It looks really nice:

http://www.creativemac.com/2003/08_aug/reviews/dvdsp2030818.htm

Jake

If you can budget for it you should really look at the sorenson suite or Squeeze for Flash MX on it's own maybe.

http://www.sorenson.com

Jake

Extensis Portfolio

http://www.extensis.com/portfolio/

Jake

You do not need a capture card as there is already a firewire port on your Mac. If you want to work in uncompressed then you will need addition hardware which will raise the cost of your system by several thousand. If you are going back to DV or VHS then you will not see better quality (in fact it will be a little bit worse).

Getting a deck will reduce wear and tear on your camera. It also rewinds faster, has various inputs and outputs, and some other features. It may be necessary depending on how much work you do (and if you batch capture a lot). A deck will also allow you to record onto full-sized DV tape (for stuff 2 hours or over).

To have the monitor work you can hook it up to your camera if it supports analog-digital passthrough. Otherwise you'd hook it up to you DV deck if you have one. Otherwise you would get a video card with S-video output or the analog-DV converter from Canopus. S-video is higher quality than composite.

green 'jitters' on DVD
 

I have a question about DVD compression, especially that done by iDVD 2. I have a problem with greens, especially in stills. For example, a title screen done in photoshop and brought into iMovie and composited with footage looks fine in iMovie (and on the passthrough TV). However, when I burn it to DVD and play it back it has jitters - blocky areas that pulse

Other stills that have a lot of leaves do the same thing, especially if there is a lot of contrast between the green of the leaf and the dark shadows. It is especially bad on some rainforest shots.

I've observed this on multiple DVD players on multiple TVs and with several different DVD burns.

Is this a compression problem? Is there anything I can do to make it go away?

Thanks.

Sounds like a compression problem to me. What settings are you
using?

Whatever the default settings are for iDVD 2 - can they even be changed? I do have QT Pro but am not sure how that relates to choosing compression for iDVD.

AVID on PC or FCP 4
 

I am looking to buy an editing system and I wanted to know some thoughts on which one I should get.

Right now I am looking at AVID Xpress Pro with Mojo on PC or FCP 4 on Mac on either a G4 or G5. I am looking to get a job eventually as an editor in Hollywood. Which system would be better, more versital, more reliable, and will produce better output quality? Is AVID still the number one choice for high end stuff or is FCP makings its way up the ladder? Should I go with the top of the line dual G4 or a Dual G5 with average components?

Which core system would you guys recommend?

I am on several lists that post job availabilities. I would say, that on average, more jobs being posted, are for FCP editors at this time. Overall, especially for film, more job opportunities are for Avid editors, but the tide is turning.

I would get a G5 dual processor with FCP 4. If you can't budget for the dual processor, I'd still go G5 over a top of the line G4. The future is the new machines. FCP will be optimized for the G5 64 bit processors soon.

How will FCE perform on an "entry level" G5?
 

I LOVE my flat panel iMac dearly..but I am looking into a faster system to run FCE and other graphic intensive programs for school...

My budget would allow me to get the single processor 1.6 ghz G5 PowerMac at educational price of $1799...

At the same price I could get a G4/1.25GHzDP at Small Dog for the same price!

What do you think is the better deal?..

TIA

New G5 will win, no question. My best guess, is the slowest G5 is faster than the fastest G4, in most tests and applications. The G5 will only get faster, as the OS and software is optimized for 64 bit operation.

Pro Max <http://www.promax.com/specials/FCP4.lasso> shows that they are selling them until at least Sep. 30th

I just got a g4/1.25g single two days ago at CompUSA. Glad I managed to get one of the last boxes that will run MacOS9... will start thinking about the g5's and OSX next spring :-)

The G5 will likely be significantly better at Photoshop because photoshop doesn't take advantage of the second processor very well. And then there's the news about Adobe releasing a patch that makes Photoshop "75%-200%" faster.

Pretty soon some G5 vs Dp1.42 benchmarks will come out I expect. There are going to be demo units in stores.

Actually no, they haven't, you can still get G4 from the Apple store. It's just down the side column of the store page, not in the center of the page.

FCP Audio Scrubbing
 

Hi-

For some reason I have lost the ability to scrub my audio in the Viewer or the Timeline. I have the RT Scrubbing area checked under the Sequence menu.

any ideas?

shift-S
 

Dan, Make sure audio scrubbing is toggled on. It's in the View menu too.

Final Cut Pro and Screen Real Estate (and a G4 performance question too)
 

Hi,

I am about to purchase a mac system for editing, and I was wondering what would be the minimal resolution requirement for running FCP. I know it takes up a lot of room, and more is better, but I'm restricted by my budget.

What it comes down to is that I can either get a dual 1.25 ghz G4 with a 20" Cinema display, or a 1.8 ghz G5 and a 17" Cinema display.

Right now I'm more leaning towards the G5, as it is a G5 but I am worried that all the tool boxes and such will clutter up the workspace.

Another question: how fast is the dual 1.25 G4? I know thats a real subjective question, but what I guess I'm asking is -- at what point does it choke and have to sit and render? after so many layers? color correction? I'm a PC guy so I don't really know what constitutes fast in the mac world.

thanks

Get the G5, future versions of the OS and FCP will really take advantage of the advanced architecture of it's design. The difference between the 17 inch and 19 inch is not that much as to really make a difference in size and spacing of the palettes. There is really only one good reason (other than budget) for getting a G4 today and that is the compatibility issue of legacy software and OS 9.

I'm pretty much in the same situation as you, Nik. From what I've gathered, You're much better off getting the best computer you can afford, and getting a relatively inexpensive CRT monitor, which can be upgraded much more easily than a computer later on. CRTs have (typically) higher resolutions, and you can get an awesome CRT for half the price of a good LCD. I'm looking into this one:

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10037

It's $800, 22", flicker-free super high resolution. Of course, if you don't want a 60lb behemoth on your desk, then you'd need the LCD. Apple displays are among the best I've seen, so you can't go wrong in terms of image quality.

If I were you, I'd get the 1.8GHz G5 and a good CRT, and use the rest for lots of RAM and storage space.

Hrmm, thanks for the input guys. I think I will go with the G5 w/ 17" Cinema Display. A CRT would be a good solution except that I may take this machine to college and a 60lb monitor may be a bit much for a tiny dorm desk :)

I agree with Jaime, consider a CRT if budget is tight. I'm still using my 4 year old 21" Apple Studio Display (really a flat screen trinitron). It looks good at 1600x1200 and holds the timeline, viewer, canvas and palettes fine. I also have a 15" Samsung LCD hooked up to a Radeon PCI graphics card, which also supports a 3rd screen if needed (either s-video, VGA or DVI). My LCD panel is 1024x768 and I use it mainly for the browser, sometimes the canvas.

I also do lots of CAD, image editing and 3d modeling. The big screen spoils you, no way I would ever settle for something less than 1600x1200 in the future :-)

I also agree with the others about the G5 - get it, especially if it has to last for a few years. But this all really depends on individual needs. Actually I just got a second G4 (single 1.25G). I'm in the middle of some projects and not interested in switching to OSX yet and upgrading all my applications. This G4 still boots OS9 and just sits here and renders 3d 24/7 now. But probably next spring I'll think about moving to the G5.

Only one other thing to consider... the G5 is an unknown, not enough out there yet to start hearing about the problems, and the real 64 bit operating system isn't released. I think you need to be prepared to be patient and deal with some odd bugs as an early adopter. And also realize that in a year or so they will be replaced with new models that are cheaper, faster and less buggy. Or at least that has been the case with every other product that Apple has made. I got one of the first generation top of the line power macs, the 8100. It was impressive for its day, but became a dog really quickly (anybody else remember what a nightmare it was to open that case and install RAM? ;-)

Not trying to scare you away, but just go into it with eyes wide open... there's a price to pay for leading the pack...

quicktime and output deck
 

I am begining to archive my FCP3 projects to a Beta Master tape.
My beta deck is an Sony 1800.

Being an 1800, I am unable to set an in and out point for insert editing. This is how we kept archive tapes at every newsroom i ever worked at. this method kept one timecode for the entire tape.

So far, i must crash edit (hit play and record) which assemble edits, when i want to archive a project. The end result of this method will be an archive tape with tons of different time codes, creating a nightmare if/when i need to dub from this master tape.

Do you guys know a way to solve this?
thanks

sorry for the subject line, should read simply, output.

What are you wanting to do? Insert edit with an 1800? Stripe the tape and it can be done from the front panel. Or buy a serial card and cable for the G4 and FCP will control the deck and do the edits, inserts etc. for you. GeeThree makes the Stealth serial card and you'll need a good serial cable. Total cost, under $100.

hey Jeff,

not sure what you by stripe the tape, you mean lay black on the tape?

the front controls of the UVW 1800 panel only allow for me to re-set timecode. cant enter specific points.

went to the link you provided but its chinese to me. how does this device allow me to set in-out points on the beta deck?

I have a shuttle Pro control device, but i cant set edit points with it.

lastly, i would like to archive these projects from quick time.
using super good compression (BLACKMAGIC 10 bit) for ultimate quality, it still takes up the same amount of tape space right?
however, i cant figure how to play my quick time movies outside of FPC3 so that the beta deck sees them.

again, thanks for your patience.

It gives your Mac RS-422 serial control. Install the card, plug serial cable in Sony 1800 and the other end into Mac, open FCP 3 or 4 and set for serial control of Sony 1800. FCP will now be able to set in and out edit points and control the deck.

Stripe a tape is the same as black. Shuttle Pro is not an edit controller and RS-422 is USB compatible. You'll need the Stealth Serial card. Then, the Shuttle Pro can shuttle the deck, set ins and outs etc.

If all your doing is DV then why convert to BlackMagic 10 bit video? If you are doing uncompressed, then it will be worth it. Beta deck only understands NTSC video, not computer Codecs or compression algorithms. You must pick an NTSC video format, not QuickTime. You'll need some kind of transcoder, because 1800 will not accept FireWire, only composite (including S-Video) and component. Component will yield higher quality Beta SP footage, but the transcoder will be more costly.

Learning Final Cut Pro 3
 

Hello All,

I just changed churches, and now I am in a church that uses Final Cut Pro 3 for all their editing. I am trying to quickly learn FCP so I can start editing a lot more efficiently. No one at the church knows how to use FCP, so I am going to have to learn it on my own. Unfortunately, I have one setback. I don't have a Mac at home, and I live about 40mins. from my church. I was wondering if anyone knew of any good FREE sites that I could pick up some FCP training. I have already reserved some books from the library, but who knows when they will ever come in...

Thanks in Advance,
John C. Massie
Crossroads Church
Video Director

Hi John,
I don't know of any Web site that offers complete soup-to-nuts basic training for FCP.

The LA Final Cut Pro users group site offers some tutorials. http://www.lafcpug.org/

DVCreators offers various classes and training materials, but they're not free.

Beyond that your best bet will be books. Our "Read About It" forum features several good books.

Putting movies on to Cd's
 

Hi. I have a Dual 867 Mac. Ive edited in Premiere. I have a little sales film ive put together which id like to take round with me in my PC laptop.
Does anyone know what I need to do to get my film on to a disk which will then load on my laptop? I cant get it off my Mac at the moment.
thanx for any help.

Which OS are you running? Do you have Toast?

no i dont have toast. my OS is Mac OS X.
ive actually just sort of done it.
I made it into a movie. put the quicktime movie onto the disk. burnt it - which was the problem i think, i'd put it on to the disk but not burnt it. then in the laptop it says it cant load so i open quicktime. job done. it was very jerky and freezing so ive downloaded onto my hd. its very slightly jerky still but pretty much fine.

Trent, why aren't you using Final Cut Express/Pro?! Apple has a deal now where you can get FCExpress for free and Pro for a discounted price if you send them the CD for any version of Premiere.

because I bought the Mac second hand and didnt get the software, it was already installed so I have no disc to send back. damn.
Also, coming from a PC background, Ive only ever used Premiere or DPS.

That was it. Duuuhhhhhh. Sometimes the easiest answers are the most elusive. Thanks.

I switched from PC a few years ago and I was a Premiere fan. I still think it is one of the best. I made the transition to Final Cut pro and have not looked back. They are very simular actually and it is really hard to say which is better. I think it is more of a what works better for you. As for me I really like FCP better now comparing the two. FCP has some extra bells and whistels that Premeire dosen't. FCP 4 with all the extras takes the cake and one of the very slack ends it now picks up is the titler.

I still need to get toast myself. Everyone is talking about it. You can make your VCD really user friendly so that when a client puts it in the computer it starts by itself. Simular to a DVD.

1.5 GHz enough for G5
 

I am buying a G5 Dual with 1.5 GHz. Is that enough or should I spend an extra 150 for 2.0 GHz?

This is the exact specs for the computer:

PM-G5 2.0 GHz DP 512MB 160GB Superdrive PCI Rad9600 with 2- 512MB DDR400 (PC3200) 2x256 Dimm kit
Hitachi Deskstar 250GB Serial ATA 7200rpm 8mb cache drive

Any thoughts or comments would be helpful.

Thanks,

Matt

I think you mean 1.5 GB, not 1.5 Ghz. GB = GigaBytes (memory), Ghz = GigaHertz (processor speed)...

I have no experience with the G5's (who does? ;-), but I never knew anyone who later complained that they had TOO MUCH memory ;-)

Apple charges ridiculous prices for RAM. Get Kingston or Crucial RAM from a 3rd party. Search for Mac RAM specifically for the G5 and you will find the brand that Apple uses. RAM is very easy to install as long as you take proper precautions. There aren't any settings or jumpers to mess with. Remember to get RAM in pairs and they should all match.

My bad, I ment 1.5GB. Typo, sorry.