[MacDV] New to list: Questions about DV components

[Mark M. Florida]

On Feb 24, 2004, at 8:46 PM, Paul Miller wrote:

> So I have to ask now (and again, I'm
> sorry to bug everyone) in terms of importing dv video:
> if I use iMovie with the camera I can pull the .dv
> file via import function, but when using it as a dv
> converter does it function in realtime via iMovie or
> quicktime (for conversion?) or does it use a specific
> os9 vs osX program?...or am I missing the boat here?

iMovie sees the video the same no matter if it's coming from tape or 
"through" the camera when used as a converter -- once the video is in 
DV format traveling over FireWire, iMovie doesn't care one bit where it 
originally came from (DV tape or otherwise).  It's just that if you 
originally record onto miniDV tape with the camcorder, the digital 
conversion happens as you shoot, and in passthrough mode it converts 
the signal coming in through the analog inputs.  Does that help?

A couple of things to note, however...  Your hopes of creating DVDs on 
your 20th anniversary Mac may be shattered by your "old-world" 
motherboard, G3 processor and OS 9.  Why?  Almost all of the DVD 
authoring tools available for the Mac are OS X-only -- and even the 
very few apps that run on OS 9, like iDVD 1.0 (good luck finding a copy 
of that) or DVD Studio Pro 1.x, require a G4 processor.  And even if 
you could hack your way into running OS X, it would not be usable AT 
ALL, and you still wouldn't have a G4 processor to run the apps you 
need to use (besides Toast Ti 6).

You may just have to come to terms with the fact that you'll need a 
new(er) system to do what you want, or you'll need a dedicated set-top 
type of DVD recorder.  I'd say an eMac or G4 iMac would be the bare 
minimum (or any G4 tower as well) -- any system that fully supports OS 
X and Quartz Extreme would be optimal for running 10.3 and a DVD 
authoring app like iDVD or Toast Titanium 6.  Just hope you can find a 
buyer that sees the collectable value in your 20th Anniversary Mac.

FWIW.

- Mark