Newbie questions

j20056j20056
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I am considering a switch from the PC world. Specifically, I want to buy a Mac to do digital imaging, both pictures and movies (from a digital camcorder).

I am wondering whether I need a super-charged PowerMac or if an iMac can do?

How much Ram do I need? Also, I want to be able to burn DVD's from my files imported from my camcorder. Does the SuperDrive allow that? What DVD format does it support? DVD+R or DVD-R or both?

Also, can I create DVDs that can work in Europe (DVD region area #2) Is this a software or hardware issue?

Help appreciated!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    spiffsterspiffster Posts: 327member
    An iMac should do fine. Apple includes software for both imaging and video, iPhoto, and iMovie respectivly. The iMac was designed for home movies and pictures. The superdrive i think does allow you to burn DV camera movies onto DVDs. I'm not sure about the Europe thing though.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    stevesteve Posts: 523member
    You'll want to spruce up a DV movie with iMovie, first, and then exporting from that program directly to iDVD, which will convert the footage into MPEG-2, which DVD players read. The format is DVD-R. I am 99% sure you can encode into Region 2.



    And iPhoto is incredible.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    razzfazzrazzfazz Posts: 728member
    [quote]Originally posted by Steve:

    <strong>You'll want to spruce up a DV movie with iMovie, first, and then exporting from that program directly to iDVD, which will convert the footage into MPEG-2, which DVD players read. The format is DVD-R. I am 99% sure you can encode into Region 2.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    DVD-R(General) media (i.e. the usual DVD-Rs) doesn't even allow you to write CSS data onto it, so you can only produce completely region code free discs with the SuperDrives (i.e. they can be read regardless of the drive's region setting). In order to create region encoded DVDs you need to use other software (DVDSP can probably do that) and either a DVD-R(Authoring) drive or have them mastered professionally.



    Bye,

    RazzFazz
  • Reply 4 of 11
    j20056j20056 Posts: 11member
    Oh great! I indeed do not want any regional encoding.
  • Reply 5 of 11
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    The iMac would do just fine. And its more affordable too.



    Hoewver, if u can afford it, and likes extra huge LCD displays, the powermacs would be for u.



    Welcome
  • Reply 6 of 11
    ransomedransomed Posts: 169member
    I bought an iMac on may 2002, and it's been very cool. I use it for Photoshop all the time and it's decently fast (working between 150 and 300 dpi). I have an 800 Mhz G4, 512 MB RAM and SuperDrive. iMovie is pretty fast too. When you export for DVD, though you might get some pixelation, do not be troubled: it'll look great on your TV screen once you burn it and play it on a regular DVD player.



    I totally recommend it...
  • Reply 7 of 11
    newnew Posts: 3,244member
    The iMac makes much less noise, if thats important to you. As long as you stuff it with RAM it will work fine.

    The TiBook is also a very silent machine that can run an external display and burn DVDs...

    To me noise is a big issue. I still use a cube.



    [ 12-04-2002: Message edited by: New ]</p>
  • Reply 8 of 11
    photoeditorphotoeditor Posts: 244member
    For a good all round desktop system, I'd highly recommend the 17 inch display iMac. The display is 1440x900 pixels, a true two page LCD, and it has all the ports you'll need, plenty of hard drive capacity, built in DVD burner and so on. One thing to consider -- the iMac hasn't had a "speed bump" on its processor since it came out, so it's due, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you wait until MacWorld San Francisco in early January -- it's definitely due for a 1GHz processor or more. If you do a Build To Order from Apple, order it with one 512MB module -- there are two RAM slots in the iMac, but one is a PC133 168 pin slot that is VERY difficult to get it (this is where Apple will put the standard memory). So you want that slot fully loaded from the factory. The other slot is a PC133 SO-DIMM slot that is easy to get at, for when you decide you need more memory, if you decide you need more.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    multimediamultimedia Posts: 1,061member
    Same money will buy you a dual 867 ($1700)+ a 4x Pioneer DVR-105 SuperDrive ($249)+ a 19" CRT ($150). That's a lot more power to do what you want to do. Trade off is noise and no flat panel monitor.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    scott2scott2 Posts: 39member
    In response to your question about making DVDs for a European audience, you will have to deal with the different formats. In the states (I'm assuming this is where you are posting from) the format is NTSC whereas in Europe it is PAL.



    This is taken care of when exporting from iMovie, you choose a specific expert Quicktime format for PAL.



    In addition, before importing to iDVD, you have to change your iDVD settings to PAL.



    If you plan to do alot of movie editing with an iMac you may consider getting an external hard disk. 100 gigs just for movies is not unheard of.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    scott2scott2 Posts: 39member
    In response to your question about making DVDs for a European audience, you will have to deal with the different formats. In the states (I'm assuming this is where you are posting from) the format is NTSC whereas in Europe it is PAL.



    This is taken care of when exporting from iMovie, you choose a specific expert Quicktime format for PAL.



    In addition, before importing to iDVD, you have to change your iDVD settings to PAL.



    If you plan to do alot of movie editing with an iMac you may consider getting an external hard disk. 100 gigs just for movies is not unheard of.
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