I just got an email from a friend (Apple Tech.) and he confirms that the Superdrive will fit the 667mHz and 800mHz (most recent models). It will also fit the previous models, 550MHz and 667MHz, but will require a different ribbon cable. earlier models are not compatible.

Rumor and speculation is that Apple will not offer an upgrade program. The Superdrive should be available for retrofit in about 4 to 6 months.

Jeff

Hardware RAID 10 in OS X?
 

Anyone found any RAID controller cards that do RAID 10 and also work under OS X? I've searched high and low and I can't find a thing. Too many dead drives ... I need both protection and speed so RAID 10 it is. Also interested in people's experiences using the RAID 10 cards if they do, in fact, exist.

thanks

-Aaron

The few post house that I know that do both RAID 0 and RAID 1 do it separately. The RAID 0 is hardware configured with Sonnet http://www.sonnettech.com/product/default.html , ACard or one of the other hardware cards. The RAID 1 is done in software (included in OS 10.2.X) and separate drives.

Jeff

Another vote for DV Creators stuff -- it's excellent. You should also check out the FCP Intelligent Assistant. It's very informative.

http://www.lafcpug.org/dvd_tuthodgetts_popup.html

FCP has a lot of great user groups in cities. That might be an option.

Jeff,

Thanks for the news! Just so that I understand what you've said..

As an 800 owner, in about 6 months time I should be able to purchase the Superdrive and replace my existing drive with it without changing the ribbon cable.

Guy, you are correct, Your 800MHz will not require a new ribbon cable. I doubt the drives will be available from Apple. I would get in contact with http://store.powerbook1.com/ and ask to be contacted when the new Superdrives become available.

Jeff

Final Cut Pro Instruction
 

Thanks to all who responed to my request for opinions as to the best FCP instruction. As per one suggestion, I've ordered two CDs from DVCreators and will see how far I get. DCS

How is software RAID? I'm very distrustful of it both from a performance and a reliability standpoint. But that could be a viable creative solution to my problem.

-Aaron

The very fact your doing a redundancy (RAID 1) your losing some performance. The software RAID will cost you some CPU cycles. I would not recommend it for rendering. You will have a decrease in performance. But for large swap files (Photoshop) or DV capture it will be barely noticed.

How are you planning to mount 5 drives in G4? Are you doing FireWire or SCSI and going external?

Jeff

I have one of the new Mirror Macs which have 4 3.5inch slots plus I'm not using both 5.25inch slots, so that's 5.

RAID 10 makes up for some of the speed loss, especially in hardware implementations.

The thing I'm worried most about is the heat, though the Mirror Macs are also Wind Tunnels.

-Aaron

jagged edges when rotating wireframe
 

Hello everyone

I reduced the size of my clip frame and rotated it by less than 45 degrees to give the final result a cartoon like look. The problem I have is the edges of the clip are now 'saw-tooth' like and along with a flickering makes the new look very difficult to watch. I noticed if I rotate the clip by exactly 45 degrees then these consequences disappear and it looks just like normal. The problem for me is that 45 degrees is too much rotation. I want less!

Is there a way to make those edges sharp again?

Cheers!

Simon

Simon,
The problem you are seeing is called "aliasing" and it's common.

First off, what tool are you using? I assume you're using Final Cut Pro 3, but I don't want to assume so.

Next, are you observing this problem on your computer screen or on a television monitor?

Jeff,

Got a reply from store.powerbook1. He figures once they've tested the Superdrive should be ready in as little as 2-3 months.

Anti aliasing
 

Hi Ken

Thanks for the reply, I'm using FCP 3.0.2, OS X and I'm observing the problem both on the computer monitor and the small portable TV monitor I have too. Is there anything I can do?

Cheers!

Simon

There's really no magic bullet to eliminate all of the jaggedness. I would first apply the "Anti-Alias" filter (found under Effects>Video Filters>Sylize). It has a default setting of "1". It will soften your image but it will also help to mitigate the jaggedness.

Render that out and inspect the results. Adjust to taste <g>.

When you're happy with that, and if your clip still has the "jitters" you can try the "Flicker Filter" (under Effects>Video Filters>Video). It basically adjusts the interlacing.

In general, it's best to shoot your original footage on angle (known as "dutch" shots) if you expect to use it on angle in post.

Good luck!

OK I'll give that a go, thanks for your help Ken

Cheers!

Simon

Here's some links on RAIDs and drives. Watch the age on some of the articles.

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/IDE.html

http://www.barefeats.com/fire26b.html

http://www.barefeats.com/hard21.html

This will make for some interesting reading for you.

Jeff

Kind of along those same lines..
 

Does anyone know of a card/system like the RTMac that allows both audio and video to be captured (FCP3 OSX)? Does the RTMac work in OSX yet? It's the only one I have heard about and it was supposed to allow a couple or real time transistions without rendering. Any other ideas how to get stuff in and out and reduce my render time? (I DON"T like to render!)
Thanks
Mark

The RTMac still does not support OS-X. It only provided "real time" renders for certain effects anyway. The smart money is on FCP4 to provide a significant upgrade to its handling of effects rendering, so I'd sit tight for a while.

I don't really understand your question concerning capture. The RTMac simply provided a break-out box for composite analog.

Capture
 

I guess that was excatly what I was thinking, I remember it having some I/O for Audio but I forgot it had analog video outs. That sure would be pretty handy for hooking up a reference monitor though.

I guess it's FCP4.0 then..With Logic Audio and real time effects?
Mark

I think the RT effects will be expanded on in FCP 4. However, the RT effects will probably be limited. You may still want to render your final project before going to tape. My Avid Media Composer offered RT effects. But in many cases it was counter productive. A 30 minute production would be cut together with RT effects. Then you lay it back to tape. It never failed (at least it seemed that way) that most of the way throughthe copy, the Avid would choke on an RT effect and we would have to start the copy over.

After doing this once or twice and getting burned, the editors would render the production before going back to tape. I read that this is still a problem in Avid DV Xpress. So the bottom line is you will probably still end up rendering your projects.

Jeff

Joes filters questions
 

in joes filters de-interlacer what is the difference in the interpolate and field doubling feature? do any of you that use these filter sets use the de-interlacer for motion video or just for stills? i understand what the de-interlacer does etc but am kind of confused about its purpose. i pretty much have used the FCP de-interlace blend trick and now joes filters field blending does the same without an extra vid track and faster rendering. for the money i love these plug-ins!
also is there any more written info about the features of the plug-ins besides what is found on his web site?
any info greatly appreciated.

matt

Storm 2.0
 

Has anybody tried this program in conjunction with FCP? Ive been messing with the demo version and of course the save and export settings are disabled. I would like to use this for sound tracks, background music etc. The specs say it will output a .wav file, but do not say what quality of .wav (48khz 16bit?). I would be interested in hearing anyone's experiences or alternate suggestions.

I've just played a little with Reason and Rebirth. My feeling is Reason is probably the industry standard. The Mac Audio Studios I know usually have Reason. Hopefully someone else has more experience with the software than me.

Jeff

Have you tried emailing him? His email is on his site http://www.joemaller.com/ and he's got a reputation for being helpful.

Jeff

Of course the author's explanation will be the final word. But I believe this is what he'll say.

Field Doubling deinterlacing takes one field (the upper or lower) and copies to the opposite field, simple as that. That's the most direct route.

Interpolation looks at both fields simultaneously and mathematically generates a synthetic field based on the hue, chroma, etc. of the two original fields. This might produce a smoother result in certain image situations and is worth some experimentation.

Joe's Filters are really a great value. I recently purchased them and they've already become a staple in my tool chest.

Keyboard shortcuts
 

This doesn't have anything to do with NLEing, but it is a Mac question...and I figured you guys would know the answer.

I use keyboard shortcuts as much as possible...and so, on web pages, I use the tab key to jump from one input to the next. Does anyone know the keyboard shortcut though for backing up? Going back to an input that you accidentally passed by?

I think "Shift-Tab" is what you're looking for, John.

One of my students gave me this list. I think it is fairly complete.

Jeff






In the Finder

Command + W = Close window

Command + W + Option = Close all windows

Command + Right = (List View only) Open folder

Command + Right + Option = (List View only) Open folder and sub-folders

Command + Left = (List View only) Close folder

Command + Left + Option = (List View only) Close folder and sub-folders

Command + Up = Open parent folder (or Home folder if no selection and no opened window)

Command + Up+ Option = Open parent folder and close current folder

Command + Down = Open item, (or Desktop folder if no selection and no opened window)

Command + Down + Option = Open selected item, and close current folder

Command + Option = Create Alias (drag the icon to its new location)

Command + Option + D = Hide / Unhide Dock

Command + Option + Click App = Launch app and hide all other apps

Opion + Click Another App's Window = Switch to the other app and hide current one

Command + Delete = Move selected item to Trash Can

Command + D = Don't Save (while in Save Dialog Box)

Command + E = Eject Disk

Command + C = Copy

Command + V = Paste

Command + X = Cut

Command + Shift + 3 = Take a screen shoot of your entire screen and save to a file

Command + Shift + 4 = Let you define an area of the screen to capture and save to a file

Command + Shift + 4 + Space = Select (with camera icon) and capture a window, or an icon or the Dock. (Jaguar only)

Command + Period = Cancel current process

Command + Drag Another App's Window = Move the other app without bringing it to the front

Tab = Select next field / next icon

Shift + Tabl = Select previous field / previous icon

Control+TAB = (Finder's List View Only) Sort the list by cycling through the columns.

Control+TAB+Shift = ditto, in reverse order.
During Boot Up only

Command + V = Show console message during boot

x = Boot into OS X (only work if your OS 9 and X are in the same partition)

c = Boot from CD

n = Boot from Network Server

t = Put PowerBook into Firewire Target Disk mode

Mouse Down = Eject CD

Option = Bring up a screen for you to choose Start-up Disk (new world machines only)

Command + Option + P + R = Zapp the PRAM (continue to hold until second chime)

Shift (while booting up) = Disables login items and disable non-essential kernel extension
For the Dock

Refer to AppleCare Knowledge Base Document no. 106743
General

Control + Eject = Bring up the Shut Down Computer dialog

Control + Command + Option + Eject = Shut down the computer immediately

Control + Command + Esc = Force quit current app

Control + Command + Power (or Eject) = Unconditionally reboot computer (may corrupt disk - use as a last resort if computer hangs)

Dang, I won't be able to pick my nose for a while. I just tried "Select (with camera icon) and capture a window, or an icon or the Dock. (Jaguar only)" and I think I dislocated my index finger!

Any suggestions for doing mosaic in FCP?
 

I will be working on a project that requires the use of mosaic so that the actor's faces and "certain body parts" are not recognizable. Are there any good plug-ins that would allow me to accomplish this task easily in Final Cut Pro, including controlling the size/shape of the mosaic pattern and motion tracking? Would After Effects be a better choice? I'd rather stay in Final Cut Pro if possible.

Whoa, Nelly! Thanks guys! Looks like I'll never have to touch my mouse again.

Rob,

You might want to take a look at Joe's Filters:

http://www.joemaller.com/fcp/joes_filters.shtml

I seem to recall a filter there that does just what you are looking for.

Sound Card for my Mac
 

I have searched high and low looking for a sound card that will work with my Mac. What I am looking for, is something that will provide 4.1 or 5.1 audio out of the Mac. A front and a rear channel with a sub woofer.

Are there any products out there? The only thing that I have found is the card made by Creative labs. It does not offer what I am looking for.

Any and all help would be most appreicated!

I think you 'll have to do it in two steps. There are several cards available, but they only offer digital I/O. Then you feed the Output to an external D/A and you'll have your multi channels.

Look at RME HDSP 9652

http://www.rme-audio.de/english/index.htm


Mytek Digital

http://www.mytekdigital.com/8x96.htm


I believe Motu makes some also http://www.motu.com/

Jeff

Jeff,

Thank you for the heads up. I will check out those sites and see what I come up with. I've got an MBox, but it does not offer the 4 channels that I am looking for.

Boris Caligraphy
 

For some (STUPID) reason my upgrade of FCP3.0 doesn't have the full Boris caligraphy, it has the basic text crawl etc. but none of the nice 3D font tools. can someone tell me if it's okay to snag a copy from someone else (hint hint) or is it a no no to do that even though I have paid for and registered FCP1.25 & the upgrade to FCP3.0
Thanks,
Mark

Mark,
Are you sure you don't have it? I'll bet that you do. It's a separate installation, not part of the main FCP3 installation.

You should also be able to download the update to the Boris Calligraphy plug-in's from the FCP3 pages at:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120118

I'm sure I don't have it. It's not on my FCP1.25 install disk, and I scoured the FCP3.0 disk, and ran the installer from there, but it's definately a crippled Boris caligraphy version. I'll try the link you posted.
Thanks,
Mark