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Final Cut Pro X Preview Window is Dark

L

littlesmegger

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 12, 2011
24
0
I have started to use FCPX on my MacBook and have noticed the colour/brightness of the preview is nowhere near the same as the actual footage or even the timeline thumbnails. Screenshot at this link: http://twitpic.com/5opir5

Already tried to work with the colour options in System Preferences but nothing really works, even tried making a custom set in advanced settings but still nothing. As for the specs:

Frame Size: 1920 × 1080
Frame Rate: 29.97
Codecs: Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy), Linear PCM
Video Field Doninance: Progressive
Colour Profile: HD (1-1-1)

Macbook: Early 2008 [Black]
OS Version: 10.6.8
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
 
I believe this is a graphics card issue, I have read a number of people having issues on Macs that aren't officially supported.
 
Aren't FCP X and Lion ending the differences between Apple and Windows gamma? Maybe that is the issue.

Check your gamma settings.
 
I have tried adjusting gamma levels through system preferences, and while the preview window does alter, it is still inconsistent with the footage/timeline thumbnails.

If Lion does solve this then that would be fantastic, but I still think it's unfair if the case expecting people to upgrade to solve something like this. Apple should have released an update by now solving these issues if graphic card related.
 
Sorry man, your Macbook's graphics card does not fully support FCX. I had the same exact problem on my Early 2008 Macbook (white). It's a real shame too, because I was excited about the new features.

HOWEVER, supposedly when you export the video will look fine. So you can still edit and stuff, but you'll not know what the color truly looks like until you export.

FULL LIST HERE
 
That really is stupid in some ways, the fact that footage on either end looks fine, that the thumbnails are fine... but playback within software isn't possible without having colour drained from it? Surely there'd have been a workaround for this somewhere, quite disappointing.

And do think everything else works and is smooth as well, but colour was a block too big to get over for them. :rolleyes:
 
OP, for interest's sake, export a still and open it in Preview, and see if it looks as it should.

cgbier said:
Aren't FCP X and Lion ending the differences between Apple and Windows gamma? Maybe that is the issue.
Click to expand...

Snow Leopard did this.
 
littlesmegger said:
Exported a still and opened it in Preview, looked as it should in full colour just like the original footage. Here is the comparison between the shot in FCPX and Preview:

FCPX Screenshot: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/687/screenshot20110712at172.png/

Exported Still: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/807/quadcopterstill.jpg/
Click to expand...

Yeah man...looks identical to the issue I was having. I just decided to stick with FCP7, despite really wanting to try out the updated software. If you are mostly chopping and cutting, then you might be able to use it without a problem...if you're grading a lot, then it might be a royal pain to use.

There is a small chance that there is a workaround for this, but frankly, I wouldn't hold my breath. I've been planning on updating my computer situation anyway, so I'll be sure to get one with an appropriate graphics card.
 
What graphics card do you have? Here are the minimum requirements as listed by Apple on the FCPX page:
Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better
2GB of RAM (4GB of RAM recommended)
OpenCL-capable graphics card or
Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later
256MB of VRAM
 
graphics card probem?

i have a newer i5 imac, but i have reaaly dark preview monitor too..

how do i fix?
 
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