Finally bought FCP 4.0, but... at DVinfo.net

Heath McKnight · November 30th, 2003, 03:35 PM

Finally broke down and bought FCP 4 after problems with my arse backwards way of installing FCP 1 and FCP 3 upgrade. I just transferred the programs to a firewire drive and back to the G5. Didn't do so great this time around.

I also bought a 120 gb firewire drive (Lacie), only to find out CompUSA is offering, for just $10 more, a 200 gb FW Drive for $200. Of course, I have to mail in the rebate, and I always forget to do that. I'm debating taking this drive back, pay $19 to restock, then buy the CompUSA drive. Of course, I'm nowhere near either store (Apple or CompUSA) and I already have the drive plugged in. It's almost feels like a hassle...And murphy's law, of course. Buy one, find out later there's a better deal. Sigh...

heath

Jeff Donald · December 1st, 2003, 10:47 AM

It'll be cheaper still after the holidays. The retailers are not discounting as much this year as last (with a few exceptions). Digital cameras may be an exception. The big discounts in electronics will probably be after the first of the year. Again, I'll repeat my warning to wait until after MacWorld SF (first week of January) to buy Apple hardware.

John Locke · December 1st, 2003, 10:52 AM

Jeff,

Are there any rumors about major leaps in external HDs with mega storage coming out after MacWorld?

Jeff Donald · December 1st, 2003, 10:58 AM

No, but I suspect the big drives (160gb plus) will come down in price. Last summer I bought a WD 160gb drive for $99 USD at Office Depot. So, the prices can definetly go lower. It wouldn't surprise me to see the 200gb or even the 250's go for $99 after rebate.

John Locke · December 1st, 2003, 11:06 AM

And those are reliable?! Wow...that's three to four times cheaper than here. If they're reliable, I'll definitely order from overseas.

Jeff Donald · December 6th, 2003, 05:11 AM

The larger drives seem just as reliable. They are in heavy use at the bigger post houses for their internal media networks.

Glenn Chan · December 6th, 2003, 11:56 AM

If you buy overseas you have to watch out for customs, shipping, *brokerage fees (they can be outrageous), and taxes. Some of the good retailers like newegg.com don't ship overseas. I live in canada and I can't get a lot of the US deals. But sometimes they pop up... 120GB for around USD$80 after rebate (around $110CDN).

There might be hot deals sites for your country.

Big drives should be more reliable than a larger number of cheaper drives. They have other advantages like taking up less space, require less cooling, being more future-proof, and being faster. For video editing it makes sense to get the biggest drives you can afford. You can actually use up all of it even if you buy too much (keep old projects on there).

November 30th, 2003, 03:35 PM	#1
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Finally bought FCP 4.0, but... Finally broke down and bought FCP 4 after problems with my arse backwards way of installing FCP 1 and FCP 3 upgrade. I just transferred the programs to a firewire drive and back to the G5. Didn't do so great this time around. I also bought a 120 gb firewire drive (Lacie), only to find out CompUSA is offering, for just $10 more, a 200 gb FW Drive for $200. Of course, I have to mail in the rebate, and I always forget to do that. I'm debating taking this drive back, pay $19 to restock, then buy the CompUSA drive. Of course, I'm nowhere near either store (Apple or CompUSA) and I already have the drive plugged in. It's almost feels like a hassle...And murphy's law, of course. Buy one, find out later there's a better deal. Sigh... heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

December 1st, 2003, 10:47 AM	#2
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	It'll be cheaper still after the holidays. The retailers are not discounting as much this year as last (with a few exceptions). Digital cameras may be an exception. The big discounts in electronics will probably be after the first of the year. Again, I'll repeat my warning to wait until after MacWorld SF (first week of January) to buy Apple hardware. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 1st, 2003, 10:52 AM	#3
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Jeff, Are there any rumors about major leaps in external HDs with mega storage coming out after MacWorld? __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

December 1st, 2003, 10:58 AM	#4
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	No, but I suspect the big drives (160gb plus) will come down in price. Last summer I bought a WD 160gb drive for $99 USD at Office Depot. So, the prices can definetly go lower. It wouldn't surprise me to see the 200gb or even the 250's go for $99 after rebate. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 1st, 2003, 11:06 AM	#5
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	And those are reliable?! Wow...that's three to four times cheaper than here. If they're reliable, I'll definitely order from overseas. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

December 6th, 2003, 05:11 AM	#6
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The larger drives seem just as reliable. They are in heavy use at the bigger post houses for their internal media networks. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 6th, 2003, 11:56 AM	#7
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	If you buy overseas you have to watch out for customs, shipping, *brokerage fees (they can be outrageous), and taxes. Some of the good retailers like newegg.com don't ship overseas. I live in canada and I can't get a lot of the US deals. But sometimes they pop up... 120GB for around USD$80 after rebate (around $110CDN). There might be hot deals sites for your country. Big drives should be more reliable than a larger number of cheaper drives. They have other advantages like taking up less space, require less cooling, being more future-proof, and being faster. For video editing it makes sense to get the biggest drives you can afford. You can actually use up all of it even if you buy too much (keep old projects on there).