Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 204)

204 Part IV Capturing and Importing
To import a QuickTime movie file into Final Cut Express HD, follow the steps in
“
Importing Media Files ” on page 200.
If any of the settings in your imported QuickTime file don’t match your sequence
settings, a red video render bar appears in the Timeline when you add that clip to the
sequence. You can check the settings of the clip by choosing
Edit > Item Properties > Format.
About Importing Audio Files
Final Cut Express HD allows you to import audio files from other music and sound
editing applications, as well as audio from audio CDs.
When you import audio files into Final Cut Express HD, you need to make sure that
their settings match your sequence settings. If your audio clips’ settings don’t match
the sequence settings, you can still edit with them, but Final Cut Express HD does real-
time conversion which reduces overall playback performance. This chapter discusses
the types of audio file formats you can import, as well as methods for converting audio
files so they match your sequence settings.
For more information about digital audio, see “ Audio Fundamentals ” on page 579.
What Kinds of Audio File Formats Can Be Imported?
Final Cut Express HD allows you to directly import any audio format compatible with
QuickTime. However, only uncompressed file formats such as AIFF and WAVE can be
used for editing. Final Cut Express HD supports AIFF, WAVE, Sound Designer II, and
single-track or multitrack QuickTime movies. Natively, Final Cut Express HD captures to
QuickTime movie files with one or more audio tracks.
Choosing Audio File Sample Rate and Bit Depth
The audio settings of your sequence are determined by the Easy Setup or sequence
preset you choose. Final Cut Express HD supports two audio settings:
 32 kHz/12-bit: Consumer mini-DV camcorders can record four channels of audio
using these settings. This is not recommended for most productions.
 48 kHz/16-bit: DV, HDV, and DVD all use these audio settings.