Frequently Asked Questions for XtractorHDV   Q. No device detected, ie, I can't see any indication that a camera or DVHS device is connected? A:  When XtractorHDV starts, you should see a message similar to "DVHS device detected."  If not you may be experiencing one of many possibilities.  Here's a list of some of them that have been reported by other users in the field and possible solutions: On a G5, we've seen differences in responses between the front 1394 port and the back port.  We suggest trying the back port, using the back port has never shown this problem. Make sure that the camera has the manual switch labeled "ilink out" set to "mpeg" not "dv" Make sure the camera did record in MPEG mode, i.e., that the front 4-way switch is set to either HD, or SD, and not DV or memory.  By the way, while the camera will let you record both DV and MPEG to the same tape, XtractorHDV can't handle this.  You can only extract MPEG content with XtractorHDV. Within the menu of the camera "system settings" make sure that ilink out is set to "SW"   Q. Why is the audio drifting? A.  This is actually a limitation of the format and how XtractorHDV currently imports audio.  If you are like most people you have recorded many individual takes on the camera, starting and stop the camera many times.  This is what creates the audio drift, namely those start/stop points.  To resolve this the work-around is to use XtractorHDV to only record one take at a time, i.e., capture to the computer only one take at a time, don't let the capture utility capture across a start/stop point.  In reality the audio does not drift within the take, the start/stop process creates a discontinuity which mimics the behavior of drifting.  So for instance if you shot 45 minutes as one long take, and captured this as one take, there would not be any drift!   Q. What is causing white flashes in the video after rendering within the FCP timeline? A.  We don't know what this is at this time.  We have seen different behaviors depending on the workflow used.  For instance, directly rendering within the timeline versus using Media Manager to convert the project behaves differently.  We have several people trying to isolate this right now, if you have any input, please email it to support@heuris.com.   Q. How can I use the subclip window to select both audio and video at the same time keeping both in sync to one another? A.  XtractorHDV captures two files, one audio and one video which you later import into FCP.  But having the files seperate makes it hard to sub-clip and keep audio sync'd.  The resolution is to first create a QT reference movie that contains references to the audio and video sources.  You need QT Pro to do this.  Simply open the audio and video sources in QT, select all the audio from one, and then paste by selecting "movie add/add scaled" to the video.  Then save the results as a QT  file (save normally allowing dependencies).  You then use this reference movie as the object to import into FCP.   Q. What is the best workflow to work with HDV content and FCP? A.  This is a tough one, actually it's a personal choice, but we do have our favorite methodology which is probably not politically correct!  Use XtractorHDV to acquire all your sources.  Use QT Pro to create QT reference files to the combined audio and video tracks.  Then import all these into a single project within FCP, don't drag anything to the timeline for editing yet.  Once inside of FCP, use the Media Manager to convert you project to the newly supported HD modes from Panasonic called "DVC Pro HD".  This process is what FCP would normally reference within its "offline" abilities, but in reality, you will not be offlining anything, once the project is converted to DVC Pro HD, you edit at will in this finished format in HD!  Neat heh?