can't eject media with fcpx open

I'm using fcpx on a late 2009 13" mbp (8g ram, events and projects going to an external fw800 drive) to edit dSLR video captured on SD cards. I insert a card and do an 'import', initially set to 'optimize media' and 'analyze people', then trying it without transcoding to optimize. The media transfers OK, taking quite a while but completing - the background tasks show 100%, all tasks idle, and all the clips are in the event browser - but I can't eject the SD card; the finder indicates it's still in use by final cut ("The disk "" couldn't be ejected because "Final Cut Pro" is using it").

I'm pretty sure I've been able to eject media with it running at some point - after letting it sit for days on a few short clips - but that's unacceptable - I don't have days to import media. I can quit final cut, eject the card, then restart it, but starting fc takes quite a while to restart (>5 minutes - or much longer; at least once I've had to reboot to get FC restarted). Is there a recommended technique to get fc to 'let go' of a media card, or do I need to use the finder to copy the media to a local drive first, THEN tell fc to do the import from there?

thanks,

13" MacBook Pro

Posted on Sep 6, 2011 7:08 AM

66 replies

hafken

Level 4

1,225 points

Sep 7, 2011 7:36 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

So the card is still in the camera but you can't use "Import from Camera"...ah, interesting, I didn't realize that!

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,809 points

Sep 7, 2011 7:45 AM in response to hafken

Right, but normally you backup the card and import from the backup. That should be SOP for all file-based media.

Sep 7, 2011 4:59 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I'm pulling the SD card media from the camera (a nikon d7000) and using the built-in SD card reader in my 13" MBP to read it, as attaching the camera directly via USB drains the camera battery faster than it would import.

Previously in FCP7 I manually copied all the .mov files to a manually created project 'originals' folder, then used a compressor 'droplet' to transcode them from h.264 to ProRes files in a 'transcoded' folder, then pointed FCP to the ProRes files and saved the FC file to a 'project' folder. Each project would have 10 standard folders to organize the various parts.

Now with FCPX it appeared the goal was to automate that process and keep it internal to the program, and I really appreciate the benefits of that - and love that I can start editing while the transcoding happens in the background. I can also follow the sound logic of creating a backup and importing from that as a SOP, but maintain that having a copy in a temp directory, another in the '/Final Cut Events/Original Media' folder, yet another in the 'Final Cut Events/Transcoded Media' folder (all on a RAID array) plus still having the copy on the original card... well, four copies of each clip is just a bit of overkill for my needs - and I still think it's rediculous that I can't eject the card once FC has 'touched' it. Somehow Adobe has figured out how to allow users to eject a card in Lightroom after an imort, and even gives the options to make a backup copy and keyword tag files as they are ingested - but if that's the way FCPX works best, that's the way I'll use it, and when I get a chance I'll submit a feature request to see if they might be able to make some refinements.

I sure appreciate all the helpful responces I've gotten. Thanks!

hafken

Level 4

1,225 points

Sep 8, 2011 10:27 AM in response to chris_the_very_unique_username

I can also follow the sound logic of creating a backup and importing from that as a SOP, but maintain that having a copy in a temp directory, another in the '/Final Cut Events/Original Media' folder, yet another in the 'Final Cut Events/Transcoded Media' folder (all on a RAID array) plus still having the copy on the original card... well, four copies of each clip is just a bit of overkill for my needs

Just FYI -- "copies" != backups. In your above scenario, you do have a valid backup, which is the original SD card. Assuming you never erase the copy from that card and put the card in as geographically diverse location as possible (compared to your RAID array), that's a valid backup.

Also, don't confuse RAID with backups (which is a common problem); a RAID array (or the data on the array) can quite easily get corrupted/damaged/accidentally deleted and leave you unable to access your data, regardless whether or not the drive physically failed. RAID can provide extra speed (RAID 0), protection against drive failure (RAID 1,5,6), or both (RAID 10). But it doesn't constitute a backup of your data.

Oct 10, 2011 12:16 PM in response to chris_the_very_unique_username

Hi Chris:

I see this as a bug report, not a "feature request." I'm having the same issue. Insert SD card into card reader, hit command-I to bring up the import window, import all the media, click the "eject" icon next to the media in the import window and.... nothing.

If the eject button was put there in the program interface, it is meant to be used. What if I back up straight to a separate disk? Why should I have to import from yet another copy on my drive? The answer is that I shouldn't have to do that.

This is a bug and I hope it gets fixed soon.

johnNJ

Level 1

0 points

Oct 10, 2011 2:37 PM in response to chris_the_very_unique_username

Count me in as having this problem as well. I'm taking the SD card from my Panasonic GH2 and putting it into the card reader of my 15" MBP. When I "Import from Camera..." in FCPx it often does not release the card after importing. I've tried the eject button in the Finder and the eject button in the "Import from Camera.." window. No luck.

This has sometimes happened with Adobe Lightroom as well, so I suspect it's an OS-level issue...

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,809 points

Oct 10, 2011 11:15 PM in response to johnNJ

What version of FCP is this? Have all background processes been completed before you try to eject the disk?

Oct 10, 2011 11:19 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Final Cut Pro X Trial (v10.0.1) on Lion 10.7.1. All background processes have been completed before I try and eject the disc.

Oct 30, 2011 4:08 PM in response to mark_wells

Same here. Cannot eject media. All processing etc finished. Reported as bug via feedback. Suggest others do the same unless someone figures out how to make it work. (10.0.1/10.6.8)

Oct 30, 2011 7:42 PM in response to Neil Whittey

The annoying thing? It worked fine in version 1 for me!

Now it won't release the drive until I shut FCP ((x) down ....

BenB

Level 6

13,222 points

Oct 31, 2011 4:15 AM in response to hafken

Import From Camera is only for tapless formats that are NOT in QuickTime flie format already.

Import File is for tapeless formats that ARE in QuickTime file format already.

In FCP X.0.0 you can NOT eject cards in the Finder without quiting FCP first.

In FCP.0.1 you CAN enject cards in the Finder without quiting FCP first.

Neither version allows you to eject hard drives without quitting FCP first.

Oct 31, 2011 5:24 AM in response to BenB

Actually, in 10.0.1 you CANNOT eject a media card in either the import window or the Finder. Doesn't work. You must quit FCPX in order to eject the media card. Seems like a bug.

Oct 31, 2011 6:52 AM in response to Neil Whittey

What Ben has failed to say is that in HIS experience on the computer that he has tried this on it works for HIM. It looks like his experiance is NOT applied to EVERY computer. I CANNOT (<--- can I make this bigger for more emphasis :-) ) eject my media while FCP (x) is still running with version 1.0.1 on Snow Leopard. I am NOT positive, just pretty sure that I used to ba able to eject the media card on version 10 simply because I was annoyed at not being able to do so once I had "upgraded" to the newest version.

Nov 20, 2011 3:35 PM in response to Neil Whittey

Upgraded to 10.0.2. Hoped it would fix this issue. It did not. Still cannot eject a media card in either FCPX or the Finder after import. Sent in a bug report.

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,809 points

Nov 20, 2011 3:45 PM in response to Neil Whittey

What kind of media card? How are you trying to ejecting?

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can't eject media with fcpx open