David Das
Level 1 (40 points)
Apple TV

Q: When audio waveforms just don't appear...

I'm in the latest FCPX (10.2.3) on the latest El Capitan.

 

What's the cause when audio waveforms just refuse to appear in the timeline?

 

I was working along normally in an editing project, and audio waveforms were appearing normally. Then I jumped to a later section in the project, and no audio waveforms would appear. I've been waiting 10+ minutes, and still no waveforms.

 

And then, out of frustration, I chose to quit and relaunch FCPX, and upon relaunch, they're back.

 

This does happen to me quite a bit though, and my editing job is heavily dependent upon seeing audio waveforms. Why are they so flaky, and is there any way to make them more solid, and not require a quit and relaunch just to get this fundamental feature working?

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on May 21, 2016 9:42 PM

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David Das

Q: When audio waveforms just don't appear...

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Alchroma,

    Alchroma Alchroma May 21, 2016 11:50 PM in response to David Das
    Level 6 (18,936 points)
    Video
    May 21, 2016 11:50 PM in response to David Das

    Can you tell us more about the type of clips and what's going on in the Timeline please?

    Also how much RAM is on your system, how external drives are connected and anything else about your specific setup.

    More info is better than less, even screenshots reveal details.

     

    Al

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H May 22, 2016 4:56 AM in response to David Das
    Level 7 (21,780 points)
    Quicktime
    May 22, 2016 4:56 AM in response to David Das

    Also, sometimes users who report this have found that the issue resolved itself by quitting and re-booting.

     

    Russ

  • by Kennythedrummer,

    Kennythedrummer Kennythedrummer May 22, 2016 11:45 AM in response to Alchroma
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    May 22, 2016 11:45 AM in response to Alchroma

    Hi I am having a similar issue and here are the details. I am recording on an Olmypus LS 20M audio video recorder. Video is recorded at 1920 * 1080, and audio at pcm - 96 * 24 bit. I recorded on a high speed 32 gig transend disc ultra speed. My IMAC is totally up to date I have 16 gigs of RAM with an I7.

    What happens when I try to import a file, is the audio doesn't load in to Final cut pro it seems. I also get at times the error message that Final Cut doesn't work with .mov files. ????  Why will my quick time play the audio and video together but final cut not me able to?  Makes no sense to me, but I am far from an expert. Any help?????

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky May 22, 2016 12:47 PM in response to Kennythedrummer
    Level 10 (118,152 points)
    Apple TV
    May 22, 2016 12:47 PM in response to Kennythedrummer

    WWhat are the complete specs of the media from the QT player info window?

  • by David Das,

    David Das David Das May 22, 2016 10:13 PM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Apple TV
    May 22, 2016 10:13 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

    This is on a 12-core Mac Pro with 22GB of RAM. I'm in a multicam clip that has a variety of audio and video sources, but the audio source currently in use is an imported AIFF file from a Tascam recorder.

     

    Sometimes I have no trouble with audio waveforms, such as in the attached screenshot. Other times, when I'm zoomed in and trying to work on detailed edits, they just disappear and never reappear until a quit/relaunch.

     

    The attached screenshot is typical of my projects, though at the moment, audio waveforms appear normally (and they often do when zoomed completely out).

     

    Screen Shot 2016-05-22 at 10.11.30 PM.png