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Mac Mini for Video Editing?????
- Thread starter GadgetGirl
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Yvan256 said:
This is an extreme and rare case, since FireWire 400 will support up to 63 external devices and there is an issue as to how many of those devices use power over FireWire or use an external adapter for power.
It is not commended to connect a digital camera(corder) to a pocket firewire drive that is charging on the same firewire line without an external adapter, since the line will drop data during transfer.
If you have an external FireWire 400 HDD and its has its own power unit and is not bus powered then frame dropping is not an issue.
Yvan256 said:
re-read some of the posts after the quote, you will see that you can split the connector.
jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
enclave said:
You shouldn't for something that requires a constant stream. USB uses your computer's brains to move data (sharing it with other processes). Firewire has it's own chipset, keeping it smooth and steady...
Yvan256 said:
dv is on tape; lack of bus bandwidth, hogged cpu, not enough RAM ... at least with the work PC that has happened.
the mac has always captured fine for me. FW Rocks!if DV was solid state or at least (S)ATA then drop frames wouldn't be an issue ... only corruption.
peace.
maya said:re-read some of the posts after the quote, you will see that you can split the connector.
AFAIK, you can only mirror with the split connector, not span.
I am betting it will take more than a software hack. Prolly an external box or a *specialized* splitter.
jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
ChrisFromCanada said:
Yeah, the only thing I can Googlehunt is references to splitting the same image to 2 different monitors for mirroring. Presentation type of stuff...
neut said:i would like to see the mini running iMovie HD ... while runnin iPhoto, Safari, iTunes, Garageband, iDVD, Mail, iCal, stickies and calculator (most in dashboard of course). if it can do that well, there should be any problems with much else; except window scolling that is ... even my G5s fans rev up when i do that.
peace.
You forgot to include, with one hand tied behind your back...
spins said:
if it was my machine you'd have to also include Live, Reason, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Motion, and Dreamweaver. and swap FCE HD for iMovie HD.
peace.
ok so here is a STUPID video editing question...
when talking about performance in video editing you are talking about the speed of rendering, not the final product right? i am about to have my first child and rather than upgrading my WinXP machine with a DVD burner and Adobe Premiere Elements i am thinking of doing what i always wanted to do and get another Mac (i started with the 128k! and left after the 2nd gen of powermacs) and use the iLife apps i love seeing and reading about so much.
i *don't* mind it if it takes a minute or two to render a fade or something but i CAN'T accept dropped frames when my miniDV camera imports the video via firewire and i CAN'T accept any video flaws when the end product is burned to DVD and then viewed via a normal DVD player.
slower machines etc. don't "damage" the video, they simply take longer to get to the same high quality end product right? ps: i intend to go to 1 GB of RAM (via crucial.com) right from the start if i go the Mac mini route.
when talking about performance in video editing you are talking about the speed of rendering, not the final product right? i am about to have my first child and rather than upgrading my WinXP machine with a DVD burner and Adobe Premiere Elements i am thinking of doing what i always wanted to do and get another Mac (i started with the 128k! and left after the 2nd gen of powermacs) and use the iLife apps i love seeing and reading about so much.
i *don't* mind it if it takes a minute or two to render a fade or something but i CAN'T accept dropped frames when my miniDV camera imports the video via firewire and i CAN'T accept any video flaws when the end product is burned to DVD and then viewed via a normal DVD player.
slower machines etc. don't "damage" the video, they simply take longer to get to the same high quality end product right? ps: i intend to go to 1 GB of RAM (via crucial.com) right from the start if i go the Mac mini route.
canyonblue737 said:
if you know what you're doing and have enough RAM ... a Mac mini will video capture, edit, and author DV to DVD with no problems.
i've only experienced dropped frames on a PC through USB 2 or through VNC. Never had a problem on a mac.
A faster processor will only make your life faster ... not easier.
peace.
neut said:if you know what you're doing and have enough RAM ... a Mac mini will video capture, edit, and author DV to DVD with no problems.
A faster processor will only make your life faster ... not easier.
peace.
that's the whole point right? one of the reasons i am considering moving to the Mac mini is because i DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM DOING! frankly i am getting ready to purchase a miniDV camera (some under $600 model) and intend to simply plug the thing into the firewire port and play around as i go. i assume that isn't rocket science and i am going to drop frames if i don't have the settings right or something... right?
filmmaker2002 said:
Firewire drive 50MB/Sec (In theory) DV format is 3.5MB/Sec.
Just to remidn you all something... becak in 1997 there was the G3 233 tower and it was the best solution for video editing. Today we are running systems way faster than those, so, do not worry about data transfer anymore I would say.
But keep the system and software in a different drive than your footage.
mymemory said:
i know DV made it's debut to the consumer in 1995 ... FW debuted (in a production mac) in 1998 ... what was used to transfer DV back then?
interesting.
peace.
jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
jayscheuerle said:
anyone know what kind of digital or analog outs the first digital camcorders had? S-video with analog capture? or could you only use the tapes in specific tape players (like Digital 8) with SCISI? could HDs even handle DV or was everything done on tape?
i think i just go through life asking questions and rarely find the time to answer them ...
peace.
canyonblue737 said:
I battled a PC for months trying to get to the point where I could edit a simple DV project. After a frustrating number of dropped frames, a frustrating number of hours working with obstructive and non-intituitive software, and finally ending with a movie that steadfastly refused to be what I wanted it to be, I gave up.
The someone mentioned iMovie. I'd heard of it - indeed, it was installed on my office-based Mac, so I borrowed that for a weekend - what a revalation!
Simple, faultless and completely intuitive. No manual (or rocket scientist) needed, no frustration, no dropped frames and nothing to obstruct me getting the result out that I'd wanted.
That was with a G3, and although iMovie has improved a lot since then (ie, it's got a lot bigger), there's no reason to believe that your experience running it on a 1.25GHz Mac Mini would not be every bit as sucessful and productive.
You need to be a tad wary of the fact that not all DV camcorders work properly with iMovie (typically Sony, Panasonic and Canon models tend to work just fine, and most JVCs do too), so it would be wise to get the camcorder from a supplier who will allow you to exchange it if you need to. Also, even if you notice slightly juddery video when importing, that's just iMovie saving processor time - the actual captured footage will be fine - as you'll see when output to DVD and playing on your TV.
But after you connect a compatible miniDV camcorder and have iMovie ready, you'll find that iMovie is a remarkably simple tool that allows the creation of quite sophisticated movies. It has limitations (or else why would Apple sell Final Cut), but for home (or moderately light commercial) use, iMovie is a solid and commendable product. Just don't practice with version 3 - that was AWFUL!