Help keep using my OS X

[zalle]

Hi,

I used windows all my life. My wife uses Mac, but she only uses it for photography.

I'm used to Pinnacle 15. I record AVCHD, convert to MPG, edit in pinnacle and export to MPEG2, DVD and Blu ray.

I bought an iMac and I'm trying to use FCP X.

Although I like FCP, the workflow seems like a real pain.

10X bigger files, hard to export... Can you help me out? Otherwise I'll have to use bootcamp, or even windows only, which does not appeal to me...

[simsaladimbamba]

FCP X is capable processing editing-unfriendly formats like AVCHD natively without transcoding it to an editing-friendly format.
See here, here and here, articles/guides and thread found via a www search using "avchd native FCP X".

And here is how you SHARE:

As for BluRay, use the Master File selection and use that in whatever BluRay Authoring application you use for that.

[daybreak]

Zalle your are steeping unto a different platform with Mac then your PC. If you don't know a software they are all a pain to learn.
If you are going to learn and use FCP-X get and practise and look at YouTube they have some great tutorial on this software.
Actually FCP-X is very easy to use and has some time saving features.

[zalle]

Originally Posted by daybreak

Zalle your are steeping unto a different platform with Mac then your PC. If you don't know a software they are all a pain to learn.
If you are going to learn and use FCP-X get and practise and look at YouTube they have some great tutorial on this software.
Actually FCP-X is very easy to use and has some time saving features.

FCP X looks great,

I feel I can work with it very well. The problem I find is the formats. When I export, I get Quicktime movies, most people do not use Quicktime, they use windows and they want the movie to work on windows...

[simsaladimbamba]

Originally Posted by zalle

FCP X looks great,

I feel I can work with it very well. The problem I find is the formats. When I export, I get Quicktime movies, most people do not use Quicktime, they use windows and they want the movie to work on windows...

The share it as .mp4 file, the Apple Devices presets create an .mp4 or .m4v (can be renamed to .m4v easily) file anyway, and if a Windows computer cannot recognise .mp4 files, than it is too old to exist anyway. Do you still want to use the .avi or .wmv container?

[zalle]

Originally Posted by simsaladimbamba

if a Windows computer cannot recognise .mp4 files, than it is too old to exist anyway. Do you still want to use the .avi or .wmv container?

I don't understand this part.

I'm used to export in MPEG2, but MPEG4 would be good too, not .avi or .wmv

[simsaladimbamba]

Originally Posted by zalle

I don't understand this part.

I'm used to export in MPEG2, but MPEG4 would be good too, not .avi or .wmv

if a Windows computer cannot recognise .mp4 files, than it is too old to exist anyway. Do you still want to use the .avi or .wmv container?

The .mp4 container is a modern container, that is playable in Windows since at least version 5.1 (XP).

MPEG-2 is inferior to MPEG-4, but MPEG-4 is also more CPU intensive during playback (decoding and such).

So what is the actual confusion about? The .mp4 container or the MPEG-2 options for exporting from FCP X? MPEG-2 is meant for video DVD and BluRay playback disks, other than that it is not very space efficient.

.avi is a very old container that is gradually left in the past by being replaced with .mp4 and .mkv. .wmv is just a nuisance for me, but I guess still valid in the Windows world, but since .mp4 is quite platform agnostic (or has a lot more support than .wmv for several platforms) I would go with .mp4.

Video Compression
Why It Matters & How To Make The Most Of It

which includes the following sections:

• GOPs, Macroblocks & Wavelets
• Acquisition Formats
• Editing & Post Formats
• Final Cut Pro
• Avid Media Composer
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Which Codec Should I Edit With?
• Conclusion
• Camera Codec Summary
• Apple ProRes Variations
• Avid DNxHD Codecs

[mBox]

I know this is a dump comment but even most windows based "video" files are now offered at *.mp4.
Please keep in mind that this and mpg2 are transport files and not for editing.
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