Problem Importing Importing Avid Mov File Into FCP

Question

Hello all,
I had transitioned into this issue off an older thread I had, with a different topic. So I figured it was smarter to just make it it's own thread, since it's become it's own issue.
I am editing the core of a project on Final Cut Pro 6. A portion of the footage that was shot for this project though, was captured on a PC into Avid Media Composer 3.0, and therefore, converted to MXF format.
I am running both Final Cut Pro 6 (FCP 6) and Avid Media Composer 3.0 (AMC3) on my Macbook Pro, so I was able to import this MXF footage into AMC3. That was the easy part. The hard part, has been knowing how to properly export it, so I can then, properly import it into FCP6.
Important detail about the FCP6 System Settings:
- *The sequence preset is DVCPRO HD - 1080p24*
In the Avid, when I go to export a small 1 min clip (as a test), these are the Quicktime options I am given:
Fast-Export Quicktime NTSC
Fast-Export Quicktime PAL
Make New - QuickTime Reference
Pro Tools QuickTime (ref)
QuickTime Reference
Quicktime Reference DV Codec
Send To QT Movie
None of them were seeming to work. I was getting this message:
"Long GOP media can not be exported using same as source. Please select a custom resolution or transcode to an I-frame only resolution."
*Send To QT Movie* seems to be the only one that works. But I then had to go in and customize it, making my own Saved preset for this.
I've now so far tried this with 4 custom presets, and while all of them are able to export and play / look fine on my desktop..... none of them import correctly into FCP6. They'll play as clips... but completely stuttery and unusable. I'll then drop them into a sequence, and they'll play for about 3 seconds and then I'll get this message:
"Warning - Dropped Frames
One or more frames were dropped during playback.
If this occurs frequently, try:
- Turning off 'Unlimited RT'
- Lowering your compression data rate.
- Closing open sequences.
- Lowering the preference for real-time audio tracks.
- Increasing the speed of your system and/or disk drives and/or network connection."
Now, I've also gotten a message about the projects needing to have the same capture preset, but I can't replicate it at the time of this post. Though, I'm sure this is probably the root of the problem.
Here's why: In AMC3, with my custom export preset, I notice that Avid supports the DVCPRO codecs, but doesn't have the exact one I'm using in FCP6.
Here's what I have in my AMC3:
DV/DVCPRO - NTSC (this is the one I'm using, and have tweaked the frame rate to 23.98)
DVCPRO - PAL
DVCPRO HD 1080i50
DVCPRO HD 1080i60
DVCPRO HD 1080p25 (this one is close...)
DVCPRO HD 1080p30
DVCPRO HD 720i50
DVCPRO HD 720i60
DVCPRO50 - NTSC
DVCPRO50 - PAL
Now, you'll remember that my sequence preset in FCP6 is DVCPRO HD - 1080p24.
Because this doesn't exist in Avid, I went with DVCPRO HD 1080p25 and just customized the frame rate to 23.98.
Still no cigar though.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how I should further customize the Avid codecs? Or is there even a way to just download more Avid DVCPRO codecs so I can find one with 1080p24?
Sorry for such a long post. I like to be thorough.

Answer 1

Hi Kyle,
Just some more backstory:
This was a two day shoot.
- One Day 1 of the shoot (Saturday), we shot with the Sony camera, on Sony DVC tapes (MiniDV). This was about 20 gigs worth of media shot that day. That footage was later captured onto an Avid MC 3.0 in MXF format. (I still have it all raw on my passport drive if you need further info about those files)
- On Day 2 of the shoot (Sunday), we got the camera we wanted all along for the shoot -- the Panasonic HVX200. Therefore, all of Day 2 was shot on P2 cards, converted on a Macbook Pro, and then put onto an external harddrive. This was about 80 gigs of media.
Right now, when I watch the Sunday footage (Sony) on FCP6, I do indeed see faint horizontal lines on the canvas, when free-framed and at 100%. They're not terrible... but they're there. (I'm not great at this, so if you need total confirmation, I can upload you a large rez screenshot so you can decipher if the interlaced lines are there)
Now, I just checked this out on the Sunday footage as well (the Panasonic P2 card footage which wasn't converted, but imported directly into FCP6, without need for the Avid as the middle-man), and I see the same faint lines on this as well.
Both pieces of media (the original Panasonic footage and the converted Sony footage) are at 29.97FPS. Both are at the same Compressor now (DVCPRO HD 1080p30) per your instructions . Meaning, the Pansonic footage brought into FCP6 had that as a preset from the moment I installed the program and was asked to choose my project settings..... and once you explained to me how to look for this, I then sought to match it on the Avid end, and changed the EXPORT settings on the Avid files to that codec.
So both sources medias match now in FCP6. They also play now without stutter.
But they both do have those lines. Albeit, faint, but I'm concerned about them now.
So I think this definitely has to do with my Final Cut Audio/Video settings:
My Sequence Preset is: DVCPRO HD - 1080p24
My Capture Preset is: 1080p24 48KHz
Should the Sequence Preset be changed to p30?
And if so... will I then have to recapture all the Panasonic footage back in? (I'd lose all my log notes and shot names).
Or, can I just delete the two timelines, change the sequence setting, and then redrag them back in?
Thanks for all your help, Kyle.