I am advocating LTO-5 tape drives for archive and backup of our Final Cut Pro media. However, I still have not gotten this unit to work on my MacPro.
Ben Balser writes on editing H.264 video natively in Final Cut Pro.
I’m not a fan of QuickClusters because, personally, I’ve found them problematic and unreliable. However, if you can get them to work, then by all means use them.
DVDs are always standard-def, not high-def. So your AVCHD material will always look worse on a DVD than your source footage.
A subscriber recounts the difficulties, and the workaround that fixed them, he experienced with Buzz lines cropping up in a project.
Although there’s no universal answer for this question, in this article we look at what RAID system or otherwise, that I personally recommend using for various types of video editing.
I am not a fan of Capture Now, however, for some formats Capture Now is the best option. I like the workflow one subscriber suggests in this article.
In this article we examine my personal favorite method to burn DVDs (Roxio Toast) as well as the most reliable way to burn a VIDEO_TS folder.
Inevitably, adding too many FireWire devices will cause problems. In this article we discuss some things to think about to keep your system running smoothly and avoid, at all costs, the dreaded “beach ball” .
In this article we examine Final Cut’s usage of multiple processors to enhance rendering speed, the possible alternatives, and more.
Creating markers for H.264 is exactly the same as creating markers for a DVD. In this article we examine the technique to do just that.
A subscriber and previous contributor returns with another great tip about operating the Compressor from the command line and advises to limit the number of your batches to a few hundred compressions.
In this note we look at a hard-learned lesson regarding the perils of adding extension cables to Mini-DisplayPort cables.
In this article we examine how SmoothCam is processor-dependent, faster computers working this program more quickly, and recommend a couple of options to speed up the process without upgrading your system.
A kernel panic is a complete crash of the operating system – probably the most serious software crash that exists. Kernel panics are generally not caused by a single application, but by the interaction between the software and hardware.
In successfully working with tapeless media, I’ve developed an easy-to-implement workflow that will help prevent problems in your own projects.
Not all software updates work the way they are advertised.This article describes an update approach you can use to make sure all software updates go smoothly.
What’s the best video format for archiving materials? This is an easy question to ask, but a hard question to answer. Also, what’s the best way to preserve 1″ and 2″ master video tapes — especially since those machines are increasingly hard to find? This article gets you started in the right direction.
Final Cut Pro is a QuickTime editor. But what if you want to create WMV files? Well, you are not out-of-luck, but you will need different software. This article describes what you need to know, along with how to resolve problems when creating WMV files.
Regardless of the video format we edit, understanding storage speeds and capacity, along with the data requirements of video can prevent a lot of problems. This is a detailed explanation of storage types, bandwidth, capacity and video codecs. You don’t need to memorize this, but you do need to keep it handy.
New with Final Cut Pro 7 are two shortcuts: Zoom In/Out at Playhead on Timeline. However, they don’t do anything until you assign them to a keyboard shortcut. But, what if you want to assign them to your mouse? This article shows you what you need to know to do it.
Rendering is the bane of an editor’s life. Waiting for the computer to calculate an effect can seem interminable. What can be done to speed rendering and what causes it to slow down in the first place? This short article answers these questions.
One of the terrifying facts of hard disk life is that a hard disk, unplugged and sitting on a shelf, will slowly have its magnetic data “evaporate.” While the time period varies, industry experts tell us its between one to three years! This article explains what you MUST do to safeguard your data. Best of all, its FREE!
Drobo has been making a lot of noise in the market with its new storage hybrid – part RAID, part expandable hard drive. I’ve been using one for a couple of months now and in this review, I put it to work and discover that it can serve a very useful role in editing, but not in the place you would expect.
Data Robotics released a new storage unit: the Drobo Elite. In this detailed product review, we examine how it works, how well it works, how fast it works, and what its limitations are.
The Drobo line of storage products offers a lot for video and audio editors. Their newest product – the Drobo FS – doesn’t help editors, but it CAN help around the office, as this detailed review explains.
get is the new kid on the block — an almost magical piece of software that searches your audio files looking for words you type into a typical text entry window. If you know “you’ve got the file around here somewhere,” but haven’t a clue where it is, get is for you, as this product review explains.
When you are working with tapeless media during production, and recording to cards, the basic workflow is to copy the card to your hard disk then ERASE THE CARD! (Sorry, I come from a tape background and that word “erase” is just plain scary…) So, it makes sense that when copying the card to your hard disk you take every precaution to do so safely. Here’s a review of a product that can help: Imagine Products’ Shotput Pro.
Final Cut has always allowed keyboard customization. This article shows some new “almost-secret” techniques buried in OS X that allow you to create customized keyboard shortcuts in ANY application.
Snow Leopard, Apple’s latest operating system, is not for everyone. But it may be for you. This article describes what you need to know in deciding when to upgrade your system.
Apple has announced a new version of its operating system for next year – 10.6 (Snow Leopard). This article looks at what this may mean for Final Cut Pro users.
SSD (solid-state drives) are the latest fashion in hard drives. Impervious to vibration, with no mechanical movement, they are ideal for computers in rugged situations. But are they good for editing? This article provides answers to that question.
It’s enough to drive you nuts. Every time you start-up your computer, Final Cut Pro launches as well. It’s time to stop the start! And this article shows you a very easy way to do just that.
Stuttery audio generally is a problem with bad preference files. But, on a MacPro, it can be caused by putting your capture card in the wrong slot. This article describes the problem and what you need to do to fix it.
Audio that slowly drifts out of sync is often due to a mismatch between the sample rate at which you shot the video and the sample rate at which you captured the audio.
It would be great if we didn’t have to render. But, since we do, what can make it go faster? This article explains what you can do to help and what won’t make any difference.
You may not know it, but there’s a fiber optic audio connection built into every Mac. This article describes what it is, where it is, and how to use it.
It’s frustrating! You buy a hard disk only to discover you can’t move your data from one drive to the next. Here’s a personal case story, along with options on how to fix this problem.
Having problems with Apple Final Cut Pro 7? This article provides dozens and dozens of techniques you can use to optimize your Final Cut 5, 6, or 7 system; plus trouble-shooting tips to prevent problems.
An important trouble-shooting technique is to create a new user account to eliminate corrupted preference files. This short article explains why you should consider doing this, and what the potential problems are.
Hard disks are essential to video editing. But, as this short article explains, what you thought you knew about maintaining your hard disks may not be true. Take a look.
QMaster allows you to combine multiple computers into a render farm to make video compression run faster. It also allows you to combine multiple processors on one computer to compress video faster. One of these choices works MUCH better than the other. This article explains what you need to know.
Last month, I wrote about how to use QuickTime 7 to add audio to video. Since then, I’ve gotten several comments from people that own OS X 10.6 that they don’t have QuickTime 7 on their system.
(Updated Dec. 2024). RAIDs (Redundant Array of Independent Drives) are high-speed, high-capacity storage systems designed for video editing. However, they are often described using arcane terms like RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, and so on. This describes what those terms mean and illustrates real-world speeds.
Addressing the problem of digital media “evaporating” when a hard drive is powered down and stored on a shelf, with additional advice from Bob Gobeille, who originally provided the terminal script to fix this problem.
Larry diagnoses a subscriber’s problems with burning DVDs and makes recommendations (altering compression bit-rates, etc.) towards finding a solution.
One of the Mac magazines published some seriously wrong information. Read this to keep from making a mistake.
Nothing drives us more nuts than having to wait for our systems to render transitions and effects. Reader Don Smith sent in this technique for reducing the time you spend waiting for Final Cut Pro to render.
Preference settings have changed in FCP 5. This article shows you how to optimize your setting to get the most from your editing system.
As you know, most versions of Final Cut Pro are tied to work best with certain versions of QuickTime. However, as time passes, it gets harder and harder to remember all the different permutations. Here’s a quick link to a website that has the answers.
