The audio mix down should do the trick. Also check under preferences for real time audio playback and and set it lower if necessary.

Jeff

Well I suggest running some sort of system diagnostic tool that can report the speeds of your computer such as CPU processing, HD read/write speeds, system rescources used and all of that. Run this when you first get your new system. Then run this same exact software after you've updated the OS a few times a couple of years down the road. Make sure everything is equal, such as if you have an application running in the background make sure you have it running again when you re-test.

My single 450 G4 Mac is just as fast as it was when I bought it over 3 years ago (or whenever it was when the G4's first came out--- a few months after that). The problem is that I have since used faster computers here and there. So my 450 Mac SEEMS a bit slower by comparison. But it still is pretty zippy. Of course I don't use (or even allow) Virtual Memory and completely defrag my HDs once every few months.

When in July is Macworld? I usually watch that via streamed Quicktime (eeewww).

Macworld is the 15 through the 19. Big, big rumors flying about, but I don't think you'll see G5's yet. I think DDR on the high end G4 and speeds around 1.2 to 1.5 ghz will be big news.

Martin,

Are you running OS X or 9.2.2 ? OS X does not have the snappy feel of OS 9.2.2 yet. But when Jaguar is released in July a huge performance increase will be seen.

Jeff

Will we have to pay to get Jaguar? I hope not. Every time I hear about it I get horrible visions of the awful Atari Jaguar video game console. Oh the pain!

Jeff,

I run 9.2.2. I have to since I'm using an Igniter card (no X drivers yet). I've been using Mac professionaly since the eightees and use all kinds of tools for diagnostics. My Macs are slower on 9.2.2 than they were on 9.1. In 9.1 I could run full screen graphics in iTunes with no problem. That is not the case in 9.2.2. All game graphics are slower. Since video editing puts very little demand on realtime graphics I do not notice any difference in that field. New codecs are also rendering faster. It's the GUI and 3D that are slower on 9.2.2 that are written for faster hardware. If this was not the case I could run 9.2.2 on my old 1400 PowerBook. I can't.

Thanks for the post Adrian I enjoyed reading it

jim

Good Pick, Adrian
 

Indeed, the article is a concise, gobledygook-free overview of the Mac tools and, more importantly, the basic process of video editing. Typical Web Monkey style, eh?

All through college when I was learning Internet related multimedia development I found Web Monkey to be a great source of info. Not gospel, but always useful.

My Dilemma
 

OK, here's my dilemma. I've been gearing up to buy a new PowerMac G4 Dual 1ghz, but now I'm not sure if I should wait and see what happens at MacWorld NY in July. I'm trying to decide if I should take advantage of some of the nice savings being offered right now by Apple. I could save $300 on the G4 and $200 on the 17" studio display....that's money that I was probably going to spend on the system anyways, but now I could put it towards a second hard drive and towards FCP 3. Any thoughts? I'd appreciate your feedback!

It doesn't really matter what you do. When you buy what you want, whether it is based on price or performance, you'll feel screwed because they will either drop the price, or make something better/faster the next day. You can't win.

Get what you need now, and clench the next day, but don't keep waiting for them to slow down for you to decide.
Keith

To some degree I agree with the Capt, L1. That is my Brain says wait for the next super upgrade and my heart is won over with each new release.
In the end Capt. gets my vote, Get it now and start enjoying it now. After all whar ever you get is much better (faster, sleeker, cheaper) than last years model IMHO. But have fun

Jim

Historically, the value-spot for purchasing computers is to buy the model that was just supeceded by the newest model. If dealer inventories of, say, the dual 1GHz are glutted you can expect some price reductions when the next models are introduced.

So, if you were asking this question last March I'd say just buy and cry. But since MacWorld is just around the corner you -might- be wise to wait a few weeks to buy the dual 1GHz Quicksilver in the event that Apple introduces a new hair-shirt model.

What type of work do you do? The current G4 Dual maybe way over kill for what you do. I bought my current machine in January 2001 just a week or two before Macworld SF. I wish i had waited. The little bit faster speed would have made a big difference in features available to me.

Jeff

Joe-

To the best of my knowledge Jaguar will be free, but the next major upgrade will have a charge associated with it.

Martin-

I agree, I've noticed the same decrease in speed with OS X. I'm hoping Jaguar will help but I doubt it. The real answer is the after market Nvidia and Radeon video cards. I know that doesn't help much, but with the latest release of Radeon drivers for OS X I've noticed a big increase in 3D speed.

Jeff

? re: 100 IRE broadcast levels FCP
 

I need to make a call to see if my tape was duped or anything but I just saw one of my cable b-casts and the top (white) end sucked.

I use FCP which has something akin to a waveform monitor and I've got a couple of questions.

In FCP there is a saturation button which shows quite different levels than without the button pushed (where it shows what I believe to only be peaks). What is the correlation of the peaks to the saturation levels? And can you be Ok with the peaks (near or at 100IRE) and not OK with the saturation levels?

My tape (if it's the same one I submitted) showed 95 to maybe 100 peaks (man in off-white robe), but the SAT level was about 103. I've seen stuff blown worse, with SAT levels about 110, so I wouldn't think that just over 100 would be too bad. Played fine at home (sorry just a nice TV, no monitor), not on air.

No audio "interference" was apparent, but the whites were crushed and the contrast seemed to be higher than I've seen on my other stuff.

Any idea about the different levels of IRE shown in FCP's WF monitor? There's even different levels of SAT which confuse me even more.

Assuming they duped it via composite lines (from one pro deck to another) could that have messed up my tape enough to get the levels outa' wack?

-Gracias

Hi,

You don't say what size market your in, but most stations (even in large markets) don't spend alot of time and effort making dubs for broadcast. If you provided a mini Dv tape it was copied to another format and there lies your problem. I worked for a short while at a station in Cincinnati. The job of copying tapes for broadcast was usually given to interns. Not much care was given to see that high quality dubs were being made and broadcast. I would suggest for optimum quality you ask the station what format they use for broadcast. Then take your miniDV tape to a good post house or duplication facility and have a dub made to give to the station for broadcast. Stations can be very particular about the bars and tone at the front etc. so get the stations exact specifications

On the question of levels I keep my peaks at 95 to 98. I never go over 100.

Jeff

Not using a monitor can be misleading. Many consumer TVs have filtering circuts designed to doctor the broadcast image.

I'm going from FCP to the DVCPRO tape that should air. If a TC break is detected, it's possible they made a dub. I looked at another "movie" I output to tape. Then in the Log/Capture mode I re read the readings. That's why I'm wondering now about the difference in readings vs. sat. levels. One was OK and another, not.

Just where is white, white? If you only go to 95, is that white? Is it possible to have 100 that is not white? ie..can colors be at 100? Maybe that's part of the saturation levels? I think I'm clueless with regards to colors, contrast levels and the ol' NTSC relationship. I also question the output of our cable system. I just want to do my part.

Sorry, when I saw broadcast I missed the cable part. Cable stations do use miniDV as source, but I would still double check. Up until a few years ago I knew of cable stations still using 3/4 u-matic for broadcast. I don't use the waveform monitor/vectorscope in FCP much. I have an external one from my old production company I still prefer to use. The video signal can be broken in luminance and chrominance. Luminance is the intensity of the video signal. This differs from the brightness. Brightness is sensory and cannot be measured. The color video signal contains two components: luminance (brightness and contrast) and chrominance (hue and saturation).

Your vectorscope measures chrominance. If color portions of the signal are over saturated this can cause your colors to bleed. White, however, is not a color as far as NTSC is concerned. Your 103 reading is over saturation of one or more colors that can be determined on the vectorscope.

The waveform monitor can show both luminance and chrominance. Switching your settings is probably showing one, then both readings. For DV i never go over 95 to 98 for my luminance. Digital is not like analog when the signal is over driven. The digital signal just clips and the results can be blown out highlights.

You are right to question the cable system. Find out if your master was aired or copied.

Jeff

Effects not Effecting in Premiere
 

Hello. I am new to Premiere and a newcomer to this board. I am having a problem.....probably an ID 10 T error (IDIOT ) .
I am on a MAC and have Premiere 6.0.
I create a new movie, import a clip, and drag an effect over the clip. For argument sake lets say color balance. I make my adjustments and see the adjustments I am making, but when I play back the video the effect is not visible. I see my keyframes in the keyframe line, see the effect listed above the keyframe line, see the effect in the history and effects control tab, but when I play back it does not appear.

Can anyone help ?
Thanks.

Jeffyr

I am not an avid Premier user (no pun intended), but don't you have to render most of its effects before you can view the rendered footage? Your post didn't explicitly indicate that you did so.

Thanks Ken....for not laughing !
 

You are correct. I am moving up from (don't laugh) iMovie where rendering is something that is done automatically when an effect is applied. I don't do this for a living, but have a strong interest and am learning more all the time. Hopefully the advance to a professional level NLE will yield better results and not just frustrate me back to iMovie.

Thanks again.

Jeffyr

Jeff,
It has been years since I have used a Mac ( My therapy is coming along nicely...he he he!), but if you hold down your option key while scrubbing over the effect, it should preview it without rendering.

As you look at the timeline, you will notice a colored line over each clip. If it is red, it hasn't been rendered yet. It is green, you are good to go. Just hit enter, and it will render your storyline for a preview.
Keith

Thanks captain
 

Thanks for the tip. I feel like user support for Premiere is almost non existant compared to FCP, but it is what I have to work with at my job (not related to video, but they bought it for screen grabs from video).

Anyhow.......Good luck with the therapy !

jeffyr

for mac users
 

How would you guys get the audio into the Mac (or FCP)- the new Quicksilver Macs don't have an "audio in" mic plug on the sound card (built in). My 400mhz G4 does have an "audio in" but the 933mhz doesn't- how are you guys getting the audio in from the Mini Discs?

The audio in, got left out almost 2 years ago when apple went to quick silver models (733 etc.). The low cost way to do it is with an iMic from Griffin http://griffintechnology.com/ They are modestly priced and work well for simple projects. The best way is with a seperate board in a PCI slot. I don't have a recomendation, but it is a hot topic on several of the DVD authoring lists I suscribe to. I'll post a question on what others are using and I'll let you know.

Jeff

I posted what type of audio cards, devices are you using with your mac and the field was split three ways. The highend users are mostly using MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn) * http://www.motu.com/ *rackmount devices. Several connect via FireWire. i think they start around $700. The middle ground was mostly DigiDesign units * http://www.digidesign.com/ * They are around $400 to $500 and are USB based. The lower end users were using various devices from Midiman. They also are USB and range in price from $50 to around $300.

I don't have any hands on expierence with any of these devices. However, I have had voice overs recorded in studios using MUTO and it is a very respected name. Digidesign, I think they are owned by Avid, is also used in many top studios.

Jeff

Joe,

Check out the Midiman site http://www.midiman.net/ They have cards for the Mac listed under the Digital Audio section. They list at $230. I don't know their street price. I think that the type card your looking for.

Jeff

The sound cards are a good choice. It makes no sense that it wouldn't have analog I/O Have you looked closely at the Digidesign Mbox? Yea, it's not a card but it is so small. I could see using it with an iBook to record audio in the field. It's features and specs are impressive for such a little unit.

Jeff

Off topic
 

I know this is sorta off-topic- but does anyone know if the Apple iPod is fast enough to capture video to? Just wondering about using it with a Powerbook or iBook (pure curiosity)....anyone try?

i just purchased a dual 1ghz g4. i have not opened the box. should i send it back for a refund/exchange to get one that comes out in july at macworld?
i'll be using the computer to edit video, do color corrections, etc, for a feature film.

HI Jay.

If you had opened and started using your system my standard answer is to enjoy what you have and not worry about the next “great” update. But since Macworld is only a few days away, I would send it back if you can IMHO. In the last three months i got the twin 1ghz power mac and the iMac and have been enjoying them both.
All the best in whatever you decide to do.

Jim

let me know about that "good deal on a firestore."

thanks for the input. it may be that the computer i purchased will be good enough for what i need it to do.
i have my eye on uncompressed video b/c it sounds great, but who knows when i'll be able to afford it. my dream is to pull the signal straight off the chips of my pal xl1 and get it uncompressed all the way through my NLE and back to a digibeta master for printing to film.
...i dream on...

I am using a G4 dual processor 450MHz. It's almost 2 years old. It handles FCP 3.02 with no problems. Video is not that processor intensive. The Dual 1 GHz should be a screaming machine. The deals on the machines now will not apply to the new models. So, enjoy.

The limitation on uncompressed media is not the processor speed, but rather the HD speed. If you have extra money I'd load up on Ram, and build a super fast IDE internal RAID with a couple of 120gig drives and the Sonnett RAID card.

Jeff

I don't know of anyone doing captures with an iPod. You can boot from the iPod, so it's only a matter of time until you can capture to it. The newer 10 gig drive is a little more practical size wise. I think I saw something this past week that Toshiba (they make the iPods drive) is bring out their own MP3 player, but PCMCIA based and 20gig capacity. It will only be a matter of time now, until tape is a thing of the past.

Jeff

Vic,

FireStore product manager Matt McEwen has cc'ed me a copy of the e-mail he sent you. He is anxious to work with you to get your problem resolved. Have you responded to him yet?

unfortunately, the money i have for the feature is thin, and has to be spread across all departments (camera, lighting, sound, AND other expenses...food/lodging while in production, wardrobe, etc)...

what i'll probably do is:
1. shoot to mini dv tape
2. transfer footage to digibeta
3. input footage from digibeta into my mac (compressed, obviously)
4. edit
5. take master digibeta tapes and EDL somewhere where i can input the digibeta master footage uncompressed and compile it using the EDL (which was digibeta timecoded). then print a master on digibeta from the uncompressed digibeta that's on the computer....hopefully the hourly rate for doing this won't kill me.

i believe this is better than inputting the mini dv tape footage into my mac, then editing, then printing to digibeta. am i right?

as far as i can tell, this type of thing requires cinewave or digital voodoo.

p.s. bonus question:
what is the method for "taking the signal off the chips"
putting it directly into your hardrive, uncompressed.

I think you might be searching for the Holy Grail (or the religous artifact of your choice) of video. To the best of my knowledge no CODEC is available to take the data directly off the chip and into a computer. What NLE could read it? I read your previous post about seeing such a device. FCP, Avid, Premiere, etc all need a standard format that they can recognize (JPEG, MPEG, DV, DVCAM, DVPRO etc) so that they can manipulate the data. I don't see how they could do that with data off the chip. Sorry.

Digital is digital is digital. In theory, (a perfect world) taking data of your tape, into your computer and putting it back onto tape will result in zero loss of quality. It is digital all the way through. It is not a perfect world and each little component adds a little noise etc to your signal. This changes your signal and results in a loss of quality. However, the loss is so small, that if the signal is transferred carefully and with good components the loss will be negligable. Try a test, edit a couple minute piece on a computer and copy back to DV then copy to digibeta. Compare it to a direct DV to digibeta copy. The quality difference should be very little if any to the eye.

Jeff

Jay;

What part of Florida do you live in?

Jeff