Fcp on imac: a good idea?

Hi,
I am deciding to make a purchase of an imac running fcp and adobe aftereffects. I know the ideal is to get a macpro but the macpro is almost 2x as much as the imac. From everyone's experience here, would I be able to get by comfortably using the imac?
Any help appreciated.

From what I've heard in the 3D community (Cinema 4D), the new iMacs are very impressive. They even surpass some of the Mac Pros since the new iMacs use newer chips, i5 I think. My Mac Pro is fast, but uses dual Quad-core Intel Xeon chips which are slower.
It doesn't sound like you need a hardcore high-end system for real time effects in an hour, so your next thing is to invest in a nice external RAID drive using at least FireWire 800 speeds and set that as your scratch disk.
All this is assuming you don't need to capture footage from tape. You can't put a Kona or DeckLink in that thing, so you'd have to get an external capture device.
Those are my humble thoughts.

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Imac G5, good idea?

Hi All,
I have just purchased an imac G5 17" 2ghz CPU for my wife to replace her G3 ibook. I was just wondering if this was a good idea as I have now read up on this machine and as I can see it suffers from logic board/display problems. As a Mac user on a budget this computer seemed a good choice but I'm now concerned about it lasting any period of time, it was sold to me in perfect working order but I have yet to receive it and see it running to diagnose any forthcoming problems.
I just wondered what peoples thoughts were on this.
Thanks

If it was sold to you as being in perfect running order, and when you receive it it isn't, send it back.
However, there are thousands and thousands of these machine chugging happily along and there is no reason why yours shouldn't either. The are very nice machines, they can do just about anything you want and I think you have made an excellent choice.

Considering using 20" Imac with larger external monitor - good idea?

I've just returned my 24" Imac for a refund due to the uneven brightness issue. I want a set up for my illustration work, but can't justify the price of a mac pro + monitor. Therefore I'm considering a 20" Imac 2.4 GHZ, and connecting an external 23/24" monitor that has better consistent brightness than the Imac screens, e.g. the Dell 2407WFP-HC or an 23" Apple cinema display. The idea is that, any problems with gradients on the Imac screen won't bother me as I'll be using it merely as a web browser.
Is this a good idea? Will there be any problems running a larger monitor of the Imac - any compatibility issues etc. Can anyone recommend a good screen around the £500 mark or under? I basically want a screen that isn't obviously brighter on one side than the other, as the Imac appears to be.

I know uneven lighting is a complaint among 24" iMac users - and I've seen two myself. But not all of them have the problem. You might want to consider trying another before giving up on them. Having said that - take a look at Samsung displays. I don't know what they run in the UK but I'm very impressed with the ones we have at work.

Hi Guys! I have an Imac with Mac OS X version 10.5.8 and bought a wireless keyboard. Unfortunately I can´t use the volume buttons on the keyboard. I have checked almost everything, does anyone have any good idea?

Hi Guys! I have an Imac with Mac OS X version 10.5.8 and bought a wireless keyboard. Unfortunately I can´t use the volume buttons on the keyboard. I have checked almost everything, does anyone have any good idea?

Hello, try kguy's solution here...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2332457?start=0&tstart=0
First, Go to System Preferences, keyboard, and click on the Keyboard tab
Make sure that the checkbox by "Use all F1, F2, etc, keys as standard function keys" is NOT checked.
Next, click on the Show All button, and select Bluetooth. You should see your Apple Wireless Keyboard listed on the left side of the screen.
Click once to select it, and then click the gear icon at the bottom of the box, and choose Disconnect.
Power off the keyboard by holding down the power button on the keyboard for a few seconds until it show "keyboard Off on your imac screen, then turn it back on again.
The device should appear once again in your bluetooth list.
Try out the volume control buttons now, and see if that cleared things up

What is the lifespan of a Macbook Notebook Hard Drive, and is it a good idea to replace them more then once?

In specific, I own a 2007 Macbook Notebook, and it is an Intel Core 2 Duo MB21.00A5.B07. Last year, it became necessary to replace the hard drive, and was informed that the reason for the replacement was that the hard drive had reached the end of its lifespan.
My question is how long do Macbook notebook hard drives typically last? This also is in the context of frequent use of the notebook.
Additionally, is it a good idea to replace the hard drive more then once, or will the hard ware on the notebook, after I'm assuming about six or so years, be too out of date to accommodate a second or third hard drive replacement?
Also, since the replacement was still covered under an applecare plan (it's expired now), the general cost of replacing a Macbook notebook hard drive is not known? What is the cost generally expected of a hard drive replacement? This is in relation to repairs conducted at an applestore location (as opposed to a third party repair center).

justinfromlos angeles wrote:
Also, this means that, the settings of a system like Snow Leopard, in addition to all other personal settings from a current hard drive, can be copied to and from an external hard drive?
Your entire system can be copied to an external HD in bootable form. It's generally referred to as cloning, and there are a number of applications available to assist in the task.
SuperDuper
CarbonCopyCloner
LaCie Silverkeeper
To name but three.
Furthermore, once cloned, should you have to replace the internal drive, it's easy to boot from the external and clone the system back to the internal.
justinfromlos angeles wrote:
If so, do you know where one can purchase an external hard drive and a replacement hard drive?
As I don't live in the US, it's difficult for me to reccommend retailers, but any computer store (including Apple) can supply external HDs. Be aware that not all HDs from some manufacturers will play well with Macs; Western Digital I believe needs careful selection of the correct model. There are plenty of contributors who can no doubt help on that front. Personally I use LaCie and Iomega. Note that these are purpose built externals and come with their own enclosure and all cables reqd.
One thing you will need to do with most of them is to use Disk Utility to partiton them correctly (GUID system for Intel Macs) and set the file system to Mac Extended (journaled) before cloning.
justinfromlos angeles wrote:
There is one last question. Say I've replaced the hard drive on the same computer for nine years or so. Despite the hard drive being new, would the hardware of the computer be too out of date to accept an up to date replacement hard drive?
The hardware of the computer dictates what sort of internal drive you buy; earlier models used IDE interfaces, current models use SATA and these are not interchangable. However System Profiler will tell you what sort you have. It's still possible to buy compatible HDs for the early iMacs, c. 1998/99 so there's no reason to believe your model will suddenly become defunct.

I need a replace glass panel for my 2008 20" iMac. Any ideas where i can obtain one?

I need a replace glass panel for my 2008 20" iMac. Any ideas where i can obtain one?
Any suggestions would be welcome.

As an aside note
Bendz2012,
Have you noticed that your iMac's screen is less glossy than normal?
Do you prefer this over having an additional panel of glass making your display overly and unnecessarily glossy?
It may not look as pretty, but I'll bet your screen looks better and sharper and you may be getting a benefit of added heat dissipation. Also, not to mention, less eye strain and/or headaches
You will just have to be a little more careful with the iMac's real TFT screen if you choose this option.
A little more careful cleaning it and making sure no liquids get inside.
It's up to you what you want to do.
You can order the panel, anyway, but choose not to replace it until you sell it or have to bring in for repairs.
Good Luck!

Using Referenced Events: Good Idea?

As a legacy FCE user, I developed a clip management scheme which works for me.
In converting to FCP X I see that it is common to import clips to FCP X by copying them to the FCP X events files.
However, by unchecking the Copy Files box on the import dialog, it appears to create a referenced event in FCP X, leaving the actual clip in its original location.
My question is: Is there any real problem with using the referenced event concept for my FCP X projects?
Seems like a good idea to me.
Any comments would be appreciated.

You're welcome, Rex
My workflow with FCE was to create a project dedicated to converting AVCHD footage to Quicktime Intermediate files. After conversion, I would cut all the clips from the browser that I just converted, save the Project, and it was ready to go for next time. I would then move the converted clips out of the Scratch folder to any folder I wanted.
I suppose the same thing could be done with FCPX, but I really like the functionality and ease of the new application’s Event Library (once it recognizes the correct drive, which another issue altogether), and am revising my thinking (a work in progress, heh) about organization.

Are FCP Studio 2 manuals good for FCP Studio 3 upgrade?

Hey there people: Just received the FCP Studio 3 upgrade from FCP Studio 2, and the tiny manual that comes with it. Are the FCP Studio 2 manuals good for detail about FCP 3?

BenB wrote:
The tiny books are all already on your computer in the Help menu inside FCP. And none of the tiny books are User Manuals.
In FCP 7, go to the Help menu, you have direct access to the User Manual (and other manuals, including the tiny printed book) directly from within the Application itself. You can zoom in/out, you can also search them with keyworlds. Very powerful, very handy, very easy, very clearly written, way better than paper.
Downloaoding them only puts a second copy on your hard drive, taking up more room, waste of time, since you already have it on your hard drive, as I just stated. And printing them would take literally thousands of pages of paper.
Good grief.
The complete set of FCP and studio documentation is accessible from the Mac Help system just by holding the Home button. You do not need to have FCP open at all. The problem with Mac Help is the window comes forward and blocks all underlying windows making it difficult or impossible to perform the operations described.
Being able to open the documentation in Preview or Acrobat is remarkably useful (excellent chapters, bookmarking, indexing, searching not available in Mac Help) so downloading the PDF versions is not only a good idea, it might be exactly the solution you need.
And the documentation is so a "user manual."
Final Cut Pro 7: User Manual
Provides comprehensive instructions for setting up a Final Cut Pro editing system and using Final Cut Pro to ingest media, edit video, and output completed projects.
Last updated: 2010-03
bogiesan

Uninterruptible Power Supply a good idea?

I've got a 1TB Time Capsule on order, and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to get a small UPS unit to keep it running through a power outage. I'm not sure how Time Machine deals with interrupted backups. Good idea or overkill?

Thanks to both of you for replying.
I think I'll get a small UPS for TC- its mainly going to be used for TM backups for our laptops( which of course have built in UPS capabilities!)
I keep my iMac and attached drives on a bigger UPS1500, iMac already has a TM volume attached, and I'm not going to switch it over to TC.
I get an outage about once a month, so I like to protect my hardware as best as I can.

Why does it take so long for microsoft to incorporate good ideas into programs, but then after they do no one elses software will work on the system?

Case in point: I can not use Xp any longer since it is not supported by microsoft, and latest lan driver requires xp service packs which are no longer available for XP or Vista. So my old software as of April 2014 is now worthless as internet access software(microsoft
will not provide support or service packs for xp). So I get a new pc with WIN7 op system installed and try to do traditional backups to protect myself should my system crash in the future. (usually this means cloning a hard drive or installing Faronics Deep
Freeze to protect my op system in case of catastrophic failure.) I try to install and use some of these utility software types including Acronis Disk Director 12, Avanquest Perfect Image, Partition Commander 10, and others True Image Hdd utility for cloning
hdds. Most of these I try to run turn out to be useless, and I get pop-up messages saying my software is incompatible with win 7 op sys! I am wondering if it is the software or the fact the op system is 64bit (not 32 bit) which means that if you buy any other
software to help with utilities it will be worthless because most are written for 32 bit systems not 64. No one tells you these warning signs when you buy the pc with the 64 bit software already installed. But for a Toshiba 15" computer that normally
costs 400$ and I can get it at Goodwill used computer store(1stStreet and Fairview in Santa Ana, Ca.) for 175$ I can not complain. Being an unemployed electronic technician, I have to stretch my dollars as far as they will go...Another frustrating thing is
I buy this device made by Apricorn Driveware that allows users to hookup a second hdd using a usb cable and a three connector module that will allow the user to connect any hard drive sata or ide or the 3rd type. I try to run it and make a backup copy of internal
hdd but I get error messages saying it can not copy hdds when there are minor differences such as total mbs on each drive or slightly different hardware issues such as my pc has 580 gb internal drive and replacement backup drive is 380gb. Such as shame because
hardware setup is a good idea but without compatible software it is useless! Perhaps if I was using it on my old xp op systems I would have fewer problems with software compatibility issues. I really hate the fact that MS does not provide support for known
good op systems like xp say 20yrs? When the products and markets change so fast they run the risk of alienating customers who can not financially keep up with technology changes especially during an economic depression such as the one we are in now( they predict
it will last 20 yrs). a curious thing about the Acronis disk director 12 software I installed. It seemed I could not get partion size on hdd to change no matter what I did. I found out that if I CHANGED THE DATA BLOCK SIZE ON THE NTFS PARTITION FROM 4 KB TO
2 KB THAT I WAS NO LONGER LIMITED BY THE SOFTWARE FROM SHRINKING THE HDD PARTITION FROM 300GB DOWN TO 100GB. Once this item was changed on the hard drives the Disk Director 12 software (Acronis) was able to shrink the partition size to what I wanted.

Due to phenomenal development in Windows, Microsoft released 4 generations of operating systems, succeeding Windows XP. Hence, on various aspects, Windows XP becomes too old to be used practically these days. So the support was pulled out.
I do agree that Windows XP is the most successful operating system ever, so far. But, later versions added more features, enhanced security and compatibility. Moreover, at this point, Windows XP becomes more vulnerable, although security patches are made.
Ultimately, we need to move to a more secure, feature-rich and highly compatible operating system.
With improved features in newer versions of Windows, the NTFS filesystem has also been improved, adding new features. Hence, certain feaures that are not availble in Windows XP are available in Windows 7, again, in Windows 8.1. So is the disk management
features.
As for Acronis Disk Director, it's a third party software and hence we can't comment on the features/its working.
Balaji Kundalam

In Snow Leopard, there was a quick look feature that allowed you to look at files without opening the program. It doesn't show up in Lion on my iMac. Any ideas? Thanks

In Snow Leopard, there was a quick look feature that allowed you to look at files without opening the program. It doesn't show up in Lion on my iMac. Any ideas? Thanks

While in Finder, select the file (click on its icon once) then press the Spacebar.

Is buying in the US a good idea?

Hello,
I currently live in the Netherlands, a small country next to Germany. In about 2 years I will go to college and will need a laptop. As I'm going to an industrial designers Academy I am going to need a laptop with quite some graphic capabilities. Apple intermediately invaded my mind with their super laptops, the mac book pro in particular. Now my question is if it's a good idea to buy the mac book pro 15" in the US? From what I've heard I won't have any repair warranty for in the Netherlands. But is this a big issue? I don't know if the mac book pro brings a lot of issues with it because it will be my first apple computer. I only have experience with apple through my ipod touch 1st gen. Whenever I had problems with that I just went to the internet and found an answer there to my problem.
It is a big difference if I buy it in the Netherlands or in the US because the price differs from the dutch price 2100 euro's (3108 dollars) for the mac book pro 2.8 GHz and in the US 2300 dollars (1554.05 euro's).
That differs 808 dollars or 545.95 euro's.
So does the mac book pro have some problems and are these easily fixable by yourself with a little internet help?
So what will it be?
buying in the Netherlands with a higher price but a active warranty. so with lower risk of a unsolvable problem?
or buying in the US with a much lower price but a chance on unsolvable problems?
please help me and give arguments.
thank you.
Message was edited by: Davinovic

Hi and welcome to both these forums and when you arrive to the United States. Your question concerning the warranty should be addressed to Apple Support just to make sure, but I would agree that wherever you purchase your Macintosh the warranty should be world wide. Considering the price difference I'd recommend the US. I suspect the difference in price has more to do with EuroUnion VATs than anything else. We don't have VATs here in the states, though you'll have to pay any local sales taxes (I know, the difference escapes me). Though once you're here buying online often avoids even that tax. In the US taxation is largely voluntary (ok ok, think about it). That means if you order online from a company in California and have the item delivered in, say, Indiana the California company will inform you that you have to pay Indiana sales tax on the item, but will not collect it at the time of sale. The burden of paying the tax is upon you, voluntarily submitting the tax to the Indiana Dept of Revenue. While some states are really trying to tighten this up it is still very common practice to simply not pay the local sales tax as no one is tracking this information. This sort of thing relates to the unique relationship between the Federal government and those of the individual, nearly sovereign, states.
Now as for the MBP I contend you cannot buy a more solid, reliable, fast laptop, period. Firstly, Apple is the number one computer company in consumer satisfaction. AppleCare is worth it. I've had several experiences personally and with friends and family with Apple's warranty fulfillment and it is totally awesome. The MBP itself is state of the art, sleek, and the best industrial design out there (OK Sony comes close, but no one else does). The OS is virus free and very easy to use. You can run Mac OS X, Linux, Unix, and Windows of any flavor, so if you absolutely have to use some vertical market Windows based program it's easy as pie to launch bootcamp or other VM OS and you're in windows.
I got my first Mac back in '86 and haven't even considered another OS (I did have a PowerComputing clone for a while and frankly even then Apple was better built). The average PC lasts about 2.5 yrs. The average Macintosh about 4.5 years, more than enough to get you through college.
Keep hitting these forums as you'll find a wealth of information and thousands of helpful hands.
Again, Welcome!

HT1222 I like the new iOS 7 for iphone... But i think it's not a good idea to allow switch the iphone on flight mode when it is locked.. What happens if your iphone is stolen or lost? You couldn't be able to locate it using find my iphone... Can i remove

I like the new iOS 7 for iphone... But i think it's not a good idea to allow switch the iphone on flight mode when it is locked.. What happens if your iphone is stolen or lost? You couldn't be able to locate it using find my iphone... Can i remove this from the bottom menu?

And have your phone set to require a passcode before it can be accessed.

I want to use a fantom diamond as an external hard drive for my mac, is this a good idea?

Using a Macbook pro, with Snow Leopard (I think), and my memory is full so I want to store my stuff on an external hard drive. I found a 2T Fantom Diamond EHD, but I'm now learning that I have to convert to NTFS-3g. I'm not computer savy so I want to know if this is a good idea, or should I look for something different. Also, can I set up the EHD as the default path for itunes?

This is not the forum for MacBook Pro owners.
You just need to reformat the drive in Disk Utility and erase the drive and have Mac HFS.
If you did need to use NTFS then you would not want -3G but Paragon NTFS for OS X x. 10.0
Or buy something that isn't pre-formatted to Windows NT file system.
First though make sure you have backups of your system. TimeMachine being used now?
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-TimeMachine-drive.html
http://www.apple.com/support/timemachine/
Maybe cleanout some files you don't need.
Install a larger notebook hard drive even.
http://www.macsales.com/firewire has a lot of choice in Mac compatible drives and enclosures so you don't need to worry about Fantom not working at some point.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_v10.6_snow_leopard

My name is Mike. I live in New Zealand. My username is waipukurau1. I downloaded MacBook booster from the prompts. Was this a good idea and good for my MacBook Pro? Please answer.

My name is Mike. I live in New Zealand. My username is waipukurau1. I downloaded MacBook booster. I write to ask was this a good idea? Was this good and correct for my MacBook Pro. Please answer.

ashish35,
No one from Apple here - we're just users like you. All I can tell you is that electronic fail and with MacBook Pros (and most notebooks) the components are so integrated as to make a repair to the logic board practically impossible, hence the high prices charged for repairs.
Only you can decide if you want to have your computer repaired or put the money towards the purchase of a new computer. If you do decide to purchase a new unit I would suggest that you also purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan which increases your warranty from one year to three years.
Sorry and good luck,
Clinton

Fcp on imac: a good idea?

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