Apple Final Cut Pro 5 User Manual
Page 1669
318
Part IV
Settings and Preferences
 FPS (Frames per second): Choose a value to specify the number of frames captured
per second. For a list of common frame rates, see Appendix A, “
Note: The capture preset frame rate should match both the frame rate of your source
tapes and the editing timebase you plan to use in your edited sequences. One
exception to this rule is when capturing 25 fps video for use in a 24 fps sequence.
This is a common film workflow used in Europe. For more information, see the
documentation that came with Cinema Tools.
 Limit Data Rate: If you’re using an analog-to-digital video interface to capture, click
to select this option, then enter a numerical value in the field to define the data rate
for captured clips in kilobytes (KB) per second. You may want to look at capture
presets included with your video interface to get an idea of how this value is set.
The data rate you specify determines the quality of your video. Here are several
sample data rates:
 Offline M-JPEG: 1 MB/sec.
 DV-format video: 3.6 MB/sec.
 Medium quality M-JPEG: 6 MB/sec.
 High quality 2:1 M-JPEG: 12 MB/sec.
The maximum data rate depends on the maximum throughput of your video
interface as well as the maximum sustained transfer speed of your hard disk. For
more information, see the documentation that came with your video interface or
hard disk.
Note: DV has a fixed data rate and it is captured digitally via FireWire, so this option
doesn’t apply to DV clips.
 Advanced: Click this button to set additional QuickTime video settings, if necessary
for your video hardware. For detailed information, see “
Finding the Maximum Data Rate When Using the Limit Data
Rate Field
If you’re not sure of the maximum data rate possible for your hard disk and video
interface, capture a video clip from tape with a data rate of 3 MB/sec.
 If no dropped frames are reported, increase the data rate to 4 MB/sec., then recapture
the clip.
 If no dropped frames are reported, recapture the same clip, raising the data rate by 1
MB/sec. each time, until the clip you capture reports dropped frames.
When a message appears saying frames were dropped, you’ve reached the maximum
data rate for your equipment.