[Jeff Carpenter]

I haven’t tried it with FC Studio 2, but with these kinds of programs you can generally just run the update and put in the older number when it asks for it.

Try it, anyway. The worst it will do is not install and then you just go back and load version 1 first. No harm done.

And secondly, how will these systems be used? The Final Cut license allows one version of final cut to be used on 1 desktop and 1 laptop provided they aren’t used at the same time. So if they edit on the desktop at home and the laptop when on the road then they can return one of those Studio packages and just use one on both computers.

If, however, they often use both computers at the same time then they’ll want to stick with the 2 copies like they have now.

[Jeff Carpenter]

Sure. Any of them.

Of course, different versions have different requirements when it comes to video cards and other system properties. So not all Final Cuts will run on all Power-PC Macs. But it won’t be the fact that you’re using a G4 or G5 that holds you back.

[Jeff Carpenter]

I don’t know what format the Treo records in, but it’s a good bet it’s something involoving GOPs and i-frames and whatnot.

Try putting the video into MPEG Streamclip (free program online) and see if it can open it. If it can, convert it to whatever you usually edit with. DV or uncompressed or whatever. Edit that version. It should go a lot smoother.

[Jeff Carpenter]

I didn’t think we’d have to get into this much detail, but I guess we do. Estoria’s advice is not 100% correct, here’s what’s going on.

Rosetta comes on every Intel Mac. You never see it. It just works. For example, I use Microsoft Word on my Intel Mac even though it is not Universal yet. It technically slower than it could be, but who can tell? It’s Word. I have no problems with it.

So up to that point, Estoria is totally correct. Most old software will run just fine on Intel Macs. But when it comes to professional media programs, your results will vary. Here’s a rundown of the things you mentioned:

Final Cut Pro: According to Apple it will not load on an Intel Mac unless you have version 5.1 or 6 (which is part of Final Cut Studio 2). I’ve heard of some people getting it to load, but Apple doesn’t support this and I’m sure several features won’t work right.

DVD Studio Pro: Only version 4 will run, and it has to be the version 4 that comes with Final Cut 5.1 or 6.

Photoshop: Earlier versions than CS3 will run, but slower. Now, with ‘Word’ this works fine, but with photoshop it gets to be a bit of a problem. It’s usable for sure, but I found working with CS1 to be a litte frustrating sometimes, certainly when I was working with large files. CS3 (which is universal), on the other hand, has been great. This one wouldn’t HAVE to be upgraded, but I do suggest it.

After Effects: Similar problem to Photoshop but given that the size of After Effects projects tend to be larger and the processing more complex you will end up with problems even more often than Photoshop, I’d think. I never used the non-universal After Effects on my Intel Mac, so I’m just guessing here. But I can’t see that it would work any better than the pre-universal Photoshop did.

Toast…I haven’t used. My experience with using programs in Rosetta, though, has been that small files work great and large projects work, but are slightly less stable and prone to crashing a bit more. I’d be uncomfortable using a disc burning program like that, but that’s just my opinion. I’ve never used it.

So does Rosetta work? Sure. I use it all the time for older programs. But since you’re using pro program it will lead to more application crashes and speeds that are pretty comparable to the G5, if not slower. Rosetta is supposed to be a crutch for transitioning, not a permenent method for getting work done.

But think about it…if you can afford the Intel Mac and Final Cut upgrade now and then the rest of the software upgrades in a few months…well that could work. Things like Photoshop aren’t perfect under Rosetta, but as long as it’s not a permanent solution they can work. I used Photoshop that way for several months and I got through it. You just have to decide what’s more important…a “very good” system right now (the G5) or an “ok” system for year with an upgrade to a “great” system next year when you can afford the updates.

[Jeff Carpenter]

Short answer: Go with the G5.

Long answer: You would be better off getting an Intel Mac and upgrading to Final Cut Studio 2, After Effects CS3, and Photoshop CS3. If you’re going to keep this machine for a long time (as it sounds like you do) you’d be better off getting into the next geneartion right now. Even going with the cheapest MacPro (base RAM and lowest processor) you’d be getting a much better machine than you have now. Sure, it would be nice to add more RAM later, but if you have to sacrafice that to just get the machine now, I’d say it’s worth it. But if you’re unable to upgrade your software then, yes, you’d be better off getting the G5. I suggest the Intel, but if all of this is not possible than see the ‘short answer’ at the start!

[Jeff Carpenter]

1) Poke around in your home folder. I think things like auto-saves get put in there. They aren’t huge, but they add up.

2) Also in the home folder look and see if there are render files from before you started using your other drive.

3) Do you use iPhoto? When you erase a photo it goes into the iPhoto trash…not the OS X trash. That has to be emptied out too…otherwise every photo you’ve deleted is still in there.

Those are the 3 obvious ones I can think of.

[Jeff Carpenter]

If you’re editing DV only, any of the Macs will do fine. For that I suggest either the Macbook Pro or the 24″ iMac (because of the firewire 800 port) and, yes, I suggest keeping an eye out for iMac updates…it’s been awhile. For either of those you would use a firewire DV deck or camera to convert the signal to an analog signal for an external video monitor.

For any other video format, getting a laptop or an iMac can do some things with it, but not other things. For anything other than DV I suggest a MacPro tower. (For example, and iMac can edit HDV just fine, but there are no external video monitoring options for you.)

The more you tell us about what you’ll be editing, the better our advice will be.

[Jeff Carpenter]

I usually set the export to the highest quality AAC and then convert that to AIFF. That’s always been good enough for my purposes. You should test it and see if you can hear any difference between the project and that kind of export.

If that still doesn’t feel good to you then I would suggest buying either:

($16) Audio Hijack:
https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/

or

($32) Audio Hijack Pro:
https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/

Both will let you record any Mac application’s audio output directly to AIFF before it exits the computer. The regular version will do that for you but I included the Pro one in case you decide it does something else you want.

[Jeff Carpenter]

No flash. It’s considered a security risk. The official word is that there are no plans to allow it because of this. I’m sure this will change someday, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.

[Jeff Carpenter]

You’ve got 2 options:

A) Pay any one of those “license a bunch of generic songs for a reasonable price” kind of companies to get a few CDs.

B) Cheat and hope no one catches you.

Those are really the only 2 options. Things like using the client’s own music or other workarounds just fall into category “B” no matter how much they might SOUND like they’re ok.

This is a good time to ask everyone here, though. What companies are everyone around here using who work in category “A?” I’ve been looking to update to something newer as well.

Any suggestions?