Thanks for the info, Jeff! Time Blender looks like it does exactly what I need.

Those FCP plug-ins do look nice, don't they? Reasonably priced, too. Thanks, Jeff!

thanx! I have a 30gig drive I partitioned it into 3 drives.

Has anyone tried Magic Bullet on FCP or AE5.5?

I'd like to know if it's worth the $995 for making DV more film like.

e

Just looking for feedback on the RT MAC. I'm running FCP3, any problems? Thanks for your time, would like to hear the scoop.

Jo

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

By the way, the XL1 does not have a 24fps Frame Mode. I wish it did. It instead has a 30fps Frame Mode for NTSC, and 25fps Frame Mode for PAL, and nobody seems to care about SECAM.

I posted this before, but I think it got deleted when the forum crashed awhile back.

Amazon.com is offering a deeply discounted price ($79) on the upcoming OS 10.5 (Jaguar) update. (Note that this discount comes in the form of a $50 post-sale rebate.)

For more information go to:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006F7S2

(Looks like they'll become the pressure relief valve for the massive complaints that Apple has received concerning no upgrade pricing on the upgrade.)

Wow. $50 off of an OS that hasn't even been conceived yet! 10.5 is still a long ways away. I'll have to settle for 10.2. (I know that's what you meant). But I don't think I'll purchase the standalone OS. I'll just wait until I buy a new Mac and it comes with it. Then maybe I'll install it on my current Mac as well, but I have a feeling it'll just live in OS 9.

Can OS 9 and OS X share files between eachother?

Mea culpa. Indeed, I meant OS 10.2, not 10.5.

Yes, there's no file conversion involved in converting from OS 9 to OS 10. There is, however, a behind-the-scenes file system conversion to add the Unix attributes to files and folders.

I do use it and it is just as simple, you tell it to burn and it does it well..
But toast probably has more options .. although i dont know wich. Anyway i completed the project and had cleaner made an mpg1 version. So far the client is satisfied and now it will be duplicated for promotion and distribution.
Thanks for your help
David

Hey all!
Using FCP, I have a project that turned out to be 2 hours and 20 minutes long. In order to fit it on DVD (using iDVD), I cut the footage in half and figured I'd put the first half on 1 DVD and burn the 2 half on another.

Low and behold... the first half- NO problem. The 2nd half (1 hour 10 minutes) will not be accepted by iDVD. Says the file will not fit.

I tried re-rendering, and I tried saving as self contained movie. Still no luck. Could it be the file size has nothing to do with DV video length? I thought anything under 2 hours should fit on a DVD.

(The guys in the new APPLE store in Long Island, NY told me it should fit.
BUT IT DOESN'T.)

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Linwood
LBMAESTRO@yahoo.com

The problem is with iDVD. It doesn't have much flexibility. The bit rate is fixed, if memory serves me correct. But hey, it's free. The bit rate determines the amount of compresson applied to the FCP file. You may be able to apply some additional comression by importing and exporting through QuickTime. DVD SP is much more flexible, but you'd expect that for $999. There may be some iDVD users here, but if not search Apples iDVD discussion area or post a question.

Jeff

iDVD 2 can burn projects up to 90 minutes long. I've already turned off the G4, so can't look up the option, but there is, somewhere, a setting to lower the bitrate and up the time you can save to the dvd.
If you have iDVD v1, then you are limited to one hour.

Today amazon.com pulled this offer due to "heavier than expected demand". My bet is that the "demand" was an angry call from Mr. Jobs to Mr. Bezos.

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0208/01.amazon.php

You are correct. iDVD normally burns 60 mins of material to a disc. If you give it 61-90 mins it will alter the compression (bit rate) to make it fit (at some expense to the quality). But it will not burn 2hrs onto the disc. Also note that DVD "General" discs (the type normally for sale to the public) are more limited than the "Authoring" discs used for theatrical release. Why? To ensure that people can't brew their own theatrical releases, of course.

As has been noted earlier DVD Studio Pro is much more flexible in terms of compression and nearly every other aspect of disc authoring. But it's also considerably more complex, exposing details of the DVD build process that iDVD politely shields from users.

Bottom line: 2hrs+ No Go with iDVD.

I can't seem to get my After Effects movies to look decent in FCP.
My original capture to FCP is "DV-NTSC". I export the clip I want using same codec and import into AE. When I render my movie and import back to FCP it looks terrible. I've tried several different options (Field Render, upper 1st, lower 1st) and just can't seem to figure it out.
I am working on FCP 1.2.5 and AE 4.1
Also, all movies are 720x480 and 30fps

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks
Kev

How does the footage look when you put it back into FCP? What is bad about it? Exporting out of FCP is okay, its just when you export out of AE that the footage looks bad back in FCP?

Tell us the exact settings you use to export it out of FCP and the ones for exporting out of AE. I'm sure it's just a setting you have wrong, when we know what you did exactly, someone can tell you what's up.

One thing I noticed is your settings should be set at 29.97 fps, you will get out of sync video using the 30fps. render it again using the 29.97fps and see what happens.

The footage looks muddy and pixelated. It looks like a VERY low Avid resolution.
It seems to export out of FCP OK. Only after the render and export from AE and re-import to FCP does it get ugly.




capture to FCP:
QT movie
DV-NTSC compressor
Best Quality
29.97 fps
size - 720x480

Export from FCP:
QT movie
DV-NTSC compressor
Best Quality
29.97 fps
size - 720x480

Render in AE:

Quality - Best
Resolution - Best
Size - 720x480
Field Render - upper 1st (have also tried lower 1st)
Frame rate - 29.97

Export AE:

QT movie
DV NTSC compressor
Spatial quality - high (100)
Channels - RGB
color - premultiplied
fps - 29.97
Size - 720x480

I hope that's enough info

Thanks again

Kev

kev,
when a friend and I worked on a video, he had me export the video out of FCP as an animation compression, and export out of AE the same way, he rotoscoped the video and I asked why animation, he said it drew each frame separately and gave a better quality. try that setting on a short 15 sec clip and see if it helps.

also check out this AE forum: http://www.wwug.com/forums/adobe_after-effects/index.htm

when my friend had a question, this is where he went for AE answers. hope this helps.

Many folks do not seem to know that Apple offers an "Online Subscription" for developers. For $199 a year you get a pack of CDs every month and 4 DVDs a year with the most current OS in every language. It's how I stay up to date.
(Full disclosure: You don't have to BE a developer. There's nothing to prove other than to register with Apple and provide a valid credit card. AND not every month is new OS CD. Most months it's just reference materials and SDKs (software development kits).)

Yes, the Animation setting will give much better results. I think it's the default setting in AE because I don't remember ever changing it.

Jeff

Thanks,

I did a quick test and it was much better. I had to shut off field render too.
I'm an Avid guy new to FCP and in Avid using field render has a crisper result.
Thanks for all your help.

I assumed the capture codec would yield the best results if kept the same through-out the whole process.

Kev

Hi all:
I'm considering a new FCP3 based NLE system for my documentary group, and have just been offered a Palmette PowerMac with the following config:
G4 Dual 1 GHz/RAM 1GB/40 GB internal OS HDD + 80 GB internal media HDD (both IBM)/OS 10.2 + FCP 3.0 + Boris Red/Apple PLasma 17 " LCD display

I work both on short form and longform docs (5 min to 90 min); not too much by way of effects work, though we've been using a fair bit on an educational series for children that we're working on. So:

1. Is there anything else I should be looking for in the system config?
2. At first glance the Apple LCD display [besides loooking coool :-)] seems to have a more contrasty but sharper diplay than the CRT. What are the pros and cons of the plasma display? (The lower power consumtion is a serious consideration where I'm at, for one - saves the battery back up in my UPS).
3.The specs sheet for the system says there's support for two monitors, one ADC and one VGA. Can someone please tell me (duh!) what an ADC display is?
4. I'm also advised that to connect a broadcast monitor, I'll have to chain it through firewire and a VTR/camera. Is there any other way to hook up a broadcast monitor?
5. While on the question of VTRs, what's a good low cost miniDV VTR that I can use with the system? Someone suggested the Sony Video walkman (I think the GVD 900 E). Any suggestions?

Thanks - and I'll think up some more questions while I get some comments!
Best,
Ram

Greetings Ram!
Whew, you sure have presented a plate-ful of questions. I'll take a swing at some and I'm sure others will, also.

First, your base system looks very nice. In fact it's similar to mine.

Regarding the monitor, I use Apple's 22" Cinema display. Size aside, it's real advantage is its aspect ratio (roughly 16:9). This is ideal for working with FCP and kindred apps because it leaves room for all of the windows and palettes to tile nicely on the screen with no cramped feeling or overlapping. A more square 17" monitor would certainly work but not as nicely as the wider display.

Re: ADC -vs- VGA, this really just refers to Apple's proprietary monitor display connector (ADC). For example, my Cinema display has only one cable (with an ADC connector) leading to the computer. No other power cord is used, since the ADC cable send both power and signals to/from the computer. The ADC also supports a 2-port USB hub in the monitor, a very handy and tidy design.

Some models of the Quicksilver G4 use an nVidia display adapter which features both ADC and (more standard) VGA display connectors which can, indeed, be used simultaneously to drive separate monitors.

Re: power, yes LCD displays use 1/4-1/3 the power of comparable CRT displays. They are also brighter and not susceptible to the flicker that CRT's seem to exhibit as they age or when they're near flourescent lights.

Re: a broadcast monitor, you will need one to accurately view your work. Mine is, indeed, connected via Firewire through my deck. The alternative would be to use some form of break-out box / board such as the RTMac (not necessarily recommended). Some of the "real-time" boards offer direct connection of an NTSC/PAL monitor. The DV-to-deck route works very nicely as long as the deck is powered-up.

Re: decks, I use a Panasonic AG DV-1000 which I'm very pleased with. It's small, economical and reliable. It does, however, only handle miniDV. I think it's bigger brother, the DV-2000, might handle larger casettes, probably DVCPro. The Sony decks are always reliable choices. The Walkman would be a good choice if you need to use a deck in the field since it has a small LCD screen. For studio-only use the Sony DSR-11 or DSR-20 would be good choices.

OK, I'm all-in for the evening. I'll let someone else take a swing.

Good luck with your project, Ram. It looks like you're having some fun...or soon will have some fun!

Having abandoned my computer 18 months ago for world travel, I am now home and wanting all the new gadgetry. I run OS 9.4 but would love to update to OSX, install iDVD etc. Can a G3 have its hard drive expanded inexpensively?? A superdrive is what I'm after, or am I best to add more ram, an external hard drive (lacie) and just put up with slow rendering speeds??? Any opinion is appreciated.

Ken,
Thanks a ton - I probably will be having fun once I lay a-hold of that system! Macs are humungously expensive in India, but what the heck - you only live once!

<<I use Apple's 22" Cinema display...it leaves room for all of the windows and palettes to tile nicely on the screen with no cramped feeling or overlapping.>>
Hey, you don't have to tell me - I'm sold on the Cinema Display, but I can't afford it! :-)

<<Some models of the Quicksilver G4 use an nVidia display adapter which features both ADC and (more standard) VGA display connectors which can, indeed, be used simultaneously to drive separate monitors.>>

Oops, sorry - forgot to mention that the display card on offer is the Geforce 4 with 64 MB on-board ...it was displayed with two monitors, which were combined to form contiguous workspace: One 17"" plasma dispaly, and one 17" La Cie CRT.

<<The Walkman would be a good choice if you need to use a deck in the field since it has a small LCD screen. For studio-only use the Sony DSR-11 or DSR-20 would be good choices.>>
Yup, came up with same answers myself...the Video Walkman is a whole lot cheaper than the DSR-11 and the DSR-20 (and probably the Dv-2000 as well.

Thanks again - and who's up to bat next? :-)
Ram

im pretty sure you will need a G4 to run idvd.yes you can get massive storage for about $1 or so a GB and its not too difficult installing new Hd's in towers though if you have an iMac it can be a little tricky

There currently is no card that supports dual ADC. My system is set up of two 15" Apple LCD's with two ATI cards (AGP and PCI). Coming from an Avid background i like the dual workspace setting. It gives me almost twice the size of a Cinema display workspace at a third of the prize (but the Cinema Display sure is sexy...)

The true "eyes" of any system is the broadcast monitor. I would not set up any system without a decent broadcast monitor.

Martin:
Not sure if I'm confusing issues here, but the system I've been offered has two monitor outputs on a single display card - one ADC output and one VGA.
I totally agree with you about the importance of having a broadcast monitor - only question is whether I can fit it in my budget right away!
Best,
Ram

Your best editors usually use 2 monitors because of the extra space for palettes, bins, browser etc. The extra space allows things to be spread out for maximum efficancy, your not spending all your time clicking windows and resizing to find what you need. The exception is the large Apple Cinema displays. they don't have wide spread use yet, but they are the future. The GeForce4 Ti supports 2 monitors. Complete details are on Apples site http://www.apple.com/powermac/graphics.html If you need a third party solution, Dr Botts have custom connectors http://www.drbott.com/prod/DVIator.html Depending on the number and size of projects you work on simultaniously, a large drive might be in order. An external FireWire drive would be ideal. But if all your work is short form then it may not be necessary.

Jeff

Give the complete specs of your system and I'll try to advize you the best I can. The Apple System Profiler (under the Apple Menu) will give you all the details on your system, amount of ram, CPU speed etc. Also, what fo you want your iMac to do? Editing with iMovie or FCP 3?

Jeff

Jeff, Ken:
Considering the one proprietary ADC + one VGA output on the GeForce 4 card, can I connect two 3rd party CRT monitors (say, the La Cie monitors I was mentioning?) Or does one of the monitors HAVE to be an Apple LCD display? (Just asking because I'm considering all the price variables...)
Also, can I plug in any and all 3rd party audio amp/speaker systems into the audio out? (Say the Cambridge soundworks 5-speaker setup that's available nowadays?) The dealer, naturally, is suggesting Apple Pro Speakers - are they any good?
Best,
Ram

Jeff, my system is 400mhz 13gigs of storage 128ks of ram running OS 9.4. I'd love to run FCP3.0.....a web search gave me little in the way of updating my processor to more than the current 400mhz. Thanks Brett

Check out Dr. Bott, I think they make an adapter called the VGA extractor that will give you 2 VGA monitors. I'm not 100% sure it works with the latest video cards.

Jeff

To use the ADC connnecter with a non-Apple LCD monitor you will need an adapter that goes from ADC to the industry standard DVI (in fact, the first version of Apple LCDs used DVI and then Apple switched to ADC). More info can be found here:
http://www.drbott.com/prod/action.lasso?-database=Products&-layout=all&-response=detail.html&Code=0116-ADCD&Publish=Yes&-search
(there is also info if you want to go from ADC to VGA as well)
As for the audio... you'll notice that there are 2 audio output jacks. One is a standard minijack, the other is an Apple audio jack that only the Apple Pro Speakers work with. At least, they are the only ones I have seen. They have pretty good range on the mids/highs, but you might want to go with something that can work with standard minijack and would need the iSub for lows. The cool thing is that the Apple audio jack is powered so you have the potential to hook up normal speakers using this: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/cables_accessories/prospeaker_breakout.html
What this doesn't mention is how many watts it supplies in power.
Hope this helps.