Newbie -- need advice

Hi
I have been trying to figure out on my own (getting confused in the process) what the best settings, discs, etc.. to use for a project I am about to begin for my sons school. Not only do I need to create this to be projected at school, but I also am in charge of making copies for the 80+ students.
Since I do not know what dvd players will be viewing the completed slide show -- what would be the most universal settings to burn the discs as well as the type of discs to use? ( dvd+r, dvd-r or dvd-dl )
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

Just to add to Bengt's information,
First, what kind of project are you going to make? How long will it be?
Is this a collection of photos only?
If so, you can create a slideshow of them directly in iDVD. You can add background music as well, and transitions from one photo to the next. However, you cannot add titles (unless you are just going to use the photo's title from iPhoto), and you will not be able to add individual titles, effects or transitions. But, the quality of the photos is better than other methods.
Second, if you are adding any video clips, you will need to use iMovie. I prefer iMovie 6 for this type of project. You can import and edit video clips, add still photos and create a stunning movie with effects, transitions, titles and sound. I recommend that you view this helpful tutorial to get some good information:
http://www.apple.com/support/imovie/tutorial/index.html
Third, how is the final project to be projected? Usually, a projector can be connected to a laptop playing the finished DVD.
Bengt is correct about the DVD format; DVD-R is more widely accepted. Be sure to use a good brand like Verbatim or Maxell or that one he recommended if you can find it. I always use Verbatim. Don't use any off brands or cheap ones. Many problems with Memorex.
The limitation on burning a DVD is in time, not the size of the project. (see my thoughs below).
Regarding burning the DVD: however you make your project, you will be putting it into iDVD, so you will need to select one of its themes, and do some edits in your iDVD project. When you have it to your liking, do a 'Save as Disc Image' to your desktop. The disk image creating process looks like a burn, but will make an exact copy of your iDVD project as a disk image file. You can use this disk image to do the actual burning, and it will go faster since the encoding is already completed.
You can do the burn from Disk Utility (found in your Applications folder). Just drag the disk image onto the left side of the window where the computer and any drives are listed. Click on the image to highlight it, select burn, insert a blank DVD, and then select the burn speed from the dropdown bar that says Maximum allowed. Don't select anything greater than 4x. I burn all my DVDs at 4x. Be sure to do as Bengt said regarding letting the drive cool a bit in between disk burns. 80+ is a LOT, so allow yourself time to burn maybe 10 a day, every other day or so.
My thoughts on the length: Even though a single layer DVD can hold up to 120 minutes of content, most people zone out after watching 20-25 minutes. If this project is of the kids at school and their activities, you know that those viewing it will be interested in some of the kids, but their main interest will be in their own children, so try to keep it moving, lively, funny and interesting to the very end! Use good editing, and don't put in everything you have or you will make a large project that will take lots of time and will not be enjoyable to watch.
I have made and worked with several school projects involving kids' activities, and it can be a very rewarding and fun thing to do. Don't get stressed.....remember, if you don't do it, they won't have it, so anything you do will be appreciated by the kids and parents

Similar Messages

  • Newbie needs advice on audio interface

    just purchased iMac 27" with Lion...have nice sounding Taylor 810 accoustic...want to record guitar and vocals, strictly a hobby. need advice on audio interfaces...willing to spend $600 on the Duet 2.0 if it's as good as the web reviews say it is but???... will I hear a difference with a $250 interface like a presonus firestudio mobile (vs. $600 Duet 2)?... want something that sounds great and works well with GB/Lion....thanks

    To be honest, if using mics, you will get more out of picking up the FireStudio Mobile and spending the difference (or more) on treating the room you will be recording and mixing in.
    As far as Lion is concerned, just check with Presonus about compatibility.
    If you pick up the FireStudioMobile, it ships with Studio One Artist. It has a better comping feature than GB does...
    TBH, if this is strictly hobby stuff, by the time you treat your recording environment, pick up decent mics, a second hard drive, stands, cables, monitors, headphones, a handful of plugins, another DAW or two, furniture etc, etc, you will not be too concerned about ownng the FireStudio... Its a great little unit that is very reliable and has a solid build.

  • Newbie needs advice on starting a project

    Hi all.. New to DVD Pro, need the wisdom of experienced users before I waste a whole lot of time....
    I've got a show mixed (2 cameras, multitracked audio mixed in logic express and synch'd) and rendered from final cut express to a self-contained QT movie, 16 GB, runs maybe 90 minutes, with a dozen or so chapters representing different scenes.
    The intended product is a DVD for friends, families, actors, and support for grant writing to philanthropic organizations (it's a small grant-budgeted theater of disabled adults). The DVD should, of course "play all" and each segment.
    I plan to have a main menu to choose "play all, scenes 1-6, scenes 6-12", not sure if I'll need 2 or 3 submenus....
    Here is the question.....
    Shall I import as an asset just the whole show (which I think is what I should do), or should I break it and render each "chapter marker" from FCE to a separate .mov (the temptation would be that each segment could fade in and out from black, rather than cut in abruptly and end abruptly with a return to a menu). Alternatively, if I used segments with fade-ins and fade-outs, it would lose the continuity of the seamless "whole show" when the view chooses "play all".
    That's why I need advice - because I don't know how it's all gonna work, what the options and capabilities are, but I felt like i needed to get beyond iDVD.
    So thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!!!!
    btw... it will be done on a late-2008 vintage 2.4 GHz core duo macbook pro with 2 GB ram, 250 GB hard drive, osX 10.5.?, dvd studio pro 4
    Thanks again! Peter

    If you want to be able to play just parts of your video as well as a "play all" then what you need are Stories. There is a complete tutorial on setting up stories at;
    http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/stories_dvdspstone.html

  • Newb, needs advice about landing page

    Hey guys, I am very new to Dreamweaver. I was asked by my
    boss to create a landing page. She asked me because I am the
    graphic designer for all print material. She is well aware (as am
    I...lol) I am no web developer....But I would LOVE to learn and I
    have plenty of time to figure it out.
    only requirements are: Dimensions are 950px by 475px. must
    use divs, and be centered. I don't need to do anything fancy script
    wise, basically this is a welcome page with a summary and 2 links
    and whatever aesthetic design i come up with.....(in short, it kind
    of looks like a postcard) I am familiar with CSS & html coding,
    but I'd say as far as layout structure and professional web
    standards, I'm a complete novice.
    I will be creating the layout in photoshop.
    Would you recommend that I slice up the photoshop image? and
    play with the CSS that photoshop generates?
    Or would you recommend that I FIRST set up the "container"
    div and the rest of the layout in Dreamweaver, then slice photoshop
    and place each image individually..
    Again, I am very new to web stuff....But I would love to
    learn the web standards, best practices, what structure is best to
    use, etc...
    Any advice would be greatly appreciate...thanks a lot, Take
    care...

    > just out of curiousity, why never use the code that
    Photoshop
    > generates?
    Because Photoshop (and any other graphics app that writes
    HTML) are *TOO
    GOOD* at what you have asked them to do, and that is to
    create HTML to
    exactly produce the graphic layout you have designed. To do
    this they have
    to drastically merge and split cells, filling the table with
    col- and
    rowspans, and producting a completely inflexible and
    monolithic structure
    that breaks apart as soon as the shape of the contents
    changes (for example,
    when I change the browser's text size display). Crash/bang.
    Furthermore,
    the resulting mess is simply impossible to troubleshoot.
    Now - for HTML emails, you will usually need to use tables
    for your layout
    since email clients cannot be relied on to properly display
    more
    contemporary layout methods. But for web pages, you'd want to
    move beyond
    this very poor layout structure created by the graphics apps.
    > people love that PS generates code for them
    Only those who don't understand could go in this category.
    That markup is
    good for prototyping, but lousy for production. But look at
    the web - 80%
    of what you see there is prototype-level stuff.
    Murray --- ICQ 71997575
    Adobe Community Expert
    (If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
    ==================
    http://www.projectseven.com/go
    - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
    http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs,
    Tutorials & Resources
    ==================
    "kdubbie" <[email protected]> wrote in
    message
    news:[email protected]...
    > Hey thanks a lot, Murry for the feedback and I
    appreciate it.
    >
    > and LOL...don't ask me where my boss came up with these
    dimensions, for
    > some
    > reason she wants it to look as much like a post card as
    possible....and I
    > definately understand your point that designing for
    print and web are 2
    > COMPLETELY different animals....in which I conveyed to
    her....Right now I
    > create HTML emails, which is how I have learned
    CSS...but understand that
    > standards for email are VERY restricted compared to web.
    >
    > And you are correct to, I meant CSS layout vs tables.
    Just what she asked
    > for
    > is all...
    >
    > And thank you very much, that's what I was looking
    for......I should
    > create
    > the layout in Dreamweaver first....then slice up what I
    created in PS
    > (images
    > only) and then bring them into dreamweaver?
    >
    > just out of curiousity, why never use the code that
    Photoshop
    > generates?...I've seen a couple of tutorials and read a
    few forums where
    > people
    > love that PS generates code for them....(and sorry, not
    questioning
    > you.....but
    > just looking for as much info as possible)
    >
    > Thank you very much....
    >

  • Newbie needs advice using files from Canon 5D Mk2

    I'm getting a bit confused when it comes to codecs and frame rates etc and am hoping somebody can steer me in the right direction.
    I'm based in the UK and have my camera set up to shoot at 24 frames per sec. I've read that before bringing the .MOV file into FCE it's best to convert it first using MPEG Streamclip.
    Ok so I have my .MOV file loaded up but my first problem is I'm unsure what output settings I should now be considering. I assume it should be the Apple Intermediate Codec but then do I need to enter '24' into the frame rate box to match what I have set in the camera? I'm also unsure which frame size I should be choosing... eg; 1920x1080 (16:9), 1920x1080 (HDTV 1080i) etc.
    And then once I have my exported file I'm unclear what the sequence settings should be in FCE.
    Looking through the 'Load Sequence Preset' should I be choosing Apple Intermediate Code 1920x1080i50 or i60 or something else altogether?
    Any advice is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks Tom, but what's the difference in FCE sequence settings between choosing Apple Intermediate Codec 1920x1080i50 and 1920x1080i60? Any idea which I should be using? If any?

  • Newb needs advice

    I am preparing to put together a 12-15 minute flash movie. It
    will be primarily with simple animation and basic motion tweening,
    there will be no interactivity involved.
    With a project of this length, what is the best method for
    piecing it together? Do I stick to one time line with 18,000
    frames? Or do I save segments of it as movie clips and bring them
    into another time line? Or do I use scenes to accomplish this long
    of a movie?
    This is my first attempt at a movie of this length, any
    additional advice or direction to a resource is appreciated.

    My experience has been that organization is first priority
    and managing your raw files, your library and your timeline are
    vital with this type of project.
    I create online presentions and off line presentions for CD
    and this has been my method that my clients really love since some
    will make updates it is very easy for them to make changes.
    First I decide how to break up the project using scenes. If
    their is a story board or a script, break each area down the best
    you can into sections or chapters which is what we will call them.
    Once you can do this you name these chapters as you create
    the scenes in your Flash (.fla file). Then create a main folder for
    the project on your hard disk. Save your flash file in the main
    project folder and create a folder for each chpater named
    acccordingly.
    What you do next is probably one of the hardest parts is
    orginizing your graphics, photos, text, fonts, videos that you will
    use for each chapter.
    Once you have created or aquired the imagery you create
    folders for each chapter in your Flash file library.
    I keep everything seperate in my library. In my main chapter
    folder I create subfolders like Text, audio, Movies. Buttons,
    graphic symbols, raw images ( raw images are the green icon files
    that have been imported but ar not symbols yet), and these are
    important should you need to update, or change your graphics.
    Once you get to this point its production time. I won't tell
    you you what to do here becuase this is creating time, but just to
    be methodical and don't pass up the chance to make it right before
    you go to the next idea.
    By the way if you have thnigs that are timed with images you
    might have problems when it streams if there is allot of internret
    traffic conjestion so therefor you will want to create a preloader
    at the beginning of the movie or output to FLV Flash video and take
    advantage of the buffer and streaming that it has to offer.
    Hope this helps.
    INVT

  • Xserve Newbie needs advice

    Hi Guys,
    I own a Graphic Design studio here in sunny London Right now I am looking into backup and server solutions. As all the machines here are macs I want to look into the Xserve and Xserve RAID solution. But I do not know where to start!! Can you guys offer your help as to what solution would be best for a 4 workstation group that deal with a lot of high-res images and assests? Do I need the Xserve or can I just get Xserve RAID and plug it into one of the PowerMacs?Your advice will be very much appreciated
    James
    PowerMac G5 Dual 2.3ghz   Mac OS X (10.4.5)  

    Hmm, I thought I already said...
    You need to look at the types and sizes of files you're moving across the network - small? large? hundreds of KB a day? hundreds of GB a day?
    You also need to look at when you're doing it. Do all the users download files in the morning, work on them locally, then upload them back to the server at night? or are people continually uploading and downloading files throughout the day.
    Then you need to look at the workload on the machine that would act as the server.
    Bearing in mind that large file transfers consume more resources on the server than small ones, and that the overhead of running a server is negligible if no one is actively using the shares you can now determine whether or not the file sharing load is going to impact the user of that machine.
    For example, if that machine is used by the boss, it's not likely to be very busy therefore it may well be a viable file server.
    But if all the machines are used 24/7 by high-output graphic designers you're only going to set in someone's way by slowing down their machines every time someone else pulls their project off the server.
    These are the kinds of questions that only you can answer.
    The other option, of course, is to do it on one machine and see how it goes. it isn't hard to switch over to a dedicated server afterwards if the load is too great, or leave the server as-is and buy a new machine for the user whose system you usurped.

  • Newbe needs advice on which product to use

    Hi, I�m completely new to java and looking for a good package for a newbe to use, I�d prefer a GUI but any advice will be appreciated. I know it�s a bit like asking what the best car to drive, they all get you from A to B, but I�d like to get from A to B with ease :-)
    Cheers
    Andy

    A lot of people here recommend exactly that for beginners (Notepad plus Command Prompt). Developing code that way is slow but you learn what a classpath is and how to put your source code into directories organized the right way.
    There are a lot of IDEs (Interactive Development Environments (I think)) available, but for many of them you'll spend a lot of time learning how to use the tool rather than learning how to program Java. That is a worthwhile investment of time for somebody who is going to be a Java programmer, but not necessarily for a beginner -- you don't know what to do, and you don't even know how to ask what to do.
    There are a lot of "What's the best IDE" threads on this forum, you might find some of them if the search feature has been fixed up for the Year of the Rooster, but most of the regulars are starting to find them tiresome.

  • Newbie needs advice on how to approach a new project using iMovie/Cubase

    Hi all.
    As you have probably guessed it's a music to picture problem, never done it before so I need some advice. I'm doing a guitar tuition DVD so there will be some playing and some speech. I can combine both real time via the mixing desk and feed it straight to the camera's mike input. This seems to be the least flexible and most low tech approach. I would prefer to fiddle about in Cubase to get the audio right before fixing it to the video. I am unsure how to use iMovie and Cubase in a combined way to produce what I'm after. Cubase will handle video and iMovie will handle sound but which way round do I do it? I'm at a loss as even what questions to ask! At the moment I'm setting iMovie to record from the camera, setting Cubase to record the audio and clapping in time with the count in to act as a sync. Once I have my audio file I can import the vid into Cubase or import the audio into iMovie. Am I missing something here or is this the right way to do it? ( I might sound vaguely clever but don't rely on it in your answers ! I'm a guitarist after all....)
    TIA Nick.
    ,quad G5 Mac Mini   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

    musicians are used to do everything simultanously (=band), film/video is doing each thing after the other ;-):
    I would
    * record the video to a camcorder, incl. guitar/music but NO voice-over…
    * import that into iM…
    * edit all together
    * THEN use this as a "click track" for any audio processing…, mainly adding the narration
    * re-import the final audio track back to iM, create videoDVD, getting rich by selling zillions of them....
    advantage: you concentrate on playing guitar OR telling the tricks&clues...
    besides: whatfor you need Cubase in such a project...? or is it "Guitar IN Cubase"?

  • Newbies need advice - How to setup PDA to connect to SAP server

    Hello Guys,
    I really need your information about how to connect PDA to SAP server, I got some information that we can use the SAP Console, but really i have no idea at all.
    I really need you help guys, Thank In Advance
    Regards

    Surya,
    You can download the MI documentation from
    http://service.sap.com/instguides
    for configuration of MI server and client components.
    For more MI documentation, you can go to:
    http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/a7/893a5889e08b41b615688b1a93b559/frameset.htm
    Thanks.
    Peter

  • Newbie Needs Advice

    I am looking to replace my old phone and I've been considering going to a Blackberry.  I'm with AT&T and they've just added the 8900 to their list of available devices, but I'm looking for the experts to tell me the real deal - what issues and/or concerns should I be prepared for that the sales people won't tell me about.
    For context purposes, these are the kinds of things I'm looking to do.  Be aware, I've never used my phone for data before, so that would be a new thing for me.  In order of importance to me:
    Make and receive phone calls both domestically an internationally, although primary use is domestic.
    Music player (NOT iTunes) for playing the mp3 files I've collected.
    Occasional text messaging to a small group of friends and colleagues.
    Internet browsing for looking up information, etc.
    Possible access to email - a corporate account and a personal one.
    Also, is it possible with the 8900 Curve to use it for Broadband access for my laptop, or is that only available on 3G phones?
    All advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Check this link: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/compare/
    Drag two or more devices to the bottom line and compare their characteristiics.

  • Newbie needs advice on a 3 page form

    hello, i need direction as to how to proceed with this problem.... i have a form that spans three jsp pages, the submit button is on the third page, and the other two pages have continue buttons.... the form contains textboxes (page 1), checkboxes (page 2), textareas and "input type file" (page 3).... i need to know how to hold off submitting the entire form until the third page is completed without losing previous values from the other two pages.... i'm planning on using a servlet for this....

    First of all, a form cannot span three pages. You need a form on each page.
    If you want to pass values from page to page, you might want to make use of hidden form fields.
    For example,
    page1.jsp:
    <html>
    <form action="page2.jsp">
    <input type="text" name="param1">
    <input type="submit" value="Submit">
    </form>
    </html>
    page2.jsp:
    <html>
    <form action="page3.jsp">
    <input type="hidden" name="param1" value="<%= request.getParameter("param1") %>">
    <input type="text" name="param2">
    <input type="submit" value="Submit">
    </form>
    </html>
    page3.jsp:
    <html>
    <form action="myServletURL">
    <input type="hidden" name="param1" value="<%= request.getParameter("param1") %>">
    <input type="hidden" name="param2" value="<%= request.getParameter("param2") %>">
    <input type="text" name="param3">
    <input type="submit" value="Submit">
    </form>
    </html>
    Then your servlet should be able to get all the parameters.
    There might be a more elegant solution, but this is one simple way to do it.

  • MAC newbie needs advice on sawtooth G4 upgrade -is it worth it?

    howdy all- I'm a PC guy working on upgrading an older powermac G4 for the daughter. I'm still learning to feel my way around your world, so I'd appreciate ANY help here w/ this...
    from what I can tell the G4 is a sawtooth?- one of the earlier models w/ a 400Mhz CPU but does have AGP graphics & a good deal of memory albeit on a 100Mhz FSBus.
    our situation is this.... it has OS X 10.3.9 panther installed w/ classic 9.2x. right now it's pretty limited for online streaming & such & needs a SAFARI upgrade which relies on an OS upgrade to at least TIGER 10.4.
    from everything I've read the G4 (especially faster CPU's) & TIGER still have some life left in them, but I guess I'm wondering for how long???
    my questions are these;
    -- is it worth springing $100plus for a TIGER install on this machine OR would the money be better spent on a newer machine? (a side note is that money IS an issue & the less spent the better but only if it has a useful life...)
    my wife has an INTEL macbook w/ OS X 10.5x installed. I have downloaded LEOPARD ASSIST as I've read it allows slower G4's to install 10.5 w/out the supported hardware checks. I've also read leopard runs slower on G4's & some apps etc. aren't available. so bottom line is;
    --WILL an INTEL 10.5x install disk load on the G4 even w/ LEOPARD ASSIST???
    --and if so? would it even be worth it if apps don't work & it slows the machine down?
    --also how much disk space will that require. me thinks HDD has about 4GB left but panther can be deleted correct???
    so my options are;
    1) Intel OS X 10.5 for free (if it installs w/ possibly diminished performance)
    2) buy OS X 10.4 TIGER for under 200bux (but is that practical given internet advancements/requirements in the near future?)
    3) look for a newr G5 machine for as little as possible on CL or something??? any recommendations here??? my daughter will just be emailing, streaming, & the like...
    thanx for any perspectives here. UR enlightening me even as I write this...

    Hi-
    Upgrading the processor is possible, and of definite benefit.
    You need at least 1.0GHz to have a fighting chance.
    A better than OEM graphics card is also a plus in the battle.
    Any card that supports Core Image has the power that will help with video.
    ebay has some deals on CPU upgrades.
    A 1.0 or 1.2GHz upgrade, though, will probably cost more than a complete 933MHz Quicksilver will.
    If you can get a 1.0 or 1.2GHz 7455 processor on the cheap, you will have a good chance of getting net video content working well in the Sawtooth.
    Mine, with a 2.0GHz processor, did a great job with net video.
    Now, that processor sees the benefits of the 133MHz bus in a Quicksilver, and the added benefit of a powerful 4x AGP graphics card.
    My daughters each use a 2002 Quicksilver, one with a Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card, one with a Radeon 9700 Pro, and both with 1.5GB RAM.
    These machines do a good job of handling web content in Tiger.
    Leopard is also fine on the two machines.
    I also have a dual 1.0GHz QS2002, and it handles most sites with no problem.
    I figure the ones that are a problem, are due to something on the other side of my internet connection.....
    Streaming HD content will always be a problem, and an Intel Mac or a 2.5GHz+ PC isn't always the answer. Some content just needs to be downloaded, period.
    Other content needs the attention of a caring and careful site developer.
    These things are beyond our control......

  • HELP:  Newbie needs advice regarding Photo Editing Software

    I'm brand new to Apple therefor I'm brand new to its' software... I am looking for a thorough Photo Editing Suite that isn't going to cost me $600. Is Adobe Photoshop my only choice? Aperature seems a bit to "high-end" for what I want to do. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.
    Thanks.

    You do not specify your image editing needs. Pro shooting DSLR RAW? Occasional point-and-shoot digicam JPEG photos? Other?
    Point-and-shoot folks may suffice with iPhoto.
    If you are a professional DSLR Photographer you do need Aperture for RAW image management and organization; and you also need a separate image editing application because Aperture's image editing is quite limited.
    If you are a professional DSLR Photographer needing to edit images Adobe Photoshop Elements ("PSE") is IMO the application that you are looking for. It is reasonably priced and provides most of the utility that a photographer (as opposed to a graphic designer) needs from an image editing program.
    There are many other image editing apps, even some free ones, but unless you are totally broke they are IMO a bad idea. You are much, much better off with a well established professionally supported application like PSE. And you will be working in a workflow similar to the full $700 Photoshop app, which is the right direction to be going in.
    As you become familiar with PSE you will be able to immensely benefit from the discussions on the Adobe PS, Photography and PSE Forums such as at <http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?14@@.ee6b362> and <http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?14@@.3bb41392>.
    Every so often Adobe offers PSE owners special deals on upgrading to full PS, so be sure to register PS Elements with Adobe. Hardware vendors sometimes offer PSE as a bundle with their hardware, so if you need a scanner you might get a free copy (e.g. with the excellent new Epson V700 scanner).

  • Need advice: v5 versus v5.5

    Newbie with less than a month's experience using a free trial of v5.5 for the specific purpose of creating the interior layout and wraparound cover for a trade paperback needs advice on the following;
    It didn't take long to realize that my objectives barely scratch the surface of ID's capabilities. My guess is that everything I've done so far or will need to do in the future for other books, novels in black and white, simple chapter by chapter layouts with no images or columns, can be accomplished perfectly well with v5. To spend the extra money for features I'll never use seems unnecessary, and I'd appreciate feedback on whether I'm correct in my assumption.
    Thanks in advance for your advice.

    I know there are legitimatecopies of CS5 availble, but they aren't that easy to find (Amazon is one source, though, I think), and they will get harder every day.
    For simple printed publications you are correct and the version doesn't matter much, but the world is heading more towards electronic distribution channels, and novels are ideal formats for e-book readers. CS5.5 is head and shoulders above CS5 in its capabilities for that market.
    Presumably CS6 and beyond will be even more user-friendly for electronic publication (nobody can tell you what will or will not be in future versions, but the handwriting is on the wall), so if you think you will have money for an upgrade in another year or so after the succesful print run of your book (and if the current trend on upgrade pricing is an indicator, it will be expensive), it might make sense to buy CS5 now, but my instinct is that you'd be better off with CS5.5 and the ability to get your book onto iPad or Kindle now (with some more study) without jumping through quite as many hoops.
    And just for reference, I only do print, myself, but I'm old.

Maybe you are looking for