I am editing my wedding video and have a mp3 for the music I am using. Took a break and came back to it and mp3 no longer playing; waveforms are still there in the timeline but the audio won't play. Even when I try to re-import the music, it doesn't play and the waveforms have disappeared, but it will play in quicktime. All other audio in the project will play. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.2
Actually, MP3 files should automatically be "optimized" after import and converted into QuickTime .mov files containing 16-bit LPCM audio at the original sample rate. So, I wonder if the issue is related to the conversion, the converted/optimized file, or something else... ???
Tom's right about MP3 being a poor quality format, especially for use in editing. There are so many ways that MP3 files are encoded, it may be possible that FCP has a problem in some cases...
As Tom recommends, it's always good to convert "lower quality" audio (particularly MP3 files) used with FCP, or any NLE, into uncompressed/LPCM AIFF or WAVE 16- or 24-bit files with a sample rate of 48kHz.
Just to clarify things a bit...
24-bit WAVE files at 48kHz sample rate are the current gold standard for post-production audio (at least for/during picture editing and delivery), though some versions of higher quality WAVE/AIFF files may also work in FCP).
Press Command-Shift-2 to open the Timeline Index, then see if all the Roles are checked.
Thank you for responding! I did that already unfortunately and all roles are checked.
Any reason why this is a compound clip? What is inside the compound besides the mp3 clip?
I can’t quite remember why I made it a compound clip; I think I cut it and put it back together? It’s just the mp3, still doesn’t play if I open the compound clip. I was able to make my mp3 a mov and it will play that, but not sure why the mp3 format would be the problem.
It’sa really old crappy format. You shouldn’t use it with video.
Oh ok. What format for music would you suggest?
Uncompressed AIF or WAV with a sample rate of 48K.
Actually, MP3 files should automatically be "optimized" after import and converted into QuickTime .mov files containing 16-bit LPCM audio at the original sample rate. So, I wonder if the issue is related to the conversion, the converted/optimized file, or something else... ???
Tom's right about MP3 being a poor quality format, especially for use in editing. There are so many ways that MP3 files are encoded, it may be possible that FCP has a problem in some cases...
As Tom recommends, it's always good to convert "lower quality" audio (particularly MP3 files) used with FCP, or any NLE, into uncompressed/LPCM AIFF or WAVE 16- or 24-bit files with a sample rate of 48kHz.
Ok great, thank you!
Thanks! That would make sense if that’s the issue. Def will use a different file type.
Just to clarify things a bit...
24-bit WAVE files at 48kHz sample rate are the current gold standard for post-production audio (at least for/during picture editing and delivery), though some versions of higher quality WAVE/AIFF files may also work in FCP).
I had the EXACT SAME issue. I renamed my mp3 file to .mov, and it worked. It now shows up under the waveform audio category.
MP3 no longer playing in FCPX
