[Jason Jenkins] " thought that by setting the output to 720p 59.94, it was adding the padding and would play out (which it seems to do, just not smoothly). "
That was in FCP7, FCPX does not have or support padding.
" I don't think my system is straining. It was the fastest Macbook Pro I could get in early 2011 (2.3GHz i7 w/16 GB of RAM, SSD)."
Apple laptops prior to the current Retina are, IMHO, not stable with 16G ram. Too many issues.
"the cross conversion looks pretty crappy. I am using "native" 1080p avchd media in a 720p timeline. "
That would be the issue you are bouncing all over the place- why not work @ 1080 then cross convert to 720 for output, right now you are going from 1080 > 720 in software then back up to 1080 in hardware- too much processing for a real delivery.
gary adcock
Studio37
Post and Production Workflow Consultant
Production and Post Stereographer
Chicago, IL
http://blogs.creativecow.net/24640
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