VIDEO: capturing w/ firewire 400 and USB 2 on Final Cut

I didn't think of it at the time because it didn't make sense then and it doesn't still. I exchanged a PowerBook G4 for a new MBP and realized, too late, that it had one less firewire port. ARG.
I've heard 1) that USB 2 is just as good as firewire, 2) that its as good only if you're using a PC-based machine, and 3) that it should be avoided altogether when it comes to editing video.
Can I absolutly positively use firewire from my camera to capture video onto my USB 2 external HD without dropped frames or studdered video?
AND
If my HD is FAT formatted for my old Dell notebook, would that have an effect on the write speed when I use it with a Mac?
Also, it seems like a bad idea, but can I daisy-chain my camera and my external HD??

do not use usb for capturing video. the max data rate is about the same as firewire 400, but it doesn't offer as high of a continued transfer rate. in short, you'll lose some frames.
the cool thing about a firewire 400 port, though, is that you can daisy chain up to 8 firewire devices to that one port and not have to worry about it. i usually have about 3 or 4 external drives hooked up to each other and my firewire, and i just plug my camera into the firewire port on one of the hard drives. it works just as well as if i had plugged it into my computer.
there's really no need for an extra firewire port or firewire 800 unless you're doing a really involved, highly detailed project, like a feature film, that would require higher data rates and more storage space.

Similar Messages

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    I just got a new iMac which has only 1 firewire800 and no firewire 400 ports. My digital video camcorder has a firewire 400 cable to transfer taped recordings to the computer (I want to import using iMovie 09). So, do I simply need to buy a new firewire 800 cable that will plug into my digital camcorder? The reason I'm hesitant is that I've tried using a USB connection, and iMovie 09 didn't open and doesn't recognize that the digital camcorder is connected when I use USB. Does iMovie 09 just no longer recognize my several year old Samsung digital camcorder, or does it just not recognize it with a USB connection, and it will be fine if I get a firewire 800 connection that fits the new iMac? Is there another type of converter--e.g., a cable that allows a firewire 400 to plug in on one end and has the firewire 800 connection on the other end?
    Thanks

    Thanks for the reply. I went ahead and got a new cable and now I can plug for digital video camcorder into my new Mac. Unfortunately, as I feared, the Mac still doesn't recognize the camcorder. I checked the system profiler with the camcorder plugged in, and under Firewire Bus it reads Unknown Device:
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    Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec
    Unknown Device:
    Manufacturer: 0xF0
    Model: Unknown
    GUID: 0xF000FFFFFFFF
    Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
    Connection Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
    Sub-units:
    Unknown Unit:
    Unit Software Version: 0x10001
    Unit Spec ID: 0xA02D
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  • Audio interface for 24" iMac - conflict between firewire 400 and 800?

    So, what I have now:
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  • Is firewire 400 and 800 on the same bus?

    I have heard of the problems putting a camera and external hard drive on the same bus for capturing video. Does the 400 and 800 ports share the same bus and will using both with one connected to an external 800 drive and the 400 port for the camera be a good solution for capturing video?
    Much appreciated.

    yes, on PowerBooks w/1394a and 1394b ports, and on the G5's with 1394a and 1394b ports, they all share a common bus
    sometimes if you have a lot of activity on the bus, you might have some frame drop out with a camera connected (but this is not a constant)
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  • Switching between the firewire connection and USB 2.0 Connection

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    Hello Grizzly Marmot,
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  • Can You Daisy Chain Firewire 400 and 800 Mixed?

    I would like to purchase an External Drive. I'm looking at a FW800. What I'm wondering is, Can I daisy chain devices mixed in.
    I Want to run a FW800 Bilingual cable from my Powerbook to the External Enclosure. From the Ext. Enclosure, I'd like to have take my second FW800 port and take a cable that converts Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 and plug in another item. Is this possible?
    Can I mix and match FW devices using separate protocol in a daisy chain configuration?

    Russ,
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    The only problem I've run into was trying to copy a 200G drive on FW800 to a 250G drive on the FW400 port on the PowerBook. Working overnight, it managed to copy ONE Gigabyte! I hooked them up as they are now, and copied the whole shebang in about 45 minutes
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  • Firewire 400 and 800 together

    I have 2 external HD firewire:
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    I have to use 1 at a time, not together.
    Do I have to do something to use them togheter?
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    PB G4 17" 1.67/1x1Gb/100Gb   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    I tried once hooking a 400 drive into the 400 port, and an 800 drive into the 800 port, then transferring a big file between them. A 1.2 GB file finally stalled at about 10 hours. I then daisy chained the 400 into the 800, and the 800 to the PB, and that worked fine. I now frequently hook 4 of them, only 1 of which is 800, and as long as it is hooked thru the 800 to the PB, it works fine. If I unhook the 800, and plug the chain into the 400 port, that works fine. I don't have the right cables to go the other way, but that would slow down the 800. I can hook it in as 400 in the case of hooking it all up to my MacBookPro without FW800.

  • My firewire 800 and USB ports on not functioning!

    My firewire 800 and USB ports on not functioning, I believe it is an issue the next driver loaders anyone, know how I can reset these?

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  • Hi, since i put some mp4 video or DVD files on my external hard drives final cut prox won't recognize my hard drives, i move all the video files and the problem still exist. somebody have the solution

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  • Use of external drives and connection types in final cut

    What are the performance differences in bringing up stored data into FC6 by using firewire800, 400 and USB? Does it matter much if you get an external drive that only has a USB port, or is it significantly slower? Thanks!

    FW 800 will offer nearly twice the throughput of FW400-all other things being equal.
    USB is not recommended for use with video as it does not have the sustained throughput.
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    Message was edited by: Studio X

  • Getting 15" MBP to do some HD video editing - Canon 5D mkii.  Premier Elements or Final Cut?

    With a new 15" MacBook Pro, what would be the suggestion for video editing software - will be doing HD with the Canon 5D mkii.  I am doing ostly some family stuff and a few things for work - training pieces, nothing longer than about 15 minutes in time.  I don't need the Pro stuff as a lot of it will go unused due to lack of skill and need.  I have iMovie 8 and I need more than that.  Final Cut Express is discontinued, so I am looking at Adobe Premier Elements 10 as a possibility.  It is not a matter of money, but I want like a middle of the road software, with a good laptop (need the portability). Also, shoudl I ge the top of the line upgraded 15" MBP or spring for the Retina display with the SSD option???

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