Mac Mini - best option for adding video streaming to existing HDTV setup?

Hello, new to the Forum but not to Macs - currently enjoying my 1yr old iMac, far cry from original 128k Mac I bought in 1984...
I am interested in adding streaming video capability to my home theatre setup, which consists of a Pioneer PRO-FHD1 50" (full 1080p) monitor, Rotel RSX1057 receiver driving 5.1 surround, and Samsung BD-P1200 BluRay DVD player that is not internet-capable. Options are: replace the Samsung with an internet-capable BluRay player, add an Apple TV, or go for a Mac Mini altogether. I am leaning towards the Mac Mini as I might as well have a full-fledged computer that does what I want, and a lot more. However in reading some of the posts here I see that some people are having all kinds of screen resolution and signal issues, others seem to have it sorted out. Any advice appreciated.

Welcome to  Discussions!
The mini as a media center is an excellent idea in general. You've already gathered that the most critical concern is the compatibility of your particular TV, although it isn't really as bad as it may seem here. Remember, judging based purely on the threads here is like making an assessment of the viability of the human race by looking at patients in hospitals.
If you can research a little to see if anyone has tried hooking your model of TV up to a mini already, you may find out if it should work smoothly or not. Once that matter is addressed, I can attest to the great results of using a mini as a media center. I Strongly suggest Plex as a great application to enhance the mini as a media center.

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Best practice for adding video

Hi. I've crafted a lovely app with multiple slideshows which was rejected for lack of interactivity. I'm now in the process of planning multiple short videos and audio files to add into it.
To test the video feature I used Handbrake to turn a video to a 330 x 178 resolution MP4 h.264. (I will probably make the final versions about 400 horizonta.)
I used the Place command and in the Content viewer preview it looks fine.
1) Using the Media panel you can choose the Poster be from a current frame but this does not add the Play symbol so app users might think it a static picture. Is my only option to do this is to make my own poster and add the Play symbol on top or is there an integrated way to do this?
2) My app pages have white backgrounds. Aesthetically is it 'wrong' to place the video directly on it. Should I just create a larger black rectangle for each video to give it a border or is there anything else to make it look professional?
3) The Media panel also has a Controller option which i presume allows you to set the video playback controls but anything I select doesn't seem to make a difference. I've also used Lynda but haven't found an explanation. What does it do?
4) I've viewed the My 9 months app made by forum MVP Bob Levine. When turning to a new page a button pops out with a mic. symbol that when pressed plays back audio. It looks pretty clever. If it's not a trade secret how do you make the button pop out?
Thanks

1. I generally create a poster image with that play symbol. Easy enough
to do. Open the video in Photoshop, go to the frame you want, add the
symbol and save as a PNG file.
2. If it looks good, it is good.
3. If you really want to control the video I'd suggest creating buttons
and assigning video actions to them
4. Those are three state MSOs. The first state is an image sequence with
a go to next state button. The next state is the pop out glossary
containing a scrolling frame with anchored MP3 files positioned over the
terms. The close button takes you to a third state with a state version
of the button.

Best Options for Raw Video in Onlocation CS4? ...and Stuff.

Hi...I am running out of time for this project because I cannot get the JVC GY-110 camera to match the settings in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. In other words, I can’t get my footage off the DV Tape! However, the “workaround” I found is to use Adobe OnLocation CS4. I easily got OnLocation to record live video. It’s glorious. It is recording in .AVI and I am wondering how to get this to record in MPEG2? I read that it can do that but cannot figure out how. I want to do this, 1) to edit in Premier Pro CS4 and 2) for the local TV station that wants it in that format. Can anyone please provide some insights here? Is MPEG format even what I should be doing or is .AVI ok?
The project is going to be used online and on a local TV station so the plan is to use Adobe Media Encoder CS4 to create formats for each.
Finally, to create overlays (I guess that is what you would call them) such as photographs, news info bars in the lower 3rd portion of the screen (etc) do you suggest I use Premiere Pro or Encore CS4?
In summary, my questions are:
1) Should I be using .AVI or .MPEG formats in OnLocation?
2) How do you get OnLocation CS4 to record in MPEG?
3) Is Encoder CS4 the best way to export video for multiple formats? If so, what is the best starting format?
4) What is the best way to create overlays like news bars?
Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
Sincerely,
~A Desperate Nooby

You should import the files, captured with OL, into your PR project. Now you have two choices, either use dynamic link to Encore and have Encore do the encoding for you or you can encode yourself. This requires a basic understanding of bitrate settings, which you can easily gain from using a bitrate calculator, like http://dvd-hq.info/bitrate_calculator.php?PHPSESSID=6501b6b2b31f4c4a295bc8c2ba1e6f57
Encore is included with PR, so why not use it? It is so easy and you can add menu structures, subtitles, etc. to your DVD's. For other export formats, like WMV, H.264 etc. you don't need Encore, unless you want to burn to BR. Just use AME.
DV AVI type2 has the advantage that it is extremely easy to edit, does not put a lot of strain on your computer and will not show any noticeable degradation in quality when exporting.
Hope this helps.

Which mac is best value for our video editing needs?

We are on a budget and need either a new mac or our old one, upgraded, so that we can edit a substantial amount of video using iMovie (and maybe later Final Cut Express if needed). The video is being shot for us by a semi-pro with a fabulous camera, and is HD.
We have the G5 iMac, 1.5 GB memory, 1.8GHz processor and 134 G internal hard drive. We are using a 160 G external HD for the iMovie stuff right now and will need to get a bigger external.
Shouldn't this mac be sufficient? If not, what is recommended?
Would like to keep hardware purchase under $1000.
Thanks!

Define "substantial amount" of video. 10 hrs? 100 hrs?
What flavor of HD? There are eleventy million.
• Some play with iMovie and FCE, some don't.
• Some require an Intel Mac to decode, some don't.
• Some will play fine from a FW400 drive and some require a RAID tower.
x

Best option for making video podcast tutorials using a tablet

I am not very familiar with the use of tablets but I would like to be able to produce tutorials for my students that look like this:
http://www.screencast.com/users/pretzej/folders/Jing/media/93ef7f12-2912-454c-87 d1-701b618e250f
Would Inkwell work? I am not clear that it is still supported in Leopard. I primarily use an iMac 24" 2.8GHZ Core Duo Extreme. Ideally, a tablet notebook would work best but I would like to make a minimal investment. Would a Wacom Bamboo be a good choice.
Thanks.
Greg Nottingham

I don't know about "best" but here is a list of Mac-compatible webcams:
http://www.mac-compatible-web-cam.com
If price is no object, one of the best is the one built into the Thunderbolt Display, as long as you don't need to hold the camera by hand and don't mind the size and bulk of a 27" monitor built around your camera:
http://www.apple.com/displays/

Options for adding 2nd video card to MacPro 1,1?

I want to add a second video card to my Mac Pro 1,1 so I can connect a third display.
I currently have a Radeon 4870 in the PCIe x16 slot, and the three other PCI x8 slots are still open.
What are my options for adding a second ATI card to one of the PCI x8 slots? Would prefer a Mac native card that doesn't require any flashing.
I'm running latest version of OS X Lion.
Thanks,
Robert

You have different ways of configuring the PCIe slots, but you don't have 16x along with 3 x 8x,
One 8x
One 4x
One 1x
One 16x
Is normal setup.
Lots of choices, if you look on Apple Store <g> (5770), or ebay: 8800GT and other 3rd party vendors.
If the 4870 uses just one aux power cable, I'd get the 5770 as primary card.
The 5770 can drive 3 displays but depends on resolution and cost of dual-link DVI if req'd.

Best option for video conferencing in ios app ?

I want to implement video conferencing in ios app. what is the best option for this?

There are several: Fuze, Webex, are a few. These two also have desktop components. Try looking in the app store and googling to see if you can also find reviews/suggestions and other options on the web.

I have a Macbook pro Retina display, I have a small nick in my screen that is annoying especially when watching videos. What is my best option for fixing it?/does apple care apply?

I have a Macbook pro Retina display, I have a small nick in my screen that is annoying especially when watching videos. What is my best option for fixing it?/does apple care apply?

Did you cause the nick? Or did it just appear one day? There are reports of the retina screen having exploding pixels which leaves a hole in the screen that can be felt when you rub your finger across it. If that is what happened then it should be covered under the warranty. If you caused the nick then it is not covered and the fix will be very expensive, somewhere in the $1000 range.
astets wrote:
I have a Macbook pro Retina display, I have a small nick in my screen that is annoying especially when watching videos. What is my best option for fixing it?/does apple care apply?

What are the best options for running windows on a Mac Pro

what are the best options for running windows on a Mac Pro

For gaming and other CPU intensive stuff: Boot Camp – https://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
For the rest: any virtualization software (Parallels/Vmware Fusion/VirtualBox)

Optimization for wireless video streaming

Hi - does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations for optimizing Mac OSX 10.6.8 for wireless video streaming?
I'm using tvmobili to stream videos and for the most part it works ok for me but I'm pretty sure I can make things work better if my Mac was using its resources better...for example, I can stream reasonably well via my 5Ghz wireless connection from a recently rebooted machine. But it seems like perhaps after 60-90 minutes into a video it appears either the Mac or the network has slowed down and the video becomes choppy. (I'm investiagting the network side as well).
...amy suggestions?
Thanks...Marc

We are planning to use aironet 1600/2600 series using video streaming server having streaming optimization..
1600/2600 AP don't support 802.11ac. Next, 2600 is 3x4:3.
Personally, if you're going to push HD streaming down, I wouldn't recommend anything other than a 3700.
We've done a similar exercise a few months ago where we lined up between 50 to 60 Chromebooks. All the Chromebooks were associated to a single AP and we streamed HD video from the site (where we were doing the testing) all the way to the site where the HD video was stored, our DC. We had no problems whatsoever and the 3700 GigabitEthernet interface wasn't even hitting 40% utilization. (Our access switches have 1 Gbps uplink to the site distro. The site distro has a 1 Gbps uplink all the way to the DC.)
When we tried using our cheap-a$$ HP Mini netbooks, we had difficulty getting them to stream the videos even with 5 of these netbooks because the CPU of the netbooks simply couldn't cope.
What I would like to ask is this: How important is the capabilities to have seamless streaming of HD videos down to the clients? If it's that important, then don't skimp on the choice of AP. When you're dealing with wireless, it's more expensive to look at the price of the APs and then regret later than get the best AP for the job.

Best option for remote downlinking

I am going to be streaming video/audio to some clients all over the US, all of which will be using PC's.
90% of the time they are going to be in locations where a hardline to the internet isn't possible.
What is the best option for them to access my stream as well as provide me back a webcam feed?
Is a cell phone card as good as it gets now?
Thanks,
Chris

Your options here are entirely and completely dependent on the local network services. This could include cellular data packet networks (and there are various flavors), WISP, satellite data (Iridium, GlobalStar and such), dial-up at speeds anywhere from roughly 50 kilobaud down to unusable, local WiFi networks, or otherwise.
Satellite networks are the most pervasive, though do have technical limits and do have among the highest of the high prices. I'd not want to stream video (on a budget) on such networks.
If these clients are going to be located are fixed sites or specific geographic areas, you can potentially set up backhaul wireless networks. If local network coverage is bad (and the local terrain allows it), you can potentially set up your own WISP, and provide coverage for yourself and potentially others.
If this is the United States, you're going to encounter some rather severe limitations and network fragmentation outside the metropolitan areas. Inside the metropolitan areas, there are almost always options. Outside those areas, you'll find that some countries will tend to have more pervasive network services, and better wireless coverage. (DSL and cellular data coverage is very far from pervasive locally, and this is located in one of the most populous counties in a small US state. And the local geography is not particularly amenable to a WISP operating on a budget.)

What is the biggest bottleneck on this machine - CPU, GPU, RAM (now at 8GB), or the HD, and would I be better getting a current 27" iMac, a 2012 Mac Mini, or SSDs for my current Mini?

I currently have a 2011 Mac Mini Server. When using FCP X, what is the biggest bottleneck on this machine - CPU, GPU, RAM (now at 8GB), or the HD, and would I be better getting a current 27" iMac, a 2012 Mac Mini, or SSDs for my current Mini?
Thanks people,
TZ

Hi Tom,
I just wanted to ask you about what you said about the color correction. To be quite honest I'm not sure what the best workflow is, and I haven't gotten my feet wet in multi-cam editing. Basically my work-flow has been.
1) Import from the camera as optimized media - I found that adding color-correction at the import stage cause a severe hang with my tape-based Canon unit.
2) Color-correct the imported files before loading any files into a project
3) Drag files onto the timeline
4) Click on the color-correction box
5) Start editing - Usually I have one camera zoomed a little tighter on the singer, one on the whole band, and my iPad or iPhone camera at different angles so I start cutting things according to who is the focus of the moment, add a Ken Burns effect every here and there, Titles, an occassional transition effect.
6) Add music effects after the looks are taken care of
7) Export
Are you recommending clicking on the color-correction box after everything is done?
Thanks - TZ

Best options for uncompressed HD master?

I've just finished my first feature-length project in HDV on FCP, and I have some questions about output. In the past I've always been editing SD DV under 60 mins, so master output was always easy. But between the HDV and the 90 min. run time, things are a little more complicated.
We shot and edited in native HDV 1080/60i. We've rendered our final master sequence in HD ProRes, but I don't know where to go from here. These are my main questions:
1. My primary distribution is going to be SD DVD, but I want to keep an uncompressed HD master file backed up on multiple hard drives. What's my best output option for such a file? Can I just export a self-contained QT in sequence settings? Will that apply compression I don't want? Is there a better output option in Compressor?
2. Keep interlaced or deinterlace? Again, most people will be seeing this as an SD DVD.
3. I'd also like to get a local video outfit to make an HD tape master for more secure long-term archiving. What tape format is recommended?
4. Question I should have asked but didn't? Please, do tell.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Stu

Ken Summerall, Jr. wrote:
The absolute best quality that you are going to get is by exporting a QT movie using current settings and making it self contained. Since you shot and edited in an HDV sequence this will add no further compression (remember that HDV is already heavily compressed).
Uh-oh. That's not actually correct.
HDV is relatively unusual as shooting formats go, in that it's a GOP format, as opposed to an I-frame format. In I-frame formats, each frame of footage (or pair of fields, if you're shooting interlaced) is compressed all by itself, independently of all other frames (or field-pairs). But in a GOP format, a number of frames are compressed together — that's what "GOP" means: "group of pictures." The first frame is compressed independently, then the next frame is described in terms of what's different from the previous frame.
When you edit HDV +and then export it as HDV again,+ whether to videotape or to a Quicktime, the GOPs must be "conformed." As you edit, you make cuts that break the GOP structure, so the timeline cuts from the middle of one GOP to the middle of another without including the first frame on which that second GOP depends. So when you export or lay off, Final Cut has to go through and convert a bunch of I-frames to B- or P-frames, and convert a bunch of B- or P-frames to I-frames.
In essence, exporting or laying off HDV imposes a compression hit. You will reduce the quality of your footage.
Since the question was about the best option for mastering, HDV is +definitely not it.+ Would it be okay? That depends on the footage, and on how picky you are. But it's not the best option. The best option is to master to a (ha ha) mastering format. Uncompressed 8-bit, Uncompressed 10-bit and ProRes are good choices here.
As for tape … that's tougher. You can absolutely send an uncompressed or ProRes Quicktime file to a dubbing house and get it laid off to videotape, but the question is to what format? HDV is a poor choice, because of the aforementioned compression hit you take when conforming the GOPs. DVCPRO HD would actually be a step down for you, because it would downsample your 1440x1080 native footage (or your 1920x1080 master, if you chose to upres) to 1280x1080.
That leaves HDCAM and HDCAM SR. If you've done things like color correction or compositing in a 10-bit color space — or even long-slow dissolves to or from black, which is one of the places where 8-bit really falls apart on you — choose HDCAM SR. HDCAM is an 8-bit format only, and you'll lose color precision if you go to that format. But if you stayed 8-bit all the way through your workflow, then you can go to HDCAM without any real problems.
Note that both HDCAM and HDCAM SR +are compressed formats.+ Your only option for uncompressed HD videotape is D6, and good luck finding a Voodoo recorder nearby. But HDCAM and SR are good enough for professional mastering, so they'll surely be good enough for you as well. And they're both available in 94- and 124-minute lengths, so you can master your whole feature on a single tape.
(While you're at it, consider getting your uncompressed or ProRes master file dubbed off to a data tape format as well. You worked really hard on this project, so it makes sense to be a little paranoid about preserving the fruit of your labors.)

Best option for upgrading to CS 6

Hello,
I need some help. I currently have CS 5 and 5.5 installed across 7 PCs and 1 MAC within the marketing department in my company. What would be the best option for upgrading all of them to CS 6 Master Collection. (how many PCs can I use a license on? How many licenses would I have to purchase to install on all the machines?)
Thanks.

There is no ambiguity here: You buy 7+1 licenses. Though you have 2 activations per license, they are not meant to run your facility on the cheap. I suggest you read the EULA....
Mylenium

Best option for replacing a faulty ATI Radeon x 2600 XT 256mb

My graphics card has just packed up, and I am struggling to find anybody at the Apple Technical Support service to give me a straight answer.
I am not a gamer, and only require a card that will allow me day today use and for general camcorder editing (novice level).
I had an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT - standard install. in my MacPro (early 2008) 2.8Ghz, Dual Quad Intel chipset, OSX 10.6 (snow leopard).
Can anyone recommend the best option for ATI card, as I have read theyh perform better than the Nvidia cards.

I'd get ATI HD Radeon 4870 Mac Edition from Apple.
The GT is more like spare or for 3 monitors. Why or how Nvidia got that card to be adopted as the OEM standard in a workstation, and not say GTS/GTX 200 series is, beyond me. One year ATI, next year Nvidia gets the "prize" seems to be the order of the day.
Nvidia drivers have been a problem for Apple for years, the GTX 285 would do some serious damage to 3D and CS4/5. Two dual width card design the way a Quadro CX handles CS4 for Windows to do realtime image rendering instantly.
I wouldn't flash unless you like to dabble or want to learn. In which case a 1GB card would make more sense.
Surprised though the manager didn't steer you toward the 4870.

Mac Mini - best option for adding video streaming to existing HDTV setup?

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