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Final Cut 10.7 Prores raw files gives black preview

After upgrading to Final Cut 10.7 the preview when using Prores raw file gives a blank preview.

The playback shows the video, but trying to edit gives a black preview. I can do correction blindly and they show in the playback, but this is of course not practical. I can import and adjust other formats.

These files worked on the previous version of Final Cut Pro.


working on MacBook pro (intel) with 14.1.2


The files comes from Sony camera / Atomos Ninja Monitor


Tried resetting FC and created new libraries with no improvements.


Anybody else encountered this issue and maybe found a solution?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.1

Posted on Dec 11, 2023 5:23 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Dec 20, 2023 11:42 AM

This is not just a problem with ProRes Raw recorded through a Ninja. It is also affecting ProRes Raw clips recorded internally on Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z9 on some Intel Macs. AlexanderTramp is the first one reporting it happening on silicon Macs that I've seen. It is not just a Sonoma problem. It also happens on Ventura and it is a very widespread problem it seems.


I read something yesterday on very recent Assimilate Scratch 9.7 release notes about a ProRes Raw decoder update and a new ProRes Raw SDK. I suspect that is where the problem lies - some sort of mix up in FCP decoding ProRes Raw from different cameras. Hopefully it will get fixed soon.


35 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Dec 20, 2023 11:42 AM in response to joema

This is not just a problem with ProRes Raw recorded through a Ninja. It is also affecting ProRes Raw clips recorded internally on Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z9 on some Intel Macs. AlexanderTramp is the first one reporting it happening on silicon Macs that I've seen. It is not just a Sonoma problem. It also happens on Ventura and it is a very widespread problem it seems.


I read something yesterday on very recent Assimilate Scratch 9.7 release notes about a ProRes Raw decoder update and a new ProRes Raw SDK. I suspect that is where the problem lies - some sort of mix up in FCP decoding ProRes Raw from different cameras. Hopefully it will get fixed soon.


Dec 13, 2023 1:23 PM in response to magtes

I have the same issue. These black Prores Raw files do not render or export as well. I was working on a documentary and this made me stop until I get any fix for that. It works if you take all Prores Raw files and render it through compressor to Prores 4444, but I have 50% of footage corrupted in this way after the update, so i see no point in doing that. I just cry and beg for fix. I wrote to the support and filed an issue report. Fingers crossed it will be fixed. It is a very hard deal and ruined all the deadlines for me.


I also tried restarting my Mac and then reset my FCPX settings by holding cmd+option at launch, but it did not help. I tried to delete renders – did not help. I tried to import these files to a new clean library – still black and unexportable. I also found that some files that were not corrupted in a first place do corrupt (turn black) once in a while and after it happens there is no way back, they will be black no matter what. I use M1 mac and footage was also recorded with Atomos. I will also check my other libraries, but I will not be surprised to find blackend footage there as well.


It only happens with Prores Raw, other footage is fine.

Jan 4, 2024 7:23 PM in response to magtes

Hello,


I have had the same issues since the update. Not only is the preview black, but I can no longer render anything shot in ProresRaw (6k) with my S1H combined with my Ninja V. I have had several big projects on hold because of this issue. Will there be a new update where all of this will be resolved?? I have missed several deadlines because of this problem.


Kind regards,

Josh Hones

CEO Sane Productions

Dec 26, 2023 9:00 AM in response to joema

joema wrote:

Is it possible there is some plugin or effect on your project? Can you create a new test library, import only that one S1H clip and see if you can play that?

(2) Export a library XML from 10.7.1, run 10.6.10 and load that XML. That will not handle new 10.7.1 features but it's something to try.

Since I cannot reproduce the problem using your S1H clip on any machine I have, that might imply it's not that clip by itself but a combination of that clip, the FCP update, plus some plugin or 3rd-party effect.


I think you can pretty much rule out plugins as the 2019 iMac on which I see the black screen preview has no plugins installed at all.


There was a third thread (link below) a few weeks back where the OP reported that exporting an XML to an earlier version worked although they did not provide much information after that. The problematic footage was 1080p ProRes Raw shot on a Nikon Z6 with Ninja V and viewed on a 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro. The OP also mentions towards the end that an iMac Pro is also showing the problem.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255324272?answerId=259911210022&sortBy=oldest_first#259911210022





Jan 5, 2024 10:51 AM in response to magtes

The clip from Felix was also A1 - link to thread below.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255348340?sortBy=oldest_first&page=4


There is a link in the thread to an example file but the link has expired. The only major difference that I can see between that and the file posted by magtes is that Felix was using a Ninja V+ but he since bought a Ninja as well and that gives the same results according his more recent posts.


Somebody else (crying kid - page 2 of the same thread) also posted about that they had the same problem with a Sigma fp. Perhaps if you post in the thread, they might respond and provide sample files.


Jan 5, 2024 5:56 AM in response to JoshHonesSANEPRODUCTIONS

Josh, can you please upload an example of the problematic S1H/Ninja V ProRes RAW files to the below secure write-only link? If they all have the same resolution and frame rate, I only need one file. If you have a problem with different frame rates and resolutions, I'd ideally like an example of each file.


If you don't have a short non-proprietary test clip that shows the problem, use Quicktime Player's "trim mode" to extract a short section. It does "no encode" trimming and should preserve all the file metadata. Procedure:


  • Open S1H ProRes RAW file with Quicktime Player
  • Do CMD+T to enter Trim Mode
  • Move left and right edges of the yellow range marker to select a small section
  • Press the blue "Trim" button
  • Do File>Save and provide a name. This does not edit the original file but creates a new output file
  • Upload that to me at the below location


Please verify whether this is Intel or Apple Silicon.


https://www.dropbox.com/request/2GTNeG8L4cQCLb0YQTtw

Dec 11, 2023 7:48 AM in response to magtes

I just tested 4k/23.98 ProRes RAW files from a Sony A7SIII and Sony FX6, recorded on an Atomos Ninja V, and on my 2019 i9 MacBook Pro 16 running Sonoma 14.1.2 and FCP 10.7.


The files work OK, including RAW color temp adjustment. The file metadata shown by MediaInfo indicates those clips were recorded with Ninja V firmware version 10.67.1. The FX6 was running firmware 2.00 and the A7SIII was running firmware 2.10.


Dec 13, 2023 1:38 PM in response to AlexanderTramp

@AlexanderTramp, can you tell us what camera, what Atomos recorder, what year and model of Mac.


Please use the third-party utilities MediaInfo or Invisor and post the complete metadata of the ProRes RAW files here.


What type of disk are the ProRes RAW files on? Internal, external, NAS or what? If an external disk, is that ExFAT, APFS, or HFS+? Do Finder "Get Info" to see that.


Unlike other RAW formats (which often require a special player), ProRes RAW is handled just like regular ProRes. You can play it in Quicktime or Quick Look (press spacebar in Finder). See if those "problem" files can be played in Finder or Quicktime, outside of FCP. That will help determine if the problem is MacOS, disk subsystem, or FCP.


Please verify what version of Apple Pro Video Formats you are running. To check: hold down OPT key, press Apple menu in the menu bar>System Information>Software>Installations>Pro Video Formats. Scroll down the middle pane. If several past installations of Pro Video Formats, tell us the highest number (should be 2.3).


As always, check how much free disk space is on your Mac.

Dec 20, 2023 9:51 AM in response to joema

Yep


Camera Lumix S1H, Atomos Ninja V. I filmed it 2 years ago.


I just checked properties (I havent used these funny tools) and found that only 6k footage has this bug with turning black. @magtes may be you will confirm. Any 4k Prores raw works fine though.


Every Prores Raw that turns black in fcpx is played correctly in QT and Quick Look. No issues at all. It happensnly when I use FCPX 10.7. Older versions of FCPX worked totally fine


Prores Raw originals are on external APFS 16Tb HDD . Library file is on external 4tb APFS SSD.


Apple Pro Video is the latest 2.3


Definitely enough free space. Each drive has at least around 200 gb free space.


My Mac is 13' 2020 M1 with 16gb ram. I use Sonoma 14.2.1

Dec 20, 2023 10:44 AM in response to AlexanderTramp

Alexander, thanks for collecting that info. Unfortunately, I don't have any 6k ProRes RAW material recorded on Atomos. I have 6k/23.98 ProRes RAW HQ from a DJI Ronin 4D, and that works OK on FCP 10.7.0 on Sonoma 14.2 and 14.2.1 on Apple Silicon.


When you report this to Apple, it would be beneficial to include the Atomos firmware version used to shoot that. You may as well include all the available metadata from one of those 6k clips, which includes the Atomos firmware version. That can be obtained using the 3rd-party utilities MediaInfo or Invisor.

Dec 23, 2023 3:52 AM in response to AlexanderTramp

AlexanderTramp wrote:

I reported days ago. 10.7.1 release today and no fix. Is there any way to get through? I am kinda scared that all of my 6k footage is not usable anymore :(

It's not lost as it only affects some machines (mostly Intel, your M1 is the first report I've seen of it happening on silicon Macs). There are workarounds.


If you know someone with a Mac that works, then transcode to ProRes 4444.


Somebody posted that Compressor is not affected so you could try transcoding with that if you have it. It's not expensive in any case and very useful at times.


Assimilate Play Pro also works for transcoding if by any chance you got a free copy with your Ninja.


Go back to an earlier version of FCP if you can.

Dec 23, 2023 4:11 AM in response to Clint Gryke

I know, I wrote about transcoding compressor to 4444. And I am not scared about the footage. It's just Full length documentary with like 1-2 hour interviews as well and very heavy footage. And these are 6k files. I wont have enough free space to transcode it. I refer to 5 to 10 Tb of it. I will also loose flexibility of Prores Raw. I was just testing colour correction with Dehancer plugin of Raw (Like I still have my 4k files that work fine). And colours from just Raw on timeline original Log against Prores 4444 in rec 2020 are veeery different. It is just bad and happened right during pre-release. It made me super mad and I keep this thread live, because I need that fix really hard.

Dec 25, 2023 3:37 AM in response to AlexanderTramp

Hi, been traveling without proper wifi so a bit late answer. I record 4.3K on my Ninja V and the ProRes file i pulled out to test is 1.5 years old and have the same issues the recent footage in Final Cut. I can playback fine in QT and also inside FinalCut with both new and older files. Its when the playback stops and trying to edit the preview is black and all RGB scopes and tools show it as black footage making it impossible to edit.

I did have parallel recording footage on my Sony A1 internal Cards MP4 XVAC S 4K as an backup and able to use those in FCP 10.7. There was different issue with using the eyedropper in color curves making the FCP to crash but that is a different subject.

Current Ninja V Firmware 10.93.00

Dec 25, 2023 9:18 AM in response to AlexanderTramp

I've tested all the versions of ProRes RAW I have (inc'l 4.3k recorded on Atomos Ninja V from Sony A7SIII and FX6), and I only found one which shows the problem on Intel FCP 10.7.0 and 10.7.1 -- a 4140 x 2330 59.94 fps ProRes RAW HQ clip from a Nikon Z8, apparently recorded in camera, not externally. The file has no info about the Z8 firmware version.


Other users in this thread have reported it on the Panasonic Lumix S1H, recorded on Ninja V, and maybe Sony A1. It may be mostly or partially isolated to Intel, but there's one report on Apple Silicon M1.


The FCP behavior is a black viewer when the timeline or skimmer playhead is halted -- if the viewer is set to Better Performance. If set to Better Quality, it stays black even when playing or skimming.


Attempting to create 50% ProRes Proxies on those clips will hang -- progress wheel does nothing.


Studying the FCP debug log with the terminal "log stream" command shows repeated messages similar to the below. These might imply problems with the management of structures related to color space. The functions containing "FF" refer to the private FCP framework "Flexo", and those containing "HG" refers to a "Helium Graph" data structure, used in the Helium private framework.


Final Cut Pro: (ProCore) assertion failed: displayLinear2020 should only be used for displaying PQ or Linear content. (false) :: HGRef<HGNode> makePQIntoDisplayLinear2020(HGRef<HGNode>, CGColorSpaceRef *, FFPixelFormat **, NSString **, BOOL, BOOL) (file: /Library/Caches/com.apple.xbs/Sources/Flexo/Flexo-41000.67.16/framework/image/FFHGAsyncFanout.mm, line: 2393)


The most expedient solution is stay on 10.6.10 or revert back to 10.6.10. Before upgrading FCP versions, the Final Cut Pro.app package of the previous version should be saved, and also any key FCP libraries currently being used. That provides an easy fallback to the prior version in case of problems.


If this wasn't done, you can often recover the prior FCP .app file and library before the upgrade from a Time Machine or other backup. If you don't have a backup of your library, there might be one in /Movies/Final Cut Backups.


The FCP version of each library can be inspected in Finder by doing right-click>Show Package Contents, selecting the file CurrentVersion.plist, and pressing the space bar (Quick Look). There is a string inside the file showing the library version.


I don't work for Apple, but I've spent a lot of time trying to reproduce this on various machines, and I only have the one Nikon Z8 clip that shows it. We need more information on the specific problem cases, also short ProRes RAW camera files which show the problem. That is unaltered out-of-camera files, not a rendered FCP output or frame grabs. It would help to have detailed MediaInfo output to show the metadata.


I don't know the best way to upload that for examination; maybe Tom could advise.

Final Cut 10.7 Prores raw files gives black preview

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