Dropped Frames Error with MXO2

	Re: Dropped Frames Error with MXO2 by Andy Mees on May 27, 2009 at 2:43:17 pm Hi Christian So to troubleshoot your issues effectively then I think we need to have a few more details about your system, especially things like your system hardware and software specs, which driver version you're running with on your MXO2 and especially what storage system you've got there. But to jump start things a bit there is some good general advice that works regardless of system. First off, you ALWAYS need to set your FCP View menu > Video Playback setting to match your Sequence Settings. If you choose anything else then you're actually asking FCP (ie your Mac) to convert the footage before passing out of to the MXO2. So for DV PAL for example then you'd want to choose Matrox MXO2 PAL YUV 8 bit (720 x 576), for DVCPRO HD 720p then you'd want Matrox MXO2 720p 50 YUV 8 bit (1280 x 720) ...assuming thats the frame rate you're shooting, and for XDCAM EX then the Matrox MXO2 1080i 50 YUV 8 bit (1920 x 1080) might be more appropriate, again assuming that matches your chosen frame rate and frame size ... that's the trick, doesn't matter what codec may or may not be mentioned in the Video Playback setting you choose, as long as it says Matrox MXO2 and has the correct Frame Size, Frame Rate and Color Space then you'll be fine. Beyond that then you need to start considering your host computer system's ability in and of itself to handle and play back the raw footage: Does the footage match your sequence settings? If not, then FCP will need to render it to the sequence settings in realtime before passing it to the MXO2 ... that could cause dropped frames if your system lacks the power to do this, in which case a render may be in order. Alternatively it may be that your system is struggling to display both a preview version to FCP's Canvas window whilst at the same time decompressing and sending the full quality output to the MXO2 ... in that case you might consider turing off the "Mirror on desktop" option in the Playback output section under the A/V Devices tab of FCP's Audio/Video Settings window. That'll divert all the systems attention to outputting to the MXO2 ... might be just the push it needs. Another thing to consider is your hard drive speed. Does your hard drive offer the performance needed to play back and maintain playback of your source footage? This is often the root cause of performance issues with any NLE system. Your media storage needs to be connected to your system appropriately (NOT via USB for example), your drive needs to be suitable for the kind of edit work you're doing (if you're only editing 1 layer cuts only SD video then most any drive should be fine, but if you need to play back multiple layers and or HD video then you need a drive system that can handle and maintain the datarate needed for that ... a good fast RAID system would help). And remember that your drive system's performance drops off as it reaches it's capacity, so if your storage space is filling up then that could be a problem (80% is a "too full" guideline to go with). Hope there's something in there that helps ... let us know. Andy Respond to this post   •   Return to posts index

	Re: Dropped Frames Error with MXO2 by Christian Brown on May 27, 2009 at 3:46:43 pm Hi Andy, Thanks for your help with this. Here is my System Spec: Model Name: Mac Pro Model Identifier: MacPro3,1 Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz Number Of Processors: 2 Total Number Of Cores: 8 L2 Cache (per processor): 12 MB Memory: 6 GB Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz Boot ROM Version: MP31.006C.B05 SMC Version (system): 1.25f4 Serial Number (system): CK9020EU5J4 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT: Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Type: Display Bus: PCIe Slot: Slot-1 PCIe Lane Width: x16 VRAM (Total): 512 MB Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de) Device ID: 0x0602 Revision ID: 0x00a2 ROM Revision: 3233 Displays: SyncMaster: Resolution: 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz Depth: 32-Bit Color Core Image: Hardware Accelerated Main Display: Yes Mirror: Off Online: Yes Quartz Extreme: Supported Rotation: Supported SyncMaster: Resolution: 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz Depth: 32-Bit Color Core Image: Hardware Accelerated Mirror: Off Online: Yes Quartz Extreme: Supported Rotation: Supported 1x WDC WD3200AAJS-41VWA1: Capacity: 298.09 GB Model: WDC WD3200AAJS-41VWA1 Revision: 58.01D05 Serial Number: WD-WCARW6949369 Native Command Queuing: Yes Queue Depth: 32 Removable Media: No Detachable Drive: No BSD Name: disk2 Bay Name: "Bay 1" Mac OS 9 Drivers: No Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table) S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified 2 x SAMSUNG HD103UJ: Capacity: 931.51 GB Model: SAMSUNG HD103UJ Revision: 1AA01113 Serial Number: S13PJDWQC25121 Native Command Queuing: Yes Queue Depth: 32 Removable Media: No Detachable Drive: No BSD Name: disk1 Bay Name: "Bay 3" Mac OS 9 Drivers: No Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table) S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified I have followed Easy Setups in FCP and made sure there are no setting conflicts with the media, timeline and project. All the media has been digitized with MXO2 using the Matrox pre sets, and the display output follows the frame rate and dimensions. But Still the same problem. I even switched the Mirror on desktop but the dropped frame error was still happening. I am now working on DVCPRO HD 720p 59.94 Project. I can capture, playback in viewer and not get a dropped frame error, but as soon as i drop it in the timeline and play it, i get the error within minutes. Here is a test I have done. DVCPro HD 720p 59.94fps 2 channel 48Hz 24bit Audio Using MXO2 Test 1). 00.03.51.20 FCP DROPPED FRAME ERROR Test 2). 00.05.39.13 FCP DROPPED FRAME ERROR Test 3). Played full sequence Test 4). 00.03.49.01 FCP DROPPED FRAME ERROR Test 5). 00.00.39.57 FCP DROPPED FRAME ERROR Full Screen Playback on computer monitor (NO MXO2) Test 1). Played full sequence Test 2). Played full sequence Test 3). Played full sequence Test 4). Played full sequence Test 5). Played full sequence I have done the same test on my macbook pro, this time using a Lacie Quadra but with a firewier 800 connection and have had very similar results. Here are some images of my settings for a DV project I am working on. I am getting the same frame drop error this when using the MXO2. Thanks again for you help. Respond to this post   •   Return to posts index