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

Video Editing Using an External Hard Drive & Final Cut Pro

C

CompSavyLaddy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I am trying to use my external hard drive (Western Digital 250GB 72000RM Firewire) for video editing (Final Cut Pro) on my laptop 🙂apple: iBook G4). 🙂

I purchased the external hard drive to give me more space for the purpose of video editing and the external hard drive is connected by firewire to my laptop. When I connect my miniDV JVC camcorder to the external to begin the editing process I connect it via firewire as well. When I open the editing application and begin to log my video it at undetermined times freezes and the sound begins to skip like a CD and the rainbow ball displays showing that the program is working. The sound stops, but the ball continues spinning and when I go to the icon on the dock to "force quit" it has in the menu as well "application not responding". 😕 😱

Does anyone know why I'm encounterting this situation or issue and what am I doing wrong? 😕

Has anyone experienced this as well and if so please lend your expertise and opions for resolution. 😕 Thanking you in advance.
 
CompSavyLaddy said:
I am trying to use my external hard drive (Western Digital 250GB 72000RM Firewire) for video editing (Final Cut Pro) on my laptop 🙂apple: iBook G4). 🙂

I purchased the external hard drive to give me more space for the purpose of video editing and the external hard drive is connected by firewire to my laptop. When I connect my miniDV JVC camcorder to the external to begin the editing process I connect it via firewire as well. When I open the editing application and begin to log my video it at undetermined times freezes and the sound begins to skip like a CD and the rainbow ball displays showing that the program is working. The sound stops, but the ball continues spinning and when I go to the icon on the dock to "force quit" it has in the menu as well "application not responding". 😕 😱

Does anyone know why I'm encounterting this situation or issue and what am I doing wrong? 😕

Has anyone experienced this as well and if so please lend your expertise and opions for resolution. 😕 Thanking you in advance.
Click to expand...

So you have your camera connected to your HD which is in turn connected to your ibook?

I've always been weary of daisy chaining firewire like that, so I've never experimented with it. Could you try just connecting your camera to your computer directly and see if that crashes your program like you describe?
 
Right, that's how I have it connected. I thought about your suggestion before and didn't know if I would still be able to capture my video if I just plugged the camera into the firewire on the laptop since I was using the external HD and not the laptop HD, but I guess that doesn't matter does it? So, you strongly suggest plugging in the camera to the laptop instead of the external HD? I'll try that and see what my results are. Have you edited using an external HD and if so whats your process? Thanks for your help!
 
CompSavyLaddy said:
Right, that's how I have it connected. I thought about your suggestion before and didn't know if I would still be able to capture my video if I just plugged the camera into the firewire on the laptop since I was using the external HD and not the laptop HD, but I guess that doesn't matter does it? So, you strongly suggest plugging in the camera to the laptop instead of the external HD? I'll try that and see what my results are. Have you edited using an external HD and if so whats your process? Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

Does your laptop have 2 firewire plugs? If so, I would connect your camera into one and the HD into another. That's my setup when I video edit. Before I do anything, I go to the prefs and change all of the rendering, capture settings to an external harddrive. You've done this already, correct?
 
I've edited using a Powerbook, and an external Firewire HDD on numerous occasions, and rarely have a problem capturing footage when daisy-chaining them together.

Having said that, problems like this can be common, so do as Mavimao has suggested, and let us know how you get on.
 
Same issue when I tried to do that with my PB. Like the others have said, plug it directly into the iBook and be sure to change your Save To preferences to the external and you should be GTG.
 
Thank you all for your suggestions and opinons; very informative. 1.) I don't have two firewires on my laptop, only one so I guess daisy-chaining is my only option and 2.) I don't believe that I have changed my rendering preferenses and where do I go to do this and does doing this only apply if I wasn't doing the daisy-chaining or do I do this regardless? Thanking you in advance.
 
You could buy a Firewire Hub...Like a 3-port one, and that would also solve your problem. Belkin, or IOGear makes some nice ones..
 
Does the external also have USB 2.0? I'm guessing your iBooks HD isn't big enough to temp hold the vid you want to import. I don't have FCP so don't know where to change that....
 
bobr said:
Does the external also have USB 2.0? I'm guessing your iBooks HD isn't big enough to temp hold the vid you want to import. I don't have FCP so don't know where to change that....
Click to expand...

Yes sir my external has 2 firewire so i use one to connect to the laptop and the other to the camera.
 
bobr said:
Does the external also have USB 2.0? I'm guessing your iBooks HD isn't big enough to temp hold the vid you want to import. I don't have FCP so don't know where to change that....
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend USB for video..It is toooooo slow...USB is great for like backing up documents, or something small, but other than that it sucks compared to Firewire.
 
Okay, so what are my options based on the information I have supplied? I don't know what to do because I'm becoming discouraged and I don't want to get a hub because I don't think I need one. I just want to know why I'm having this issue when I know the external is capable and everything else such as the software is working properly.
 
I know it's not great. My thought was that he could save it to the internal drive and then copy it over?

Any I was wondering if the external had (IN ADDITION TO THE FW,) USB 2.0. Alot of drives do and he could at least try it if it does..........
 
CompSavyLaddy said:
Okay, so what are my options based on the information I have supplied? I don't know what to do because I'm becoming discouraged and I don't want to get a hub because I don't think I need one. I just want to know why I'm having this issue when I know the external is capable and everything else such as the software is working properly.
Click to expand...

1. Don't become discouraged!!!!
2. How big is your internal and can you copy some files over to the external to make some room? If so, then do that and then import the vid over the iBook's FW port straight from the camera. When you're done, move the project over to the external via FW.
3. I had the same issue and I bet a ton of others have also. The problem I had was getting the PB to see the camera when it was daisy chained to another device.
 
Ok, I won't get discouraged. I have this thing about only using the external for video editing and keeping all my personal files and programs on my laptop, because I didn't want to put everything on the external, understand what I mean? And to install FCP completely takes 40GBs so I wouln't be able to do that on my internal because I only have a 60GB with less than that avaiable when I purchased and even less now.
 
I understand about wanting to keep it external. In that case, try the USB 2.0 or you're probably gonna' have to try a FW Hub............
 
Try the usb to do what? Connect to the camera or connect to the laptop? What would you say the freezing issue may be coming from that I'm encountering with FCP and using the daisy chain technique?
 
To connect the HD to the laptop (USB 2.0) and the camera to the laptop (FW.) As far as the freezing issue, I was using iMovie so I don't know if it's so much of a SW problem as a HW issue........
 
Ok. Now connecting the external via usb makes it slower doesn't it and also I boot up off of my external b/c I have Mac OS X on it along with FCP so connecting with the usb wouldn't be an option b/c it's not going to start up on a usb connection. And I know it's not the sw b/c like I stated ealier I installed the same sw on my someone else's computer and they can use it just fine.
 
figure this out?

Hey,

I was just wondering if anyone ever figured out the answer to this problem. I have the exact same issue, same everything, mac, final cut pro, external hard drive, except the camera is a Sony. But that won't make any difference. Just bought the firewire hub (b/c the mac only has one firewire port), and it didn't make any difference, it just keeps spinning, saying "acquiring data space." I am, however able to capture video from the camera and put it on the hard drive of the mac, then save it on the external hard drive. But it seems I should be able to put the data directly on the external hard drive. Anybody ever figure this problem out?

thanks
 
My setup with this is I have everything on the external drive via usb - all documents and music, etc and i use the internal as the scratch disc.

The best setup for the video is a direct connection, this is because it uses the firewire to near capacity i think, also saving this then to a external drive is too slow.

A hub may not be any help as everything still has to go through that one cable into the computer

Afterwards you can copy your scratch files to the external if you wish
 
The additional firewire port on an external hard drive is made primarily to attach another hard drive to it and in that case you can daisy chain the hard drives. But you should never connect a camera to that additional firewire port on the external hard drive. If you are using Final Cut, and you still need help let me know. Many people have gone through this and there are a lot of solutions posted on Ken's Site. KenStone.net Under (DISCUSSIONS) In the archives.
 
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