Problems with OnLocation QT files and Final Cut

Laptop: Windows XP running Adobe OnLocation

Desktop: MacPro 8-Core, Intel Xeon, 8GB ram, Mac OSX 10.4.11, FCP 6.02, QT 7.3.1

Workflow: Record from HVX to OnLocation as .MOV files, then drop into MacPro FCP for editing


Problem: Everything works until the final stage - cannot export my sequence from FCP as a Quicktime movie without crashing my Mac

I recorded several hours of footage from my HVX to my Windows XP laptop running Adobe OnLocation. Clips were recorded as .MOV (Quicktime) files to a firewire drive in 720 24P time base. I then took the drive home, hooked it up to my Mac and was able to drag and drop all the .MOV files onto my FCP timeline. I did get some strange warning about some files not being recognized and that they were not optimized for "multistreaming". I ended up ignoring those warnings, as all the clips showed up in my timeline without any apparent hiccups. I was able to edit my sequences without any problem. In fact, I spent a couple of days editing to my heart's content.

The problem occurred at the end, when I went to export my sequence as a self-contained Quicktime movie, as per my customer's request. The Mac keeps crashing in the middle of the export, and demands a restart. If I chop the sequence down from 11 minutes to under 5, I am able to export. But anything longer and it's crash time. Sometimes, just attempting to open the FCP project that contains those files in the timeline will cause the computer to crash.

I immediately started troubleshooting. I found that all my other footage shot over the past months on P2 cards (not using OnLocation) is fine - I can grab thirty-minute sequences of those in FCP and export successfully as self-contained QT movies. I have Sony HDV footage in my Mac as well, and I am also able to export those sequences as QT movies from within FCP. The only sequences that don't export are the ones recorded via OnLocation as MOV files.

Is anyone else seeing this problem? Is it related to the infamous QT 7.3.1 bug? I also tried installing QT 7.4 on my MacPro but get the same results.

Would recording in OnLocation as .AVI instead of .MOV solve this problem? I should be able to easily drop AVI files into my FCP timeline and then hopefully export it as a QT movie. Or do you think that won't work because it's some kind of more general OnLocation problem?

I would go out and test AVI recording right now, but I rented out my camera for a few days, so it will be a bit before I can test again. In the meantime, anyone know the correct workflow for this?!?

Thanks!