Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 872)

872 Part X Real Time and Rendering
About Render Status Bars
There are two render status bars in the Timeline above the ruler. The upper one is for
video and the lower for audio. These render bars indicate various levels of real-time
playback, including which sections of the sequence will play in real time and which
ones require rendering to play back smoothly.
Note: Even though they may also indicate real-time playback status, these bars are
usually referred to as render bars. In other words, the presence of a colored bar in the
Timeline indicates that a clip requires some kind of processing. Historically, the name
render bars was used because, in the past, all effects had to be rendered and there was
no option for real-time processing.
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Tip: If you position the pointer over a colored render bar, a tooltip appears with
information about the real-time or render status of that section of your sequence.
Render bars appear near
the top of the Timeline.
A tooltip tells you the
status of a particular
section of your sequence.