Import mpeg4 h.264 with FCE

Is it possible the direct import of hd movies mpeg4, codec h.264, 1920x1080 (1080p) with FCE?
I regularly imported these movies with iMovies 09.
Thanks!

You can't work with this material in FCE without rendering unless you convert the media before you bring it into the application. You can do this with iMovie or most likely with MPEG Streamclip or the QuickTime 7 pro player. The file format will be QuickTime with the Apple Intermediate Codec and considerably larger than the original file size about 12MB/sec, roughly 42G per hour.

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Importing H.264 into FCE without decoding/re-encoding. How?

QuickTime cannot open my Handycam VOB files (mpgv/a52) so I'm using ffmpegX to convert them to H.264 (4000+ kbps). when I import the H.264 files into FCE, FCE insists on decoding the files, taking a long time to do so and producing very large in-project media files. I tried converting to the DV format; same problem.
I seem to remember with iMovie that one could place their media files into the project package in a specific format and iMovie wouldn't re-encode them. if I'm importing H.264 files into FCE, what format should they be exactly (video and audio), and how could I import them into an FCE project without FCE decoding/re-encoding them? I'd prefer to use H.264/Dolby+AC3 if possible.
sincerely,
Gregory

Ok, you should be converting directly to DV or Apple Intermediate Codec if you intend to edit the video in FCE. Not to H.264 and then importing the H.264 into FCE. You're going from one highly compressed format to another highly compressed format and then FCE is trying to render it into something it can edit.
Also, you can't directly import 5.1 audio into FCE. Even though FCE supports up to 99 audio tracks in a project, you can only import or export a single stereo pair at a time. There are ways to trick it out, but you can't do 5.1 all at once directly in FCE.
Have you tried MPEG Streamclip instead of ffmpegX to do your conversions?

Is there a way to import clips from AVCHD folders I have copied from my camcorder to my hard disk? With FCE I could import these clips using log and transfer.

In FCP-X is there a way to import AVCHD clips from an AVCHD file folder I have copied from my Canon hard disk camcorder to my iMac hard disk? With FCE I used log and transfer with no problem; but, FCP-X doesn't import them. It will import AIC files that have been created in FCE from the original AVCHD files. If FCP-X will not import these files directly from the copied AVCHD folder, is there a workaround using other software to convert the files? For example, Compressor? (Canon does not provide any AVCHD conversion software for OSX).

Hi jphil and Tom
I have exactly the same problem but the answer you (Tom) provided did not help in my case. Trying to "Import ->From Camera" and pointing to the AVCHD folder yields the error message: "(Folder) contains unsupported files or has invalid directory structure."
Folder structure is
AVCHD
     BDMV
          CLIPINF
               .CPI files
          Index.bdm
          Movieobj.bdm
          PLAYLIST
               .MPL file
          STREAM
               .MTS files
AVF_INFO
     3 files (.bnp, .inp, .int)
DCIM
     101MSDCF
          empty
     MODELCFG.IND (file)
My question is: Is that not a "camera archive" of the type you talked about in the thread? Is it on principle not possible to import the files in that format/directory structure? If not, since the shots were not taken by myself, what should I ask the guy who shot the movies to give me to be able to work with them in FC?
I work with a brand new Final Cut Pro X 10.0.4 (still very clumsy with it) on an iMac 11,3 with MacOS 10.6.8.
I downloaded the latest version of codec updates from the Apple support site but no difference.
Thank you in advance
Giorgio
Freiburg, Germany

Getting Started with FCE - Problems with my imported files

Hi,
I'm trying to get started with Final Cut Express, but I'm experiencing lots of problems when I import my project from iMovie.
My project contains video, which I imported into iMovie at 960 x 540. It also contains some keynote animations, which I exported from Keynote as quicktime files.
When I export my files to FCE, I instantly get problems.
1) When I add the imported file to the sequence, I get an "Attention the clip does not match the sequence's setting or any of your sequence settings" error.
2) Whether I choose to translate my settings or not, I try to play the video in the timeline, but there is a continuous beeping sound, no audio from my video and when it hits the keynote animations, it just says "unrendered" or "media offline".
Please can you offer any advice on how I can get started with FCE more successfully.
Thanks!

Hi(Bonjour)!
(please specify iMovie and FCE version)
Well, your sequence settings in FCE should be DV-PAL 48 Khz.
Create a new sequence.
From iMovie and Keynote, export your movie with quicktime conversion andd select DV-PAL 48 kHz (*And Not* DV Stream...). This material should play without rendering because his format and codec match the sequence's codec.
Import your files and everything should be OK.
Michel Boissonneault
The audio should be AIFF 48 kHz 16 bit linear PCM

Import EDL with FCE?

I checked the FCP forum and there seems to be a facility with that app to import an EDL (edit decision list) from the File menu, but this doesn't seem to be an option with FCE.
Any workaround suggestions appreciated.
I have a project I've been working on in another NLE, which I am transiting to FCE, and which has generated a complete EDL with timecode and shot/clip listings. I could transfer it manually to a new FCE project, but it could take forever. Seems like there should be a way for FCE to look at the data and map it in.
Thanks,
Keith

Sorry no. You need FCP for this.

Working alternating with iPhoto and FCE tgrying to import pictures from iPhoto into FCE suddenly all my 22300 pictures disappeared leaving empty frames. Does somebody know where the pictures could have gone and how can I get them back into iPhoto? Lothar

Working alternating with iPhoto and FCE tgrying to import pictures from iPhoto into FCE suddenly all my 22300 pictures disappeared leaving empty frames. Does somebody know where the pictures could have gone and how can I get them back into iPhoto? Lothar

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one. .
Regards
TD

Why can't I import H.264 into FCE?

Hi
Why is it that FCE3 will not import any video encoded with H.264? Seems a bit odd as it can import any other quicktime codec...

Think you're right, might be a performance things as H.264 is quite a beast to decode....
Still odd as I can import the same video into After Effects with no problems!
Anywas...
just a hassle to jump between codecs

Problem in importing MPEG4 video

When I import mpeg4 video using Element 8 I only see the clip as red. I do hear the sound but no video. Any suggestion on how to fix this. Thanks.

Which H.264 CODEC do you have installed? There are three popular ones: Apple's (installed with the later versions of QT Player), Lead's and MainConcept's. Many users report much better results with the Lead, or the MainConcept.
Good luck,
Hunt
PS - Welcome to the forum!

MPEG4/H.264 editing onthe timeline

I was wondering if it was possible to import and MPEG 4 file of SD or HD resolution into the FCP 5.1 timeline and edit this footage with frame accuracy or if there was a way of transcoding so there was minimal quality loss. I am aware that it is a lossy codec but have a few projects that originate on MPEG4/H.264.
Thanks!

Hi,
I am working with some technology that currently captures video with M-JPEG files but this results in artifacts that are hard to clean up.
Assuming that MPEG 4 has the potential to capture high quality SD imagery with real time encoding, this footage would then needed to be edited in post. If it is possible, then MPEG 4 would be the way to go. Basically looking for a very efficient way of capturing video at a high quality over a long period of time without nasty processing artifacts - that is also easy to edit or transcode - hence looking at MPEG 4.
Thanks

Cameras to use with FCE

I'm interested in upgrading from Imovie seeing as I know it like the back of my hand and feel limited by it at this point. I'm looking to get a new camera in the spring of this year, and I'm wondering what kind to get if I want a good one for a good price that would be great with FCE 4.
Does everybody use Mini Dv cameras with this software? I don't see these in stores, and it this point to me it seems like they are old, clunky, and outdated. I'm no expert, but that's just the impression I get from them, so why are those the primary cameras used with FCE?
So if anybody can answer these questions, and provide me a list of a few good cameras (Mini Dv or not) that would work with the program and not cost a fortune, I would be much obliged!

FCE can work with DV, HDV and AVCHD camcorders.
Most consumer/prosumer camcorders on the market today are AVCHD camcorders or a variation of AVCHD. Be aware - if the camcorder doesn't have the *AVCHD logo* or doesn't *specifically state in the specs* that it's AVCHD, then it's probably not AVCHD. Even if it says it's H.264 or MPEG4/AVC that does not automatically make it AVCHD - a lot of people have been burned not watching out for this.
DV is, as you said, on the way out. 4:3 aspect ratio & standard def; however, decent DV camcorders can do anamorphic 16:9 and it turns out quite nice. So, you can do widescreen with many DV camcorders. HDV is still around and has a loyal following. There are some very nice HDV camcorders - Canon HV20/30/40 for example - and they're not too expensive.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even though you shoot high def with HDV or AVCHD, when it comes time to burn a DVD of your video it will be standard def - because DVDs are by definition standard def. To burn hi-def optical disks, you have to get a BluRay burner, BluRay authoring software (DVD Studio Pro, Toast) and of course BD media. It's not cheap.

Few questions on exporting out with fce 3.5 for web distribution

Hello I have been trolling here for a few months reading up on things and I know my way around a search pretty well I have gotten some of these answers from reading but id like to have my own thread so I can keep it all in one place...
First..
I run websites that need video's for surfers to be able to view.. these videos are in length from 20 min to 1 hour or longer... now I have figured out that when I render with the h.264 out sorry fce calls it export... I choose the quicktime setting of lan and it seems to be about right for what im used to in high quality from rendering out with pinnacle studio for a wmv or an mpeg.. now heres where I get confused with fce
I see there is a wmv setting to export to.. but when I do it.. it only exports a bit of it...
now these are the formats I want for video...
.mov
.wmv
.mpg
I have compressor but I have no idea on the settings in there and can't find what I need
in those formats I would like to have a
high
med
low
as far as quality go's
can someone help me out so my life is easier please... in fact I have 50 bucks via paypal if I can get someone get my settings down right maybe even in compressor so I just have to edit... this part always messes with my head when it comes down to render out...
there has to be some editors on here that know excatly what im talking about without having to say it on here... if you want to chat in private you can email me chris (at) themibcorp (dot) com I will give you my ichat name from there maybe you can help me and ill help you with some paypal
I want the video to play on all forms of computers..
our's and the other kind.. LOL

This isn't something someone can decide for you. It's up to you ti make up your mind. Either will do the job. If you want to spend the time to experiment with settings to better suit your media and you know what you're doing and want to spend the money get the more expensive version. If you'll be happy to use the basic presets based on average media and file sizes then get the cheaper version.

Importing Quick Time file to FCE problem

I tried to import a quick time movie I had saved on a DVD from work and it would not import into FCE. It says "unknown file". But other quick time movies that are on my Mac import fine into FCE. Both my work Mac and home are almost identical-Power Mac g5. Why is this happening?

Stephen
QuickTime comes in many shapes and sizes and not all work with FCE.
Files from a DVD are multiplexed.
They will need to be de-multiplexed before FCE can use them.
Search this forum for demuxing.
Al

Is there a preferred Video Camera in the forum for use with FCE?

I am on the hunt for a new HD camcorder in the 800 to 1200 US dollar range. Is there a preferred recording format or anything specific to look for that will help my camera work best with FCE or better yet are there things I should try to avoid?
I am looking for something compact so that I can carry it with me on trips easily, but still give a good quality HD image. Thanks

The main consideration is that AVCHD is a hard drive based format whereas HDV is tape based. The nature of tapes is that they're relatively inexpensive so it's not such a big deal to save your tapes as backups in case you ever need to restore your project from the original footage. For AVCHD on the other hand, you'd need to make a backup by copying the whole file directory to an external drive for safe keeping, and if the drive fails or gets corrupted then you are out of luck.
There are other less important things to keep in mind. AVCHD can reach a maximum resolution of 1920x1080, whereas HDV by comparison reaches its peak at 1440x1080. I've heard some say that AVCHD cameras generally work less well in low lighting conditions, but I personally haven't noticed too much of a difference. Finally, the market seems to generally be moving away from a tape based workflow. Not that AVCHD is exactly the format of the future (and you'll certainly be able to purchase DV tapes for a while to come), but it's something to keep in mind. FCE deals with the two formats differently as well, and it might be wise to skim over both the section in the User Manual about capturing and the one about the "Log and Transfer" process.
As far as bugginess is concerned, I wouldn't say that one format is prone to more problems than the other. As long as you read up on the capture or ingest process before attempting anything you should be fine.
Finally, keep in mind the fact that FCE transcodes both HDV and AVCHD into the Apple Intermediate Codec upon capture or ingest. AIC usually runs at about 41-50GB per hour, so you'll want to make sure that you have a fast external firewire drive to use as a scratch disk when editing to store your media.
Sasha

Encoding to high profile h.264 with quicktime (7 pro) export

Is there anyway to encode high profile h264 with quicktime export ?
Been using a canon HF100 for years now, and my goal is to edit and export my movies to h264 with the least quality lost. I can edit(trimming and merging) without quality loss. My endresult is in AIC codec, but when I export it to H264 in quicktime, in the highest settings, I can still see quality(or actually, color depth) loss in low light scenes.
Even with a bitrate which is almost identical to the AIC file...
I have a 130.2Mb (52.7Mbps) h264 main@Level 5 with 2 reference frames/second clip that looks worse the the original AIC file(56.9Mbps) of 143.8Mb
The canon HF100 records in high profile at level 4.0 (high@L4) with 17Mbps. It does 2 reference frames per second and CABAC.
So in theory exporting my projects at 17Mbps should be enough, if only the right settings where available in quicktime export.
Is there anyway to convert AIC to High profile settings, CABAC(available in main profile but not used bij quicktime in h264 output) on the MAC ?
My workflow:
1. I use shedworx VoltaicHD to convert my AVCHD files to AIC (pretty much lossles)
2. I use Imovie 6 to create a new Project in the following structure: HDV1080i
3. I don't import the AIC files with iMovie but I dump them with Finder in the "media" folder of the Imovie project.(This way I can maintain the 1920x1080 resolution, with importing it gets 1440x1080)
4. Then I open the project in Imovie, open the trashcan and see my movie clips.
5. Then the trimming, cutting and merging begins, no use of effects(adding effects creates 1440x1080 video)
6. Time for export with quicktime h264 codec.

Hi MartinR,
Some answers on your thoughts:
"You have an AVCHD camcorder. Where did you get the technical information that it records HiProfile/Level 4/2 ref frames per sec/CABAC?"
-I'v dropped some original mts files from my camera on a program called "mediainfo" from sourceforge net.
"VoltaicHD's conversion isn't exactly 1920x1080, either. Open one of your AIC files in QT Player, do Window > Show Movie Inspector and tell us what it says for format and fps. 1440x1080? 1888x1062?"
-Both mediainfo and quicktime (7 pro and the new quicktime) show in their info that the movie format from voltaicHD file is 1920x1080.
But I can remember I've seen the 1888x1062 resolution in the info in the past. Maybe things where changed by a new version of voltaic or an update by quicktime ?
" certainly understand your efforts to get the results you want with what you have on hand. However you will be better off with iMovie11 and/or Final Cut Express 4 or Final Cut Studio 6. FCP 6 by the way supports ProRes which, if you are very driven for the highest technical qualities, would be the way to go."
I thought about buying imovie 11 in the app store. For 11,99 euro's it's a bargain!
But a little search on the forums kept me from buying it.
My camera puts out interlaced files, even when I record progressive. This is done by most camera manufacturers for compatibility on blu ray players and older lcd and plasma tv's.
Now it seems that if you use effects in imovie 11, it drops half the fields, resulting in 960x540 resolution...In that case imovie 6 with 1440x1080 supported effects is still better.
The same 1440x1080 limitations seems to exist in Final cut express 4.
I know the backdoor in imvie06 works, you can see the 1920 to 1440 resolution drop with your own eyes when effects are added. The drop is only visible in the frames that contain a special effect, the rest of the exported movie is untouched and still 1920.
I did some thinking, and what bothers me the most is that exporting the movie results in loss of color depth/detail. I could imagine that if I could use Prores422 instead of AIC, which is only available in FCP (999Euro's!). That the end result is better, but I'm not sure.
Could be that the colors of the original movie file are spread more over the range because it supports 10 bit sample depth instead of 8. Even when that is true, I am not sure if the h.264 codec will tread it different and maintains some more color depth.
And for fact the avchd files are 4:2:0 and not 4:2:2.
Do you or anyone know if there is any different in quality in an exported to h.264 pro resolution file or an AIC file. Even when the source is 8 bit 4:2:0 ?

Convert video to mpeg4 h.264 .mov on iMac

how do I convert my video to mpeg4 h.264 .mov on my iMac 10.6.6?

I have problem with the same thing. Getting my videos into MPEG4 format in good quality.
I tried according to these instructions but the quality is really bad.
Sound is perfect but the video picture is really bad.
Any idea what to do?
I have used a program from handbrake.com to convert the .m4v files into .mp4.
It does the work but when putting the videos online on WP blog it takes ages to get the video to run. It must first upload (several minutes and then it starts to play).
Have anyone any idea what to do to get tehn play smoothly online?

Import mpeg4 h.264 with FCE

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