I've seen posts on this forum about using Snapz with Final Cut Pro and I thought I'd share my workflow for those that might be confused or in need of help.

I think the biggest question most people have is what codecs to use in Snapz and FCP. Using the Animation codec can be problematic as FCP has problems with it. What I do is set Snapz to capture at 24 frames per second, and then encode using Apple's Pro Res 422 (HQ) codec (included with Final Cut Pro 6). This codec employs a relatively high bitrate (but actually quite low compared to most professional HD codecs), and preserves video quality beautifully.

Why 24 fps? Final Cut Pro has a 24fps preset for ProRes 422. This is the lowest frame rate FCP ships a preset for, and in the interest of simplicity for the new FCP user, we simply must use timeline format presets!

From there, edit away. When you're done, export via File -> Export -> Using QuickTime Conversion. Set Format to QuickTime Movie, then click Options. In the window that pops up, under the Video section, click Settings, and set the following values:

• Compression Type: H264
• Frame Rate: Current
• Key Frames: Automatic
• Uncheck "Frame Reordering"
• Set Data Rate to Automatic if file size isn't a concern. Otherwise set it to 1500 kbits/sec for 1920x1080 video, and 1000 for 1280x720 (what I use)
• Set Encoding to "Best quality (Multi-pass). The encoding will take longer, but the video will look better.

Click OK.
Next, click the Settings button under the Audio section.

• Format: AAC
• Channels: Stereo (L R) if necessary. If your audio consists only of voiceovers, you can choose Mono to save space
• Quality: Best
• Target Bit Rate: 64kbps for voiceovers, 128kbps or 160kpbs for music. I use 128 to save space.

Click OK.

Set Prepare for Internet Streaming to Fast Start, and click OK.

Now save the video, you're done!

If you've done everything correctly, your video will have a bitrate of 1000kbps + whatever you chose for audio. Most modern broadband connections can stream this with no problem.

To see a demonstration video I made with this workflow, check out this video I made.

I'm not a very good writer, so feel free to ask for clarification, or just leave your criticisms, praise, flames and I'll respond

Thanks for posting that! I hope it will help others as well