HD with no problem so I could workaround that way. How to get FCE to do what I want, though?

I've accomplished the task several times with my Sony Digital-8 camera. Since the tape is analog there's no timecode (which iMovie doesn't look for) and you must use the DV Converter setting in easy setup. I think you're right about the on-screen transport controls: you won't have them. (FCE thinks it's just listening to a converter box -- same as if you connected a VCR to the D8's analog ports, assuming the 460 offers that feature.) Try a reboot to clear things out. Turn on the camera then start FCE and check the Easy Setup settings. Use Capture Now and press the 'play' button on the camcorder.

WAITING FOR TIME CODE....again

Hi, when I try to capture from DV device, the capture window appears "PREVIEW DISABLED" I can remote the dv device, mark time code in or out, play tape, pause tape, the time code in the capture window run and is the same taht the tape, but when I do batch capture, cpture clip or capture now, the preview window of catpure says : "WAITING FOR TIME CODE" "DEVICE MUST IN VTR MODE WHEN DEVICE CONTROL IS ENABLED" and when I abort the capture this message apperas: "THIS OPERATION COULD NOT BE COMPLETED AS THERE IS NO VIDEO", Quicktime pro is unabled to capture too, but IMOVIE capture without this problem. I download the firewire sdk from developer connection of apple and use AVCVideo Cap, and no problem for cature, so , my Firewire or dv devices are ok, with DVHSCap I capture PRO HD JVC very well.
Resume , I think there is a problem with quicktime and DV format, My Ibook G4 with FCP 5.0.1 capture from DV devices OK, without problem. If anybody resolved this please comment with us. I work to day with FCP 6.0.4 and quicktime 7.5 and Mac os 10.4.11 and 10.5.4 the problem is afected my PowerPC G5 and my powerbook intel. Another point of interest is that this problem is RANDOM, some times I can capture from DV devices in the first time, some times I can't capture.

Hey AL
How ya doin buddy?
"Either way, try an Easy Setup>DV Converter, to match your video standard (Pal or NTSC)."
Yep - did that
Yes actually my older Sony TVR-310 camcorder IS a digital unit which can also play back analog tapes.
As I'm getting my way around now in FCE, I'm coming to some conclusions in regard to FCE's capture capability.
First let me say that I've also tried capturing some footage in FCE with my other Sony TVR-950, and have had dropped frames, and also breaks in time code.
I thought dropped frames were strictly a PC issue?
Anyway, it appears to me that FCE is VERY sensitive to time code issues NO matter which camera is in the chain.
In fact, I've also read here where folks have a lot of trouble with their Canon GL2's as well. Some of you have even suggested to do your captures in a cheaper Mini DV, or a clam-shell playback machine. This conserves the heads on your GL2 as well.
But why would FCE do better in regard to capturing and time code, with a cheaper Mini DV Camcorder? Perhaps I'm missing something here?
Perhaps iMovie doesn't care about the same issue?
Now my main question is:
Ok I'll use iMovie6 HD (tried and true), to capture ALL my footage and just save the DV files to be edited later (imported) into FCE.
Does this sound like a viable solution to FCE's time code issues?
Will my iMovie captures be JUST AS GOOD as if they were done in FCE?
Thanx so much guys!
Mike

Final Cut Express Time Code Breaks At Random Intervals

Ok, so i use final cut to edit my videos that i use a Samsung miniDV cam to film. When i hook it up(through firewire) and start capturing footage, final cut tends to create time code breaks randomly, usually while i am in the middle of talking, so after the time code break search finishes, i end up loosing a few seconds of footage. Is there a way to get around the time code breaks, or does anyone know why this happens and has a solution(preferably the later). Thank you in advance.

I think the problem may be with the Samsung sc-d382 camera during taping. I have the same Samsung and the same problem. I also have a Canon gl2. I tried putting the Samsung-recorded tape into the canon and loading the tape into FCX that way. It still had time code breaks about every two minutes, never breaking at exactly the same time or frame count. Forty minutes of recording becomes 24 different little films. This does not happen on tapes recorded in my Canon gl2. Only on tapes recorded in the Samsung. I don't know if this info will prove helpful. For me, it proves frustrating.

Time code breaks when ingesting

I have shot some PAL footage on the Sony PD 170 in DVCAM and I have ingested it. However when I ingested it there are countless time code breaks. On 1 x 40min miniDV tape I got 15clips - I usually ingest each tape as a whole clip and chop it up as I put onto the sequences.
The breaks have sometimes happened between shots and at other times in the middle of shots then it simply continues in another clip. Here as the Media Start and Media End times for Tape 1 from the Sony deck:
00:00:41:22 to 00:01:45:04
00:01:37:18 to 00:21:44:01
00:21:47:15 to 00:32:45:19
00:32:47:18 to 00:33:27:18
00:33:29:18 to 00:38:13:04
Then same tape from the camera:
00:00:44:11 to 00:01:44:03
00:01:37:18 to 00:24:22:22
00;24:28:04 to 00:32:43:11
00:32:47:19 to 00:32:25:11
00:33:29:19 to 00:38:12:07
I have ingested from a Sony deck and from the Sony PD 170 camera with the same result and the breaks almost match although they are not identical - there can be anything from 8 frames to 2 seconds difference in where the break happens - sometimes earlier and sometimes later.
I have two cameras and they have both done it and each tape (9 Tapes) has broken 3-15 times
I have tested ingesting on another computer with a newer version of FCP and the same thing happens
I had been having this problem occasionally when shooting in DV mode but never as extreme as this.
Any ideas please would be much appreciated.
Catherine

Could be any number of things. Since you get the same result when playing back from different sources I'd think it was a record issue...
TC breaks between shots, camera power downs when shooting.
In the middle of shots, dirty heads, bad tape tension or other camera problems when recording etc.
From the playback end, you could try changing to the FW BASIC setting. I know that makes a difference with my Canon camera, not sure if it will help with your Sony but worth a shot.
You could also dub the tape to a new tape so that you get clean code start to finish and try capturing from the new tape.
rh

Time code break

I'm doing a short video piece, got a time code break warning after 10 minute capture. What's the consequence of this, it's just a 5 minute piece that will be easy to edit, do I have to be concerned about this?
thanks
Jim

What codec are you using and are you connecting via firewire? we recently upgraded our edit bays to 6.0.5 and a new issue that has come is very similar to what you describe.
we shoot reality tv and so the timecode breaks on our tapes create perfect clips for us using the "Create New Clip on timecode break" option. We shoot on Z1Us in the HDV format. Since the upgrade, we randomly get a notification saying capture aborted due to timecode break. we can roll back the tape and the next pass will work.
I know HDV timecode is fickle but its weird that it start in a later version of FCP 6 and not 6.0.1

Mpeg Steamclip and time code breaks

I have a dvd (.vob)which has been saved onto my desktop.The footage was originally shot on a beta camera and I received the dvd for it. I have been trying to use MPEG streamclip so that I can edit it using Final cut pro. I tried doing that but the prompt comes up as "time code breaks" when I try to export all the files. but when I try to do them individually them come up as a "slide show".
What is the best way to convert this footage so that I can edit it in Final Cut Pro? Moreover I have various video files in various formats (.wmv, .mpeg, .asf and .avi) how can I convert all of these so that they can be viewed using the quick time player?
thanks!

I'm not sure what audio settings you chose. If the FCP sequence you're using is a typical DV, 29.97 fps, 48KHz stereo, then you should try to match that when you export from MPEG Streamclip. If there's anything that differs between the audio you've imported and the rates expected by the sequence, you'll be shown that it needs rendering. The message, and the red line, both show that. Either go back and see what your export settings were, or just go ahead and render the sequence. Option-R will render both the video and the audio for the whole timeline. Look at the Sequence menu for other render choices (it gets tricky!).

Locating Time-code break GL2

When trying to capture video using FCP Studio from my GL-2, I'm getting the message "Locating time-code break" and it will not let me capture clips. When I hook the camera up to a different computer it captures the clips just fine, so the time-code on the tape is fine. This leads me to believe it's either a software or hardware error. What can I do to fix this?
Thanks,

Since my last post I have run into this same error with my g4 powerbook running final cut studio 1 (See stats below). I'm now having the same issue with a new macbook pro (2.4 GHz Intel, 2G Ram, running final cut pro 5.1.4.). I'm using the same GL2 but with different tapes. I'm thinking the issue might have something to do with the camera connection (Based on the post above). I only have one firewire port, which is attached to my external drive, and my camera is attached to my external drive. Also, I'm using firewire basic as the input selection. Why would the connection cause a timecode error. I know it's not an issue with the camera or the tape because I captured last night on an old panasonic, which worked fine. The problem is I won't always have access to that camera to capture.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Time code breaks.

I recently imported a video to my hard drive using MacTheRipper. I wanted it to be in .mov format so I selected all the .vob files and ran it through MPEG StreamClip and chose "Export to Quicktime" [under the file menu]. This took about 20 hr to do and my end result is footage that "lurches" along (stops & starts every few seconds) and the sound is out of sink with the footage. I then desided to try it again by opening one file at a time, instead of all of them. Every time I open the first .vob file I get a message "Warning: the stream may have timecode breaks". So I ran "fix time code breaks" [under the "Edit" menu]: It says that it has found 11 breaks but they don't seem to get fixed. I keep running the "fix breaks" routine and each time it says there are still 11 breaks. There doesn't appear to be any "breaks" in the other .vob files but the first file seems to be messing up my sound/footage sink in the whole video. Am I missing something here?
My reason for importing to quicktime is to edit some of the video but I think this may be a wast of time if I can't resolve the sound/video sink issue. Any help is appreciated.
I am running a G4 466MHZ, 1Gig RAM, Quicktime Pro 7.0.2 w/MPEG2 plug-in, MPEG Stream Clip 1.3.1, Toast 5 Titanium, MacTheRipper 2.6.6
[email protected]

Rokaem
You mentioned that you didn't know what size the stuff was because you dumped the ripped image file, yet elsewhere say :
The "ripped" footage has 6 .VOB files totaling 4.59GB.
That sounds like an unlikely figure for a custom DVD-R (up to about 4.2Gig would be more likely)... just stick the DVDR in and get info on it for data/file sizes...
I suggest you look at dvdbackup, dvd2one and similar tools... which rip any DVD to an 'imageable' file, and squeeze 2DVDs worth of data onto one,
b respectively.
(dvd2one & similar will cost you quality - maybe too much with your material).
Toast is a great tool, but there are a lot of other ways to write DVDs
I would counsel that the best approach to your needs is mentioned above/earlier : simply dupe the DVD.
If you want to add /edit material you're getting into authoring - a much more complex area - particularly if you want to avoid transcoding/recoding etc... There are potential 'showstoppers': one example:- The commercial service might/probably have used tools not practically available to you - like hardware multipass variable bitrate (VBR) MPEG2 encoding (which usually gives smaller files and better quality). Most of the simpler faster tools (1 hr vs 30-90hrs) available to you are Constant BitRate (CBR) which normally gives much larger files.
In any event, you definitely want to avoid transcoding/re-encoding the original material - it's a very bad idea. (Simple 'assemble' edits, as suggested by other folks using a tool like mpegstreamclip to simply 'snip bits out' can be done to avoid most transcoding but you're still going to be confronted with an 'Authoring' task. Adding new material is unlikely to be straight forward for you).
My suggestion: simply dupe the DVD. (Fast, & There'll be no loss of quality at all).
If you have additional material, Author another.
Best wishes,

Unusual time code breaks

Hi
I've read a lot of the posts here on time code breaks, but none have touched on why I'm having a LOT of time code breaks in places where I am absolutely sure the camera was rolling and not turned off for example.
The wholed download process for editing is a nightmare and I'm not convinced yet that dubbing to another tape with a fresh timecode will be the answer to this problem.
Any one out there had the same problem and knows what to do?
Cheers, and hope to hear from you.

G'day!
My camera is a Sony PD170 - we've had it checked out twice and have been assured that it's not the source of the problem - I'm not so sure however...
What typically seems to happen when I log a tape (Sony MiniDV dv exellence) is that I have a spate of timecode breaks in the first 5-10mins of the tape and towards the end. The picture/audio quality starts off ok but degrades to the point where there are timecode breaks about every 5secs. Inspection of the tape reveals that it does get chewed up.
I clean the heads everytime the logging issue gets progressively worse - to the point where I'm in danger of stripping them! Could it be that the camera does not repsond well to the incessant rewinding/fast forwarding involved in logging? Is anyone else having these particular problems with their PD170s?
Arghhhhhh....

I have this formatted search for WharHouse Code in Document

Hello Experts,
I have this formatted search for WharHouse Code in Document
declare @WhsCode char(8)
if $[ODLN.Series] = '1077' set @WhsCode = '970'
else set @WhsCode = '01'
select @WhsCode
and i would like to add to it:
If an item has a default warehouse so it is to appear in a row (when not '1077' series) and if the item does not has a default warehouse then the warehouse eill be 01.
Your Help Please!
Thank You
Meital

Hi Meital,
Try this:
SELECT CASE WHEN $[ODLN.Series\] = '1077' THEN '970' ELSE ISNULL(T0.DfltWH,'01')
FROM dbo.OITM T0 WHERE T0.ItemCode = $[$38.1.0\]
Thanks,
Gordon

How do I capture and ignore time code breaks?

I'm using older version FCE 2 and want to capture an entire 20 minute tape without stops and starts. Is it possible or should I dub video to another tape to avoid time code changes?

Set the Easy Setup to DV Converter (PAL or NTSC), create a NEW Sequence and capture. That should do it.
FCE>User Preferences has an Abort Capture on Dropped Frames check bow, try turning it off if capturing other than the DV Converter.
Personally, I'd dub a DV copy and avoid potential sync issues later on.
Al

Dealing with time code breaks on the source tape

Some of my source tapes have broken time code, because of "empty space" between recordings. What's the best way to deal with that if you want to be able to automatically recapture video from a tape?
Thanks.

There are a few possible solutions depending on what you need from the tapes.
You can dupe the whole tape onto another camera or deck (via firewire), or use capture now to grab the whole tape. You'll need to edit the preferences to only warn on timecode breaks, and not create new clips at breaks.
You could also set the FCP capture controls to be a 'non-controllable device', this means you need to hit play on the deck and use 'capture now' in the log and capture window. The only problem with this is that the timecode is not from the tapes, it is generated by FCP to fix the breaks, so batch re-capturing won't work (bad news if the breaks mash up the audio etc).
Duping the tapes can be done by using just one camera and your mac. Capture via the 'non controllable' device method above. Then drop the footage into a sequence and then print that to tape. Then use this tape to capture from & you have footage that will recapture at a later date if needed.
Timecode is a real pain if you have many breaks, duping is often the easiest solution.
There are more posts on this topic on this site, try the using the search.
Drew

Can't open MOV files in FCP: "Searching for movie data in file..."

I know this has been posted before, but none of them seem to match up to what I'm all of a sudden dealing with. I have 4 MOV files that I'm converting to WMV. Movie 1 & 2 exported fine. Now, however, any time I try to open another MOV file, I get an error that it's "Searching for movie data in file..." and the file name is ALWAYS the same. The weird thing is, the file it's looking for is none of the 4 movies I'm working with. So how did the first two work and this pop out of nowhere??
I have cleared out the render cache. Dumped all the cache and prefs files I can find, etc. Restarted the machine. Started FCP with the Option key held down.
I've searched everywhere, but people usually seem to come across this error while opening FCP (I'm running 6.0.6). This only happens when I open a MOV file (oddly, I can open WMV files in FCP without issue).
HELP!

So, I open the movies in QT and the EXACT same thing is happening. So it appears the guy who created the videos did something when he was making them (probably made a reference files along the way). I'm having him re-export the MOV files.
So, it's not a FCP issue.....

FCP searching for a file issue?

Okay, every time I open any project with FCP 6.0.2 it keeps looking for a file from a completely different project that I haven't opened or used for 8 months (this file has NO relation to the current project). What happens is a little dialog saying searching for the file, with a "Stop" button, then if you hit stop or it of course does not find the file, the dialog comes up asking to search or cancel. Well I hit cancel, then the project continues to open, then it comes up a bunch more times and I just keep hitting cancel until the project is completely open and I can then edit it. Any ideas short of a full FCP removal and reinstall to get rid of that? I've tried deleting caches, preferences, etc to no avail.

The message you are seeing is not from Final Cut; it is from QuickTime. Final Cut is asking QuickTime to validate the disk file for one of the project clips, and the clip appears damaged.
Note the name of the file that QuickTime (inside Final Cut) is complaining about. If you reimport that file, the problem will go away (most of the time).
If this is happening for 15 or 20 files, it's a major pain the neck, I know. I have never heard an explanation of what causes this. (Is it Final Cut munging the files? Is it QuickTime?)

FCP Searching for time code break on capture

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