Final Cut Studio 7 and Mac Pro RAID recommendations

I have a Mac Pro (early 2008) with 4 x 750gb SATA drives and 1 Promise DS4600 eSATA, decked out with 4 x 1TB 7200 RPM drives.
I am considering the following setup for the disks. I am trying to make sure there is enough redundancy in the setup to survive a hard drive failure and enough performance to satisfy edit and uncompressed HD capture needs over a BlackMagic Intensity card (120mb/s required):
1 x 750gb RAID1 System Drive - Macintosh HD (internal drives 1 & 2), block size 32kb
1 x 750gb RAID1 for FCP Scratch - ScratchDisk (internal drives 3 & 4), block size 128kb
1 x 2tb RAID10 for FCP capture - FCP Capture (Promise DS4600), block size 128kb over eSATA
…purchase something for Time Machine backup or use CCC (external firewire800)
Anything I've missed or anything I should or should not do? Thanks for the input.

I know of audio folks that use mirror for live recording and editing, yes, but there they need multiple drives and to spread out their tracks and libraries and plug-ins, not HD video.
There are excellent RAID6 card setups that make sense. And stick with quality drives.
Audio high-end anyway use to mean SCSI and FibreChannel.
So yes, move project files to RAID6 would be a good move. And do 'torture' the drives to death - BEFORE they are used - for like a week at least, to work and break them in and iron out any bugs.
Use Enterprise RAID Enabled drives, stay off bleeding edge and use safe trusted and reliable equipment (drives, controller, software). One of the real "killers" is if you need new hardware, are forced into an OS that hasn't had a year of testing and your applications usually take 6-12 months (or more) to really be certified.
There aren't a lot of RAID6 controllers, but there are some, and some SAS/SATA.

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Question: best Hardware set-up for final cut univ. and mac pro

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has used final cut universal with their mac pro and can recommend a hardware set-up (Processors, memory... ) they found best adapted for it.
my mac pro:
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
thank you
MAC PRO Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Final Cut Studio/video editing requires all four parts of a system…
1) Processor performance
2) GPU performance
3) RAM
4) Hard drive performance
… to be working in tandem. If any one of these areas a caught short then the system as a whole is disproportionately affected. It's one of the downsides to video is that everything needs to be working as well as it can.
So, what I would recommend for you is the following setup as your goal is something like…
Mac Pro 2.66GHz
6GB RAM (4 x 1GB + 4 x 512MB - I'm presumng you already have the 4 x 512MB)
ATi X1900 XT graphics card (or better - depneds on what's available at the time)
2 x Western Digital Raptor 150GB RAID 0 for boot and scratch
2 x Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500GB RAID 0 for data
Any further eSATA storage requirements for cloning, backup and data
Not cheap but should scream.

Final cut studio and macbook pro

hi i have final cut studio 2 currently installed on my imac, and it kinda slows my general use of the computer
i bought a new macbook pro (the new one with aluminum casing), but its only the base, and i have not upgraded it in any way, so it is as it comes
and basically i was wondering, if i installed the entire final cut studio 2 (and aperture), how would it affect the general speed of the machine when doing other general tasks not FCS related:
a) while FCS is running
and b) while it is not running
i also want to run games off of my MBP so i really dont want to compromise speed

It needs to be filled with RAM, and when running Pro Apps, in the faster graphics processor mode. Mail, etc. will likely run fine along side them. I'd not play games when rendering though.
When they don't run, they don't affect anything but disk space 60 gigs for it all including Templates... RAM is the key to running multiple apps on any given Mac.
Nice Mac too. I just saw one the other day for the first time. I love that new trackpad the most. It's likely a lot faster than my 2.3 laptop, and I can run all the apps at the same time no problem with it. But ya need to fill up the RAM. I like that it's so green.
Jerry

Final Cut Studio 2 (Mac Pro Or iMac)

Hi,
I am new to macs and I have not yet bought one. I need FCS2 for video editing but I was wondering if the new iMac with 4gb of ram and 1TB storage would be ok or should I go for a Mac Pro with as close specs as possible.
Regards
Kenneth

I would stick with the Mac Pro option. You can save some money by buying a refurbished model from the online Apple store. This is what I did with my G5 tower. You still get the same warranty as a new one all of the accessories are very complete and exactly like new the only difference is that the box and firmware indicates the computer is a refurb. When you get into editing you will want to expand your capabilities with better capture devices, additional storage, etc. The iMac will cramp you.
Best Regards,
David Finell

Final cut studio and Mac Book Pro ?

A simple question .... how does the complete suite FCS Universal works in a MAC BOOK PRO ?
if necessary the configuration will rise to the top (17", 3GB ram etc......)
Thanx L.

ps: Sorry for my rusty english!
Wait til you hear my Italian. Wait...I don't speak Italian. Wait til you hear my Spanish...2 years of high school and 3 of college and the best I can do is ask for another beer, and ask where the bathroom is.
At least they are two useful phrases.
Your English is fine.
Shane

Exporting scoring markers in Final Cut Studio and importing to Logic Pro

I want to export my scoring markers with the movie in Final Cut Studio and see them as markers in Logic Pro 7.2.x. I need to use the markers as "hit points" to calculate my tempos and effectively lay out my score based upon the action in the picture. I'm exporting the Final Cut Studio project to a Quicktime movie and choosing audio and video + "scoring markers". Thanks for your help.
TG

Don't bother rendering a movie out of LiveType, simply save the project file and import it into FCP.
LiveType outputs in the Animation codec only, so you will always have to render. Using the project file has another advantage -right clicking and choosing "Open in Editor" will drop you back into LiveType where you can quickly make adjustments, save and return to FCP with the changes in place.
To set project properties, you can use the Place Background Movie function in LiveType. Drop a short clip in and it will automatically adjust the properties to match. You can delete it once you have the settings. If you have Anamorphic video, you will still need to adjust the pixel aspect ratio -exact settings depend on the format, you haven't told us that yet.
Again, depending on the format, you might have to set the Anamorphic flag in FCP's Item Properties for the LiveType file.
When you view the FCP export in QuickTime Player 7 (not QuickTime Player X) make sure that the High Quality Playback preference is selected.
Typefaces in video:
Avoid using small, thin, delicate and Serif typefaces. They never work well.
A well known example of a Serif font is Times, which you should avoid at all costs in any case -it makes it look like you made the titles in MS Word. Stick with San Serifs with clear, bold strokes. Helvetica is a popular example of a San Serif.
If your titles are white, reduce the brightness to around 90%. Apply a shadow or border to distinguish them from the background. While it might sound counter productive, applying a tiny amount of blur can help too.
One more thing: Don't put your email address in the body of your post. The forums are open to anyone who wants to read them and by extension, web bots. They will harvest the address and bombard it with spam. We don't do personal email on the forums anyway -we share information amongst all users.

Final cut studio and space

i see that final cut studio and all the content within takes up a lot of space...can the various templates and content from motion, live type etc be installed on a separate external drive? and if so the pros and cons?
thanks

Templates and libraries (such as for Motion, DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Livetype, etc.) can be installed to an external drive during the install process. We do that for laptop installations.
It's best to always keep the applications in the Applications folder according to Pro support, but you can move the libraries anywhere you want or not install them at all.
If you do move them manually you can go into each application's preferences and set the location for the moved content. It won't harm them at all.

I am traveling with my macbook pro and I forgot to install final cut express and quicktime pro before I left. How can I in a way download them for free on my laptop from where I am

I am traveling with my macbook pro and I forgot to install final cut express and quicktime pro before I left. How can I in a way download them for free on my laptop from where I am? I need them and don't want naturally to buy them again!!!
Thank you

Assuming you purchased QT Pro, you can always download it again at no extra charge by logging in to your Apple account.
Regarding FCE, there is no way to download & install the product. You need an original FCE install disk and your FCE serial number.
Final Cut Pro X (aka FCPX) can be purchased & downloaded from the App Store.

Is there a difference between final cut studio and final cut studio upgrade

i wish to buy final cut studio and was going to buy from the apple store but they recently stopped selling i have found on amazon two final cut studios one call final cut studio and the other called final cut studio upgrade the upgrade one is cheaper so this makes me think is this just like an expansion and do i need the original but both have the same pictures, descriptions and specs so are they the same thing just with different names or what? please help

Final Cut Studio is the full install...where the UPGRADE means that it requires you to have a previous version. It is cheaper because it only works if you have a previous version.

Final cut studio and intel macs

How well will final cut studio run on the new intel macs that were announced today? thanks for the help!

According to Apple the new intel machines will not run the current version of Final Cut Studio. You either have to wait until March when they release the Universal version or you can buy the suite now to run on your G4/G5 then get the Universal suite for $50 in March.
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/topquestions.html

Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Studio 2

At work, we have a Mac Pro running Final Cut Studio (original) and recently acquired a G5 and would like to purchase Studio 2 for it. Are Studio 2 projects compatible in any way with Final Cut Studio? Are there any compatibility packs for this?

FCP projects are not backwards compatible so a project created in FCP 6 will not work on FCP 5.
The workaround is using [XML exports|http://developer.apple.com/appleapplications/fcpxml.html].
G.

Final cut studio and mavericks

Is there a version of Final Cut Studio (I only need Finaul Cut Pto (and essential software to make it work) which will function with Mavericks?
I am too old to change again how to do things and unfortunately I need some software which only works with the latest systems.
Many of my plug in require vast ampunt of money to work with The new FinalCut, and frankly I don't like the video editing philosophy behind it. Is my opnion but it plays a role in my request,
I hope someone will give me some hints. Else I need to switch from one Disk in my Mac Pro with Snow Leopard to the other with Mavericks ... and is a great waste of time.
Thanks to everyone if there is a suggestion, and super thanks to the ones who will not suggest me why don't I learn the great new things, In that case the reply is here: I edited all my life with flatbed mechanical hardware: we had up to 7 screens to choose our takes from. I moved happily to digital, but editing is about giving tempo to the best take, and later to work on sound and effects. at 70 I learned already whatever I need to learn and I do not want to look at any manual anymore.
Thanks

There are copious amount of posts explainging this in depth in the discussion, its asked a number of times each day. So rather than add to the confusion, read the replies from the guys who are long time FCP 7 users and are running Mavericks and when you have a specific question, post back.

Final Cut Studio and Mountain Lion?

Not finding a clear answer anywhere. Can I install Mountain Lion over Snow Leopard, and have the new ML system recognize my Final Cut Studio (7) and its ancillary apps like Color and Soundtrack Pro?
I don't have the time to re-install the whole FCP shebang. But I would like to upgrade to Mountain Lion.
Ben

Thank you mishmumken ...
I remember how long it took to do the last install. And my FCP is running sooooo smoothly. And my discs are sitting in another city ... a two day drive to fetch ... or a border to cross if I have them shipped. Tsk tsk tsk.
Maybe I'll do the Mountain Lion on my laptop, to try it out ... and see if my currently installed FCP will still run properly (you do say 'it is recommended', but maybe not absolutely required, my risk). And not touch the tower, where I do most of my work anyhow.
Very much appreciated mish,
Ben

Does Final Cut Studio have QuickTime Pro?

I have Final Cut Studio. I have been told part of the package is QuickTime Pro. If this is true, how do I activate it?

How do you backup registration information? Is this something done routinely by Time Machine?
Most of my applications have a registration code and either a purchaser name or email address. I am simply creating TextEdit files containing this information and storing them in a centralized folder which is then copied to each of my RAID drives for archiving, as well as, 2 USB thumb dives for mobile access. In addition, since Apple no longer backs up my QT MPEG-2 Playback component, I am storing the last three versions of this component on the same storage devices. As to Time Machine, it backs up changes to applications and documents which may or may not include the registration information depending on how it is stored relative to the application to which it refers. Unfortunately, I may manipulate hundreds of GBs of video data in a single day so I had to turn off Time Machine because it was not able to keep up will all the changes. The Time Machine-like routines that track changes at the application level under Lion are good enough for my normal daily work. My main interst is the protection of several TBs of archived documents and projects on the external RAID drives. If push comes to shove on the main system, I can always re-initialize/replace the internal drive and re-install the System OS and applications. (I.e., I don't keep anything on the internal or external boot drives that I can't afford to lose.)

Final Cut Studio and OS 10.5 problems

Since upgrading to Leopard on my G5, DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Motion have not been working properly. DVD Studio Pro opens but none of the program-specific pulldown menus appear at the top of the screen. DVD Studio Pro, File, Edit Project, Arrange, etc. pulldowns are simply missing. In addition, all other pulldown menus in the program (e.g., First Play, Background, Overlay File, etc. appear but do not function. Soundtrack Pro and Motion also have the missing menu bar items, but I haven't had time to see if other functions are also affected. Final Cut Pro appears to be working normally.
Fortunately (and a bit mysteriously), I have the same programs on my Macbook Pro and they seem to have been unaffected by the transition to 10.5. I had upgraded that system first and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly, so I decided to upgrade the G5 as well.
I've trashed preferences files to no effect and was hoping to find a solution short of reinstalling all of Final Cut Studio or, worse, the OS. Any suggestions or reports of a similar nature would be appreciated. Thanks.

ill just add what I am experiencing to see if anyone can help. I have no problem with drop down menus or DVD studio pro. I am using the FCP 4.5 however.
Here is my deal.
I've got issus with Leopard - perhaps with everyone else on here. Specifically. I am trying to make m2v of my FCP project. I first attempted to send it to compressor with the response from compressor being "no background processing able" This happened once before a long time ago and I have NO idea how to correct that. I installed complete new software on another drive and the same thing happened. Is FCP 4.5 not compatible with OSX10.5?
Also I tried going through quicktime conversion but I could not select mpeg2 compression. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT when I installed 10.5 - any idea how to restore that?
If that wasn't bad enough. I went to titanuium toast 7.1.2 and tried burning a FCP DV file just to test. I get the message Mac OS error- cant burn!!!
HELP!!!!! How can I get compressor to work, or quicktime mpeg2 compression plugin back to confiugre through FCP, or just burn in toast?
Thanks!!!!!

Final Cut Studio 7 and Mac Pro RAID recommendations

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