"CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks.

D

dsk

Active member
Ok.

So.. Do I freak out that it appears as if I bought a new DVX100A to shoot 24p and on my first print to tape I got the following message (not word for word but i'm sure you pros will understand)

"cpu too slow to process 2:3:3:2 pulldown. Output quality may be effected"

Crap - I cannot afford a new G5. I was able to print to tape, and upon playback it seemed ok to my amature eyes. Please note "Amature eyes"

Being amature to the DVX (2.5 weeks) and the editing process in 24p, I feel completely lost right now, which is not a good thing with my first project shooting 4/17.

First - Can anyone shed some light on what the above error message is really telling me? I undertand the CPU too slow part, but how may this affect my image quality? Is this really bad news If I want to shoot and edit 24p? I spoke to Apple before I bought my camera and a tech told me I would be fine with my CPU, but may have limited RT capabilities.

Second - My mind is wired creatively, not techinically. I must confess I do not understand the entire "pull down" issue. I know there are various pulldowns, But I do not understand the difference and the roll it plays within FCP. Any info or links that would provide me with some education may allow me to sleep a little better.


Thanks in advance to all you offer their advice.


Dave
 
Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

well... there's good news and not so good news. the good news is, even if you shot at 24pA you can still edit at 29.97 and your footage will look great (better than standard 30i/60i).

the bad news is - and I'm guessing, that your machine might not have the juice to do the math on advanced pulldown in realtime. Oddly - I'm not getting an error message but I am getting a wierd "stutter" in my captured footages at 24pA on my dual800 g4. So who knows...

I am personally contemplating reconforming my project to 29.97 from 23.98 because I presonally can't see the difference, and it makes life easier.

No doubt the advantage of the ag-dvx100 is the on-the-fly 24p pulldown conversion to mini-dv the camera does when shooting.

best.

-b

http://www.parasiteproductions.com/waits_onset_photos
 
Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Parasite -

Sounds like we may have similair machines. Mine however being a bit slower at a DP533. 3 years running fcp 2.0 and no issues of any kind. It's a little frustrating feeling like I am back to square one on understanding the quirks of 24p.

It may have been a previous post that I read that you may have been involved in.... Are we better to shoot in 24PA as oppose to 24P. ItFrom what I read I was under the impression that shooting 24PA was a bit more streamlined process in the NLE than shooting regular 24P?

Also - I do not quite understand what you are saying in your above post.

the good news is, even if you shot at 24pA you can still edit at 29.97 and your footage will look great (better than standard 30i/60i).


Are you saying that I can shoot at 24PA and log and capture into standard NTSC 29.97 settings and timeline?

If you would be willing to share with me details and or FCP settings I would greatly appreciate it.


Temporarliy lost in a 24p NLE world.


Dave
 
Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Dave,

Let me see if i can help you out at all.

First things first, you have to determine what your final project will be going to. Will it stay on video or will it go to film. This will determine what capture setting to use on the camera.

If you will be going to film then you do want to shot 24pA. Because then the computer knows which frames to take out, so that you are back to the original 24 frames that the camera captured. And then you may edit the footage at 23.98fps which can be transfered to film without any crazy conversions.

If you are going to be finishing on video, then you should shoot in normal 24p mode. This will save the footage with a different pulldown. But it spreads the created frames up more evenly so that it plays smoothly at 29.97. So what this means is that you can edit it also at 29.97 and don't have to do any pulldown to the footage. This allows you to get the same 24p look but be able to edit it as if it were 29.97 footage.

If you do need to edit at 23.98 and can't do the pulldown on the fly then you can remove the pulldown with Cinema Tools which now comes with FCP4. Keep in mind though that your final video will be 23.98 footage and Cinema Tools doesn't have a way to convert it back to 29.97 footage. Normally if your computer is fast enough then the pulldown would be added again when you Output to Tape. You can adjust the pulldown settings in the Final Cut Pro>System Settings> Playback Control window. You want the pulldown to be set at 2:3:2:3 for the best quality. And if you want to be able to convert it back to 24p again then you would want the 2:3:3:2 pullback setting, which is the same that the DVX adds.

I hope this clears things up a little for you.

Any more questions let me know.
 
Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

JT.

Thanks for the response. I feel better knowing that I can shoot 24P and edit in 29.97. What a relief!

Thanks for the open door to ask any further questions.


Dave
 
Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

For those of us with even less experience, when you say use 24p if going to video, does that include burning to dvd? I don't think my alleged masterpiece is going to be worthy of transfer to film, so if I only intend to burn a dvd, should I stick with f5 on the camera?

Thanks.


dave (different dave than above)
 
Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Re: "CPU too slow" - Oh.....Fiddlesticks

Yes, that would be the way to go. Just keep it in normal 24P mode and edit like normal DV at 29.97. I just finished a short film this way that we don't expect to have to ever take to film.

Hope everything works well.
 
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