Using a Third-Party Video Effects Accelerator Card
Instead of using RT Extreme, you may want to use a supported third-party video effects
accelerator card. A video effects accelerator card is a video interface card that supports
real-time effects processing and can take the place of the built-in RT Extreme effects
architecture of Final Cut Pro.
All codecs capable of real-time effects playback appear in the Effect Handling tab of the
System Settings window. The Effect Handling tab allows you to choose whether
Final Cut Pro uses RT Extreme or a supported video effects accelerator card for
processing real-time effects. For example, you could choose to have RT Extreme handle
media using the Photo JPEG codec while using a video effects accelerator card to
handle DV NTSC footage.
Chapter 28
Using RT Extreme
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IV
To choose software or hardware real-time effects processing for clips using
a particular codec:
1
Choose Final Cut Pro > System Settings, then click the Effect Handling tab.
Note: The codecs you see may differ from those shown here.
2
In the pop-up menu corresponding to the codec you want to adjust, choose an effect
handling method:
 None: Choosing None disables real-time effect handling for the selected codec.
 Final Cut Pro: This option uses RT Extreme, the built-in real-time processing engine
of Final Cut Pro.
 Other: If a video effects accelerator card is installed that is capable of real-time
effects processing for a particular codec, it appears in this pop-up menu. Choose this
option to have the video effects accelerator card handle real-time effects processing
for a particular codec.
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Part IV
Real Time and Rendering