Flip mino or flip ultra HD to use in imovie and final cut express

i am contemplating either flip mino HD, Flip ultra HD or creative vado HD. Which one has a good video quality and design style? Is it necessary for 2 hrs movie or actually i like the flip mino coz its slimmer but only takes 1 hr video. By the way, What kind of format the flip camcorder will save as coz someone says its .avi but some says Mp4 format? If in Mp4 format, is the quality still good? most of the time i will shoot in ultra hi definition setting. I will use imovie and final cut for edit and does the Flip compatible to imovie and Final cut? How about creative vado? any recommendation?
But most likely i will get the flip.

The Flip cameras are easy to use and pocketable.
Unfortunately it is their very simplicity that drastically limits what they can do.
They are OK for someone who wants to take daft pictures of their friends and post them on YouTube but for serious film-making they are non-starters.
They record low quality highly compressed video onto an internal memory.When you have shot your 60 minutes of video you can’t use the camera any more until you get it to a computer and download it.
The lens is a small aperture fixed focus with no zoom.
Actually to be correct there is a 2x digital zoom, but as we all know, digital zooms are a total waste of time and only reduce the quality still further. You can get the same effect by enlarging your picture 2x in the computer - not to be recommended.
So what at first sight, to the uninitiated looks like a very cheap camera, quickly turns out to be a very expensive toy.
Much better to buy a proper camera (which won't cost all that much more) like Skalicki suggests.

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Best Settings using the new Canon HV30 and Final Cut Express HD v3.5.1?

My wife presents programs at schools and uses digital movies that we make and edit as one of her media materials. We want to present higher quality videos that look more film-like. I am hoping that the combination I described above will enable this improvement. In the past we used a Canon ZR20 and iMovie HD and put these on DVD's that were then played on a MacBook Pro with with QuickTime or iDVD hooked up to an Epson PowerLite projector.
I am now the proud owner of a new Canon HV30 and Final Cut Express HD3.5.1 (had FCE for a while so know how to use it). From my research, though, it looks like FCE will not be able to handle CINE MODE recording in combination with 24fps progressive frame rate [HDV(PF24)] which would allow the enhanced effect of the Cinema Mode. I can't justify the cost of Final Cut Studio 2 so I am hoping that the new [HDV(PF30)] will allow me to more easily edit in FCE.
Does anyone know if this is true and if so can please tell me the settings that I need both on the camera and in FCE to get the best quality movie that can played directly from my MacPro using QuickTime or iDVD or from a DVD in the MacPro using the iDVD player. I won't have the opportunity to always play the videos directly from the camera to an HDTV because of the school setting and the need to use a projector.
I know this is a lot to ask for, but I am sure that it will come up again and again as more people purchase this new camera. Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Lou Hosta

Without totally repeating myself with my post to MaccyLeopard, I haven't shot any footage yet. After doing a lot of reading I think I confused myself more than helped myself as far as settings go. So if you remember from my initial post I am asking for advice and guidance primarily on camera settings with the HV30 that will be used in a classroom (artroom) setting and then edited using FCE HD v3.5.1. I wish I was the type of person that could jump right into using a new piece of equipment but I like to get the advice of others beforehand. That way I'm not always questioning myself as to 'whether or not is this the best I can get'. I also am wondering if the 30fps frame mode would be the best to use in the classroom setting? From my reading, this mode should allow more light onto the tape allowing me to shoot in conditions with lower light levels that are typically found inside? Finally, is FCE HD able to edit this new 30 fps frame mode of the HD30? I've heard that FCE HD can't handle the 20 fps frame mode.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out.
Sincerely,
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Any suggestions for an animation program using photographs that can be incorporated into iMovie or Final Cut express?

Any suggestions for an animation program using photographs that can be incorporated into iMovie or Final Cut express?

The MTS files will always be grayed out. Do not drill down into the folder structure. Select the top level of the AVCHD folder structure. If this is a hard drive it may take a very long time to load. People have reported 20 minutes to half an hour.
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Can't burn dvd that plays on dvd player. seems to be in file format. do i need extra software? using iMovie and final cut pro trail..both same result. have macbook pro 2012

can't burn dvd that plays on dvd player. seems to be in file format. do i need extra software? using iMovie and final cut pro trail..both same result. have macbook pro 2012

NStrange wrote:
... confused about which video format(s) to use (e.g.: SWF, MPEG4, etc.), and whether or not I should use 3rd party compression software (e.g.: Sorenson Squeeze, Compression Master, etc.) along with / in addition to Final Cut Express (among other similar issues)...
FC/e is based upon the Quicktime-engine; so, on 'Export using QT', you'll get all codecs & settings.
but which one..
due to sheer popularity, YouTube became a 'standard' - I'm happy with the convenience, YT and the 'embed'-code offers - excellent quality, automatic adjusted to the watchers connection&hardware.
my export settings are 720p, h264, 6MBit/sec - gives a - imho! - superb quality.
(example of a 'screen-test' from my latest project CLICK )
for creating so-called 'flash video'/.flv, you need 3rd party apps.
Sorenson Squeeze is more of an pro-tool, .. you need some background knowledge to get noticeable 'better' quality.
.. and the question is: are you willing to pay $.$$$ for that 0.x% more quality .. ? does your source offers such a 101% quality, which needs such affords?
if bandwidth is an issue, because you're hosting on your own servers, consider the free codec xh264, you can install as a free QT-plug-in.. with low or super-low bitrates, it offers a superior quality compared to h264 ...

Xacti HD and Final Cut Express -- It used to work great! How do I go back?

I have a Sanyo Xacti HD700. It gives me 1280x720 MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 files, which my Mac just loves. I used to be able to quickly edit the clips together in Final Cut Express, export using complementary QuickTime settings (specifically, those recommended by Vimeo for HD playback), and get beautiful MP4 files, relatively quickly.
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Here's how my videos used to look:
http://vimeo.com/1067235
Here's how an exported video looks now:
http://vimeo.com/1655414?pg=embed&sec=1655414
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Using 'Auto-Tune' with Final Cut Express HD...

Is it possible to use the program 'Auto Tune' (or a similar program) to correct the pitch imperfections on an audio track of an AIFF file - then re-import it into the audio track of a Final Cut Express HD project?
Thanks,
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crap.
Ok, maybe you can answer a follow up question. So, I'm new at this.... but I understand that I will have to convert the video then. In that case, is there an optimal video conversion type that I should use so that I lose the least quality? I am using MPEG Streamclip as my conversion tool.

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In March of this year, I switched from being a long-time user of PC's to a 24 in. 2.4 GHZ iMac. In late May I purchased Final Cut Studio 2 and Aperture and have greatly enjoyed using both of these applications on my iMac. Both run with no problems under Leopard which I installed shortly after it came out. I am now considering the purchase of Logic Studio since I have enjoyed midi sequencing and audio editing for years on my PC's but wish now to do this on my iMac.
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Hey everyone again!
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many thanks.

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Anybody use Canon ZR950 with Mac Laptop and Final Cut Express

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I have my old Mac listed as my current computer (I use it to record music as it does exactly what I need). I've been looking at the new MacBook pro - wouldn't that work?
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Message was edited by: 2008stilllearning
Message was edited by: 2008stilllearning

Recording using Stereo Mics in Final Cut Express

Hey guys, I'm a complete newbee to recording video and was wondering if anyone could offer some help. Basically, I'm trying to record a music videos to upload on to you tube. I have a Macbook Pro, a Cannon HF100, 2 x CS1000 mics, FCE and an Mbox audio card.
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What would be the best way of doing this? At the moment, I'm comletely stuck.
Many thanks in advance.
Lee.

Hello, and welcome to the FCE forum!
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It is possible to record video and audio separately, and import them separately into FCE, but then you have the problem of sync'ing them in FCE.

Flip Video on Final Cut Express

How do i get HD video files shot on my flip video camera to play in final cut express? It doesn't seem that FCE is recognizing the video format created by flip video.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Hi David,
here's a link to a really good explanation complete with a short video - it's for the Kodak Zi8 but should work the same for whatever you're using.
http://www.reelsocialmedia.com/2010/01/how-to-use-the-zi8-with-final-cut-express /
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Hope this helps you
Best
JC

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Hi, thanks you for your quick answer. We used photoshop elements 4.0 (for Mac) and Final Cut Express HD 3.5.1 (Mac). The still image that we bring into FE is a mask, it has a transparency so I guessed is layered. When we bring it into FE appears as sequence so we open it into a timeline and bring it back to the browser so it can be used as a still image. The movie is projected as DVD on the wall.

Using music in Final Cut Express

I loaded music into iTunes. It's music written and performed by my friend. I'm editing a video for him.
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How can convert my songs to that I can edit and use music.

Ideally, you should use should use the original file instead of MP3/AAC.
And you don't use MP3 in Final Cut Express.
See this -> Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express: Convert MP3 and AAC audio files for compatibility before importing

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I've just recently bought one of those flip video cameras (http://www.theflip.com) which is great, but I can't seem to get the footage imported into Final Cut Express without it then needing to be rendered when I place it on the timeline.
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Thanks!

Hi Simon,
in addition to Martin's instructions I suggest you to make sure, in MPEG Streamclip:
- you actually select Export to QuickTime (not Export to DV)
- you set the right frame rate (frequency), that is 29,97 for NTSC.
Personally I usually set Interlaced Scaling checked, and Deinterlace Video unchecked, but I'm not sure these are the right settings in your case.
With the above settings you should be able to import the resulting video into FCE without requiring any initial rendering, if the FCE Easy Setup is DV-NTSC.
Warning: I use MPEG Streamclip 1.8 (the latest as fa as I know) where the Frequency parameter is in the Export main window.
Piero
Message was edited by: PieroF

Flip mino or flip ultra HD to use in imovie and final cut express

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