NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2003

Ted Springer · December 8th, 2003, 12:10 AM

When Apple upgrades the OS, they always make sure that each and every developer has to upgrade all of their apps to work correctly with it. This is especially true of disk repair apps that have the OS built into them so they can boot from the CD. Norton will have to release a new version and you'll probably have to pay an upgarde fee I am guessing.

It should be OK to defrag the drives, just don't run Disk Doctor. I'd recommend against Disk Doctor on a general basis anyway as I always hear tons of horror stories abou it in both the Mac and PC world.

Jeff Donald · December 8th, 2003, 07:50 AM

Norton is only a shadow of the product and company it used to be. I would caution against using Norton products with Macs. Unix disks, in general, do not need defraging. If you fear directory issues I recommend Disk Warrior and it's suite of tools. Disk Warrior no longer contains PlusOptimizer because it really isn't needed in OS X.

John Locke · December 8th, 2003, 08:06 AM

Same goes for their internet security software...can't remember the name. It was causing all Flash files to be blocked in Safari for some reason...so I trashed it.

Ted Springer · December 8th, 2003, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Jeff Donald wrote:
Unix disks, in general, do not need defraging.

Is this true of HFS+ formatted discs, or just UNIX File System disks? Why does it not need to be defragged? How does it write to the disk in a linear fashion each and every time? Does the OS 9 portion of an OS X installation get fragmented?

Viewed graphically in DiskWarrior's PlusOptimizer, it does indeed seem that OS X drives become quite fragmented.

Glenn Chan · December 8th, 2003, 01:12 PM

If your drive only stores video files you likely will not need to defrag it. Fragmentation is caused by files that are constantly created and deleted and files that shrink or grow.

If you have lots of space on your system drive (more than 15% free) then don't bother with defragging.

2- A very quick way to defragment a drive is to erase everything on it. After you delete everything there's no point in defragging.

Michael McConnell · December 8th, 2003, 08:30 PM

I wantr to purchase a apple mac g4 for edting purposesand I would like to know how much gig/mega bytes and other specs,I should be looking for when shopping-More then likely I'm buying a used one also.

Jeff Donald · December 8th, 2003, 08:48 PM

Can you provide a little more details as to what software you want to use and what your primary use of the computer will be? If your doing this as part of a business, get the fastest, biggest etc. etc. because time is money. I prefer the dual processors over singles for work in FCP.

Michael McConnell · December 8th, 2003, 09:18 PM

Yes, this is definetly for business purposes--I will be using fcp(learning slowly) and my budget is kind of restricted, can I still get something affordable-I really just need the tower--flat screen not neccesary yet-budget is like $650 & up

Boyd Ostroff · December 8th, 2003, 10:43 PM

Hmm, $650 is pretty limited... I'm using FCP3 on a 1.25 ghz single G4 with 1280MB RAM and it runs very nicely. But it also ran quite acceptably on my 733 mhz single with 768MB RAM and even on a 667 mhz PowerBook G4 with 512 MB RAM. Not sure how FCP 4 would work on any of these however.

I think the 1 ghz eMacs are going for about $800 new, that might not be a bad choice on a tight budget, but of course very limited expansion possibilities. You should also plan on getting a second hard drive for video, either firewire or internal, it's a bad idea to use the system drive for your files.

Jeff Donald · December 8th, 2003, 11:19 PM

eMacs are a bad choice for FCP in my opinion. I would try to get something in the Dual 1GHz range with 1GB of ram or more. These are newer machines and would be serviceable for several years (probably). I would really urge you to wait until after MacWorld SF (first week of January) and the new G5's are introduced. The older models will get a good discount and a lot of G4's will end up being sold (probably cheap). If you can hold out until January or February, you'll get a lot more computer for your money.

Michael Gibbons · December 9th, 2003, 10:23 AM

Move files from photoshop , or iphoto into a project on imovie?
I am doing a presentation on WWII and iit would be very helpful if I could just move picture directly into imovie.

Thanks
Michael gibbons

Glenn Chan · December 9th, 2003, 01:32 PM

Dual processors are nice to have. The 2nd processor adds about 70% extra rendering speed (you can spend a lot of time rendering :( ).

RAM you need at least 512MB. 1GB is preferable.

The G4 towers are nice because:
A- you can use internal drives (cheaper, faster) instead of firewire
B- they can have dual processors
C- you can use dual monitors with most of them. dual monitors give you a lot more room to work with and are cheaper than a single, larger monitor.

I wouldn't really wait to buy a used Mac because prices are always coming down. With new Macs you should sometimes wait if you know a price drop is *right* around the corner.

Alex Ratson · December 9th, 2003, 03:00 PM

Does any one know were I can find a free download of I-Move2?

Thanks
Alex

Chris Sorensen · December 9th, 2003, 04:18 PM

Not sure where you can get iMovie 2 anymore, but you can download iMovie 3 at http://www.apple.com/imovie/download/

Todd Thayer · December 9th, 2003, 06:12 PM

We are a community access media center running IMovie and FCP on IMacs.

We have recently started seeing problems with 2 of our DSR-11s that when they are plugged into the IMacs, the external Firewire hard drives become unavailable.

In all other respects the systems work normally.
When you power down the DSR, the Firewire hard drives become available again.
This is now occurring on 2 of 6 drives.
4 other DSR-11s, and other DSR-2x/4x work fine and do not exhibit the problem.

Any insight would be appreciated

Thanks,

Todd Thayer
Executive Director
CAPS-TV

December 8th, 2003, 07:50 AM	#1427
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Norton is only a shadow of the product and company it used to be. I would caution against using Norton products with Macs. Unix disks, in general, do not need defraging. If you fear directory issues I recommend Disk Warrior and it's suite of tools. Disk Warrior no longer contains PlusOptimizer because it really isn't needed in OS X. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 8th, 2003, 08:06 AM	#1428
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Same goes for their internet security software...can't remember the name. It was causing all Flash files to be blocked in Safari for some reason...so I trashed it. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

December 8th, 2003, 08:30 PM	#1431
Michael McConnell Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: corona,ny Posts: 66	g4 shopping? I wantr to purchase a apple mac g4 for edting purposesand I would like to know how much gig/mega bytes and other specs,I should be looking for when shopping-More then likely I'm buying a used one also. __________________ co-owner www.gakcity.com

December 8th, 2003, 08:48 PM	#1432
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Can you provide a little more details as to what software you want to use and what your primary use of the computer will be? If your doing this as part of a business, get the fastest, biggest etc. etc. because time is money. I prefer the dual processors over singles for work in FCP. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 8th, 2003, 09:18 PM	#1433
Michael McConnell Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: corona,ny Posts: 66	yes Yes, this is definetly for business purposes--I will be using fcp(learning slowly) and my budget is kind of restricted, can I still get something affordable-I really just need the tower--flat screen not neccesary yet-budget is like $650 & up __________________ co-owner www.gakcity.com

December 8th, 2003, 12:10 AM	#1426
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	When Apple upgrades the OS, they always make sure that each and every developer has to upgrade all of their apps to work correctly with it. This is especially true of disk repair apps that have the OS built into them so they can boot from the CD. Norton will have to release a new version and you'll probably have to pay an upgarde fee I am guessing. It should be OK to defrag the drives, just don't run Disk Doctor. I'd recommend against Disk Doctor on a general basis anyway as I always hear tons of horror stories abou it in both the Mac and PC world.

December 8th, 2003, 01:12 PM	#1430
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	If your drive only stores video files you likely will not need to defrag it. Fragmentation is caused by files that are constantly created and deleted and files that shrink or grow. If you have lots of space on your system drive (more than 15% free) then don't bother with defragging. 2- A very quick way to defragment a drive is to erase everything on it. After you delete everything there's no point in defragging.

December 8th, 2003, 10:43 PM	#1434
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Hmm, $650 is pretty limited... I'm using FCP3 on a 1.25 ghz single G4 with 1280MB RAM and it runs very nicely. But it also ran quite acceptably on my 733 mhz single with 768MB RAM and even on a 667 mhz PowerBook G4 with 512 MB RAM. Not sure how FCP 4 would work on any of these however. I think the 1 ghz eMacs are going for about $800 new, that might not be a bad choice on a tight budget, but of course very limited expansion possibilities. You should also plan on getting a second hard drive for video, either firewire or internal, it's a bad idea to use the system drive for your files.

December 8th, 2003, 11:19 PM	#1435
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	eMacs are a bad choice for FCP in my opinion. I would try to get something in the Dual 1GHz range with 1GB of ram or more. These are newer machines and would be serviceable for several years (probably). I would really urge you to wait until after MacWorld SF (first week of January) and the new G5's are introduced. The older models will get a good discount and a lot of G4's will end up being sold (probably cheap). If you can hold out until January or February, you'll get a lot more computer for your money. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 9th, 2003, 10:23 AM	#1436
Michael Gibbons Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Loveland, Colorado, USA Posts: 292	Please help- Is there a way to... Move files from photoshop , or iphoto into a project on imovie? I am doing a presentation on WWII and iit would be very helpful if I could just move picture directly into imovie. Thanks Michael gibbons __________________ " When some wild-eyed, eight foot tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head against a bar room wall, and looks you crooked in the eye, and he asks you if you've payed your dues, well, you just stare that big suker right back in the eye, and you remember what old Jack Burton always says at a time like that, 'Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yes sir, the check is in the mail."

December 9th, 2003, 01:32 PM	#1437
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Dual processors are nice to have. The 2nd processor adds about 70% extra rendering speed (you can spend a lot of time rendering :( ). RAM you need at least 512MB. 1GB is preferable. The G4 towers are nice because: A- you can use internal drives (cheaper, faster) instead of firewire B- they can have dual processors C- you can use dual monitors with most of them. dual monitors give you a lot more room to work with and are cheaper than a single, larger monitor. I wouldn't really wait to buy a used Mac because prices are always coming down. With new Macs you should sometimes wait if you know a price drop is right around the corner.

December 9th, 2003, 03:00 PM	#1438
Alex Ratson Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Squamish, British Columbia, Canada Posts: 149	I-Move 2 download? Does any one know were I can find a free download of I-Move2? Thanks Alex

December 9th, 2003, 04:18 PM	#1439
Chris Sorensen Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 61	Not sure where you can get iMovie 2 anymore, but you can download iMovie 3 at http://www.apple.com/imovie/download/

December 9th, 2003, 06:12 PM	#1440
Todd Thayer Tourist Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ventura, CA Posts: 2	DSR-11 and Firewire We are a community access media center running IMovie and FCP on IMacs. We have recently started seeing problems with 2 of our DSR-11s that when they are plugged into the IMacs, the external Firewire hard drives become unavailable. In all other respects the systems work normally. When you power down the DSR, the Firewire hard drives become available again. This is now occurring on 2 of 6 drives. 4 other DSR-11s, and other DSR-2x/4x work fine and do not exhibit the problem. Any insight would be appreciated Thanks, Todd Thayer Executive Director CAPS-TV