[Rj Miles]

I bought it from off of Ebay. The card comes with some of the PCI slot pins pre-taped for use with certain G4s.

The card was $165

Here are two Ebay links. One for all of the guys stuff and the 2nd for a 9800 Pro he has for auction now.

https://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZapplemacanix
https://cgi.ebay.com/Mac-ATI-Radeon-9800-Pro-128MB-Video-Card-G4-G5-PowerMac_W0QQitemZ280131576369QQihZ018QQcategoryZ25449QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I’m working on some :30 TV spots on the G4.1.8ghz right now. FCP renders are definitely slower, especially when rendering multiple layers. However, DVDSP is still pretty good. However, I’m not putting anything more into the G4.

Good luck

[Rj Miles]

While I am in between primary Mac computers, I am running FCP 2 on a G4 with a Sonnet 1.8ghz processor. I needed to buy a G4 friendly ATI 9800 Pro video card for FCP to launch. Color will not run and Motion is limited. However, the other apps all work fine. Slower, but fine.

I believe your G4 has better video card options than my G4/500 sawtooth, but you still have to consider the choice of pouring more money down a G4 hole, rather than investing in an Intel rig.

If I did not have the G4, I would have moved on a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro already. The G4 running FCP 6.0, AE7 and other goodies has given me a little breathing room. But with the CS3 Production package now available, I need to move to an Intel rig.

If you want the source for the used, but pampered ATI 9800 Pro video cards, let me know.

[Rj Miles]

May I add, I pulled off something with MPEG Streamclip that I could not with DVDxDV Pro.

A client sent me a Europe produced 25fps corporate DVD to turn into a looping DVD for one of their trade shows.

I could not find a way to transcode the video file without serious interlaced artifacts, and I think I tried everything.

I then used MPEG Streamclip to make a DVCPro50 file, using it’s motion adaptive deinterlacing. I then married the sound track to the transcode video file and it authored to DVD perfectly.

I will definitely be using MPEG Streamclip more when trying to transcode sources with difficult frame rates.

[Rj Miles]

Regarding on-site support…

May I just note, Apple will schedule an on-site service visit if you request it. Twice Apple sent a tech to my home office to service a G5 while it was under it’s extended Apple Care agreement.

I will definitely get the 3 year Apple Care plan on any Mac I purchase.

Happy shoppping

[Rj Miles]

If you are interested in saving $$$ yet still moving in to the Intel processor domain, there are tons of good deals on 2.66ghz Intel Mac Pro computers.

If you’re not looking for all of the extra speed of the faster Intel Mac Pros, the new Mac Book Pro laptops are a very interesting option.

Personally, I’m looking for atleast a 3.0ghz 4-core to replace a G5 I just sold, althgouh I am seriously thinking about a MacBook Pro 17″ widescreen. 🙂

A good portion of the CS3 Adobe Production is Intel only, and I can only imagine we might see more software in the future released as Intel only.

I am working in the G4, G5 and Intel environments. So far, most of my G5 programs are running well. AE 7 has been the only challenge, but there have been some good work arounds. With the release of AE CS3 it’s no longer an issue.

Happy shopping

[Rj Miles]

You echo my sentiments.

I think I might be able to live a MacBook Pro for running basic FCP edits, but more complex compositing in AE might be a little too close my experience with a G5 2.0/DP. After working on an 8-core and 3.0ghz 4-core, I’m talking myself out of a MacBook Pro for now, and have narrowed it down to a 4-core -vs- 8-core.

Happy shopping and thanks for the thread.

[Rj Miles]

I paid primarily because I did not know about StreamClip when I was in immediate need of a solution.

[Rj Miles]

I also use the Pro version.

I find the best quality is achieved outputting at 720×480 interlaced in DVC Pro 50 or uncompressed, and then deinterlacing and resizing in QT, AE or Compressor.

I have had some limited success going directly to p-jpeg codec, when the final output will be progressive, but sometimes a better deinterlacer is needed.

I have also tried MPEG StreamClip and it comes in handy for some other things. I recently was given a DVD with .mpg files. The audio would not transcode over. I was ablwe to demux the audio and then marry the audio to the transcoded video track.

[Rj Miles]

I hear ya Simmie.

We have been trying to squeeze the last little bit of production java out of a TrueVision RTX 2000 video card. It does not work at all under OS X, only under 9.2.2. But atleast it can stay in the G4 while OS X is running and not get in the way of newer video goodies.

I wish someone would write an OS X friendly codec for the Targa family of video cards. I could then give the RTX 2000 a proper Viking funeral, and still maintain access to legacy video projects.

[Rj Miles]

Thanks Guys

My short term option has been to turn off the automatic launching of the “most recent project” on FCP start up.

Currently, when I launch FCP I manually select the scratch drive folder for an existing project, or I create a NEW folder and then select it.

Perhaps this project work flow is not what FCP had in mind, as they would have me maintain a single FCP scratch disc folder, where all projects break out accordingly in their various FCP sub-folders.

Thanks again for the posts.