Apple Final Cut Pro 5 User Manual
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Part V
Appendixes
DV video clips look fuzzy on the computer’s monitor.
 Older Power Mac G4 computers cannot process and properly play back DV in real
time when playback quality is set to High. As a result, these computers display DV
video at a lower resolution in order to maintain the full frame rate of playback for DV
clips. This lower resolution results in a softer image, but no information is lost. You
can see this when the picture is stopped. Final Cut Pro can use a high-quality still
frame when it doesn’t have to maintain playback, so the picture snaps back into
focus.
To view your DV media at full quality while playing at 25 or 29.97 frames per second
(fps), you’ll need to connect the FireWire output of your computer to a camcorder or
deck. The camcorder or deck will decompress the DV stream using dedicated
hardware, resulting in smooth playback of your DV media on an attached NTSC or
PAL monitor.
Note: You’ll see the same fuzzy effect with DV clips that are exported into other
applications as well. As long as the clip is compressed with DV, slower computers will
lower the resolution during playback, but the source media on disk still contains all
of the information, at the highest quality.
Video does not play through to the computer screen.
 Make sure cables from the video device are properly connected to your computer.
 Check your QuickTime video settings in the Capture Presets tab in the Audio/Video
Settings window. For details on QuickTime source and compression settings, see
Chapter 24, “
You experience poor playback and stuttering video when trying to edit.
 Make sure you are not editing with media which uses keyframe compression, such as
Sorenson or Cinepak.
Your camcorder or deck doesn’t go to the specified timecode or won’t perform
a command.
 Make sure you selected the correct protocol in the Device Control Presets tab of the
Audio/Video Settings window. If you’re using FireWire, try using the Apple FireWire
Basic protocol.