Hey, Jeff. Downloaded and installed 10.2.1 on my Powerbook G4; all's fine so far. It fixed one minor annoyance.

Will try it out on my desktop in the morning. Oish, if only it would fix the printing on my HP G85xi I would again be a happy Mac'er. BTW, I tried Gimp-Print 4.2.1 but no luck. (It's a rather mystifying Unix printing driver/complex that loves Epson but disses most of the HP line.) Apparently version 4.2.2, also released this week, has made strides, although haven't tried it yet. One way or another I'm determined to get that brand new sucker to spit ink (intelligibly) again.

One more point of view.

I also had alot of trouble with the DV Bridge.

I called/emailed the Dazzle people when I purchased it and still haven't heard back. Going on 2 months now!

I returned it and for the same money got the Canopus ADVC-100 which is working great.



Kev

Hi everyone,

I know this is off-topic, but you were all so great giving me advice when I was getting ready to purchase my Mac that I thought you could help me out with this.

Last night when I was attempting to install Palm Desktop on my new Power Mac (using OS X v. 10.1.5) I was prompted to restart the computer after installing the software. When I did this the computer booted back up in OS 9. After a little confusion I was able to restart into OS X.

But, when I did this all of the icons for any apps that run under Classic/OS 9 are gone....replaced by the generic Apple application icon (the piece of paper with the ruler/paintbrush/pencil forming an A.)

Any ideas on how to get the original icons back? You all seem pretty knowledgable about OS X, so I thought I'd throw it out there.

Thanks in advance! Still saving up my cash and looking forward to the big FCP purchase later this year!

You might want to put in you MacOS X install CD, reboot to it, and run Disk Utility. (It's under a menu, I think it's called 'Disk Utility', and you want to run 'Repair'.) You can't run Disk Utility from your boot drive, but it'll run off the CD. Back in the olden days the recommendation would have been to rebuild your desktop, but now that we're living in a MacOS X world it's your best bet to fix drive issues. (It shouldn't take very long, you'll probably want to run it on all your drives.) Might be a good idea to re-verify permissions, too.

Well, 10.2.1 didn't fix my printing problems. But it turns out that HP released the updated 10.2 drivers for the Officejet G series printers this week. So all's well again in my printing plant. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

What are you guys using to bring your old analog in? I got a buddy that has a bunch of old tape he wants to edit on a g-4 450 and I have never digitized analog and don't know what to look for in break out boxes.
thanks.

Chet,

You should take a look at the Dazzle's Hollywood DV Bridge. It's a sort of Swiss Army Knife for digital/analog connnections and conversions. Here's a link to it at MacConnection:

http://www.macconnection.com/scripts/productdetail.asp?product_id=225873

how does the dazzle compare to the formac studio? this guy will be completing these tapes for customers as well. we want something with very little or no artifacting, reasonably priced of course.

I don't know.

There are 3 or 4 decent convertors on the market. The Dazzle Hollywood Bridge is the least expensive. The instruction book is limited and not setting it up (pressing a few buttons and running a few cables) properly gives a few people fits. The quality seems fine. The Formac Studio is a little more money, but a don't here the troubles like I do with the Dazzle. Sony has a convertor as does Canopus. Users generally have the least complaints with them but they are more expensive yet. Laird makes a high end unit I've used on occasion, but at $1700 it's out of most peoples budget.

http://www.dazzle.com/products/hw_bridge.html

http://www.lairdtelemedia.com/

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Professional/webapp/home

Jeff

As some of you may know, we are in the midst of the pre-preoduction stage of producing our digital feature film. (What HAVE I gotten myself into!!)

We have a number of very talented folks involved and the ranks continue to grow. What we really need at this point is an editor who is highly proficient at FCP, post production, etc.

If you, or anyone you know might be interested in participating in this project, direct them my way. Otherwise, I've got 8 months to figure out that beast.

Wayde Gardner
Right Field Films
Dallas, Tx

www.rightfieldfilms.com

So how could I go about exporting my footage shot on an XL-1 from final cut to a dvd so that the FULL image is seen on a t.v.. It really frustrates me that I lose that little bit from the sides and top. Oh, and also, is that a standard amount of loss, meaning do all t.v's cut off the same amount of an image?

That's the problem. Not all TV's overscan the same amount. Why? Just differences in manufacture and materials etc. There is a spec they have to follow but it allows for a great deal of leway. But it is a level field, everyone has to deal with the same inaccuracies. You could resize all your footage and render. But I wouldn't recommend it because of the loss of quality. Not only will the render lower the quality of all your footage, the program may look funny on some TV's that follow the spec. closer. It will show borders on bright scenes.

FCP and most DVD authoring software will show guides for safe action and safe title. My best advice is to do like everyone else and follow the guides.

Jeff

<<<-- Originally posted by wgardner : .......
If you, or anyone you know might be interested in participating in this project, direct them my way. Otherwise, I've got 8 months to figure out that beast.
www.rightfieldfilms.com -->>>

Wayde,

I am not sso sure this particular thread is the best place for you to post seekikng for help. I think perhaps Chris should start a jobs forum. I'll touch base with him to explore the possibilities.

Thanks, Jeff, for posting the news on the update for our forum members.

The update process with 10.2.1 was pretty painless, although right noww I am experiencing unexpected quits randomly with FCP 3 on my original dual gig edit suite. No problems with FCP 3 on my iBook.

I expect to identify the issue soon and will post a reply.

Anyone else having this issue?

As long as you are not sweating it, why not upgrade to FCP 3.0.2, Jaguar OS 10.2 and QT 6.1 (inlcuded on the upgrade cd)? All have been qualified fir use with each other by Apple.

At this point, only when you are going to the with encoded video can you no longer have to worry about tv/action safe areas, and utilize the whole frame, although we're not talking about full-frame, but typical boradband and dial-up frame sizes and frame rates.

If this is any consolation to you, anyone watching your DVD content on a ccomputer will enjoy the full-frame you intended them to see. But typically all content is framed for at least action safe areas, others 16:9, etc.

I've heard only good things about the ADVC100 from Canonpus. Check it out at:
http://www.canopus.com/US/products/advc-100/pm_advc-100.asp

Good codec, from what I hear, but I myself have not eyt used it (nor have had the need to yet).

Try this.

1. Apply the 3 way Color Corrector filter to a video layer.
2. Apply your adjustments.
3. Once you are finished with the adjustments, do an Apple "C" on the video layer to copy the attributes of the filter.
4. Go to another viddeo layer with similar color correction issues and select it.
5. Got to EDIT in the top menu and select "Paste Attributes" from the pop up menu.
6. A dialog box appears. Check filters in the box and for this purpose, leave everything else unchecked.
7. Click ok. The video layer will then take on the attributes of the last color correction filter you adjusted.

One thing to make sure of is that for the video layers you want to paste to, that you have not already applied a same filter to the layer previous to pasting.

Lemme know how this works for you.

Thanks Jeff. I actually was given some advice from someone else before I saw reply. He told me to go into system prefs and under classic there is an "advanced" tab. Under that is a button to rebuild the desktop. I clicked that and dragged the changed icons to the desktop and that took care of it. Thanks for your advice though....I'm sure I'll have some more questions as I delve deeper into my Mac.

What's the deal with the VST Plug-ins for Peak DV that comes packaged with FCP 3.0? Every time I try to use one, I get an error message "This VST plug-in has not been carbonized." And when I search for carbonized versions, I get a whole lotta nuttin.

well i am thinking about the jaguar/QT6 upgrade. the FCP3 upgrade i just purchased from apple is 3.0.2 so im set there. will there be any problems installing 10.2 amd QT6 with FCP already installed?

one aother thing that i have noticed since using FCP3 with OS X is there seems to be a lot of disk activity such as the disks winding down etc. i didnt have this in OS 9 or a least i dont think so . i dont have any other apps running nor classic. is this just a product of OS X?
thanks for any more info

matt
(G4 867QS/896ram/60GB+80GB IBM deskstars)

<<<-- Originally posted by matthew s : well i am thinking about the jaguar/QT6 upgrade. the FCP3 upgrade i just purchased from apple is 3.0.2 so im set there. will there be any problems installing 10.2 amd QT6 with FCP already installed? -->>>

Upgrade to FCP 3.0.2 first, then install Jaguar as an update to the OS X version you presentlu have. It will by default install QT 6.1.

Wait for a bit before you update to OS 10.2.1, when the jury approves of it with FCP 3. Shouldn't take long.

Daniel - thanks for the fast reply i think i will go ahead with this.
Is QT 6.1 the pro version or do i have to send them the $30 or whatever it is?

My XL-1 is a favorite tool, but a little big to take diving. I have a Canon ZR-50 that I bought for personal family shooting. I got a housing for it and took it with me to Bonaire last week.

I have edited down some of the best footage in iMovie and posted it on my website. I would love to hear what some of you big time Mac editors think.

It is in the Bonaire Gallery on my site <http://digitaldiver.net>

Dan, hi:
An add on question:
Just got my new Dual 1 Gig Mac G4 with Jaguar and QT6 :-).
The FCP 3.0.2 I got with it comes (I think) bundled with QT5. Point is, the QT5 serial and key that comes with the FCP pack doesn't (obviously) unlock the QT6 that came with Jaguar, which is what (also obviously) launches when I ask Jaguar to open QuickTime. I'd really like to use FCP with QT6; so what do I have to do to unlock QT6's pro features?
Options:
1. Ask my Mac retailer to get me the new serial/key - 'cause it sure sounds unfair that I can't use the QT6 that came with the OS!
2. Do I have to buy it from Mac? ( I hope not!)
Ram

Hi Jeff,

I went to your site and all I found were stills and stories. The stills are great, by the way. Maybe I missed the link but I couldn't find the iMovies. Can you give me a hint? Thanks.

Jeff

FCP needs the Pro version of Quicktime. The OS updates only come with the regular QT version, not the pro. The Pro QT key can be purchased on line at Apples site http://www.apple.com/quicktime/upgrade/ and of course they take credit cards. The key is presented on screen and they also email you a copy and receipt. Open QT in System Preferences and use the registration tab to enter your new key and restart. If you check in QT preferences again it should show pro version. If you don't want to purchase the key, you can wait for FCP 4 and QT 6 Pro will be included in the box. I don't think the dealer will be able to help other than to give you a bootleg pro key which really won't help. I had to pay my $30 and so did a lot of others (many feeling it's unfair, I'm sure).

Jeff

FCP runs on both OS 9 and OS X. The non carbon version will not run on OS X , but should be fine on OS 9.x.x

Jeff

Sorry for that.

Go to "Galleries" > "Bonaire September 2002" and the link to the movie html page is in the header.

Or, here is the direct address: http://www.digitaldiver.net/galleries/bonaire0902/bon0902movie.html

Jeff, thanks a million: Guess I'll have to fork out the USD 30 (I have to multiply the local currency by 50 for USD equivalents - believe me, that makes it REALLY unfair!)
BTW, when I entered the QT5 Pro key that came with FCP 3.0.2, my system responded that this was an older key, and would be saved, but that QT6 would need a newer key.
1. Does this mean that QT5 Pro is active, and I can work safely?
2. If the QT authorization HASN'T taken, what kind of problems would I expect to see at this early experimentation stage? (Saving problems? Digitization problems?)
Help! :-)
Ram

OS 10.2 won't work without QT6. FCP with 10.2 requires QT Pro. You can download a QT6 uninstaller and reinstall QT5 if your not working in 10.2 DO NO upgrade to 10.2.1 (free upgrade on Apple site). It has not been certified with FCP 3.0.2 yet. Your key will automatically register QT 5 as Pro if you downgrade from QT6 and install QT5.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff,

I'm one of those people that has already ditched OS9 and all things classic and have made the full switch to OSX.

But FCP isn't the problem. It's the VST plug-ins for Peak DV. Can't imagine why Peak DV would come packaged with FCP if no plug-ins were going to be available for the OSX version of Peak DV...unless some carbonized plug-ins were in the works for download once they were ready.

When 3.0 was released it only ran on 9.x.x so the plug-ins were enclosed. Then about April FCP was approved for X and the plug-ins became useless. did you try going to peaks site to see if they have any freebies for FCP users? Some sites do, I don't know about Bias.

Jeff

Jeff,

The Peak site does offer one "application" update from the version provided when you purchase FCP 3.0...but that one also doesn't include any carbonized VST plug-ins.

Guess I'll have to dig out the wallet.

Download the demo of Deck. it comes w/ some good basic VST plug ins.

want something more esoteric, and free? see:
http://www.smartelectronix.com/~destroyfx/

love and sealions,

I find that when compressing music or audio with lower frequencies that the IMA 4:1 codec does a better job. With QDesign 2 I tend to get too large of a loss on the bass endthat sounds grabled and hissing. It encodes at about the same size as well. The squid are great by the way, it is amazing how they move about, and with such great speed and agility as well.

Thanks, Mark. I will try IMA 4:1. I wasn't entirely pleased with the audio, but thought that QDesign was the best alternative.

Which brings up a question for those with more experience. In trying to compress into something reasonable for the web, I tried lots of different combinations of video settings and a few changes in the audio settings. But the only way to find out if the settings yielded the results I was looking for to create the file.

Anyone know of a way to more quickly get an idea of the file size of a QT file based on the current size and the compression settings selected?

"Sorry, no compatable DVD-Video decoding software on your system".

When I receive that message does that mean that I need a DVD burner in order to use the Preview in DVD Studio Pro?

I can't see what I've done, how the menus or tracks work.
Thanks for any tips.

tiletile


"

It can be a number of things, but the best things you can do is upgrade from DVDSP 1.0 It was very buggy. You could have a hardware problem depending on the Mac (what type?) and OS (9.x.x or OS X?) But the easiest is to upgrade DVD SP.

Jeff

I agree. Even if you can't go to 1.5 yet, at least patch it up to the latest version.

Also, this is not a hardware (i.e. burner) issue... it sounds like your Quicktime may need to be updated as this is partially what it used to provide Preview playback.

"DVD Studio Pro requires an Apple-shipped internal DVD-ROM or DVD-R drive in order to use the Preview mode, or to test built projects using the Apple DVD Player application".
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just copied and pasted this quote above from Apple DVD Pro section.
Does that mean that the DVD ROM Drive has to have a disk in it in order for the "Preview" to work?
Or should I be gleaning the earlier post's tips? I've heard that there are a not a whole lot of new things in 1.5, but the bug issue could be a problem. And for that alone it could fix (1.0) a whole lot of major headaches I guess.

If you can answer my questions, I can answer yours. Some Macs require certain versions of the DVD player software. Some older laptops need certain hardware to playback or preview. DVD 1.0 is full of bugs. Quicktime version might also be an issue.

Jeff

I downloaded the 2.7 DVD Player that is supposed to be for a G4 with 9.2 OS. But I couldbn't bring it out to open. Maybe I am supposed to put a DVD in it to open it. I just havn't bought DVD yet to test it.

Can you play DVD's? If so I think you may need to reinstall the OS. You might try deleting the preference files for the DVD player and DVD SP (save copy of the extensions just in case. Your version of QT might be too new. If your using QT 6 I would guarantee it. My best advice is to upgrade to OS X and DVD SP 1.5 What G4 do you have? You might try restaring with extensions set to base (could be extension conflict).

Jeff

I just tried a commercial movie DVD on 9.2 but I get an error message saying:
"Apply Video Player cannot find the software it needs"
I have a G4 400 meg computer with 384 ram.

I couldn't find DVD Player preferences. Did find DVD Pro 1.0 preferences though.

Thanks for the email.

Yeah, I tried Q Design also and didn't like it. I looked at how some movie trailers were encoded and found that IMA 4:1 seems to work better. As for movie size before rendering, I simply have encoded enough to have a good idea of what the end result will be. I know programs like Cleaner have size previews, but I don't know of any others.

Does anyone know where I can download a copy of the old black & white 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 countdown footage (the kind that looks like a sonar with numbers on top of it)?

I downloaded the DVD Pro 1.0 + 1.1 + 1.2 updates and added "ATI Recource Manager" in Extensions. Now the Preview works and the DVD Player works in 9.2 :)

Will the Pioneer 104 work with IDVD 2, does it have to be internal. How hard is it to install? Will a mac place like Computerware install it for me.
I read a post were someone tried it and it worked on a IDVD 2 with G4 400 meg computer which is what I have. One store said that it would only work on 500 meg mac computer G4.
The burner cost only $250.00
I guess if it worked it would be compatable with DVD Studio Pro as well as IDVD 2?