Final Cut Pro issue with audio Sync! Help please.

Question

Level 1

4 points

Final Cut Pro issue with audio Sync! Help please.

Hello everyone,

I have an issue with audio sync in Final Cut Pro. Our editor works on Windows, Premier and send us the videos in mp4 format, 23.98 fsp, 48kHz stereo. But when I try to import these videos in Final Cut with the same project settings as the video, the sound is shifted back by 1.5 milliseconds, so it remains empty audio at the end of the video (see attached screenshot). This creates a problem with different scenes with sharp sounds (the audio of upcoming clip is heard at the end of the previous clip. The editor claims that he is not seeing this issue. I attach an image of the end of a video, so you can notice it's empty. Thank you!

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 14.6

Posted on Oct 14, 2024 6:17 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Oct 14, 2024 6:36 AM in response to Mikey8528

If this is as noticeable as you describe, it cannot possibly be 1.5 milliseconds. One frame at 23.98fps would have a duration of over 40 milliseconds. 15 milliseconds might be noticeable, 1.5 I don't think so.

The image you posted suggests that maybe it is a lot more, maybe 1.5 seconds. Is that it?

If you just play back the same file in Quicktime Player, or VLC, does it also show the same loss of sync?

If the problem is only in FCP, you could perhaps convert the file outside FCP. There may be some peculiarity of the encoding that FCP is not reading correctly. Converting the affected clips to ProRes may be a workaround.

Reply

Answer 2

Mikey8528 Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 15, 2024 4:58 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thank you so much for the reply! After so many tests, we have finally found the problem! And it's about the file format. You see, when I import mp4 format into Final Cut there is 00:01 time shift in audio, but when my editor sent me .mov file all the audio in line and no difference.

Cheers

Mike

Reply

Answer 3

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,009 points

Oct 15, 2024 5:50 AM in response to Mikey8528

The file format itself cannot cause that problem. It more likely related to the frame rates or the audio sample rates of the original, the Premiere sequence, and export settings, and how the output file is interpreted in FCP.

Reply

Answer 4

Mikey8528 Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 15, 2024 7:02 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

in our case the file format has fixed the issue, I am not sure if this change automatically applied some new export settings but most importantly it worked.

Reply