Apple Tech Support responses to FCPX issues 12-12-11

Speaking with Apple Tech Support today regarding FCPX issues, specifically ones related to this post: fcp.co/forum/4-final-cut-pro-x-fcpx/2494...tuck-skimmer-in-fcpx

Here are Apple's replies to my questions:

Q: Are multiple projects in the project library continuing to be processed while working on a current open project, thus impacting the performance of FCPX?
A: YES...things such as rendering thumbnails or effects that have not been completed while the project was open will continue to be processed in the background, even though they are not the currently opened project.
NOTE: The Apple tech did not directly know this, but when asked I was placed on hold so he could check and did confirm that processing does occur on any projects in the library that require something to be finished. This makes sense to me because I recently captured about 20 hours of DV footage from multiple tapes for clients and once the import was done, I selected them and with very little correction simply either output them to make masters, encoded for appropriate media file delivery or shared them to DVD. This happened so quickly that I probably did not leave time for thumbnail generation prior to starting another import.

Q: Would this likely cause oddities such as the skimmer getting hung up and/or continuing to snap to the beginning of a timeline?
A: POSSIBLY....if there are enough projects in the library that require some processing, that could cause a large resource consumption on the computer, thereby creating odd behavior. There could be other reasons as well.

Q: How long does it typically take to generate thumbnails for an imported 1.5 hour DV stream?
A: NOT SURE....but it could be significant because FCPX will attempt to regenerate thumbnails for each occurrence of ZOOMING on the timeline. Generally smaller clip sequences usually render pretty fast.

Q: Should I simply move the project to an offline drive once I am through with it to avoid having FCPX continue to try to render thumbnails that I may not really need?
A: YES...but have FCPX move the file. Likewise you could copy the Final Cut Events and Projects folder to offline storage but FCPX moving it will ensure everything is intact.

Q: Even though I immediately see the thumbnails in the timeline when I drag a clip there, do you mean FCPX continues to generate changes to them as I maneuver around the project?
A: YES...if you are resizing the clips, stretching the timeline, etc.

Q: I have background render turned off because I want to just import the footage unprocessed. I will use the AUDIO and VIDEO correction as necessary. Still, the system shows the render wheel continuing to spin, and when I click it to check, it indicates it is rendering thumbnails. Are these then most likely from another project in the library and not the current one?
A: NO...the indicators you see in the background task box are showing you what is happening in the current open project, but the system is still doing other things in the background not related to the current project and which you cannot see from that dialog box.

Q: Aside from sluggish performance, which has increased over the last two weeks (along with an increase in imported footage and projects) there seem to be other quirks relating to the skimmer focus when switching between the event viewer and the timeline. Sometimes it hangs for long periods before following my movement. Is it possible this could be a bad preference file, and if so, what specifically can be trashed?
A: YES...you can try to delete ALL files in the preferences folder that begin with com.apple.finalcut.....That would include com.apple.finalcut.plist, com.apple.finalcut.cs, etc. Deleting all of these will not effect any projects and will set Final Cut Pro X back to its' default state. The complete path is HOME/USERS/LIBRARY/PREFERENCES/

Other questions asked, but not specifically related to problems:

Q: I installed Logic Studio, which in turn installed Compresser 3.5. I also purchased Compressor 4 when I bought FCPX. Is there any conflict having both versions installed?
A: NO...compressor 4 is better and more stable and that is what I recommend you use. Logic Studio really doesn't even use or need compressor, so I don't know why it's included but both versions can coexist.

Q: Is there any way to generate compression markers in FCPX?
A: No, but you can create them in Compressor or in DVD Studio Pro?

Q: Will installing DVD Studio Pro cause any conflicts with FCPX since it was a part of the original Final Cut Studio product?
A: NO...because there is no link or communication between DVD Studio Pro and FCPX.

That highlights my conversation with an Apple FCPX support tech. Hopefully this is useful to others .

Dan

Q: Aside from sluggish performance, which has increased over the last two weeks (along with an increase in imported footage and projects)

I don't know if you have come across this in the discussion of FCP X, but there appears to be a reproducible issue with non-active events, which are still present in the FCP X library (or Final Cut Pro Events folder in the finder), that sometimes create slowdowns throughout the app.

Therefore, I would consider making inactive folders for events and projects, moving items to those folders and see if that helps with the sluggishness (I'll be it does.) Here is the Apple support article relating to this:

support.apple.com/kb/HT4740

Concerning thumbnails, their creation can be canceled, and I haven't seem any ill effects. Just open up the background process window and cancel the thumbnail creation.

Also, as a matter of practice I have been importing a large chunk of footage and then left processor intensive tasks, such as transcoding for proxy and analyzing for stability, to run overnight. This also seems to create thumbnails and generally makes FCP X happy.

Q: Are multiple projects in the project library continuing to be processed while working on a current open project, thus impacting the performance of FCPX?
A: YES...things such as rendering thumbnails or effects that have not been completed while the project was open will continue to be processed in the background, even though they are not the currently opened project.

What were they thinking? They haven't prioritized UI responsiveness.

Ironic considering iOS shines in this area compared with Android - daringfireball.net/linked/2011/12/06/android-lag

To move unused clips offline temporarily, use Disk Omages, or Event Manager X.

assistedediting.intelligentassistance.com/EventManagerX/

www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_x_mana...sk_image_martin.html

Thanks all for the suggestions. I began moving several of my completed projects last night. I guess roughly 140 GB of footage in 7 or 8 projects does take its' toll on FCPX. The event managers look like an easy way to deal with open projects that contain unused media so I'll give that a shot.

Where exactly did you get that Apple tech support?

I called Apple at 800-275-2273 and asked for final cut pro support. While I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the tech's comments, he seemed to be reasonably familiar with FCPX. Do you have concerns about some of the answers?

Yeah, I'm not sure about some of that information. You got regular 30 day support help, and there really is no specific FCP support, just the normal funkiest reading from a notebook. They're not the most knowledgable on apro Apps. Just like going into an Apple retail store, they have an appointed FCP expert, but he's only been given the most basic, surface level info. I have these guys in my classes often, they always come in thinking they know some stuff. "I'm an FCP trainer at the local Apple store, and I'm just doing this class cause Apple is paying for it." And they end up being the most lost person before the first day is half way through. I've had my own students, clients, FCPUG members come to me with major problems caused by bad, misinformed, ignorant pro app advice from those guys on many occasions. So I'm very skeptical of any in depth technical info they give you. Half of what they say is BS to avoid saying "Man, I have no clue what the hell you're talking about." That's just been my experience over the past many years.

Q: I installed Logic Studio, which in turn installed Compresser 3.5. I also purchased Compressor 4 when I bought FCPX. Is there any conflict having both versions installed?
A: NO...compressor 4 is better and more stable and that is what I recommend you use. Logic Studio really doesn't even use or need compressor, so I don't know why it's included but both versions can coexist.

Yes this answer is a little odd for me. I use logic all the time (I've been playing tenor sax for 14 years) and the reason compressor is included with logic is mainly to support video output from logic and soundtrack pro. Although typically most audio people I know tend to send low res videos for audio to master to and from logic and STP I usually just output audio tracks to be linked back in FCP, from both programs you can export the audio attached to a video file. Hence the reason for compressor.

Well, I agree that some of Apple's support folk are better than others. I, too thought it was slightly odd that I was told Logic Studio really didn't need compressor. I figured that if Apple included it with the application suite, there must be a reason for it. On the other hand, I have sent hundreds of vidoes from FCP to STP over the years and have never opened or ran compressor to process that, but maybe it was performing some processing that I was unaware of in the background. I am relatively new to Logic so I don't have much experience there.

I do think the tech support guy was correct on the issues of multiple projects affecting performance with numerous clips in the library and that was my main reason for contacting them. This is still a learning experience for me to some degree so I appreciate everyones help.

Hint: Keep all Events and Project folders close in the Libraries when you close FCP X. It can make launching the app first time of the day faster. After that, it should quite and relaunch pretty quickly. But that first time of the day is the slowest.

And as we see now, Logic is a stand alone on the App store, Wave Burner and STP are gone for good (which super sucks), and Main Stage is a stand alone on the app Store. I'm expecting a Logic X in the spring, myself. I'm very nervous about what it will be like.

Yeah, thanks. I took your advice earlier in this post and moved all my completed projects and clips offline and things are much smoother now. Still a few occasional quirks, but I ran the prefs manager from Digital Rebellion too so we'll see how that goes.

As for the departure of STP, that is a bummer. I purchased Logic Studio with this new mac specifically to get that app. I guess I have it (at least for now).

Don't forget Adobes sound app! Any experience on FCPX and latest Logic?

Scrubelicious wrote: Don't forget Adobes sound app! Any experience on FCPX and latest Logic?

Not really, other than Logic seems to run pretty well and I have had no crashes. I am just starting to learn how to make good use of it to process audio for FCPX. Still using the STP app since I have much better knowledge of that.

If I am not mistaken, Adobe's Audition app is a repackage of a previous shareware app called Cool Edit Pro which I have used over a decade ago. Never played with the Adobe version, but CEP was pretty neat at the time.