Apple Final Cut Pro 6 - Manual (Page 322)

Chapter 20 Importing Media Files into Your Project 321
IV
Some examples of popular video formats that are stored in an MXF container include:
 IMX: A standard definition, MPEG-2, I-frame-only video format. IMX media can be
stored on a tape, hard disk, or optical disc.
 Footage on Panasonic P2 cards: P2 cards store DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, or DVCPRO
HD footage within MXF files.
For more information about importing these formats, choose HD and Broadcast
Formats from the Final Cut Pro Help menu.
Importing from a Sony VDU
Final Cut Pro allows you to import media stored on a Sony Video Disk Unit. These
hard disk-based devices are typically connected to a camcorder during production, so a
copy of your footage can be recorded directly to disk. When shooting is finished, you
can efficiently import your media from the VDU instead of your original tapes.
For more information about using this device, choose HD and Broadcast Formats from
the Final Cut Pro Help menu.
About Media File Optimization
Final Cut Pro captures and writes media files to maximize the number of simultaneous
streams and real-time effects during playback. Video streams are defined in terms of
the number of simultaneous media files that can be read from your scratch disk, and
does not necessarily correspond to the number of video tracks in your sequence. For
example, you may have ten tracks in a sequence, but if the clip in the topmost track
covers all the others, only one video stream plays from the scratch disk.
In rare cases, Final Cut Pro alerts you if imported media files cannot be optimized for
multiple-stream, real-time playback. These files are perfectly fine to use in your
Final Cut Pro project. Unless you are editing with multiple uncompressed video streams
that demand maximum media file performance, you can usually leave the files as they
are and continue editing normally. Since Final Cut Pro always optimizes files when
capturing, simply recapturing should maximize the file’s performance.
Note: If you are editing standard definition DV captured in Final Cut Pro, your media
files are already optimized.
Final Cut Pro may not automatically optimize the following:
 Media files captured or created with a third-party codec not supported by Final Cut Pro
 Some media files captured in early versions of Final Cut Pro