Final cut express isn't detecting my DV camera?

Hi Marc,
More specifically, you need to use one of the following FCE easy setups:
DV-NTSC
DV-PAL
Which one depends on where you are located & what kind of miniDV camcorder you are using. If in North America you probably have a DV-NTSC camcorder. If in Europe it's probably a DV-PAL camcorder.
One other thing to watch out for is what audio setting you have in your camcorder. Most miniDV camcorders come set to a factory default of 12-bit (32KHz) audio. This is NOT the preferred setting for most video editing. The preferred setting is 16-bit (48Khz) audio.
If you filmed your video using 12-bit audio then the proper easy setups in FCE are:
DV-NTSC 32KHz
DV-PAL 32KHz

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Final Cut Express Isn't Importing SOME files

Hey guys
I've been using Final Cut Express to edit game footage I record on a Hauppauge HDPVR device. The device (and accompanying software) creates a .m2ts and then converts it to an mpeg4 file.
Now, I record all my footage this way, and 95% of the time I can import to Final Cut Express no problems. However, a few files won't, and I get the "1 file recognised, 1 unknown" error. All of the file types are the same, so its not a case of an incompatible file type.
Also, the file runs happily in Quicktime, but just won't import into FCE.
Any help would be great thanks!

The media needs to be converted into a format that is supported natively in FCE not into MPEG-4. I don't know what you're using to convert, probably Handbrake but that's not the way to do it. You could try ClipWrap but I don't know if it works with that camera.

Final Cut Express 4 ---- iDVD 7

is there a semi-easy way to get a Final Cut Express project into iDVD??
i realize i can use all sorts of compression settings and even export it to a DV stream,
but it takes quite a while considering the duration of the video...
also, the project i'm working on right now is in widescreen,
and it has trouble even keeping it at the proper resolution when exporting to quicktime movie..
it's somewhere in between 16:9 and 4:3
it looks squished...
anyway...
i'm thinking about saving it back to the tape,
and then importing it into iMovie,
and then from iMovie to iDVD
I'd do the 'one-step-dvd' feature,
but the resolution is terrible...
this seems like an annoying workaround that will discourage me from even using FinalCut (i have limited hard drive space... so two projects with uncompressed clips of 2 hour length are out of the question)
please let me know if i'm completely missing out on some feature...
since Final Cut Express isn't packaged with anything else for DVD authoring, i would think this is a fairly common problem...
Thanks,
-Nate

1) Have you tried exporting as quicktime movie, but ensure that the 'Make Movie Self-Contained' unchecked. This will save you conversion time and converting when it is typically not necessary (unless iDVD is on another Mac). i.e. here is a more detailed of what i am get at http://www.fcpbook.com/Misc2.html
2) Here is how to handle your 16:9 issue at least in part if not all http://www.fcpbook.com/Video9.html

Final Cut Express ignoring my camera!

Hello folks. I've been using a Canon Vixia HF10 for the last 7 months with my Final Cut Express. I just plug the camera in, set it to "Video Play," turn it on, and Final Cut Express recognizes it and begins filling up the clip queue.
Earlier this week I did some organizing of my desktop and decided to install a few updates I'd been lagging behind on. I don't even know if one of them was a FCE update or not, but now all of a sudden Final Cut Express just will not recognize the camera at all. Neither will iMovie. It's particularly frustrating because I can see that the camera is plugged in on the desktop, and can even play the files that are still on the camera via my VLC media player. I am fairly certain it's not the hardware causing the issue, but I can't figure out how to get FCE to pick it up via log and transfer!
I tried clearing the cache and setting the preferences to Plain Stereo as per the suggestions of some other threads, but like I said the program is just not picking it up at all.

Well, when I click Add Folder in the Log and Transfer pane, this is what I see:
http://loonybob.homestead.com/files/Picture_1.png
I can see the Canon drive, its several subfolders, and even the raw .MTS format video clips waiting to be edited. When I try to click "Open" on the drive, any of its subfolders, or a clip itself it says ""STREAM" contains unsupported media or has an invalid directory structure. Please choose a folder whose directory structure matches supported media." Thus leaving me with no way to import my clips.
This is really boggling my mind considering it has worked just fine for the past 7 months.

I have been creating a film on Final Cut Express and half of my film has disappeared- what can I do to retrieve it back!?

I have been creating a film on Final Cut Express and half of my film has disappeared! What can I do to retrieve it?! Furthermore, command Z doesn't appear to be working! Any help would be much appreciated!

Check the capture/scratch disc to make sure the media is still there. If it isn't your hard drive may be going bad. If it is, then you may have inadvertently cut part of the video from the Timeline or deleted it from the Browser.
As for the Command z issue, see how many levels of undo you have set in FCE preferences. Also keep in mind that Command z will not work if you close the project and reopen it.
-DH

Poor quality when exporting HD project directly from Final cut Express

I am doing some HD projects in Final Cut Express HD. I filmed with the Sony HRD-HC1 in 1080i. I import into FCE using the 1080i 60 preset from Easy setup. I completed the project and it looks great from FCE full screen. I export as Quicktime (not Using Quicktime conversion), and I get a perfect looking output file using the Apple intermediate codec, 1440x1080. The problem is that the client needs to play back the video on windows machine using Quicktime. The windows Quicktime does not support the AIC apple intermediate codec, so I have to export to another format. I tried everything exporting from FCE, MP2, H.264, DivX, everyone option. They all look terrible. Blurry, especially parts that have quick motion. Really terrible. I called Apple support, no love. I then tried taking the AIC version of the file and used compressor. It took forever, but came up with am OK MP2 HD file. It still doesn't look that great, but it is way better. So, is their something broken with the FCE exports using Quicktime conversion? Anyone have similar experiences or workarounds? I don't want to use compressor as I don't have it on my Mac Book pro, I had to move it to another machine to do that.

Being that the dimentions you suggested should be widescreen, I re-ran the conversion to your parameters, this time un-checking "Preserve aspsect ratio.. as letterbox" and this time it is widescreen. Not sure why, but it was putting the black bars on the left and right, not the top and bottom, scrunching to 4:3ish with that box checked. Strange.
Anyway, the quality is the best H.264 I have seen exporting directly from FCE. It still blurs quite a bit on the fast moving video parts, my MP2 version from compressor still looks lots better. Seems like there is some problem with exporting HD from FCE. It just is not coming out sharp, like the Apple intermediate codec version you get with Export - -> Quicktime movie or if you wait for compressor to do the work rather than FCE. Does compressor use a different engine, or does it use the same QT and just take more time to do a better job in the export? Something just isn't right.

Final Cut Express Vs. Final Cut Pro Vs. Adobe Premiere

Hey all,
I just bought my first Apple computer and I'm loving it. I have worked with Final Cut Pro in the past and I really enjoy working with it. However, $1000 is a bit steep. I would like to ask what your opinions are on maybe getting Final Cut Express or Adobe Premiere Pro.
I have the trial of Adobe Premiere right now, but whenever I place a clip into the timeline, it needs to be rendered. This was never an issue with Final Cut on the computers at my school. I was wondering if you knew if Final Cut Express would have better rendering times and wouldnt need as much rendering. Also, it may be the graphics card in my computer. If you think this is the problem, can you provide me with a solid video/graphics card that I should look into?
Thanks all,
Kevin

I own all three programs actually - here's my advice.
Stay the heck away from Adobe Premiere. It is no where nearly as Mac friendly and for the price, just isn't worth it. I purchased it for the Blu-ray authoring capabilities of Encore, so that's all I use it for. The plus to Premiere is that it can edit some native formats that Final Cut Pro cannot. For example, native AVCHD as well as MPEG-2 in program streams. That being said, Encore is the best option for Blu-ray authoring at a reasonable cost that gives you the ability to modify menus, etc.
Final Cut Express is a great application - my only reason for having final cut pro was my need to edit footage at 23.98, 29.97, and 59.94 fps. FCE only handles 29.97 (and 25 fps). Final Cut Pro also gives you the ability to edit more footage natively. FCE only supports DV, HDV, and AVCHD, with the latter two being transcoded into Apple Intermediate Codec for editing. FCP supports a myriad of formats and allows native editing in HDV - although it still transcodes AVCHD. FCP also gives you access to the ProRes set of codecs which are significant improvements on Apple Intermediate Codec that offer high quality in transcoding and editing.
So the real question is, what are you going to be doing?

Final Cut Express vs. Final Cut Pro

I assume a topic like this has already been discussed, but I would like to know what to do in my scenario.
I'm currently a high school junior, and I'm taking a media course in school where I have learned to use Final Cut Pro. Next year, I'll be taking it again, still using Final Cut Pro, and I may want to do some editing work at home, though it is not required.
The problem there is Final Cut Pro is very expensive, probably isn't sold without everything else in Studio box set, and I only have a 1.42 GHz SuperDrive eMac, with 1 GB RAM.
I've seen Final Cut Express, and I feel it might be the best thing to get at a reasonable price. I want to start making video projects outside of school, but iMovie does not allow me to do much. Plus, I won't be using HD, so there's no issue of it there. Could someone tell me what are the pros and cons in using FCP over FCE, and what will I not be able to do in FCE?

I think there's a lot of info on this subject on the FCE page on the Apple website.
This page: http://www.apple.com/finalcut/index.html should do the trick for you.
Bottom line is if you're going to be working in DV or HDV FCE should be more than enough for your needs, at least till you're making enough $$$ to upgrade. I know if FCE had been available when I left school I would have had the best tools around.
Have you looked into the Educational edition of FCS, if you can't bear the downgrade? Might be what you need.
Best of luck in your career.

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?

IChat Video Recordings into Final Cut Express 4?

Hello,
Does anyone have any suggestions as for the best way to import iChat (Leopard) video recordings (320x240 pixels) into Final Cut Express 4? FCE says the file type isn't supported.
Any help/suggestions much appreciated!
Paul

That's an interesting idea, I may try it for my future attempts.
This time round, I've just booted up iMovie 06 HD and imported it as 'isight' and used that program to work with the iChat video.
I think this is one of the things I miss from working with low-end PC video editing software like VideoStudio - you could specify the input video parameters, whereas I believe you need to go all the way up to Final Cut Pro to do similar on the Mac!

How do I delete tabs in Final Cut Express?

Final Cut Express 4: I know I can't delete whole projects; what I'm worried about is doing a bunch of short projects and having the tabs that show the titles of each project become so many I can't even use the program. If I do 5 short videos and have 5 tabs designating them, what happens when I get to 20? Or are they temporary files and will disappear soon? Thanx in advance.

You can delete entire projects, but it isn't a 'one button' method. When you start and save a new project in FCE, FCE will create several files and folders. First is the project file which will be saved wherever you decided to save it with the name you give it. Next, when you bring footage into a project using Log & Capture or Log & Transfer, FCE will create a folder for those files inside the Capture/Scratch folder - the sub-folder will bear the same name as the project. And then when you render anything in that project, FCE will create a sub-folder inside the Render Files folder and the Audio Render Files folder - both will also bear the same name as the project. FCE will also create folders for that project in the Autosave Vault folder. To delete a project completely, navigate those files/folders and delete them and your project will no longer exist, nor will any media or renders associated with it.
Here's a typical set up:
Macintosh HD/
     Users/
          Projects/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Project
               Smith Documentary
Media Drive/
     Final Cut Express Documents/
           Audio Renders/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
          Autosave Vault/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
          Capture Scratch/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
          Render Files/
               ABC Music Video
               Jones Demo
               Smith Documentary
To delete the project named "Jones Demo" navigate to where those files are stored and delete the folders named "Jones Demo" then empty the trash; the project and all of its associated media will be gone. The only files that FCE might create for that project that are not stored inside a folder bearing the project's name are the Waveform Cache files - I usually delete the contents of that folder when ever I'm finished with a project.
Personally, I keep all of my project files just in case I ever need to go back to a project. Project files are relatively small so hard drive space isn't really an issue.
As for the issue of having too many projects open at one time, that's a simple user error. All you need to do before opening a new or another existing project is to close the project you were working on. So if I were working on the "ABC Music Video" project and wanted to work on the "Smith Documentary" project for a while, I'd close the "ABC Music Video" Project, then open the "Smith Documentary" project.
-DH

Final Cut Express Log and Transfer files not playing audio on another mac

I recently purchased a new Mac Pro for video editing for work, and am having some issues with it. Previously i was working on a MacBook Pro running OS 10.4.11, on Final Cut Express 4.
I used Log & Transfer to get the AVCHD videos from my Canon HF 11 onto my mac, and had no issues. Where my problems started was when I moved my video files to my new Mac Pro running OS 10.5.6. Now when I open those video files in either Quicktime or FCE, the VIDEO plays but _not the audio_. I thought maybe the video files were bad, but when I tried the original files on the new Mac, they still didn't work. I don't know if there's some codec that isn't on the new mac or if there's some other problem... I just know that my new amazing machine cannot play the files that my 3 year old one can. I'm not new to computers, but I'm not an Apple guru. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Well I can try trashing the files, but I can't log and transfer the files again, as it's months of footage that aren't on the camera anymore. But i did find something else out. The files that were recorded with the camera's built-in mic recording is fine and with sound, but the files that I used my wireless mic setup had no sound. I don't know why that is, because they worked fine on the MacBook Pro. I tried log and transferring a new clip on the Mac Pro wit;h footage using the wireless mic, and still no sound.

Selling my "used" Final Cut Express HD

Hello,
I am going to buy "Final Cut Pro X". Therefore I do not need my "Final Cut Express HD" anymore. I want to sell it including the licence. Can I do that? And isn't the licence registrated to my name? So how can a switch to a new owner be done?
Edit: No need to answer - I already found the answer here in the community.

Yes I'll make sure it sell it to someone academically eligible.
Do I need to de-authorize it (or anything like that)? Or simply uninstall it?

What's the deal with Final Cut Express HD and me?

A few months ago, I encountered a lot of problems when I was trying to capture some HD video using Final Cut Express H.D. I've set my camera (a JVC GR-HD1U) to the MPEG2 setting, and I changed the set up in Final Cut to Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60. The good news is that I was able to capture for about 15 seconds. Then the capture stops, and a message comes up telling me that I have reached the end of the tape. Only I haven't.
So.....what's the deal here?
Is there something that I am overlooking, or doing wrong? Or is it just not meant to be for me to capture HD Video?
If someone could let me know, I would appreciate it.
Thanks everyone.

Am I right in thinking this camera isn't compatible/on the supported list? Does it work with iMovie? Perhaps you could capture there and import into FCE?
I see in your earlier post Manson Root had captured from this camera successfully. Perhaps they will reply again.

Final Cut Express REALLY loud beeping noise?

i've been using Final Cut Express for a few months now,
i have just started to edit a new video and i was listening back the music to see if it was mixed right, then a REALLY LOUD beep started. my macbook was on volume 2 out of 16 and it sounded as tho i had my laptop of full! or louder :/
what is this?
the first time i played the music, it didn't happen, but the second time it did? - it also did the same thing the other day!
-it isn't because i haven't rendered my music, because all my music and video is rendered. the noise is 100% louder than the 'unrendered' beeping

Beeping is usually an artifact of using iMovie video in FCE.
What exactly are your sequence settings & clip properties? (Frame size, vid rate & compressor).
And are you really using Final Cut Express on a Lion (10.7.3) machine?

Final cut express isn't detecting my DV camera?

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