Earlier this week I worked with P2 footage from the Panasonic HVX200 camera. This is my first P2 project so I researched the format and workflow with Final Cut Pro version 6. Although we’re distributing for television, the D.P. informed me he was shooting 1080p24.

It was during a test import of footage that I discovered my research didn’t adequately reveal some important details.

Final Cut Pro identified the imported clips as 1080p30 yet there was visible interlacing in the Viewer (no on-set monitor for me). The D.P. gave me a hasty explanation but it didn’t make sense at the time and – being a techie – I needed to understand in greater detail. After further research, feedback from tweeters, some rest, and a follow-up call my questions were answered.

The Problem

Using Log & Transfer I selected “Remove advanced pulldown and duplicate frames” to get the intended 23.98 fps clip. What resulted was 29.97. Various iterations later I could not attain 23.98 without forcing the clip using the pulldown option in the Tools menu.

There was something not quite right so I pushed on.

The Solution

It’s important to understand the difference between shooting 24p and 24pA which – at the time – wasn’t clear to me.

The 24p mode provides a film-look yet is recorded at 29.97. When ingesting to FCP there is nothing further to do. There is no pulldown required because the 29.97 video only simulates 24 frames per second. In this case FCP’s sequence settings will have a time base of 29.97.

The 24pA mode provides a film-look, is recorded at 29.97, and requires pulldown during Log & Transfer (identical to a film-to-tape reverse telecine). Once pulldown is applied the clip’s frame rate (23.98) is extracted from the 29.97 video. The sequence settings will have a time base of 23.98.

The Explanation

Due to our broadcast system running on 60 Hz, the Panasonic camera records everything interlaced (60 fields) at 29.97 fps. Any user-selected modes are recorded inside of this 29.97/interlaced video stream and FCP knows how to extract them as intended.

It is this nuance of P2 which is confusing when compared with clip information inside of Final Cut Pro.

Last week’s release of iPhone software 3.1.2 was intended to fix various bugs notably “sleep coma.” Also available is the latest AT&T Carrier Update 5.6 which provides functionality on AT&T’s mobile network (such as MMS). After a modest sync (for backup) I told iTunes to update my iPhone 3G.

What a mistake that was.

Doing the DFU Disco

My iPhone had been running firmware 3.1.0 without a hitch and MMS worked great.

With the installation of 3.1.2 and the carrier update my phone was rendered useless. The reception meter cycled through “full bars 3G” to “one bar no data” to “no service” then back to “full bars 3G.” As part of the update iTunes restored my latest backup, which as before, was incomplete necessitating re-installation of some apps via the iTunes App Store.

After some research I chose to perform a clean install of 3.1.2 using the DFU Recovery mode. After another incomplete iTunes restore it wasn’t long before the “full/low/no bars” problem presented itself again.

I had to get the iPhone working properly and took another go at DFU with the intent to downgrade from 3.1.2 to 3.1.0. Apple doesn’t allow you to select older iPhone firmware within iTunes so I had to download and install it manually. The restore finished (incompletely again) and I expected to have a phone that could make calls.

Wrong. The “full/low/no bars” problem was still there.

AT&T Carrier Settings

What’s consistent here? Installing AT&T Carrier Update 5.6.

I decided to have one more go at it and performed a clean install of 3.1.2 and told iTunes not to install the latest carrier update. After another eternity waiting for the (incomplete) restore to finish I watched the reception meter: full bars and 3G.

Expecting this to be short-lived I hopped in the car for my commute and make some calls. Four calls and one hour later: the reception was solid.

Right now, in a signal-devoid building, the iPhone is clutching desperately to “two bars and EDGE.”

iTunes Restore Bug?

During my update from 3.0 to 3.1 there was an issue with iTunes not restoring all of my iPhone apps. This continues to be a problem for me but – interestingly – the Restore performed during the DFU Recovery was more complete than the typical Restore feature in iTunes.

Conclusion

Don’t install Carrier Update 5.6 at this time or do so with caution.

Unfortunately there appears no way to remove a carrier update via iTunes; you must use DFU Recovery or be jailbroken. This reminds of the precarious – and unhealthy – co-dependency between a device manufacturer and the mobile carrier.

Apple prides themselves on delivering the best user experience possible and it must infuriate Mr. Jobs that AT&T is the continued point of failure in that goal.

At this moment my iPhone 3G is successfully running firmware version 3.1.2 (7D11) and carrier settings “AT&T 5.5″ which is included in the 3.1.2 package.

I’m in the midst of creating different volumes (or partitions if you will) to maintain specific versions of Mac OS X, Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer. Part of the process is following the compatibility version matrix for Media Composer.

In my situation, the matrix suggests 10.5.5 and QuickTime 7.5.5 for my copy of Media Composer 3.13. Starting with a clean installation of 10.5.0, I remembered there are Delta and Combo updates for each revision. Curious to know more I found this page at The X Lab.

The author provides some background on the update process and a list to Apple Support for notes and downloads of each Mac OS X revision. Although Snow Leopard is missing you can find every “point” update from 10.2 through 10.5.

We’ve all had media go offline in our Final Cut Pro 6 projects. This is easily remedied assuming you have the media.

What has always confounded me is when FCP is looking for an empty filename called “”. The Reconnect Files window does not allow you to view other metadata to reveal the file in question.

At a recent Pizza and Post the presenters mentioned a solution for this. They discovered the empty “” value is pulled from the Log Note field of the clip. During the logging process, paste the source media filename into Log Note and the “” issue should never present itself.

My solution to “” is searching the Browser for “Offline Media is Yes” but if your project has degenerated over time you may have Sequence clips that don’t have corresponding Master Clips in the Browser.