Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Final Cut not opening AVC H264

statikcat

statikcat

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 20, 2007
263
0
Hey everyone I am having an odd issue.

I have some AVC .264 MP4 videos that will not import into Final Cut Pro. When I try I get this message:

File Error: 1 file(s) recognized, 0 access denied, 1 uknown.

I have many Mp4 files created in Handbrake that all do this. They are using .264.. isn't Apple heavily involved in this format? It plays fine in Quicktime. Meanwhile, I can open Divx, Avi, Mpg videos with no problem. I am baffled why these mp4 would not load in FCP. Do I need to somehow change the container to .mov? I am not sure how to do that either.

Any suggestions? I searched the forums with no luck.
 
Also to add.. If I use Handbrake and use h.264 on the same source but output it with an .avi file it loads into FCP fine. So is it just the .mp4 container/extension?
 
Thanks for the information but what is the best way to get this file into FCP? Is there a workaround regardless if this is not ideal? Can I use Quicktime Pro to change the container/extension to .avi or .mov? Like I said I can use h.264 with .avi and it works fine. So it seems to be more an issue with the extension?

So then what would be a good format for editing? I can use Mpeg Streamclip to re-render the h.264 or from the source. What would be recommended?

I am using a copy at work and we are an audio company foremost.. so this is a bit new to me.
 
It is an SD file. I know in QT Pro you can pass through to Mp4 container.. can you not do that from MP4 to .mov or .avi?

I am somewhat familiar with transcoding.. I use Tversity on my PC to transcode videos to my PS3.. but I am not an expert on it.
 
Yes I tried that.. but it takes forever to convert. The file is about 2gb. I just need a few minutes from it.

I guess I will just re-rip from the source. It just sucks because I need files in h.264 and an editable format.. so since FCP doesn't support this popular codec I have to rip it twice. Actually FCP will open h.264 in .avi just not .mp4. That really makes no sense to me.. but I am no video guru.

Are there other editing apps for Mac that can edit h264 MP4? I would think FCP if any could. Or maybe this would be easier to do in Windows on my Mac :eek: I am betting Vegas or Premier can do this..


So anyway.. since FCP is limited on this.. what file type is best for editing in FCP?
 
just trim the sections you need in MPEG streamclip and just export those parts. it's not that difficult.

DV in the .mov container is what FCP likes best.
 
Yeah I noticed the trim tool but it did not seem to do much I will give it more work today I am sure I can get it working if it does that.

Thanks for the info.
 
statikcat said:
It is an SD file. I know in QT Pro you can pass through to Mp4 container.. can you not do that from MP4 to .mov or .avi?

I am somewhat familiar with transcoding.. I use Tversity on my PC to transcode videos to my PS3.. but I am not an expert on it.
Click to expand...

If it's an SD files, you should be able to load it in QT Pro, and then trim out the content you don't want and export using "Movie to DV Stream."

You may still have to render the audio when it is imported to Final cut.
 
Ok thanks I will give that a shot too. Funny that Apple QT and this other free app can do (basic) editing on a file that FCP can not :D:apple:
 
Yeah.. I understand where you are coming from.. but FCP supports other formats that are not ideal for editing. But QT seems to manage well so far that helped a lot. One thing about quicktime though..

QT export to DV hits quality a lot and results in a larger file.. when I used divx export it is smaller filesize and better looking than the DV. Given this what advantage does DV have in editing? Does it use less cpu and shorter rendering times?

Thanks for all the info.
 
statikcat said:
QT export to DV hits quality a lot and results in a larger file.. when I used divx export it is smaller filesize and better looking than the DV. Given this what advantage does DV have in editing? Does it use less cpu and shorter rendering times?

Thanks for all the info.
Click to expand...

.. it's an old post but it was never answered... this bit I quoted above... alright. Erase from your mind the idea that a smaller file size means it will be faster to edit. File size has nothing to do with it, but has everything to do with the codec used (or NOT used.. we'll get to that), since this is what the processor is working with when you're playing back or editing. DV is just a standard codec, which is used because most handhelds RECORD to DV... but never EVER should you transcode something that's already compressed to DV. seriously.

you should use mpg streamclip or qt to set an in and out, then export to an UNCOMPRESSED format. You should have drive space to do this, if not.. rethink what you're doing with your time and your money, and go get some. :)

The reason you want to use uncompressed is because it requires no decompression when editing. . . because it's not compressed, follow? You need drive space and throughput. scsi still works, fibre is ideal if you're going to do work in HD. If you're doing stuff in HD get a kona card and use the AJA uncompressed codec.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back