NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2004

Andres Bant · June 20th, 2004, 08:12 PM

Will I be able to edit on my G4 Powerbook, 15", 60GB, 1.2K MHZ, 512 MB ram? I got the best one available without any custom upgrades, so is that good enough for smooth editing? If these statistics aren't good enough, what should I upgrade to?

I want to get Premiere or Final Cut ASAP, but for now I'm planning to use iMovie.

Ken Tanaka · June 20th, 2004, 08:51 PM

That model of PB will work fine as an editing station. But you really need to increase your memory to 1Gb. Video editing can be a very memory-intensive operation. You should also plan on using an external Firewire drive for your footage, not the internal system drive.

Glenn Chan · June 20th, 2004, 11:25 PM

For big projects you will need more memory. FCP projects can get quite big. It is not hard to get them up to 30MB. With 10 undos, that's about 330MB just for project files in RAM.

I am not sure if FCP handles projects like that but it does make sense.

2- Some people are more successful capturing to the internal drive on the laptop then to an external drive. If you want success with the internal drive, then faster is better (i.e. 5400rpm instead of 4200rpm). Also, bigger is better (more GB is slightly better) but to a much lesser degree.

For external drives, you may want to get a PCMIA firewire card if your configuration does not work. Look for firewire drives with the oxford 911 chipset or FW800 drives.

You will need an external drive if you do not have enough room. DV is ~13GB/hour and there is less useful drive space than you think (about 85% is the max you can use for video and all your software). This is because the computer numbering system is different than th drive numbering system and you lose some space to file formatting, so a 200GB drive may only give 180GB. Also, you need to leave some room to avoid file fragmentation (more than 90% gets sticky).

IMO you can be fine with 60GB and 512MB. You just have to keep project complexity down, which you have to anyways considering it's a powerbook.

4- There's no point getting Premiere on Mac unless it's free or something like that. You'll probably like FCExpress or FCPro better.

Andres Bant · June 20th, 2004, 11:48 PM

Edit: I can't foresee a project of mine longer than 30-40 minutes, so I don't think length is a problem. I do plan on buying an external in the future though. As for needing extra ram, how would I go about installing it? Need a professional to do that?

Thanks for all the info!

Bernard Ong · June 21st, 2004, 12:21 AM

you wouldn;t need a professional to help you upgrade your RAM...

so not to worry...
its more like a plug and play kinda thing

Tommy Gunderson · June 22nd, 2004, 01:32 AM

I am trying to record my finished cut back to mini dv into my DVX 100 from the computer(FCP4) but am not getting audio? Only getting video. Does the svideo input have anything to do with this? Help would be awesome, thanx

Rick Tugman · June 22nd, 2004, 07:24 AM

Are you using firewire? Check your preferences and make sure you have control of your device. Use Print to video and check the settings.

I just transferred to VHS through my DVCam via firewire and RCA (video, audio L-R) cables yesterday so it is all working fine. Check your cables and preference settings.

Good luck.

Jeff Donald · June 22nd, 2004, 07:50 AM

S-Video (S-VHS) only carries a video signal, no audio. To record audio using S-Video, you also need to use RCA audio cables. FireWire carries both audio and video.

Michael Gibbons · June 22nd, 2004, 09:05 AM

I was just on the apple site, and from the looks of it ,I can upgrade ("Update") from FCP4 to FCPHD for nothing. That is no $'s. Is this true? Crazy. Will I still need the lumiere hd thingy?
I'm still learning my way through FCP, but it looks like I'll be shooting a project on an HD10 later this year, so I'd like to get my NLE suite ready to go.
Thanks
Michael

Tommy Gunderson · June 22nd, 2004, 10:31 AM

Thanx for the reply, yes I am using firewire and everything seems to work fine except the audio signal does not output. When I digitize into my FCP the video and audio transfer fine. Is it possible that its my DVX 100 thats the problem? Doesn't make sense, I should be getting audio when I output my project to the camera from FPC, right?

Jeff Price · June 22nd, 2004, 12:01 PM

Just making sure of what is going on -

1) Your camera is attached to the computer via firewire?

2) Your camera is attached to your monitor via s-video?

3) Is your camera attached to your monitor with any audio cable?

4) When you say you are getting no audio, is it via the monitor or are you double-checking the tape? How are you double-checking the tape (how is the camera attached to the monitor)?

Jeff Price · June 22nd, 2004, 12:03 PM

Yes, the update is free. Whether or not you will need an additional capture card or can capture the HD via firewire I think depends on the camera? At least on of the Panasonics will let you capture directly via firewire with no card, not sure about any other HD camera.

Michael Gibbons · June 22nd, 2004, 01:40 PM

Thanks Jeff, I'm right down the road from you as I type this- in Longmont, at the Seagate plant. Niwot is a very nice little town. I go there for lunch from time to time.

Michael

Jeff Price · June 22nd, 2004, 04:29 PM

So, when do we see 250 gb SATA Seagate drives with the same sort of rebate discounts that CompUSA always has on the smaller Seagate SATA drives? I would have loved to have gotten a Seagate but ended up with a Maxtor (which, I guess, is another local company...)

All right, I know this is OT.....

Michael Gibbons · June 22nd, 2004, 04:42 PM

I was unaware that people actually PAY for disc drives. That is so very strange- I mean... what?

Actually, Jeff, I am a lowly test engineer (don't get excited, I only test packaging, Newton's Laws are the most complicated science I deal with- that and this crap @$$ PC they make me work on)

I would also like a 250 GB sata drive, but right now I have about 500 gigs of storage at home so I'm not going to complain too much.

Sigh... Maybe next year.
Michael

June 20th, 2004, 08:12 PM	#811
Andres Bant Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 44	Powerbook for Editing Will I be able to edit on my G4 Powerbook, 15", 60GB, 1.2K MHZ, 512 MB ram? I got the best one available without any custom upgrades, so is that good enough for smooth editing? If these statistics aren't good enough, what should I upgrade to? I want to get Premiere or Final Cut ASAP, but for now I'm planning to use iMovie.

June 20th, 2004, 08:51 PM	#812
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	That model of PB will work fine as an editing station. But you really need to increase your memory to 1Gb. Video editing can be a very memory-intensive operation. You should also plan on using an external Firewire drive for your footage, not the internal system drive. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

June 22nd, 2004, 01:32 AM	#816
Tommy Gunderson Tourist Join Date: May 2004 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 2	Exporting my final cut out to tape on my DVX 100 I am trying to record my finished cut back to mini dv into my DVX 100 from the computer(FCP4) but am not getting audio? Only getting video. Does the svideo input have anything to do with this? Help would be awesome, thanx

June 22nd, 2004, 07:24 AM	#817
Rick Tugman Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Parkland, Florida Posts: 105	Are you using firewire? Check your preferences and make sure you have control of your device. Use Print to video and check the settings. I just transferred to VHS through my DVCam via firewire and RCA (video, audio L-R) cables yesterday so it is all working fine. Check your cables and preference settings. Good luck. __________________ Camera: Panasonic DV953 PC: Apple Aluminum G4 Powerbook - 15 inch Final Cut Pro 4 and other assorted goodies!

June 22nd, 2004, 07:50 AM	#818
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	S-Video (S-VHS) only carries a video signal, no audio. To record audio using S-Video, you also need to use RCA audio cables. FireWire carries both audio and video. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

June 20th, 2004, 11:25 PM	#813
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	For big projects you will need more memory. FCP projects can get quite big. It is not hard to get them up to 30MB. With 10 undos, that's about 330MB just for project files in RAM. I am not sure if FCP handles projects like that but it does make sense. 2- Some people are more successful capturing to the internal drive on the laptop then to an external drive. If you want success with the internal drive, then faster is better (i.e. 5400rpm instead of 4200rpm). Also, bigger is better (more GB is slightly better) but to a much lesser degree. For external drives, you may want to get a PCMIA firewire card if your configuration does not work. Look for firewire drives with the oxford 911 chipset or FW800 drives. You will need an external drive if you do not have enough room. DV is ~13GB/hour and there is less useful drive space than you think (about 85% is the max you can use for video and all your software). This is because the computer numbering system is different than th drive numbering system and you lose some space to file formatting, so a 200GB drive may only give 180GB. Also, you need to leave some room to avoid file fragmentation (more than 90% gets sticky). IMO you can be fine with 60GB and 512MB. You just have to keep project complexity down, which you have to anyways considering it's a powerbook. 4- There's no point getting Premiere on Mac unless it's free or something like that. You'll probably like FCExpress or FCPro better.

June 20th, 2004, 11:48 PM	#814
Andres Bant Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 44	Edit: I can't foresee a project of mine longer than 30-40 minutes, so I don't think length is a problem. I do plan on buying an external in the future though. As for needing extra ram, how would I go about installing it? Need a professional to do that? Thanks for all the info!

June 21st, 2004, 12:21 AM	#815
Bernard Ong New Boot Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 7	you wouldn;t need a professional to help you upgrade your RAM... so not to worry... its more like a plug and play kinda thing

June 22nd, 2004, 09:05 AM	#819
Michael Gibbons Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Loveland, Colorado, USA Posts: 292	Fcp Hd Fo' Free? I was just on the apple site, and from the looks of it ,I can upgrade ("Update") from FCP4 to FCPHD for nothing. That is no $'s. Is this true? Crazy. Will I still need the lumiere hd thingy? I'm still learning my way through FCP, but it looks like I'll be shooting a project on an HD10 later this year, so I'd like to get my NLE suite ready to go. Thanks Michael __________________ " When some wild-eyed, eight foot tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head against a bar room wall, and looks you crooked in the eye, and he asks you if you've payed your dues, well, you just stare that big suker right back in the eye, and you remember what old Jack Burton always says at a time like that, 'Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yes sir, the check is in the mail."

June 22nd, 2004, 10:31 AM	#820
Tommy Gunderson Tourist Join Date: May 2004 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 2	Thanx for the reply, yes I am using firewire and everything seems to work fine except the audio signal does not output. When I digitize into my FCP the video and audio transfer fine. Is it possible that its my DVX 100 thats the problem? Doesn't make sense, I should be getting audio when I output my project to the camera from FPC, right?

June 22nd, 2004, 12:01 PM	#821
Jeff Price Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chico, California Posts: 357	Just making sure of what is going on - 1) Your camera is attached to the computer via firewire? 2) Your camera is attached to your monitor via s-video? 3) Is your camera attached to your monitor with any audio cable? 4) When you say you are getting no audio, is it via the monitor or are you double-checking the tape? How are you double-checking the tape (how is the camera attached to the monitor)? __________________ Jeff Price Flickerflix Nature Videos flickerflix@yahoo.com

June 22nd, 2004, 12:03 PM	#822
Jeff Price Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chico, California Posts: 357	Yes, the update is free. Whether or not you will need an additional capture card or can capture the HD via firewire I think depends on the camera? At least on of the Panasonics will let you capture directly via firewire with no card, not sure about any other HD camera. __________________ Jeff Price Flickerflix Nature Videos flickerflix@yahoo.com

June 22nd, 2004, 01:40 PM	#823
Michael Gibbons Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Loveland, Colorado, USA Posts: 292	NIWOT? Thanks Jeff, I'm right down the road from you as I type this- in Longmont, at the Seagate plant. Niwot is a very nice little town. I go there for lunch from time to time. Michael __________________ " When some wild-eyed, eight foot tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head against a bar room wall, and looks you crooked in the eye, and he asks you if you've payed your dues, well, you just stare that big suker right back in the eye, and you remember what old Jack Burton always says at a time like that, 'Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yes sir, the check is in the mail."

June 22nd, 2004, 04:29 PM	#824
Jeff Price Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chico, California Posts: 357	So, when do we see 250 gb SATA Seagate drives with the same sort of rebate discounts that CompUSA always has on the smaller Seagate SATA drives? I would have loved to have gotten a Seagate but ended up with a Maxtor (which, I guess, is another local company...) All right, I know this is OT..... __________________ Jeff Price Flickerflix Nature Videos flickerflix@yahoo.com

June 22nd, 2004, 04:42 PM	#825
Michael Gibbons Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Loveland, Colorado, USA Posts: 292	I was unaware that people actually PAY for disc drives. That is so very strange- I mean... what? Actually, Jeff, I am a lowly test engineer (don't get excited, I only test packaging, Newton's Laws are the most complicated science I deal with- that and this crap @$$ PC they make me work on) I would also like a 250 GB sata drive, but right now I have about 500 gigs of storage at home so I'm not going to complain too much. Sigh... Maybe next year. Michael __________________ " When some wild-eyed, eight foot tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head against a bar room wall, and looks you crooked in the eye, and he asks you if you've payed your dues, well, you just stare that big suker right back in the eye, and you remember what old Jack Burton always says at a time like that, 'Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yes sir, the check is in the mail."