Questions on Upgrading to the New Macs

[Randy Marshall]

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to get some feedback on upgrading to these new Mac G5s/HDTV equipment, etc. to see what others have to say.  I was told this list might be able to answer these questions and would be open to possible discussions on this subject.  I hope so as I would like to find some lists where discussion and info sharing on these topics was possible:

It looks like the new Macs **only** support optical audio in and out unless you get some USB device to bring the audio in and out.  That said, for me it looks like there might finally be a reason to get a new theater surround sound theater system. 
  
 My CD players, but not my DVD player, have optical out.   
  
 Some Sony MD have an Optical connection has anyone tried using them with one of these type of connectors on a computer?   
  
 So what other products/devices are available with optical in and out? 

Are there any recommended audio card that can be used with this computer so you can just upgrade the computer and throw in a card but keep the old and still well functioning analog support equipment?
  
 My Mackie Mixer is only Analog.  Are there any mixers available with optical in and out? 
  
 New SUBJECT related to keeping up with this technology: 
  
 It is said that Final Cut Pro can handle a mix of DV and DV CAM footage with out reencoding the footage prior to editing.  Is FCP3 really able to do this (or is this yet another Apple Urban Legend)? Is Adobe Premiere able to do this? 

I would think this is an offshoot of quicktime but do not have a DVCam or DVC Pro piece of equipment to experiment mixing formats so I am curious if you are really able to do this?

I am also curious if you can mix in MPEG2 videos into an FCP stream if you buy Apples $20 QT Upgrade?

Would like to get to the point where I can author my work in HTDV.  Its looking like that might be a long time away, but I was wondering if anyone has done any interpolation of footage shot in 16:9 but standard DV up to HTDV?  If so how did you accomplish this?  How did the end result look?
  
 JVC seems to be the only company at the moment that sells a "consumer" hdtv camera.  It is said to only work with windows.  The camera records the extended definition signal (something like 768 scan lines vs. 525 for regular video) in MPEG2 and the only software that is said to handle this format is JVCs windows editing software which transfers the information between the computer and camera via firewire (400).   
  
 The last time I looked there was no Mac Support for this... But am asking anyway:  does Final Cut Pro handle this stuff too or do we have to wait for an upgrade? 
  
 If it does handle this, will it also handle a cross of formats like DV & MPEG2 in the same edit session with out reencoding? 

Are there any other really good but reasonably priced HDTV camcorders out there besides the JVC model? (like around 2-3K)
  
I would like to start making some HDTV productions and buying some new equipment but am concerned that its still to early to make any kind of move.  For instance, I would love to have a new HDTV monitor.  Heck even Walmart is selling 16:9 30" HDTV monitors for $938.  But I am concerned about future compatibility and would rather wait than get stuck with something that will not suit my needs in the future.  

These monitors have RGB inputs which can be adapted via a DVI to RGB converter ($29 from ATI).  Sony has a nicer though more expensive HDTV monitor with DVI which looks neat.  I have been trying to find someone who had connected one to the video card of their Mac to get their thoughts on how well it works.

Any info any of you could provide on these issues would be appreciated.  I know its a long email with a lot of questions and I hope there might be some others out there who might be willing to share their thoughts and insights on these issues.
  
 My best, 
 Randy Marshall