Playback frame rate, About dynamic real-time playback – Apple Final Cut Pro 6 User Manual
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Chapter 28
Using RT Extreme
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IV
Playback Frame Rate
The more you reduce the number of frames Final Cut Pro calculates each second, the
more effects can be calculated in real time.
 Dynamic: This option varies the displayed frame rate as necessary to achieve the
highest-quality playback with the most effects. When more processing power is
required, Final Cut Pro can reduce the frame rate to spend more time calculating
fewer frames. When few or no effects are applied, Final Cut Pro can return to
playback at the full frame rate. For more information, see “
 Full: Your sequence plays back at the frame rate (editing timebase) assigned in the
Sequence Settings window.
 Half: Your sequence plays back at half its assigned frame rate. For example, if the
frame rate of your sequence is 24 fps, the playback frame rate is 12 fps.
 Quarter: Your sequence plays back at a quarter of its assigned frame rate. If the frame
rate of your sequence is 24 fps, the playback frame rate is 6 fps.
About Dynamic Real-Time Playback
To maximize the number of effects you can see during real-time playback, you can
choose to have Final Cut Pro automatically adjust the video quality, the frame rate, or
both during playback. This is called dynamic real-time playback.
Dynamic real-time playback continually adjusts video quality on a frame-by-frame
basis. Segments of a sequence that require minimal processor workload are displayed
at higher quality, and more processor-intensive segments are displayed at lower
quality. Since Final Cut Pro automatically adjusts the playback quality as necessary,
you always get the highest-quality playback possible without having to stop playback
to make video quality adjustments.
Playback video quality and frame rate are independent settings, so you can choose to
make one dynamic while keeping the other fixed. For example, if you need to see
every frame during playback, you should set the playback frame rate to Full while
setting the playback video quality to Dynamic. In this case, your sequence video
quality may be reduced during playback, but you will always see every frame. On the
other hand, if you are doing detailed compositing work that depends on high-quality
video display, you can set your sequence playback video quality to High and set your
sequence frame rate to Dynamic.
If neither frame rate nor video quality is critical, you can choose Dynamic for both
playback video quality and frame rate.