What Work Flow!!! help.

A

Alejo_NIN

Well-known member
i'm starting to regret buying this camera...it is so good...my iMac won't edit fast enough!

ok, so...what should be a good workflow for an 3.06Ghz, 4GB RAM imac with Nvidia GeForce 9400 (256MB) 21.5" iMac

editing in ProRess422 is proving to be just unbearable...

and that's editing SD
so, what should i convert the MTS file to in order to have a smooth flow?>


thnx
 
I transcode to Cineform avis using ProspectHD. I just grab the STREAM folder, dump it on my harddrive, point ProspectHD at the folder and tell it to 'convert'. Both the transfer and conversion are way faster than realtime on my i7 920. If you are on a Mac you can convert to movs.

ProspectHD is designed to interface with Premiere - they have a much cheaper product NeoScene that I believe has much the same conversion functionality.
 
Cineform's codec uses wavelet image compression. As I understand it, using wavelet image compression allows Cineform to be a lot less taxing on CPUs than more conventional codecs using DCT (or DCT like) image compression. That translates into faster performance.
 
When I edit on my iMAC (2.4 GHz dual core, 4 GB) I find that converting the file to AIC (Apple Intermedic Codec) for FCE really helps me. It's not perfect, but seems to give better performance than just using Quicktime.


Bob Diaz
 
BobDiaz said:
When I edit on my iMAC (2.4 GHz dual core, 4 GB) I find that converting the file to AIC (Apple Intermedic Codec) for FCE really helps me. It's not perfect, but seems to give better performance than just using Quicktime.


Bob Diaz
Click to expand...

Running with a dual core CPU, you might want to download Cineform's trial and give it a whirl. As mentioned by Graham, Cineform allows you to work pretty nicely with HD on even pretty low powered computers (the faster the CPU, the better though, of course). Lord forbid, but using Cineform's codec will even let you work with HD on a computer with a fast single core CPU that couldn't possibly playback AVCHD at anything close to real-time.
 
I've got nothing against Macs, but I sure do like being able to use Edius Neo w/booster on the PC. Somehow they managed to make editing AVCHD natively quite reasonable with even a pretty low end quad. Hopefully Apple will work on making Final Cut handle AVCHD natively with as much ease as Edius Neo w/booster, in the not-so-distant future.
 
<wooooo> a new fast i7 PC running Edius Neo 2 w/booster and eventually CS5 is calling your name...RT native AVCHD editing.. no waiting to transcode.... <wooooo>

=)
 
It might be that your version of Final Cut Pro is a little out-dated. I am on FCP 7 and it works smoothly with ProRes422 from my HMC40
 
I'm surprised you're having trouble on that iMac. I get pretty good performance out of my MacBook Pro 2.53Ghz/4gb with USB 2.0 external 7200rpm video drives, FCP 6, and ProRes.

What kind of performance issues are you having?
 
ZFHProductions said:
It might be that your version of Final Cut Pro is a little out-dated. I am on FCP 7 and it works smoothly with ProRes422 from my HMC40
Click to expand...
Final Cut Pro Studio 3


ShugPro Digital Studio said:
I'm surprised you're having trouble on that iMac. I get pretty good performance out of my MacBook Pro 2.53Ghz/4gb with USB 2.0 external 7200rpm video drives, FCP 6, and ProRes.

What kind of performance issues are you having?
Click to expand...
it won't play HD video in real time....i will give other codecs a try and see.
 
I've found that AIC gives me the best performance... I know that I am missing some features that cineform, prores and DNxHD... but honestly, I don't care and don't notice enough difference justify a purchase of expensive conversion software.
 
Let's start with a very basic question.

What dedicated external media drive are you using?

If it isn't a FW800 drive running at 7200 rpm and the only FW device attached, then that can be the issue.

What are you using? Unless I missed it somewhere in your post.

And also what did you shoot? 1080 or 720 and how many video streams?
 
You might make sure that your timeline is set to the correct settings for the footage. If the timeline is set at 720/60p and you are trying to edit 1080/24p footage on it, it may have a hard time.

Is there a colored line above the clips in the timeline?
 
David S. said:
Let's start with a very basic question.

What dedicated external media drive are you using?

If it isn't a FW800 drive running at 7200 rpm and the only FW device attached, then that can be the issue.

What are you using? Unless I missed it somewhere in your post.

And also what did you shoot? 1080 or 720 and how many video streams?
Click to expand...
ok, just wait until u read it, then shoot me...alright?
i'm using a USB to SATA adaptor and a /western Digital Velociraptor 10,000 drive.
it was shot at 720p30

ZFHProductions said:
You might make sure that your timeline is set to the correct settings for the footage. If the timeline is set at 720/60p and you are trying to edit 1080/24p footage on it, it may have a hard time.

Is there a colored line above the clips in the timeline?
Click to expand...
yea, there is a green line on top....hmmm...
maybe my timeline settings are wrong.
what should they be?
 
i dunno what the heck i did, but it works now
importing into Premier the original MTS file without trans-coding. plays somewhat smooth
mind you, this is without manipulating the file in any way (effects, CC,transitions )

anyways, i did try the iMovie import, and imported about 20GB of data...premiere FREAKS the F out with it...i think it's my computer. and FCP, forget it...will drop frames like crazy and stop playback using Prores 442.

i think I'm done with FCP...although a nice little program, it seems that it is far more important to apple to create a huge piece of crap (iPad) than to actually spend time and polish professional applications.

Good bye FCP, hello Premiere

besides, i was gonna use After Effects rather than motion anyways :)
also, PC<>Mac will be easier.

am i making the right decision?

when comparing footage from AVCHD to AIC i did notice enough difference to scare me for life.
I'm afraid, down the line, i will 100% regret going to AIC.
with premiere, i can edit MTS directly and not have to worry about it ever.
 
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