Mac G4

Tim Snyder · December 26th, 2006, 10:49 AM

What I would like to know is if I can log and capture HDV footage with this machine.

Mac G4 - 350MHZ
612 MB of Ram
External Firewire Devices

I know I can log and capture SD footage(very reliably). But haven't tried HDV.

What do you think?

Tim

Chris Harris · December 26th, 2006, 12:56 PM

It sounds plausible. I mean, the data rates are the same, I don't see why not, as long as any preview modes were disabled.

Shane Ross · December 26th, 2006, 12:59 PM

POSSIBLY. YOu need at least FCP 5.0, and you need at least 1GB RAM.

Boyd Ostroff · December 26th, 2006, 01:25 PM

Glad to hear that you are able to edit regular DV on that machine. According to Apple's site, you don't even meet the minium spec for that:

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/...ml?finalcutpro

Quote:

Macintosh computer with 867MHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo processor, or Intel Xeon processor, 512MB of RAM

And they suggest even more to work with HD:

Quote:

HD features require 1GHz or faster single or dual processors, 1GB of RAM for HD features (2GB recommended)

So if you do experience problems then I suspect Apple will say your machine isn't supported. What version of FCP are you now running?

I know it's expensive to upgrade, but that G4 is really very slow by today's standards, and even the bottom of the line Mac Mini is many times faster. If somehow you can get it to work that's great, but I wouldn't put any more money into adding RAM or anything else for a machine of that age.

If you can't afford a new machine, consider a used G5. You will be amazed at how much faster and enjoyable the experience is :-)

Tim Snyder · December 26th, 2006, 04:02 PM

I have plenty of horsepower.

1 Quad Core G5
1 Dual Core G5
1 Macbook Pro

What I would like to do is capture elsewhere, allowing me to edit and still capture. The G4 machine basically sits here and does nothing and I can't sell and realize anything other than a headache with trying to ship it. So I figured I would try to make it do a little work.

I thought maybe I would capture to the small mac, and transfer the files over network (overnight) to the edit stations and edit the next day.

Just a thought though, I was hoping it would be able to capture the footage. I have done this on several occassions with SD footage, just not HDV.

Thanks for the help so far.

Tim

Boyd Ostroff · December 26th, 2006, 10:52 PM

Well in that case, since you have the software anyway, why not give it a try and see what happens?...

December 26th, 2006, 10:49 AM	#1
Tim Snyder Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 188	Mac G4 - 350mhz What I would like to know is if I can log and capture HDV footage with this machine. Mac G4 - 350MHZ 612 MB of Ram External Firewire Devices I know I can log and capture SD footage(very reliably). But haven't tried HDV. What do you think? Tim

December 26th, 2006, 12:56 PM	#2
Chris Harris Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco, California Posts: 487	It sounds plausible. I mean, the data rates are the same, I don't see why not, as long as any preview modes were disabled.

December 26th, 2006, 12:59 PM	#3
Shane Ross Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 539	POSSIBLY. YOu need at least FCP 5.0, and you need at least 1GB RAM.

December 26th, 2006, 04:02 PM	#5
Tim Snyder Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 188	I have plenty of horsepower. 1 Quad Core G5 1 Dual Core G5 1 Macbook Pro What I would like to do is capture elsewhere, allowing me to edit and still capture. The G4 machine basically sits here and does nothing and I can't sell and realize anything other than a headache with trying to ship it. So I figured I would try to make it do a little work. I thought maybe I would capture to the small mac, and transfer the files over network (overnight) to the edit stations and edit the next day. Just a thought though, I was hoping it would be able to capture the footage. I have done this on several occassions with SD footage, just not HDV. Thanks for the help so far. Tim

December 26th, 2006, 10:52 PM	#6
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Well in that case, since you have the software anyway, why not give it a try and see what happens?...