questions about a new mac
 

I've just purchased my first mac (dual 2.5 with new 23" display), and have some questions about it. Please keep in mind that I have zero experience with apple computers.

1. The new displays use DVI connectors. Will this work with the new G5's, or do I need an ADC adapter?

2. My primary use is video editing with FCP HD. Is there anything I should do before installing FCP HD in terms of backing up the system and/or setting it up? I come from a PC background so I'm used to recovery disks is something goes wrong.

3. I have a JVC TM-H150CGU monitor that I want to hook up through S-video. From what I can tell, the G5 doesn't have an S-video connection. What would I need to hook up the monitor and use it in FCP HD?

Thanks

The DVI connector is all you need, no adapter. Just insert the disc and let the installer put the program where it wants. Have your serial number handy. After installing, run Software Update under the Apple Menu (upper left hand corner) assuming you have an internet connection. If it installs any software run it again. Repair permissions after your done installing (Your Hard Drive>Application Folder>Utilities Folder> Disk Utility>click on you HD once in the Disk Utility Window and click Repair Permissions button.) You will need to buy an adapter or run FireWire to your camera and S-Video out of your camera to your monitor.

If you picked up one of the new monitors then it has a cable that splits at the end giving you many connectors: DVI, USB, FireWire and Power. Just plug each where they go. The Mac comes with a card that has both DVI and ADC connections, so if you want to add a second monitor you'll need an ADC to DVI connector which should be fairly cheap (DVI to ADC is expensive).

Macs ship with recovery disks that basically reset the machine to factory defaults, so you don't need a recovery disk. If you want a boot disk in case your hard drive goes bad... that's a bit of a different story. Probably the easiest thing to do is buy something like Tech Tool Pro.

Jeff,

What type of adapter would I need to buy?

Canopus and Dazzle both make adapters to convert FireWire to analog. This unit will do the trick and could come in handy for converting older tapes to digital etc.

It might make more sense to get a professional deck (~$2k), or a cheap camcorder to use as a deck. The main reason to get a deck (or cheap camcorder) is so you don't have to pay for expensive repairs when the heads on your camera wear out.

Look for the DV-analog passthrough feature in a cheap camcorder. If you do a lot of shooting and/or dubbing tapes, you might want to consider a pro deck for some of their features.

2- Your camera might have DV-analog passthrough already (convert DV to analog on the fly).

Thanks for the replies, they've been a huge help.

Mark, what exactly is Tech Tool Pro?

Glenn, I have a cheap panasonic camcorder that I use for viewing and capturing. However, it doesn't have S-video (It only cost me $200).

Jeff, I think I'll pick up that adapter -- thanks for the suggestion. Since I can use it to capture analog footage, would I also be able to output a project from FCP onto a VHS tape?

Tech Tool Pro is a tool that checks your drives and all your computer's hardware. You can read about it at http://www.micromat.com/ Really though, if you upgrade to 10.3 you will have journaling enabled which can save you 90% of the time you have disk issues. It sounds like you are using the machine purely for editing, so your biggest issue will probably be backing up your projects as you're working on them. I would suggest a Firewire 400/800 external drive. On that note, if you don't have 2 internal drives a basic rule is that you don't want your media to be on your boot/application drive. A lot of people use the internal drive for booting and to store applications and then have a second internal or external drive for doing all of their editing on (you get better performance that way). Firewire 800 drives rated at 7200rpm are pretty close to internal drives, are portable, but are more expensive.

The adapter Jeff linked to is bi-directional meaning you can go both ways so you can hook a VCR up to the RCA/S-Video jacks and output your movie from FCP to VHS. (or, connect to the out ports on your VCR and you can import the analog footage into FCP, you would just need to change from input to output on the VCR for whatever you wanted to do). When your project is done, just output your movie from FCP via firewire to your panasonic to get a digital master tape.

Here's a capturing tip, even though i don't know if it applies to Final Cut Pro HD.
In Final Cut Pro 4, when you go to Log and Capture for the first time, go to the, i believe, second tab, there should be a sound capturing menu/option.
By default in FCP4, it will capture the sound in mono (i have no idea why), just change it to stereo, unless you want to capture in mono.