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Final Cut Pro problems :(

Hi, I just recently got a MacBook Pro for christmas and it is my first time using *Final Cut Pro*, as I did not have the right firewire (I had the old one and needed the new one with the different connection).
I was attempting to upload footage from a *Canon MiniDV MD205*, but I was unable to as it said *'unable to initialise video deck'*. I then went into FCP *'Audio/Video Settings'* and tried different *'Capture Presets'*, *'Device Control Presets'* and the 'Summary' tab options. At first it seemed to work as the screen (that shows the capture, when you hit 'Now' in the *'Capture Log'* window) appeared then disappeared a second later.
I then went into *'Audio/Video Settings'* again, then the *'Capture Presets'* tab and chose *'DV PAL 48 kHz Anamorphic'* (as I think that is the setting we use in school). Once it was selected (with the tick beside it) I clicked the 'Edit...' button to see advanced settings. It then brought up the *'Capture Preset Editor'* window and it said underneath *'QT Video Settings'* - *'[ Missing ] DV Audio'*. I clicked on it to see the additional options and it gave me *'USB Video Class Video'* and I clicked it thinking it would solve my problem. But when I go to capture it uses the iSight and when I went back into the settings to try and edit the *'DV PAL 48 kHz Anamorphic'* setting again, it says *'Codec not found. You may be using a compression type without the corresponding hardware card'*. So because of this, no matter what *'Capture Preset'* I use it turns on the iSight and uses it instead PLUS I still cant seem to upload footage from my camera on to FCP! ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ

So down to my questions
1. How do I edit, in *'Capture Presets'* the option *'DV PAL 48 kHz Anamorphic'* to get it back to normal *('[ Missing ] DV Audio')* so the it doesn't use the iSight anymore??
2. Why is my camera not being recognised and/or what settings do i need to put it on for it to capture??

Sorry about the long winded explanation, but I wanted to give all the details incase it makes it easier to understand and to solve ๐Ÿ™‚
I have researched and found nothing so your help would be much appreciated ๐Ÿ™‚

Thanks,
Lia

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.6), Final Cut Pro 7

Posted on Feb 15, 2011 9:06 AM

Reply
18 replies

Feb 15, 2011 9:18 AM in response to liamariekelly

You have discovered that Canon's implementation of FireWire is somewhat lacking.
Welcome to the club!

Try setting Log & Capture's Device Control setting to FireWire Basic. It might just work.

Otherwise there are some useful suggestions by Studio X in this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2291288&tstart=0

To your actual questions:
Go to the Easy Setups menu. Choose DV PAL or the Anamorphic version if you shot 16:9.
Go to the Sequence menu and click Settings. Click on Load Sequence Preset and confirm.
Open Log and Capture. Change the Device Control setting as above.

Feb 15, 2011 9:21 AM in response to Nick Holmes

Thank you for the quick reply ๐Ÿ™‚
I had already tried that option but I tried it again and it still doesn't work. The iSight is still on when I open the Log and Capture window and it won't let me edit the capture presets options to change it.
I am going to look at the thread you gave me and get back to on that ๐Ÿ™‚

Thanks,
Lia

Feb 15, 2011 9:40 AM in response to liamariekelly

Hi again. I checked out that thread you posted and Wow! I have no idea of what they are on about and don't even know where to start. ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ Still not sure on how to fix my problem.
Do you perhaps know how to edit a capture preset when it says 'codec not found. You may be using a compression type without the corresponding hardware card' and won't let you ??

Feb 15, 2011 9:46 AM in response to Nick Holmes

Hi again. I checked out that thread you posted and Wow! I have no idea of what they are on about and don't even know where to start. Still not sure on how to fix my problem.
Do you perhaps know how to edit a capture preset when it says 'codec not found. You may be using a compression type without the corresponding hardware card' and won't let you ??

Feb 15, 2011 9:51 AM in response to liamariekelly

1. Do you have one of the newer MacBookPro laptops with only a FW800 port?

2. Does it have an Expresscard34 slot?

If the answer to #1 is Yes and #2 is No, you are in for a long slog. Perhaps someone can chime in on how to disable the internal cam

There have been lots of reported problems with using fW800 cables with canon cams. The cams flaky firewire implementation seems even more problematic when you must employ a cable that the camera was not designed to use. I don't have an answer for that one other than try a dedicated good quality cable (no adapters).

If your computer does have the expresscard slot, you have the option of getting a FW400 card for it. Connect the cam to the card using a fw 6 pin to 4 pin cable and you have the most trouble free connection possible.

Once you can get the camera recognized by the computer, if FCP doesn't cooperate, you CAN capture into iMovie then use Compressor to DeMux the material from .dv to DV/PAL. Once it's in that format, bring that into FCP and edit away.

x

Feb 15, 2011 9:59 AM in response to liamariekelly

OK. Let's go right back to the start. Go here: http://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/ download and install the software. Run the software.
It will delete something called the *Preference Files* for Final Cut Pro.
This will reset FCP to it's default state. You will not lose any data.

Start FCP and it will be as though you launched it for the very first time. You will be asked to choose your Easy Setup (DV-PAL Anamorphic) and set the location of your Scratch Disk.

Go to Capture preset and set Device Control as above. Don't change anything else.
Try to capture a tape. Post your results.

Feb 15, 2011 10:09 AM in response to Studio X

1.Yes, it's the MacBook Pro 17" and it only has a FW800 port
2.Yes, i think it does

Thank you very much, it has helped ๐Ÿ˜€ Looks like i'm gona have to buy another thing for my macbook lol
It is frustrating though, to think that something so advanced has so many compatibility problems and that it is very difficult to work out how to fix its problems ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ lol

Thanks,
Lia

Feb 15, 2011 10:34 AM in response to liamariekelly

The problem is not your computer +per se+, but the interaction of the whole system. If you want a smooth running world, all elements need to be keep in the same generation. This means, hardware and software. When things lag or get ahead, problems happen because the original designers could not anticipate all the possible future interactions.

Good luck solving things as they stand or get a newer cam.

x

Feb 15, 2011 1:46 PM in response to Nick Holmes

Thank you for the advice and the link to the download. It worked just as you had stated and FCP is back to its original settings. ๐Ÿ˜€ My only problem now is the firewire port is not turned on and I have tried going into the settings to turn it on but it still says 'Firewire not connected'. It seems that the firewire port is to do with internet, is that correct? As it was asking for IP Address, Router name etc.
I think if I was able to turn the firewire port on, then FCP or iMovie might recognise that I have a camera connected. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Lia

Feb 15, 2011 1:56 PM in response to liamariekelly

It seems that the firewire port is to do with internet, is that correct? As it was asking for IP Address, Router name etc.


FireWire can be used to share your internet connection if you specifically set it up to do so.
Click the Apple symbol at top left of your screen whilst holding the option key.
Choose System Profiler from the drop down menu.

In the next window, click on FireWire in the left column.
What do you see in the text in the main body of the window?

Final Cut Pro problems :(

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