FCP, dropped frames and timecode errors......

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spinner

Now that I am back on here, I already have some issues that I would love to get opinions from the troops :blush:

I've been talking to knightly about a dropped frame problem I have been having with my FCP and he has been quite helpful but the problem still exists, so on the off chance that someone else has seen this or experienced this:

When I attempt to capture my footage I get a dropped frame alert and the capture is stopped. In order to fix this problem, I have:

1. Changed User Settings from 'make a clip' to 'warn on capture'
2. Cleanded the cameras heads
3. Re-installed FCP 4
4. Done a 'repair' on my Mac G4
5. Moved all footage off of my laptop hard drive onto my external hard drive

Actually, now the error I get is a timecode problem. :rolleyes: ...sigh...

Since I am not a complete idiot, I have considered that it might be the tapes. But the problem is on every tape I use, recently taped (last week) and previously taped (some months ago.)

Has anyone ever experienced this sort of thing before? What did you do to fix it?

...damn! this is so un-cool! I have at least 3 things I need to pull together and I can't capture anything! :grumpy:

Any help would be appreciated......

-- spinner :cool:
 
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Not sure if this'll help, but try getting a new firewire cable. Sounds like some slow data is missing the BUS. If it's not the tapes, and it's not the camera/capture-device, and it's not the computer... then it's usually a hamster lodged in the cooling fan. And if it's not that, it's usually the cable.
 
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When you set up FCP to capture, what format are you capturing in?

If you're setting it to something high like "DV50-NTSC" or "UNCOMPRESSED", you're probably setting the capture type too high. I made this mistake. I lowered the capture setting down to "FIREWIRE-BASIC" and it captured perfectly.

What kind of camera did you shoot with?
 
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What computer do you have FCP on? (iMac? MacBook Pro? PowerMac? Mac Pro?) What capture device are you using? (Camera? Deck?) How do you have that capture device hooked up? (Is it going into a firewire drive which in turn is plugged into the computer or is each plugged into the computer separately?) Do you have any other programs running?

If you can I would recommend turning off ALL programs except for FCP. If you're using a firewire drive I would further recommend plugging the capture device and drive in separate ports if at all possible.

Denis's idea is also a good one. Check the cable.

There are also some possible changes to your settings that might help but I'm not in front of my Mac right now.
 
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Loud Orange Cat said:
When you set up FCP to capture, what format are you capturing in?

If you're setting it to something high like "DV50-NTSC" or "UNCOMPRESSED", you're probably setting the capture type too high. I made this mistake. I lowered the capture setting down to "FIREWIRE-BASIC" and it captured perfectly.

What kind of camera did you shoot with?
Click to expand...

I am capturing in DV-NTSC, I shot my footage with DVX 100a, and I am using a camcorder as playback, all of which was working up until a couple of weeks ago...

-- spinner :cool:
 
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Thunderclap said:
What computer do you have FCP on? (iMac? MacBook Pro? PowerMac? Mac Pro?)
Click to expand...

I am using a PowerBook G4 laptop running FCP 4....


What capture device are you using? (Camera? Deck?)
Click to expand...

I am capturing with a Panasonic 3ccd, 1.2 megapixel camcorder....


How do you have that capture device hooked up? (Is it going into a firewire drive which in turn is plugged into the computer or is each plugged into the computer separately?) Do you have any other programs running?... If you can I would recommend turning off ALL programs except for FCP.
Click to expand...

I am connecting my firewire from the camcorder into the firewire port on the right side of my laptop, there are no other programs running...

If you're using a firewire drive I would further recommend plugging the capture device and drive in separate ports if at all possible.
Click to expand...

...am I not doing that? Camcorder to laptop firewire 400 port :huh:

Denis's idea is also a good one. Check the cable.
Click to expand...

...did that, thanks for the suggestion.... :(

There are also some possible changes to your settings that might help but I'm not in front of my Mac right now.
Click to expand...

...well, when you are, I would really like to know what else to try. This is a recent development, like over the last month or so, I had no problems for the last 1-1/2 to 2 years with anything like this....this is extremely frustrating...

-- spinner :cool:
 
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Hey! LOC!

Where do you have your preferences? knightly recommended unchecking 'abort capture on dropped frames' so I was going to do that and I was going to put the setting on warn after capture...

-- spinner
 
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...okay, I changed my settings to 'warn after capture', unchecked 'abort capture on dropped frames' and changed my user preferences to DV-NTSC Firewire basic. I am still getting the dropped frame error, however, the place where the 'hit' is has moved which confirms that it isn't a hit on the tape itself.

I still have the problem, though... :grumpy: it's infuriating!!!!

-- spinner :cool:
 
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spinner said:
I am connecting my firewire from the camcorder into the firewire port on the right side of my laptop, there are no other programs running...

...am I not doing that? Camcorder to laptop firewire 400 port :huh:
Click to expand...

Where are you capturing the footage to? The internal HD? If you're doing that I would recommend picking up an external firewire drive. It's not good to capture onto the same drive where the app is run. It slows things down.

Did you upgrade the OS recently? I know OS X 10.4.10 just came out. That may have something to do with it.

Most Mac users say you don't need to defrag your drive but in my experience if the drive is heavily fragment it can cause issues. Download and run iDefrag to check you drive. Doesn't hurt to see how heavily fragmented the drive is.

Akso, repair permissions and the disk. (Permissions can be repaired through Disk Utility in the Utilities folder, but to repair the disk you need to boot from your OS X CD/DVD and use Disk Utility from that.)
 
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Thunderclap said:
Where are you capturing the footage to? The internal HD? If you're doing that I would recommend picking up an external firewire drive. It's not good to capture onto the same drive where the app is run. It slows things down.
Click to expand...

...I have found that this is so. I had been saving to my internal because I could not afford an external. I now have a 320 Ghz firewire Western Digital external and I have moved all my footage to that. However, I called the Apple people and talked to them about my problem and how to 'defrag' my computer and they said that I needed to do a repair permissions and then verify permissions. That's what I did and I am still getting the dropped frames.

So what I am hoping is to repair whatever it is that has 'fragmented' my hard drive.

Did you upgrade the OS recently? I know OS X 10.4.10 just came out. That may have something to do with it.
Click to expand...

I just got a update alert for Mac OS X update, but it says: 'PowerPC' so I wasn't sure if I should download it.

Most Mac users say you don't need to defrag your drive but in my experience if the drive is heavily fragment it can cause issues. Download and run iDefrag to check you drive. Doesn't hurt to see how heavily fragmented the drive is.
Click to expand...

....I'll try that...

-- spinner :cool:
 
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I registered and use iDefrag and I've never had a problem with it. But every computer behaves differently, doesn't it? :) If you're nervous about it I would recommend getting an account with Mozy (mozy.com) where you can back up important files/directories to their server. It's free for 2GB or $4.95/mth for unlimited storage. Back you your files to their server or a DVD-R then give iDisk a try. (I don't know if you can actually defragment the drive without registering it but it should be able to tell you how fragment your drive is.
 
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spinner said:
...okay, I changed my settings to 'warn after capture', unchecked 'abort capture on dropped frames' and changed my user preferences to DV-NTSC Firewire basic. I am still getting the dropped frame error, however, the place where the 'hit' is has moved which confirms that it isn't a hit on the tape itself.

I still have the problem, though... :grumpy: it's infuriating!!!!

-- spinner :cool:
Click to expand...

Hmm, are you recording to a 7200RPM, 5400RPM or 4200RPM hard drive? If it's a 4200RPM drive, you may be getting errors due to the drive's slow write speeds.

How much RAM is installed on the G4?
 
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Loud Orange Cat said:
Hmm, are you recording to a 7200RPM, 5400RPM or 4200RPM hard drive? If it's a 4200RPM drive, you may be getting errors due to the drive's slow write speeds.

How much RAM is installed on the G4?
Click to expand...

Same if it's a 5400RPM drive. Minimum you want is 7200.

[ADDED] This just occurred to me. If you're like a lot of Mac users you have music on your computer through iTunes. How much hard drive space do you have left on your main HD? A good rule to follow is keep 15%-20% of your drive free so files can be swapped instead of the computer having to use RAM.
 
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When I bought my 17in MacBook Pro a few months ago, I spent the extra cash for the 7200RPM drive because this would be my exclusive editing box.

It turned out to be an excellent WoW box too, but editing is a bit more important.

Must... stop... raiding... horde... territory...! :lol:
 
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