Hello Jo,
I have the RTMac and, honestly, I can't currently recommend it to anyone using FCP3 under OS X. The RTMac provided some value when I was using FCP2 under OS 9. It's real-time effects were nice to have and the break-out box was very nice to have.

But after nearly a year of missed promises Matrox has still not provided OS X support for the RTMac and seems to have no idea when it will do so. The most they've provided so far is a driver that keeps the board from crashing Macs with nVidia displays. Also, since FCP3 provides real-time rendering of some of the most common effects and transitions the potential added-value of the RTMac has further dimished.

In summary, the RTMac has been the most disappointing purchase I've made in quite some time. It was a good product in theory and added value in its early days. But Matrox seems to have abandoned the product. Mine has been de-installed for quite some time and looks like it will stay that way indefinitely.

If this hasn't discouraged you I can make you a really great deal on an RTMac delivered right to your door for a great price!

I'm reading between the lines here, but I think this speaks to Apples plans for FCP in the future. i see a day in the not too distant future when many effects will be RT with no rendering to output. Avid is really going to push Apple in this entry level, pro NLE market.

Jeff

That depends on who you are and what you need to do. I'm currently shooting two music videos that will use MB. My option is to get into a Flame suite and do the same thing at a $450 rate/hour. The job would take 8 hrs in the Flame. MB saves me money since I know alot on how to work in AE.

If your work is merely "for fun" and your not filthy rich then I can't see the point of getting MB. If you make home movies don't buy MB.

I'm doing a couple of DV short films and, along with the Mini35, I'm looking for otherways to get them to look more film-like. Do you find that MB does this?

e

Absolutely. The philosophy of not adding scratches and grain is the way to go. MB does a very clean 24p/25p/30p conversion of interlaced material. Not perfect but the best conversion I've seen. Make sure you shoot for the MB specs to get the best results.

With good lighting, the right exposure, mini35 and skills in MB look suite you can't go wrong...

<<<-- Originally posted by Martin_M : Absolutely.
With good lighting, the right exposure, mini35 and skills in MB look suite you can't go wrong... -->>>

Haha .. that easy, eh? :)

thanks rob for the info. but i dont now if fcp3 can output to mpeg1, it is not mentioned in the settings. Do you know?
thanks anyway,

Yeah. They still haven't invented that "Automatic Award Look" preset in DV cameras. Hey Canon, wake up!

;)

In FCP you can choose export to FCP movie. Then import in Quicktime and export as AVI. I'm not sure if that will help. QuickTime 6 will encode to MPEG 4 or can create a VCD file that toast can burn. Quicktime 6 is not compatable with FCP, so you may want to look into the capabilities of Quicktime 5. FCP doesn't do well making MPEG 2 files. MPEG 1 will require DVD Studio Pro or a program like Cleaner. Confusing, I know.

Jeff

okay so for cleaner i need to make a full contained movie and then import it in cleaner?? i must have a mpeg1 file because they want it that way! what is avi for codex?? it uses cinepac but i cant get any info on what it is..
confusing i dare say,

Cleaner is probably the best software for doing MPEG 1 on the Mac. The rendering is slow but the quality is much better than QuickTime and also more flexible. Do your files have audio? If so, they may need to be handled sperately, depending on the size of your project. What are you going to burn the CD's with, Toast?

Jeff

Jeff

How do you cut the compensation on? I mix footage from time to time and usually have audio problems.

Thanks
Marcus

actually i was thinking of using my mac burner, so far it worked okay, why should i use toast?

Are you using FCP? If so, under preferences, check the box that says >Sync Adjust Movies Over__. Fill in the blank with 5 minutes. This forces FCP to count the audio samples rather than assume the audio is a perfect 48 KHz.

Jeff

If you've got Toast, use it. It is much simpler. You pick VCD as the type of CD you want to burn and Toast does the rest. I've never tried the built in Mac burner. I don't know if it will burn the CD correctly or not.

Jeff