System Freeze with Final Cut Pro Capturing HD Video on to External Disk

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Level 1

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System Freeze with Final Cut Pro Capturing HD Video on to External Disk

Using Sony HVR-Z1U with a firewire iLink cable to the Macbook Pro with a Western Digital USB 2TB external disk that seems to be operating correctly. After successfully capturing one tape using a starting file that an editor friend of mine provided with 1080i HDV Apple Intermediate Codec, I kept going and now it just freezes. Worse than just the application freezing, the whole system freezes. I'm an audio guy, all of this stuff is new to me and I'm really just trying to archive tapes for now, but since they were shot with an HD camera, I want the HD. Interestingly, for one batch of tapes that I only wanted SD captures of, the process went smooth using or Final Cut. Now, using HD in Final Cut, I'm toast. What to do?

Logic Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Sep 5, 2013 12:47 PM

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Answer 1

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Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Sep 5, 2013 1:01 PM in response to seano23

First off, HDV Apple Intermediate Codec is a very lossy and noisy codec. Very old. It was created when HDV was new to the world and Apple couldn't deal with it natively. Now it can. There are HDV 1080i Easy Setups options in FCP that will capture that tape losslessly.

But your biggest issue might the USB drive. USB 2.0 isn't fast enough for editing, while USB 3 is. Which do you have?

To fix the freezing, you might try to trash the FCP preferences with a free app called PREFERENCE MANAGER, from Digitalrebellion.com. Press a button, there they go. That fixes a lot of issues. Also repair permissions with the disk utility.

OH...what version of FCP are we talking about here?

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Answer 2

seano23 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 5, 2013 1:30 PM in response to Shane Ross

USB 2.0 is faster than Firewire 400, so I don't understand that correlation. Final Cut 7.0.2.

I am going to try the 1080i60 Firewire Basic because that is what I am doing.

I have heard about this preferences issue, so I'll try that if this setting doesn't resolve.

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Answer 3

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Sep 5, 2013 1:36 PM in response to seano23

USB 2 sends data is bursts...packets. Video requires a steady stream. Firewire provides that...while you'll get freezing and dropped frames with video on USB because it'll send a burst, and then the data rate transfer drops.

Pretty much everyone here will tell you the same thing.

1080i60 Firewire Basic is a deck control setting. Look in the FINAL CUT PRO menu, choose EASY SETUP. And choose the HDV 1080i60 setting.

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Answer 4

seano23 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 5, 2013 3:43 PM in response to Shane Ross

It's coming in stable now, using either Firewire Basic or the HDV 1080i60. Both write the video as an MPEG-2 with 1440 x 1080 resolution. USB 2 isn't really a problem, I think it's just a smart caution not to use it for professional applications. Strangely, using AIC, I managed to get a 1920 x 1080 video--of course that is exactly when things started going wrong. However, being that this is not original 1080p material, it seems the format I have arrived at is optimal.

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Answer 5

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Sep 5, 2013 3:45 PM in response to seano23

HDV is an anamorphic format...1440x1080. The way you are bringing it in now is optimal...it's a direct 1:1 digital transfer, lossless.

Glad things are stable!

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