Updated to Catalina, now problems with FCPX

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Updated to Catalina, now problems with FCPX

I was forced to update to Catalina 10.15 yesterday in order to continue using FCPX 10.4.7 -- now clips are randomly pixellating in my timeline AND in my exported videos; I tried restarting and re-exporting three times, and each version of the video is pixellating and superimposing frames of one clip over another at different times; I have no control over when this happens in the finished product. I've also tried editing from two different memory cards so I know it's not that. I am a video producer so this is affecting my livelihood!! Please help if there's a way. Thank you!!

iMac 27" 5K, macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 23, 2019 1:10 PM

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Answer 1

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kiaora76 Author

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8 points

Oct 23, 2019 5:09 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Hi! Using a Panasonic HC-WXF991 for filming, Sandisk 128GB memory card (and Sandisk 32GB), using Catalina 10.15 on an iMac 2017, with FCPX 10.4.7 Let me know if I'm missing any other info. Here are project properties along with screen shots; thanks for any help!!

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Answer 2

jimrage

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14 points

Nov 6, 2019 8:02 AM in response to Flyingsilo

Hi all, I'm having the same issue shooting on an Canon XA10 on MXP (24mbps.) I have multiple computers from multiple years all having the same issue since the update to Catalina. Opening up the AVCH file and exporting through quicktime seems to resolve the issue, but this will be a bit untenable for me because of the quantity of files I'm dealing with daily.

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Answer 3

kiaora76 Author

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8 points

Oct 23, 2019 5:11 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Actually, yes -- it looks quite similar to this problem! The odd thing is it's totally intermittent, with seemingly no control over when it decides to go haywire!! My video, exported three different times, each has a separate set of issues, all like this in different parts.

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Answer 4

kiaora76 Author

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8 points

Oct 23, 2019 5:29 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I use AVCHD/MP4 -- I've never optimized before, but will give it a shot if that might solve the issue! Also thinking of getting a new (Sony) camera, so perhaps that will make a difference. Just find it curious that this happened immediately after updating my OS. Thank you!!

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Answer 5

kiaora76 Author

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8 points

Oct 26, 2019 6:49 PM in response to kiaora76

In case anyone has a very frustrating problem like this in the future, I got help from Apple and basically it was my Panasonic camera codecs -- while they were on the "accepted" list for Final Cut formats via the new Catalina update, the clips needed to be optimized to really work properly and not get randomly goofy. Whether done upon import or afterward, optimizing solved my problem...but I am also looking for a more compatible (Sony) camera now that Catalina has made so many changes. Anyway, thank you for the feedback!!

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Answer 6

Oct 27, 2019 1:14 AM in response to kiaora76

Unfortunately, optimizing for me only results in optimized mov files with the pixellation burned in.'

So far it looks like if I run the clip through QuickTime Player and do an export and then relink the file in FCP, the resulting file does not have any pixellation and maybe because of the different codec seems to work better in FCP (though I've only tried with one file so far) - but I already have a hundred or so clips and would have to do this one by one. Do I bite the bullet and do this? Do I hope that this is a bug that gets fixed in 10.15.1 or FCPX 10.4.8? Or is there something else that I'm missing?

Using an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) and the original Radeon Pro 570 4 GB.

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Answer 7

Tom Wolsky

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151,179 points

Oct 27, 2019 1:23 AM in response to rschen7754

Where do the files pixelates? Playback in the browser? Playback in the project? Playback after rendering? Where exactly did the AVCHD media come from?

If you’re converting in the QuickTime player it’s either going to the same coded or it’s going to the optimization codes. Same with Handbrake. The conversions are probably stabilizing a problem in the files that FCP isn’t accepting.

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Answer 8

Oct 27, 2019 9:51 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Tom Wolsky wrote:

Playback in the browser? Playback in the project? Playback after rendering?

Yes to all three. This is a Canon Vixia HF M30 (a bit dated, I know)

I can't seem to upload the screenshot but the codec is listed as avc1, Linear PCM

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Answer 9

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,179 points

Oct 27, 2019 9:56 AM in response to rschen7754

Which of these are you using?

LP (5Mbps) 3 hours

SP (7Mbps) 2 hours 20 minutes

XP+ (12Mbps) 1 hour 25 minutes

FXP (17Mbps) 1 hour - Allows 1920 x 1080 Full HD Recording

MXP (24Mbps) 40 minutes - Allows 1920 x 1080 Full HD Recording

Would it be possible to get some of the media to test?

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Answer 10

Oct 29, 2019 6:18 AM in response to kiaora76

I had this pixelation issue with the previous version of FCP. I was importing video content generated by an iPhone 7 and was floored to see these "dropouts". At first I thought it might be an issue with dynamic range (too bright, too dark) and tried to compress the range of the video. It helped some, but it still happens.

It struck me as kind of funny that a video captured with an iPhone, and plays on the iPhone without pixel issues, causes these issues after being imported into FCP running on an iMac.

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Answer 11

jimrage

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14 points

Nov 6, 2019 10:34 AM in response to jimrage

Alright just got off an hour long phone call with Apple. Here's the skinny.

AVCHD files (which Final Cut imports as interlaced) are not really supported anymore. Some might work fine, others may look horrible. The work around is kind of annoying, but from the quick test I just did seems to work.

•Open up your SD card and locate the folder that contains your AVCHD file (on my cameras it's always labeled "PRIVATE.")

•Make a new folder on whatever Hard Drive you want to work off of. Drag the SD card folder into this new folder.

•Once it's done copying import your footage from this new folder into Final Cut. Make sure "Copy to Library" is selected and "Create Optimized Media" is checked.

•Before you export anything you'll want to make sure the transcoding has finished. You might even want to wait for the transcoding before you start editing just to be safe.

I work at a little Public Access station and I find this change pretty frustrating. With our limited resources saving time is a huge factor. All of our cameras are Canons shooting on AVCHD (although I'll probably change some of the older ones to shoot Mpeg 4 even though it looks worse.) Mojave gave a warning about media that would soon be unsupported, but only ever flagged a few still images I had. It never flagged any footage from any of our cameras. Abandoning backwards compatibility likes this makes me want to abandon Apple.

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Answer 12

kiaora76 Author

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8 points

Nov 6, 2019 9:39 PM in response to jimrage

Thanks very much for the info. My camera indeed shoots AVCHD, so that makes sense...optimizing seems to be the key, and I understand your frustrations. I remember some vague warnings in the past about media file guidelines changing, but didn’t think it would be this serious. It basically means I have to get a new videocamera. Anyway, thank you for sharing the insights!!

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