Format mismatches: 1080pA clips into FCP timeline

Question

For my HVX, in FCP, I'm using the suggested preset for 1080 24pA which cites a compressor setting of DVCPRO HD 1080p30. When I try to drag the clip into the timeline it says there is a mismatch--that the clip does not match the preset and I have the option to change the sequence setting to match the clip settings or not. FCP advises that one change the sequence to match the clip property, and so if I opt to change that sequence setting, when I look at the sequence specs the one thing that has changed is that now the sequence setting is DVCPRO HD 1080i60.  That is, it appears from this that despite having checked the box in Raylight to remove the 2:3:3:2 pulldown, this has failed and clip is still interlaced over 60. And indeed when one looks at the clip properties the clip is identified as DVCPRO HD 1080i60.
What am I doing wrong and what do I do to get the pulldown properly removed and make my 1080pA shot footage progressive?  Or is there something fundamental I'm not correctly understanding?

Answer 1

Hi Shane,
Thanks for your reply.
I'm not disputing your suggested approach as I believe it is generally the tried and true one.
To be clear, I have done that as well (making sure the remove pulldown box is checked in the L&T interface) and from what I can tell yielded the exactly the same results… same clip properties vs.  sequence properties.
Either way I use the FCP easy setup to create the sequence format it recommends for 24pA footage which in the FCP browser shows among a long list of properties the following key ones  a video rate of 23.98 fps (ii) compressor setting of DVCPRO HD 1080p 30 and  Pixel Aspect of HD 1280x1080.
Whether I use L&T or Raylight, I get a clip with the same properties except the compressor setting being DVCPRO HD 1080i60. I assume that FCP identifies the mismatch because of the difference of that parameter. 
Either way I have the same problem.
BTW, the latest version of Raylight claims to remove pulldown. In that pa's General Options the top section is dedicated to pulldown removal. One can set the target frame rate (23.976 in my case) and check the box of the removal. You can see a screen grab of the General Options on their web site (http://dvfilm.com/raylight/mac/index.htm).
From their Support Doc:
Pulldown Options
24PA pulldown, also known as 2:3:3:2 or "Advanced Pulldown", can be removed from 1080i/60 and 480i/60 (NTSC DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50) clips, if the "Remove Pulldown" option is selected. You can also use this option to remove 3:2 or 2:2 pulldown from footage recorded at 60P, or 2:2 pulldown from 50P. Be sure to set the Target Frame Rate in the drop-down selector box to 23.976, 29.97, or 25 fps as appropriate.
To answer your question, I can only hypothesize that when a file is processed through Raylight incuding the Pulldown removal instruction, the reulting Raylight .MOV file includes instructions to quicktime/FCP to remove the extra frames when the MXF file is played through it.
Possibly this feature does not work correctly however? I guess next I need to contact Raylight.
BTW to round out the picture for you:
My workflow into FCP 7/Studio 3:
1. HPX170.. shooting 1080 24pA.
2. Ingest files from P2 cards via P2 Card reader onto external drives using MacPro (OS10.6.8) workstation using Panasonic's P2CMS
3. To avoid Log & Transfer and the creation of redundant massive scratch data, I apply Raylight v3 to:
(a) re-wrap .MXFs into .MOV alias pointing to the original MXFs in sub-folder "Contents" and
(b) remove the 2:3:3:2 pulldown
4. Import the .MOV alias files into a Clip Bin in FCP
5. Use the FCP easy setup to create the recommended sequence for 24pA footage which in the FCP browser cites properties for that sequence as having  a video rate of 23.98 fps (ii) compressor setting of DVCPRO HD 1080p 30 and  Pixel Aspect of HD 1280x1080,
6. I attempt to drag the clips into that sequence which is where i hit the mismatch.
Some key anecdotal observations for which I'm uncertain of the significance:
1. I cannot perceive much difference in how the footage plays whether I convert the sequence to match the clip as per the above workflow (as FCP recommends) or conversely elect to force the clip into the FCP recommended sequence for 24pA footage
2. footage viewed in the P2CMS Previewer (prior to pulldown removal) does appear to my realtively untrained eye as more interlaced (though not terribly so) than that viewed in FCP in either case immediately above
3. Though the image of the 1080 footage is larger, that 1080 footage does not look as clean 720 pN (24p) footage shot with that same camera.
In the end I'm not sure if I have a misunderstanding, doing something wrong or whether everything is OK and as good as it gets considering what to me appears to be a degradation of the 1080 image in comparison with the 720 image.
Any more thoughts?