Timecode issue when importing from Sony FX3 camera

My team has several RED, Sony FX6 and A7SIII cameras (almost identical to the FX3). Most of our cameras use professional container formats such as R3D or MXF. Only the A7SIII/FX3 uses MP4. The Sony MP4 clip timecode cannot be read by FCP so each clip appears to start at 00:00.

The root cause is the MP4 container used by Sony Alpha and many other "consumer grade" cameras does not support timecode in a standardized fashion. During the era when MP4 was designed, consumers did not use timecode.

In 2013 Apple looked ahead, envisioned a looming problem, and wrote Tech Note TN2174, which advised hardware and software developers to either begin using Quicktime timecode structures in future MP4 formats, or else devise something else consistent. Without that, there would be no standardization, and any timecode in MP4 containers would be ad-hoc extensions that would not be universally compatible. It appears they didn't listen to Apple. The manufacturers, developers, and standards organizations did not come up with some equivalent, and that's where we are today.

The Sony MP4 clips actually contain timecode, but it cannot be read by FCP. The best workaround is use the QTChange utility to rewrite timecode to a format FCP can read. This can be batch executed on hundreds of clips and is a one-time workflow step.

In a broader sense this shows the difference between a professional container format such as MXF vs a consumer format like MP4. Our FX6 cameras record lots of useful metadata in the MXF container which facilitates post-mortem evaluation, color matching, etc. The MP4 container does not have that. If you watch consumer-oriented reviews of various cameras, they are typically not aware of workflow issues like this.

The problem is there is no standardized MP4 format for timecode support. I don't know about Avid but for the specific MP4 variant used by the A7SIII and FX3, current versions of Resolve Studio and Premiere Pro (at least on Mac) can read that clip timecode. There may well be other MP4 timecode formats that FCP can read but Resolve and Premiere cannot.

A related issue is whether the NLE or other transcoding software preserves that clip timecode (in either MP4 or other formats) when transcoding, and whether that is persistently preserved. IOW even if your NLE platform can read the clip timecode, if you export that for a collaborator or downstream person, can they read the clip timecode?

I'm investigating an issue now whereby Blackmagic BRAW was transcoded by an early version of Color Finale Transcoder to ProRes 422, FCP could read the clip timecode back then, but two years a newer version of FCP cannot read it. If I can get copies of that material, I will test it on various machines and NLE versions.

In general the best approach is always use professional codec and container formats which were designed for timecode from the beginning. I like the A7SIII and FX3 cameras but since my team got the V-Raptor, Komodo, FX6s and DJI Ronin 4D, we rarely use those mirrorless cameras due to lack of timecode.

That said, even the A7SIII technically has timecode support, just no external way to jam sync it. But you can manually preset the timecode to a fixed value (using camera menus) and usually get it within about 1/4 of a second. Then in post you can batch correct all of the clips in a single operation. Our units seem to keep sync within one frame for a few hours, but there might be unit-to-unit variation.

I've managed to find a solution that doesn't involve re-muxing the MP4 into an MOV.

You need Tentacle Sync Studio (TSS) (comes free with any of their timecode devices or you can buy it separately).

1. Drag all of your MP4 files into TSS
2. Turn off Multicam
3. Generate an fcpxml file

TSS will read the timecode from the MP4s properly and generate an fcpxml file that you can import into FCP.

The result will be an event containing all your MP4 files with the correct timecode.

Now you can go about utilizing the MP4s how ever you like.

You may need to tweak some settings in TSS so file names remain intact. TSS can also handle all of the Multicam generating if you like and will also read audio recorded timecode. Lots of options here. All depends on your workflow.

Queue rant: FCP should be able to read the timecode and Sony should switch to MXF on the FX3. Lots of blame to go around. The way FX3 handles timecode was added after the fact and doesn't seem like it was fully considered from the start. The adapter it uses is huge and takes over the USB control port. I guess we should be happy to have the update.

See this thread and joema's suggestion for using QTChange

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255337959?sortBy=oldest_first

I understand but QTChange can be used to correct the TC display I believe for the FX3 media if it is showing incorrectly in the QT player and also in FCP.

I assume MediaInfo displays the correct timecode for the file. If so, you should report the problem to feedback. The FX3 media I have shows the same problem, but it wasn't an issue for me. Perhaps FCP engineering can fix it.

What format are you shooting? Joema recommended on another thread recording on a Nina Atomos using QTChange to fix the timeline

Joema, I noticed this thread and still trying to digest it but wanted to bring a separate thread I just started to your attention to get your 0.02 if/when convenient. And any others, as well, you are have all been wonderful resources in this thread. Trying to sync up audio from Rode Wireless Pro in Resolve, then export timeline to FCP for further editing.

Rode Timecode Sync Issues - Failure to Im… - Apple Community

Feedback can be accessed in the application from the Final Cut Pro menu.