Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1474)

You can use mixed-format sequences to:
• Combine standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) footage in one sequence
• Mix PAL and NTSC footage in a single sequence
• Work with offline-quality and full-resolution footage together
• Mix video with different aspect ratios, frame rates, or codecs in a single sequence.
This section describes time-saving features for working with mixed-format sequences
and discusses how Final Cut Pro handles settings that don’t match, such as image
dimensions, field dominance, and frame rate.
Terminology for Discussing Mixed-Format Sequences
The following definitions provide some shorthand for discussing the behavior of sequences
containing mixed formats:
• Format: The defining characteristics of a video media file—image size, frame rate, and
codec
• Native sequence: A sequence containing clips whose media files match the sequence
settings
• Mixed-format sequence: A sequence containing clips whose media files don’t match
the sequence format
• Nonmatching clip: A clip whose media file format doesn’t match the sequence format
• Real-time nonmatching clip: A nonmatching clip that plays back in real time in a
mixed-format sequence (real-time clip for short)
• Non-real-time nonmatching clip: A nonmatching clip that cannot play back in real time
and therefore must be rendered (non-real-time clip for short). In previous versions of
Final Cut Pro, all nonmatching clips were non-real-time clips.
Determining Whether Clips in a Sequence Will Play Back in Real
Time
When a sequence contains a clip whose media file format doesn’t match the sequence
format, the clip plays back in real time only if:
• The clip’s media file format and the sequence format are both supported by Final Cut Pro
real-time playback
• Both the clip and sequence have a frame rate supported by Final Cut Pro. The following
frame rates are supported: 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, and 60 fps.
1474 Chapter 86 Working with Mixed-Format Sequences