View Full Version : HMC-150 & Final Cut - How To
USLatin
10-20-2008, 05:39 PM
What setting changes have you guys made to work with the straight footage from the HMC-150 in FC? Or do you always transcode to ProRes?
matt s.
10-20-2008, 08:39 PM
Transcoding is required as of now until FCP can edit natively. Personally I have been transcoding to DVCPROHD with Toast 9 and working in FCP 5.
All though i have been thinking of jumping ship and building a quadcore PC and running Premeire CS4 to work with the AVCHD natively. I have always used Macs but honestly these days I'm all about getting the work done and using whatever will accomplish the task the easiest.
USLatin
10-20-2008, 09:00 PM
Well I guess at least Toast converts all automatically... right?
I assume that.
Is FC Expected to support AVCHD in the near future? Ever?
USLatin
10-20-2008, 09:20 PM
Also, how heavy are the DVCPRO HD or ProRes clips? I suppose they would be lighter than the HVX-200/a or HPX-170... right? How would the 1080p stuff edit on a Mac Laptop?
pailes
10-21-2008, 12:15 AM
Well I guess at least Toast converts all automatically... right?
Toast can batch-convert all your files.
Is FC Expected to support AVCHD in the near future? Ever?
Rumors say FCP 3 will support AVCHD natively.
Also, how heavy are the DVCPRO HD or ProRes clips? I suppose they would be lighter than the HVX-200/a or HPX-170... right? How would the 1080p stuff edit on a Mac Laptop?
I think ProRes clips are heavier than DVCPRO HD clips. But also, ProRes supports full HD resolution while DVCPRO HD does not. Read about all ProRes here:
http://newsletters.creativecow.net/newsletters/more_news/index.php?p=2007/05-30/2.php
Sikari-Sakari
10-21-2008, 07:50 AM
FCP6 transcodes automaticly to ProRes if just drag it to a timeline, right?
manglerBMX
10-21-2008, 08:42 AM
when you log & transfer it transcodes the clips to pro ress, not sure what you mean by dragging to the timeline? if you were to try and do a file>import a clip off of the card fcp would give you an error. you must either go through file>log & transfer or transcode using toast 9.
Sikari-Sakari
10-21-2008, 10:53 AM
Yeah that's what I meant. Sorry for being unclear. So, when the edit is ready, which format should I export?
manglerBMX
10-21-2008, 11:36 AM
well that all depends on you, or your clients needs. could be to dvd, bluray, or other forms of web codecs.
USLatin
10-21-2008, 12:56 PM
Ok, so FC has a log and transfer function that transcode the stuff for you... that is great news for my friend so long as his laptop can cut the 1080 stuff with ease...
...what I meant to say about the ProRes files not being as heavy was that the AVCHD files from the HMC-150 are MUCH lighter than the DVCPRO HD files from the 200/a or 170... so... wouldn't you be able to transcode them into a lighter file size without losing resolution? And to be clear: Does ProRes or DVCPRO HD allow you to set a bit-rate? If not is there any other lossless alternative codec available from the log & transfer function?
Elijah Lynn
12-10-2008, 10:08 PM
Toast can batch-convert all your files.
Rumors say FCP 3 will support AVCHD natively.
I think ProRes clips are heavier than DVCPRO HD clips. But also, ProRes supports full HD resolution while DVCPRO HD does not. Read about all ProRes here:
http://newsletters.creativecow.net/newsletters/more_news/index.php?p=2007/05-30/2.php
Where are you getting your rumors from? Btw, do you mean FCS 3? FCP is on version 6 now. I have a HF10 that I would love to be able to natively edit it's footage in FCP.
Barry_Green
12-11-2008, 07:46 AM
I believe it was at IBC in September that Apple announced that the next version of FCP would support AVC-HD natively. But I don't think they said whether that would be a downloadable "point" upgrade, or whether it'll wait for FCS3 (which we used to all think would be announced at NAB, but since Apple pulled out of NAB now I don't know if we have any real idea of when to expect it. Macworld maybe?)
Elijah Lynn
12-11-2008, 09:26 AM
I believe it was at IBC in September that Apple announced that the next version of FCP would support AVC-HD natively. But I don't think they said whether that would be a downloadable "point" upgrade, or whether it'll wait for FCS3 (which we used to all think would be announced at NAB, but since Apple pulled out of NAB now I don't know if we have any real idea of when to expect it. Macworld maybe?)
Thanks Barry!
You gave me some hope!
David S.
12-11-2008, 10:21 AM
The next version of FCP, in all probability, will be a major paid upgrade. Although NAB is the traditional announcement time, nothing is set in stone.
LAFCPUG.org orchestrates a huge FCP SuperMeet at MWSF each year, and Cupertino is only 45 miles away. Apple reps usually speak at the meet.
Justyn
12-12-2008, 05:46 AM
Native editing would be sweet, but I think I'll need a new comp for that... I"m hoping to pick up a new Mac Pro when they are announced in january, or maybe buy one of the older models cheap.
David S.
12-12-2008, 09:17 AM
Not rain on anybody's parade, but I don't know of any information to indicate there will be new MacPros come January.
Do you know otherwise?
manglerBMX
12-12-2008, 09:23 AM
the last update on the mac pro machines was in january. the average lifecycle for the mac pro is about 220 days. so its about 110 days over that right now. and with new xeon processors released recently its only a short time before they'll show up in new machines. it might now be january but it should be in the 1st quarter.
Justyn
12-12-2008, 09:54 AM
No official leads but that seems to be what apple and when their towers are refreshed. I"m at the point where my dual G5 just isn't cutting the mustard, and I can't convert the clips through FCP on this box. it'll be time to shell out another 3k, but it has to be done. I usually get 4 solid years on each Mac and with the amount of crap that goes through it, that's a decent deal.
USLatin
12-12-2008, 03:51 PM
Build yourself a hack.. intosh! So you can overclock the crap out of it... I find that overclocking is a must if you already know how. If you have done it then you have heatsinks for almost anything on any board, and the seven years of life you will cut out of the back end of the life of ALL of your overclockable gear, well it won't mean doodly when you feel it is time to dump a couple of hundred in it for faster something, now you can just get a new CPU or RAM, and every so often a new Motherboard. The thing is can we get a dual core motherboard to run? But there's got to be a way, muahahaha...
But yea, just buying one has it's clear benefits. :)
David S.
12-12-2008, 07:45 PM
Product cycles is one way of guessing at upgrade. I'm just asking if someone knows something.
As to overclocking -- the proapps are historically sensitive to hardware. To me, at least, it isn't worth the risk.
jscheib
12-19-2008, 11:54 PM
When using FCP 6.0.5 to Log & Transfer AVC HD footage from the HMC150 which will be transcoded by FCP automatically into ProRes, for instance, does it have the full capabilities of being able to set ins and outs so as to only transcode various specific sound bytes from an interview, for instance, as long as I know the in and out points? Also, do the ProRes files retain the metadata from the original MTS (AVCHD) files, such as timecode? I ask so that if some day soon they release a version of FCP, such as with FCS 7 or at a new point upgrade of FCP itself, I can use Reconnect Media to have all of my edits suddenly pertaining to the original AVC HD footage instead of the ProRes in the meantime? And, to that end, would y'all recommend simply converting to DV for that purpose? And would that retain timecode and/or other metadata info?
Thanks!