Upgrading from FCP 6 to FCP X (need help with upgrading to HD)

I have been researching and it seems like the JVC GY - HM100U will be my camera of choice because of the way it works with FCP and the fact that I won't need tapes. The problem is that my understanding is that these cameras will not work with Power PC computers, only Intel. Is there absolutely NO WAY to work those cameras with FCP6? I do want to get a new computer, but this HD upgrade might end up costing me around $9,000 (a $4,000 new Mac Tower and 2 JVC cameras). 😢

The footage from those cameras should work just fine on your old G5, but thats no reason to stick with it! You realise a cheap as chips Mac Mini (or preferably at least an iMac) would likely run circles round that old beast? One thing that certainly won't run on that old clunker of a Mac is OS X Lion (if wanted) nor FCP X either (if wanted).

Also, I heard that my current FCP6 Projects will NOT be compatible with FCPX, is that true!? 😮

True. Do you envisage needing to? You can still run FCP 6 on the old system to open/update old projects.

Hi, I would strongly suggest getting a super cheapo iMac, even if you have to convert it to an office/intern machine or sell it later when you get your tower. HD is so much data. Even if you get everything to work on the old machine, it will be so slow that you will actually be losing money. Get a faster machine and some big fast disks. Spend your time editing, not rendering (and, yes, background rendering is also rendering).

BTW, the JVC is a nice camera, but it's not the only one that doesn't use tapes. Most modern cameras don't use tape.

It's true that the JVC records in the QuickTime file format (.mov), but a more important issue is what codec? As far as I can tell they use a long GOP codec, which is not good for editing. Just make sure to do a couple of workflow tests, shooting on the JVC and editing in FCX before you put out the big bucks. Dragging QuickTime movies into your project is fast, but if you need to do a lot of background rendering, it may not be so fast.

Of course, most cameras today record using long GOP codecs, which is why one needs to transcode before editing (either foreground or background). I know of two codecs which are not long GOP, both developed by Panasonic: AVCHD-Intra and DVCPROHD. Panasonic makes some great cameras. I would inclued them in your research.

I have been working with long GOP both in FCP Studio and Final Cut Pro X and it works perfectly. No problems what so ever. Smooth and fast. I use JVC GY-HM100 camera.

I can only speak for my self. The best camera I have bought and extremely FCP and FCPX friendly. No need to, optimize, work in native mode. Drag and drop when you like. And it is not true that this format is hard to work with absolutely nonsense. I would buy this camera again to morrow

I can almost promise that you will not be disappointed Batista and happy shooting with this little beauty 🙂

I have recently upgraded from fcp7 to fcpx, and I am also shooting on a JVC GY HM100E in .mov 1920x108050i. However, when I import these files from SDHC card into fcpx they appear as xdcam ex files in the info tab of the inspector? Also, when I play these files in the timeline, they appear blurry??? I have tried to optimise them, but when I try to transcode the file the pop up window for optimise media is greyed out, and wont let me do it.

The project and timeline paramiters are set up for 1920x1080 HD 25i

Can someone please help me with this.

That's what the camera shoots, XDCAM in a QuickTime wrapper. It does not need to be optimized.

Check the project properties of the project you're working in Cmd-J.

Thanks Tom

Any idea why the footage would appear blurry when I hit play in the timeline?

No. Does it need to be rendered? What are the project properties?