Final Cut Express HD Footage

Hello, a friend has supplied me with video footage taken on an HD camcorder. He has supplied the footage on DVD discs. I usually import my video through the capture feature directly from my non hd camcorder, but of course I can't do that in this case. If I try to import the files they are not recognized. Can somebody please help?

Hi
DVD - is no standard as is - Can be a Video-DVD to be played on DVD-player/TV or a Data-DVD containing whatever file format/Codecs possibly.
So Please. Put the DVD into Your Mac and tell us what files comes up when You open it o DeskTop/Finer e.g.
VIDEO_TS & AUDIO_TS or .avi, .mov, .mp4
If the last three ones - Then You have to open them with any player that works e.g. QuickTime, VLC or mpegStreamclip and tell what codecs that were used as neither .avi, .mov, .mp4 are such but just containers.
Yours Bengt W

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Final Cut Express-Capturing footage off of mini dv with no timecode

Hello,
For some reason my canon xm1 isn't showing timecode from the mini dv. I've already played footage from the same mini dv off of another mini dv deck and it did show timecode. Now Final Cut Express won't allow me to play clips in because it has no reference. Is there a way around this?

Hello Franco,
Welcome to the forum. There are lots of good people here who can provide advice & help.
What is your exact hardware setup - are you using any external Firewire hard drives? What version of FCE are you using; what Easy Setup are you using in FCE (DV-PAL, for example).
Did it work before or has it never worked with FCE?

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.

Anamorphic Footage on DVD...Final Cut Express 2.0.3 & iDVD 4.0.1

Hello again everyone,
My latest project involves 5 short QuickTime Movies edited together in one sequence in Final Cut Express 2.0.3. I am trying to now burn that sequence to DVD but I am having some "issues"...
Three of these QuickTIme Movies are DV PAL Anamorphic and the other two are DV PAL (not anamorphic) and all five have been edited into a DV PAL Anamorphic Sequence in Final Cut Express 2.0.3. This works great when viewed in the canvas.
What I have been trying to do next is export the whole sequence using File/Export/QuickTime Movie so I end up with one whole exported QuickTime Movie, containing the five other QuickTime Movies, that I can then import into iDVD 4.0.1.
The export works fine and I can import the new QuickTime Movie into a PAL iDVD 4.0.1 project but the footage looks 4:3 and not anamorphic.
When exported the QuickTime Movie does not seem to have preserved the pixel aspect ratio of my sequence (anamorphic)...
Can anyone please offer some advice here? What is the best way to export Anamorphic PAL sequences out of Final Cut Express 2.0.3 as QuickTime Movies that can then be imported into iDVD 4.0.1 (or DVD Studio Pro and other apps) with the correct pixel aspect ratio (Anamorphic PAL)?
Is this something that iDVD can't handle and needs to be done in DVD Studio Pro or do I need to change my export settings in Final Cut Express 2.0.3......or do I need to export it from Final Cut Pro instead?
Regards,
Justin Pamenter

I think iDVD 5 is the first version of iDVD to support anamophic. Sounds like you did the right stuff in FCE. You had the Easy Setup on anamorphic when you captured and when you created the anamorphic sequence.
Take a look at the iDVD forum or Google "iDVD Anamorphic".

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

Is it really true that Final Cut Express cannot import full HD footage?

I have seen a comment on the Apple store website for Final Cut Express saying that FCE cannot import 1940 1080/ 60i/24p/30p frame rates, converting them to a degraded 1440 1080 14p instead!
I have bought a Canon HF100 on Ebay, and it is shipping from Canada to Britain by surface mail, so I have a few weeks to sort out my editing software. I was planning to buy FCE, but when I saw that comment I was surprised to think Apple haven't got a leading edge program for editing HD footage, which is the coming thing. I have trawled through all the posts in this forum, but with my head spinning I am still not sure what FCE can do.
So in desperation I am asking for a simple answer from someone: can I import the best quality footage I will shoot on this camera and retain that quality in FCE, or do I have to look for another program? And what would that program be? Please help me!

Hi Ian, thanks for getting involved with my potential fiasco to help me out! I have just been on ebay and saw a british person selling a vixia camera, so I messaged him to ask about this issue, and this is what he has replied:
"A good question! You are quite right, UK frame rates are 25p and 50i. This used to be an issue with analogue cameras with NTSC vs PAL, but with HD, it is no detriment at all, in fact it is an advantage. Firstly, it means you get more frames per second, so you get less blurring with fast moving objects and have more raw material to work with; secondly, HD TV's will automatically recognise the format and play the footage with no issue; finally, if you do need to output at 25p or 50i, any decent editing package will convert the frame rate. A quick bit of maths shows that a long GOP under 25/50 is 0.6s long, whereas under 30/60, it is only 0.5s. I import the clips into the PC, edit them, render into a single file, then use Nero 9 (the only software currently able to do this) to create an AVCHD folder back on the camera, so that the finished film can be played out in glorious full HD using the HDMI port. Hope this helps! "
I'm not really clear on what he is saying with regards to showing the footage... can only play it via the camera? Means cannot burn DVD? Uploading to Facebook not an issue?
He says editing software can convert the frame rate, so can that be done in FCE? What do you say, Tom?

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.

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

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

Capturing Footage from Canon HV40 to Final Cut Express Issue

I own a Canon HV40 camcorder and shot a short film using the 24p HDV 24F Cine Mode feature (for film look). I've captured the footage into Final Cut Express, but the footage is running at a faster speed. I know this may have something to do with frames per second in the user preferences section.
Does anyone have the concrete solution to this problem and will I have to recapture my footage under a different setting?
Please advise.
Thank you!
- Eric

Hi Eric,
FCE only supports frame rates of 60i, 30p, 50i, and 25p. To edit 24p footage you'd need Final Cut Pro.

Delivering DVCPro HD footage for editing in Final Cut Express

Is there any way to prepare DVCPro HD footage in Final Cut Pro 6.0.6/FCS 2 so it can be edited in Final Cut Express?

You will have to media manage it to the Apple Intermediate Codec. FCE doesn't do DVCPRO HD.

Can you edit AVCHD footage from a DSLR in Final Cut Express?

We're planning on using a DSLR that shoots AVCHD video as a B Camera on a shoot that will be edited in Final Cut Express for posting on You Tube. Will this work in Final Cut Express?

Yes, provided you convert the video to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec before importing it into FCE.
Many users like MPEG Streamclip for this purpose, and it does a great job.
If you are using a Canon DSLR there is a plugin for Final Cut Pro but not for Final Cut Express, so you have to convert the video yourself before importing into FCE. (In Final Cut Pro, the EOS E1 plugin allows you to directly Log & Transfer from the 5D and 7D).

Loging and transfering 60fps footage in to Final Cut Express with out it changing it to 29.97fps?

When I "Log and Transfer" my footage to Final Cut and the footage was filmed at 60 frames per second it always changes it to 29.97 frames per second. I need the footage to be 60 fps so it can be in slow motion. But if I start using the clips else where like After Effects CS5 it has the frame rate of 29.97 as I said before. Then my footage is kind a useless regarding the slow motion part.
Thanks in advance.
Jakob!

I have been trying for three days to the same thing.
I did get the video content off my camera via imovie 08 but the quality is very poor.
Haven't worked out how to improve the quality yet, I also tried importing the video
via ADVC 110 analog conversion device but that doesn't improve the quality.
I do have Final Cut Pro & MPEG-2 Codec and have been searching for the video in the camera's
hard drive but can not find it.
Can you tell me where Sony told you to find the video files so that I can try & import it to Final Cut Pro.
Thanks
KGovey

Final Cut Express won't capture audio with the video anymore, why?

I have used Final Cut Express 4 for over a year now with no problems, but recently I am unable to capture any audio with the video from my camera. I can do it through iMovie no problem. I can't figure out if I changed a setting by accident because everything looks normal to me. Could another program be interfering with this? Quicktime Pro? I have no idea how to fix this.

First of all, we need a bunch of information in order to help. Please provide the specs of the footage and the sequence you are using. Also, are you using DV, HDV, or AVCHD? Do you hear audio when the clip is played in the viewer, or is there no audio at all once the clip is captured/ingested?

Final Cut Express on last legs, it seems.

I am having major problems with my Final Cut Express these days. I can't ever capture more than 10 minutes worth of camcorder footage without the whole FCE suddenly freezing up on me. I then have no choice but to Force Quit & end up losing the 10 or 15 minutes worth of footage captured. Quite often I can't even get that far...when I click on "capture now" it goes into "allocating disc space" and just freezes up again. Force Quit all over again.
I am using a Crossfire external hard drive so there is plenty of space. Even the Macintosh HD has lots of space...so I'm not sure it's related to that. I have made tons of movies in the past, without such trouble....but as time has gone by it has become more & more unruly. More prone to crashing & siezing up. Is there any way I can uninstall the whole thing, and start from new with restored factory settings? Or is there a way to clean up the mess (if there is one) which is apparently clogging up the works? I am using an Apple iMac which I have owned since 2003, with Mac OSX version 10.4.11.
1.25 Ghz PowerPC G4
with 1GB DDR SDRAM.
The Final Cut Express version I am using is version 2.0.2 (from 2004).
Please help ! I used to be able to crank out tons of movies with minimal effort, now it's a nightmare!

Check out Armando's suggestion first but if the problems persist take a good look at this FCE troubleshooting article.
I would particularly recommend trashing the preferences first and if that is ineffective uninstall FCE as described and reinstall it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24195?viewlocale=enUS&locale=enUS

Final Cut Express HD Footage

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