Apple Final Cut Express HD: Getting Started - Manual (Page 149)

Appendix D Solutions to Common Problems and Customer Support 149
Your camcorder or deck doesn’t go to the specified timecode or won’t perform
a command.
• Try changing the protocol to Apple FireWire Basic in the Easy Setup window. For
more information, see Final Cut Express Help, Chapter 4, “Specifying User Preferences,
System Settings, and Easy Setups.”
General Performance Issues
Try the following suggestion to increase the performance of Final Cut Express HD.
Final Cut Express HD seems to be working slowly.
• The amount of memory available to Final Cut Express HD can make a big difference
in performance, especially with long projects. More RAM is also needed for software-
based real-time effects and long projects. You may not have enough RAM allocated
to Final Cut Express HD. This can be changed in the Memory & Cache tab of the
System Settings window.
Problems With Audio Quality
This section deals with poor audio playback issues and suggestions to correct them.
You don’t hear audio through your camcorder speakers.
• Make sure your cables are properly connected.
• If you are scrubbing audio in the Audio tab of the Viewer, increase the volume of the
computer’s audio output.
You don’t hear audio on your computer’s speakers when playing video from
your camcorder or deck.
• Make sure the speaker’s cables are properly connected.
• Make sure your audio cables are properly connected.
• If you’re monitoring your audio from your computer, make sure that Mute is off, and
that the computer’s volume is adjusted to a reasonable level.
• When Final Cut Express HD is set to View > Video > FireWire in order to monitor
video using a camcorder or deck, both the video and audio are played through the
external monitor and speakers that are connected to your camcorder or deck. The
computer’s speakers don’t receive any audio. Make sure the external monitor and
speakers are both on and make sure the speaker’s volume level is turned up.
Captured audio sounds distorted and “crackly” during capture.
• During capture, make sure that you always set the sample rate in
Final Cut Express HD to that of your recorded source material. Mismatched sample
rates can result in pops and crackles in the audio, incorrect audio/video sync, and in
generally diminished sound quality. These rates are:
• 32 kHz if you’re capturing media from a DV camera that was set to 12-bit recording
• 44.1 kHz if you’re using your microphone input or other audio interface
• 48 kHz if you’re recording from a DV camera set to 16-bit recording, or if you’re
recording from an audio interface capable of this rate