Kennythedrummer

Q: How to open .mov files in final cut pro x

Ok so you (or I) would think apple would at least let us open .mov files in final cut pro X but apparently the codec H.264 won't work. I get the final cut error message, "Final cut pro cannot open files in the "quick time movie format." Why isn't apple apple? So is there a decent way to convert the files into something fcp can work with?

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion, quad I7

Posted on Jul 15, 2016 4:45 PM

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Q: How to open .mov files in final cut pro x

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  • by Tom Wolsky,Solvedanswer

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jul 15, 2016 4:49 PM in response to Kennythedrummer
    Level 10 (118,212 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 15, 2016 4:49 PM in response to Kennythedrummer

    Final Cut Pro cannot open a video file. You can import a video file into the application to edit it. The QuickTime player can open a video file. No video editing application can open a video file. They open projects or libraries or bins or whatever documents they use to store editing information.

  • by Kennythedrummer,

    Kennythedrummer Kennythedrummer Jul 15, 2016 6:01 PM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Jul 15, 2016 6:01 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

    Ok so I misspoke a bit. it won't import the file either. Rather it does without the audio track. So the codec is not compatible with FCP? How can I import the full file, audio and video. This is a .mov file f and the codec is H.264 .. it was taken by an Olympus ls20 linear pcm recorder. I am pretty familiar with final cut pro, do know how to import, about libraries, projects etc. however, again the audio track gets left  behind.

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jul 15, 2016 6:08 PM in response to Kennythedrummer
    Level 10 (118,212 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 15, 2016 6:08 PM in response to Kennythedrummer

    I don't see the Olympus LS20 as a supported camera. It may be doing something in a proprietary fashion with the audio. Can you open the file in the QuickTime player?

  • by Kennythedrummer,

    Kennythedrummer Kennythedrummer Jul 15, 2016 6:17 PM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Jul 15, 2016 6:17 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

    I believe this is a codec issue, the file on my mac with "get info" says the codec is H.264, which seems to give a lot of us fcp users problems. I really appreciate your help Tom. Do you know how I can convert that to apple pro res (422 or?). Because .mov is a container, and the aspects can vary, I again think this is a codec issue. Do you know of a converter that will work with this? Any other thoughts????

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jul 15, 2016 6:25 PM in response to Kennythedrummer
    Level 10 (118,212 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 15, 2016 6:25 PM in response to Kennythedrummer

    H.264 is the basis on AVCHD and it is used very widely in FCP, in AVCHD camera and DSLRs. The only users who have trouble with this media is if the rip the .mts files out of the AVCHD container. There is absolutely no problem with H.264 in FCP. On most newer Apple computers the H.264 codec is written into the Intel chip that powers it for faster decode and encode.

     

    H.264 is a video codec and has nothing to do with the audio, and you have a problem the the audio in the file and not with the video.

     

    Can you open the file in the QuickTime player?

     

    You can convert the file in the Finder.

  • by Kennythedrummer,

    Kennythedrummer Kennythedrummer Jul 15, 2016 6:34 PM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Jul 15, 2016 6:34 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

    Tom how do I convert the file in finder... my ignorance grows, hahaha  The files (I do have lots of them) plays fine in mplayerx, but not in quick time.

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jul 15, 2016 6:39 PM in response to Kennythedrummer
    Level 10 (118,212 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 15, 2016 6:39 PM in response to Kennythedrummer

    What does the inspector window of the QT player say about the file if it can open it?

     

    Not sure converting if the Finder is going to do anything for you as it uses the same AV Foundation. Select the file, right-click and choose Services>Encode file. In the dialog you can select ProRes. You can do multiple files at once.

  • by Kennythedrummer,

    Kennythedrummer Kennythedrummer Jul 15, 2016 7:01 PM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Jul 15, 2016 7:01 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

    inspector window says Format: H.264, 1280 * 720     29.97 fps    data size 595 MB   Data rate: 6.01 MBIT    current size 1280 * 720 actual.    Tom I just don't know, I have dozens of these videos and neither qt or fcp will play the audio. I can use the earphone outs to line into my sony hd video camera and import from the video recorder into fcp, including the audio, but not directly from the Olympus itself.  Tom I think your rating should be an 11, not a 10 .... thanks again.

    Oh file name is p5130021.mov  

  • by Tom Wolsky,Helpful

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jul 16, 2016 9:18 AM in response to Kennythedrummer
    Level 10 (118,212 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 16, 2016 9:18 AM in response to Kennythedrummer

    So there's no audio information in the inspector in the QT player. Wonder if the audio is a separate file in some way.

  • by Kennythedrummer,

    Kennythedrummer Kennythedrummer Jul 16, 2016 10:34 AM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Jul 16, 2016 10:34 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

    Could be, I can use the Olympus ls20 as either a pcm voice recorder or as a video camera. It will record in hi def video , pcm from 44.1 up to 96/24 bit audio. Oddly, I have quick time player on my pc, and that plays the videos with audio just fine, But on my imac, the audio doesn't seem to import along with the video. I  take the memory card out of the Olympus to transfer the files onto the computers. Again MplayerX plays the video just fine on the mac, with the audio intact. But not FCP or QT player on the mac. Some other mac programs do work with the video with audio. Other programs will work with the audio on the mac. Soundtrack Pro opens the audio from the same file that FCP won't.  Tom! back from a little more exploring, a program called Smart File Converter converted it to "MAC" and now FCP imports them just fine. Free program. I used both convert to Quick Time and Convert to Mac, (Mac converted to mp4) and they both imported to fcp. Both reduced the file size a bit, but for my purposes, it works. Again Tom, you really tend to hang in there and I greatly appreciate it. Remember that converter if others have the same or similar issues. Thanks Tom, Kenny