FCP introducing audio noise (clicks and pops) in videos from TikTok livestreams

ffprobe shows the TikTok video is 24.99 fps so you could try selecting the clip in the FCP browser, right-clicking and choose Transcode Media... to Optimized. This can often fix non-standard source clips. Be aware that Optimizing creates ProRes files which can be quite large, so be sure to have plenty of available disk space.

Tom said he converted to it ProRes @ 48kHz. I'm not at a Mac with Compressor but off the top of my head, here's how you'd do it:

• First make sure the Settings and Inspector panes are visible by clicking the little icons at the top of the window. Just like the Browser and Inspector icons at the top of FCP.
• Drag your source clip to the "Add Clip" area.
• From the Settings pane on the left, drag the ProRes 422 setting onto the clip you added
• In the Inspector pane on the right, click the Video tab and make sure the frame rate shows 25
• Then click the Audio tab and set Sample Rate to 48kHz
• Click Start Batch

That should do it. You could try the same thing to create an mp4 file using an Apple Devices HD setting but ProRes will probably look and behave better at the expense of much larger files.

I looked at the original file. I consistently get a little tick at 6:12 and there are others. I converted the file in Compressor to ProRes and set the sample rate to 48. That file is clean in FCP.

I wish I had the opportunity to test this myself, not having access to the link(s). There may be other solutions that don't involve transcoding to ProRes. It seems that most player applications like Quicktime Player will drop frames, etc., and don't require as stringent conditions as an NLE like FCP. But, FCP, as with some other NLEs, being purpose built for editing requires whole number frame rates (if not standard ones) for proper handling of audio. Variable frame rate video clips coming from zoom, TikTok, and other "screen recording" applications can cause problems for editing applications.

I have the same problem. So does my band mates. It is definitely FCP introducing the clicks. I started opening the files in LumaFusion and then exporting them. Then they are usable in FCP without clicks. It makes no sense.

If you make a sample (smallish clip) of your media and make it available, we should be able to test it to see what's happening (i.e., trim a minute or two where that small clip shows the behavior in FCP and post it to Dropbox or something similar and put the link here — you could trim the source video in Quicktime Player and save it so no transcoding happens)...

@razzbone As a professional editor, FCP expects (rightly or wrongly) that the media it works with has been professionally created, meaning it has a standard, fixed frame rate. You can provide Feedback to the FCP team and suggest they support non-professional, consumer grade media like variable frame rate TikTok videos by going to Final Cut Pro -> Provide Final Cut Pro Feedback... or use this link https://www.apple.com/feedback/finalcutpro.html

Or send a feature request to TikTok asking them to save their video in a standard, fixed frame rates.

Or maybe the free, iMovie will do what you need? I've heard it's more forgiving of non-standard formats.

No, that’s an audio sample rate 48kHz. It’s also clean in H.264. You might try Shuttle Encoder which is a free application. Maybe not as straight forward as Compressor.

What were you making btw?

Click the Add File button and select what you want to convert. From Video Sharing Services choose HD 720p.

In the Video tab in the Inspector make sure the frame size is set to 720x1280 or you're get a letterboxed widescreen file.

In the audio tab make sure the Sample Rate is 48, which I think is the default.

If you have a lot of files to convert you bring them all in, select them all, and drag the preset. You can save a custom preset so you don't have to reset the parameters every time.

To make a custom preset, either click on the + button in lower left corner of the Settings pane and select what you want. Or right-click on an existing present and select Duplicate and customize it for future use.

The sync issue is a difficult problem. You can't specify 24.99 as there's no such frame rate. That just indicates that the frame rate is variable and averages to 24.99. The only thing I can suggest is use the Clip>Open Clip function in the browser. Select the audio and use the speed controls to adjust the speed to try to find one that brings it back to what works for the clip, either slowing it down or speeding it up. The pitch shift should be corrected by the software if it's checked on.

LumaFusion doesn’t introduce the clicks. It is very frustrating as I bought FCP specifically to edit TikTok videos. I shouldn’t have to use a second app, and waste a lot of time, to get useable audio in FCP.