Problems with Print to Video in FCP

I've been having problems getting my FCP HD 4.5 to export my edited sequences to DV. I go through the steps, but every time, it freezes up. The audio continues normally, but video freezes up. Sometimes it corrects itself, but by then it's too late, and I have to start over.

I have looked through all of my system prefs, user prefs, a/v settings, and I can't seem to get it to work right. Is it a RAM issue or something? Or a scratch disk issue? I've worked with other editing sytems, and never had as much trouble dumping to tape as I've had with FCP.

A friend of mine said he never uses print to video, just plays the timeline and records. The only problem is that the signal doesn't go through the firewire cable to the camera unless I'm using print to video. That, and the fact that it freezes up any time I play the timeline anyway. Am I doing something wrong? I've tried adjusting my a/v device settings, etc. but still no luck.

If anyone has any input, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

 

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I did check that, actually. I'm sure there's something I'm overlooking, but I just can't nail it down. I think it must just be a ram issue or something. The other setting I thought of is playback, I think. The one that decides the quality of the image in the timeline for editing pruposes maybe?

 

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I tried that, and I get the same result. I wonder about one thing though; in my options, I think on A/V settings, there's an option to "stop capture when frames are dropped" I've tried it on both settings, and this project happens to have a few spots where I drop frames. Could this be affecting things, or is that strictly on loading footage in?

Also, I have a newer version of FCP. If I install that, will it affect any of the files for my previous version, or override it in any way? Or can I just install the new one and have both?

 

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Thanks, I'll try that. My only external drive is USB, not firewire. All of my program files for the project are on it, however, so I won't be able to disconnect it. I did have a problem with my front firewire port, and tech support suggested switching to the rear, which has worked fine, at least for dumping footage in. I'll try what you suggested.


One more question: when I export as a self contained movie, am I compressing? The whole reason I'm dumping to tape is to have as clean a master copy to archive. I know it will be compressed some through firewire, but not like a DVD.

 

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That's a possibility, I'll have to try that. I do recall, though, that I had the same problem a while ago when I was trying to dump from my main drive. I have a secondary internal drive now, so maybe I'll try copying to that one.

I did what you said earlier, and it worked, just wondering about the compression issue. Do I lose any quality when I export it as a self-contained movie? If I don't, or if it's minimal, I can probably live with that solution. Let me know if you have any input. Thanks again!