Pixels on clips after importing to FCP from Canon XA10

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Level 1

9 points

Pixels on clips after importing to FCP from Canon XA10

I have been using FCP for years with my Canon XA10 video camera without problems. I have however now faced a very strange issue. After importing clips from camera to FCP, some of the clips have some pixels/interference on picture which last for a second or so.

I thought my camera was broken and sent it to Canon. They reported that the camera has no problems. They believe it is due to different codec. The camera uses AVCHD whereas Apple uses different and its own codec which it needs to transcode.

I have also tested this myself and this error occurs also in iMovie and with a different Apple computer. So this issue is not computer specific or only FCP specific. And as said, I have used FCP and same camera for years with iMac without any problems.

Any suggestions? Thanks for any help/comments!

iMac with Retina 5K display, iOS 11.2.2

Posted on Jan 10, 2018 11:04 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 10, 2018 12:34 PM in response to ramierik96

I had this happen to my Canon footage a few years ago. We had a Drobo 5D with SSD acceleration and the SSD was bad, slightly corrupting any data passed through it. Footage would appear fine in playback on the camera but these glitches would appear once it was ingested into Final Cut.

Took awhile to figure this out, I would suggest checking your drives. Trying dumping your footage to a different drive and see if you get the same results.

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Answer 2

ramierik96 Author

Level 1

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Jan 30, 2018 10:26 AM in response to ramierik96

I spoke to Apple adviser specialized to FCP and he instructed me to install Pro Video Formats 2.0.6. which installs different codecs to a computer.

After installing this and a brief analysis, I can tell that it solved my issue!

Here's the link to this download: Pro Video Formats 2.0.6

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Answer 3

ramierik96 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 10, 2018 12:23 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Yes, 10.4. and hasn’t happened in earlier versions. But it’s the same with iMovie where I run the test also. Canon tested the camera with the same clip by importing it from the camera to a few different PCs.

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Answer 4

ramierik96 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 10, 2018 12:48 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

The original file looks ok on the camera’s own screen, even with slow motion. I have to test QT player and also VLC which was recommended by Canon to run the test. I need to wait for a couple of days to get my camera back from Canon. I’ll let you know then...

Thanks!

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Answer 5

ramierik96 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 10, 2018 12:50 PM in response to 2playerproductions

My camera has a hard drive and I thought it would have gone broken, so I also tested it with a brand new SD card but same issue with the SD card. Canon run a few test with different cards and the hard drive and found nothing on the camera. Very strange.

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Answer 6

ramierik96 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 12, 2018 6:49 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

I got my camera back and have run a few tests. This issue seems to be very much FCP 10.4. related. I have tested this with my iMac (High Sierra) and MacBook Air (Sierra). This is the result:

MacBook Air (Sierra) FCP 10.4. a clip has pixels/errors (AVCHD), QuickTime player, no errors!

iMac (High Sierra) FCP 10.4. a clip has several pixels/errors (AVCHD), QuickTime player, no errors!

Interesting indeed!

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Answer 7

jpabel

Level 1

4 points

Feb 22, 2018 11:50 AM in response to ramierik96

I'm having the exact same issue. Have imported footage for years from my XA-10 directly into FCPX with no problems. After upgrading to FCPX 10.4, seeing the same pixels on clips after import. Tried multiple computers, cables, USB interfaces, to no avail.

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Answer 8

ramierik96 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 30, 2018 10:27 AM in response to nordheide

Try this one. At least it helped me:-).

Pro Video Formats 2.0.6

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Answer 9

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,403 points

Jan 10, 2018 11:06 AM in response to ramierik96

What version is this? 10.4?

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Answer 10

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,403 points

Jan 10, 2018 12:27 PM in response to ramierik96

Can you see the original file from the camera card before importing it using the QuickTime player? How does it look? Can you post a small clip somewhere?