Jumping Clips
by Cameron Howe
on
Jul 4, 2008 at 7:52:44 pm
I've recently imported some .dv clips into FCP and while watching them they seem to skip, the video stops for about 1-2 seconds (the place marker at the bottom of the clip stops as well), however the audio does not stop. The video then jumps to where it should be and plays normally for about 1-3 seconds and then skips again. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Re: Jumping Clips by Don Greening on Jul 4, 2008 at 9:45:29 pm
Hi Cameron and welcome to Creative COW.
It sounds like the media can't be accessed fast enough for smooth play back. Is your media on a separate hard drive or do you have it on your startup drive? It's generally accepted that any media should not be placed on your startup drive but only on a dedicated hard drive or hard drive array for best performance.
You can also lower the playback quality settings within FCP so that you're not dropping frames. FCP does not, by default, capture clips in .dv format so this might also be part of the problem. Were these clips captured with something like iMovie? You might end up having to transcode the .dv files into .mov files if you want high quality play back without dropping frames.
Providing a bit of info about your system would also help in resolving your issue, since we can't look over your shoulder.
Re: Jumping Clips by Cameron Howe on Jul 5, 2008 at 12:09:04 am
I'm running FCP 6.0.4 and I do have my media on my startup disc, however I only have this problem with the files I've added most recently. These newer clips were recorded on a Sony HDD cam and I simply dragged the .mpegs off of it, and then converted them to .dv because i was under the impression that they would be better suited for FCP. Thanks.
Re: Jumping Clips by Don Greening on Jul 5, 2008 at 3:35:55 am
Select one of your .dv clips in the Browser window and check the data rate for that clip in the appropriate column. I can't remember what the rate is for a .dv clip but if it's more than for a DV NTSC version then you've found part of your playback problem. The data rate for DV NTSC is 25 Mbits per sec. That's pretty well the lowest data rate you'll find. You can also go back to previous projects where your video playback was smoother and check the data rate and compressor for those clips. That information will help you to get better playback for your current project.
If you're serious about editing then you need to go out and buy at least a good firewire 800 external drive and put all your media on that. The startup drive has enough to do with accessing the operating system as well as the programs without having to transfer the video data streams as well. In addition, the access times will increase as more and more files get deposited on the drive. If you were getting smooth playback up to this point you've just been lucky.
