Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 314)

Chapter 22 Importing Media Files Into Your Project 313
IV
About Importing Audio Files
Final Cut Pro 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 Pro, 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 Pro 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 Volume III, Chapter 3, “Audio
Fundamentals.”
What Kinds of Audio File Formats Can Be Imported?
Final Cut Pro allows you to directly import any audio format compatible with
QuickTime. However, only uncompressed file formats such as AIFF and WAVE files can
be used for editing. Final Cut Pro supports AIFF, WAVE, Sound Designer II, and single-
track or multitrack QuickTime movies. Natively, Final Cut Pro captures to QuickTime
movie files with one or more audio tracks.
Choosing Audio File Sample Rate and Bit Depth
Common sample rates and bit depths include:
 32 kHz/12-bit: Consumer mini-DV camcorders can record four channels of audio
using these settings. This is not recommended for most productions.
 44.1 kHz/16-bit: Audio CDs and consumer DAT recorders use these audio settings.
 48 kHz/16-bit: DV, HDV, and DVD all use these audio settings.
 48 kHz/20-bit: Some professional video devices record natively in this format.
 96 kHz/24-bit: These settings are becoming increasingly popular for professional
sound and music production, although most video formats still record with 48 kHz.
For more information, see Volume III, Chapter 3, “Audio Fundamentals.”