Dave Mac
Forum Replies Created
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Scott,
I actually did use Disk Utility to make back-up disk images of the 4 installer discs. Successfully. No conjecture here….
I was also able to burn those disk images to DVD-Rs and DVD+R (dual layer), as needed. All burned discs did mount and the installers worked just fine.
Backing up your system drive won’t give you the possibility of a completely new clean install, but it should serve you well, as others have mentioned.
-Dave
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As I mentioned earlier in this thread, Apple has stated that the 5.1 (Universal Binary) release of Final Cut Studio is the basis from which all future versions will be made.
So, unless Apple does a big “about face” during NAB, which isn’t likely, you will need to get 5.1 before moving on to any other updates or upgrades. If version 6 is announced, or demoed, at NAB, you will still most likely need to upgrade/crossgrade to 5.1 before you can get 6, i.e., you won’t be able to update/upgrade from anything but 5.1.
Remember, the purpose of 5.1 is to get everyone to the “same level.” That’s why some of the upgrade/crossgrade prices are extremely low for what you get.
FYI, it appears that FCP and Compressor are the only apps in the bundle that have really changed… FCP has some bug fixes and adds support for the new HDV camcorders; Compressor gets a few new presets for creating iPod video in H.264.
All of my info comes from Apple Sales… I guess it could change at any instant…. 😉
-Dave
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Well, I guess I wasn’t clear enough… 😉
There is a subtle issue that is being misunderstood in this discussion. That is, what someone would view as a proper preview on an external broadcast monitor and what the analog video signal “black level” would be measured as.
For a “best practices” workflow, and better fault tolerance, it is ideal to output an analog signal with the proper black levels. That way, whether you are simply previewing the video, or recording to analog tape, everything would be configured properly. This is especially important in a situation where many people may use the same equipment.
I would like restate the context to make sure we are all considering the same workflow setup (pun not necessarily intended). I will limit my comments to the case where a camcorder is acting as the A->D and
D->A converter, a FireWire connection to the Mac (from the camcorder), and the camcorder connected to an external broadcast NTSC monitor. Further, let’s say that the camcorder is capable of producing a proper set of SMPTE color bars (with PLUGE), and that we have turned off any setting related to NTSC black level setup (7.5 IRE). My primary source of reference for my comments is Graeme Nattress’ excellent article “Video Levels in Final Cut Pro.”Okay, on to the specifics…
[Thax] “Your monitor does not need to have set-up applied when viewing a digital source.”
and
[Thax] “Sorry, no.
I use NTSC monitors feeding directly from the analog outputs of DV camcorders in the field for Framing Monitors.
The image coming from the camera does not have set-up applied.
The playback of the tape is, of course, identical in black-level.The playback of this footage from FCP is identical as well.
SMPTE Bars on the FCP timeline read the black “plunge” just fine without adding setup to the monitor feed.”
While these statements are technically correct, they omit additional information that would have helped the audience’s understanding of the issue, and, as a result, come off as rather smug.
[MitchJi] “If you are viewing Digital footage via an analog connection it DOES need to add setup.
If you are viewing via SDI then you still need to verify that the monitor is set up to display black at 0 IRE via the digital input.”
These statements are true if you are considering the actual video signal black levels. If you were to connect a hardware waveform monitor to the external broadcast monitor, looping through the signal, then you would see that the actual analog video signal does not have the proper setup applied. In any case, you can still calibrate your external broadcast monitor (using the proper SMPTE bars with PLUGE) as Thax suggested.
[MitchJi] “There are two issues here.
1. On correctly adjusted NTSC monitors nothing below 7.5 will be displayed (thats the spec). The monitor should be adjusted with the pluge so that absolute black is 7.5.2. To meet this spec a lot of equipment adds 7.5 (DVD players for example). So if you create a DVD from your material it won’t be correct.
As long as you are using a misadjusted monitor and limiting your playback to equipment that doesn’t output correct North American NTSC you will be fine but otherwise…”
Item 2 is incorrect, as a digital video signal ranges from 16 to 235 (or 0 to 100 percent) in FCP. Only when the DVD is played in a set-top player connected to a TV set, or monitor, is setup added if the equipment is NTSC.
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Summary:
[] Thax’s scenario of previewing video is valid (see Graeme’s article, as he discusses this directly). The workflow is self-consistent. If you calibrate your external broadcast monitor (EBM) to the proper color bars on the camcorder (with no setup turned on), the preview from the camcorder (live and from tape) will be corrrect (if everything is working properly). Likewise, if you calibrate your EBM to bars from within FCP, the preview will be correct. All with no setup added or any consideration given to such.
However, the analog video signal’s black levels will be incorrect if you used the same workflow to go to VHS or other analog tape formats (because there is no setup added), or if you recorded analog signals on your camcorder (or passed them through via FW to your Mac). This applies to the situation where no NTSC setup is turned on in the camcorder (many camcorders don’t work properly with this feature active, anyway).
For simply previewing your video, this workflow is fine. I personally find it more confusing and would rather know that all my signal levels are correct at each point in the workflow.
[] I would suggest that for a “best practices” workflow, you would want to have everything configured with the proper signal levels, as appropriate.
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Jason,
In addition to upgrading to FCS 5.1, you will need to be running Mac OS X 10.4.4, or later.
In case anyone else doesn’t know, “Universal” means universal, i.e., runs on both PPC and Intel hardware. 😉
Also, according to the Apple Sales Web (webcast from 2 Feb 2006), all updates and future upgrades of FCS will be made only to the Universal versions. The current upgrade/crossgrade program was created to let everyone “catch up” to the current version of FCS (5.1 Universal, as of today). Unless circumstances change, this probably means that everyone will have to get FCS 5.1 before upgrading to any future version. Anyone who is Apple Certified can access the Apple Sales Web site and watch the webcast.
Upgrading from FCP 4/4.5 is probably the best deal you’ll ever get for this amount of value (the cost is $199, not $99 as Jerry mentioned).
-Dave
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Just to be real clear about this…
You need to account for NTSC setup (7.5 IRE) on the analog signal going to the NTSC monitor.
You need to verify that the DVX100A will properly output an analog signal with the required setup added. As I don’t have one of these camcorders, I cannot confirm whether it works properly, or not. According to DVXuser.com, this camcorder and others typically under the $5K price mark, don’t properly add/remove setup.
If it is true (which seems to be the case), you will need to purchase and use a proc amp (see signvideo.com for one example) to get the proper signal into your NTSC monitor (which should be properly calibrated to bars with pluge, as well). However, for the price of the proc amp from Sign Video, you could get a Decklink standard definition I/O card, which would provide the proper setup.
I would recommend a video I/O card. You may want to consider getting a beefier (more feature-laden/higher-priced) card as an investment for the future (especially if you have a PCI Express based G5). As with many things, the cheapest upfront cost items usually end up costing much more down the road in lower productivity/quality/etc.
-Dave
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Oh, I forgot to mention that you should avoid using USB with video like the plague.
USB is a “burst” data transfer protocol and it’s not good for sustained transfer of large amounts of data (video files, for example).
-Dave
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You need to get a FireWire 800 PC card for your PowerBook. All Macs come with only one FW bus, regardless of the number and type of ports/connectors. Doing disk I/O and sending a video signal over the same FW bus can be very problematic.
-Dave
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Your current methodology is pretty robust.
If you try to capture from your camcorder to a FW drive on the same bus (current/recent Macs only have one FW bus) or same “chain,” you’ll likely have problems. If you want to capture directly to an external FW8000 drive, I would suggest you add a PCI or PC card to your Mac (depending on whether it’s a Power Mac or a PowerBook/MacBook) to separate the capture device from the hard drive(s). This way the input from your camcorder is on a separate bus from the FW drive.
Yes, FW800 (9 pin) to “mini FW” (4 pin) cables exist. Check out cablestogo.com as one source of cables. However, your FW800 drive won’t work at full speed with that type of connection. Plus, if you connect your FW800 drive to your camcorder and Mac, altogether/daisy-chained, the data coming from the camcorder will travel upstream to the computer and then downstream to the FW drive, plenty of opportunity for capture problems (also depends on the camcorder brand/model). If you must use the same bus for both devices, it is a little better to use separate ports, rather than daisy-chaining your “computer->FW drive->camcorder.”
-Dave
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If you decide to get an external FW drive/setup with multiple drives in the enclosure, and you plan on using the drive while editing with FCP, make sure you get an enclosure that has a fan. With constant use, the actual hard drives can get pretty hot. Bridge circuit boards in the cases are not friendly with excessive heat either.
If you are adventurous, you may want to consider getting an enclosure kit and drives separately, and then assemble them.
Other good vendors to check out: WiebeTech and FW Depot. For larger, mutli-drive enclosure kits, check out (in addition to those mentioned above): Mac Gurus. For reviews of various systems, you may want to consider perusing BareFeats, which contains a lot of hardware reviews.
You may want to also consider an external SATA drive setup, which can be less troublesome than FW (and much better performing).
Hotswap enclosures (both FW and SATA) provide the flexibility of being able to rotate drives for storage, transport, etc.
-Dave
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Rob,
You can still read the PDf on the subway… just buy a PowerBook! 🙂
-Dave