Mini Spec and Camcorder compatability

Hi,
I am about to take the plunge into the Mac world primarily for DVD editing/burning and have two queries:
1) Does anyone know if my Panasonic NV-DX100 camcorder (1998 vintage)is compatible via FireWire?
2) Is the current Mac Mini 1.66GHz spec adequate for Final Cut Express HD v3.5 either as bought or with a RAM upgrade?
Thanks, Tom (looking to escape from the non-Mac world)

Hi Tom.
The main thing about the iMac is that it is a powerful, complete machine. You don't have to start buying upgrades etc.
It has a beautiful, large flat panel screen and a large Hard Drive (at least 160GB).
The DVD burner is faster 8X instead of 4X.
Also the Mini only has one Firewire port. You need at least 2 - one for the camera and another for the FW Hard Drive that you will almost certainly be buying very soon.
The Mini really was built as a novelty to show how small and how cheaply apple could make a Mac.
It works very well but cannot compete with bigger machines which you really need for video editing.
In short, though you may save a bit in the short term if you get one, you will probably be kicking yourself later on.
It's like the Morris Mini car. You could take 5 people from Land's End to John o' Groats in one in a day - but the journey would not be the most comfortable one!
Regarding your marital situation, mine is the opposite. I suffer from severe fiscal-clenching of the buttocks.(Less polite people call me "tight-a**ed").
My good lady has to plead with me to free the moths from my wallet.
Ian.

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OIC my mistake...
You only wanted a list of the cameras YOU were interested in...
I forgot you (and HD cameras) should be the only importance to Apple.
Yeah forget about alllllllllll the other SD mini-dv cams, etc.
The reason the discussions is flooded with questions is two reasons:
1.) No one knows how to search.
2.) They know they have to ask/answer a question to take part in these discussions here....
Search or browse for existing answers before you ask a question. Someone else may have asked your question — it may save you some time.
Stay on topic. Apple's discussion forums are here to help people use Apple products and technologies more effectively. Unless otherwise noted, don't add Submissions about nontechnical topics, including:
That Apple rumor you saw on another website.
Discussions of Apple policies or procedures.
Speculations/rumors about unannounced products.
The status of your 1973 MG Midget restoration.
Post constructive comments and questions. Unless otherwise noted, your Submission should either be a technical support question or a technical support answer. Feedback about new feature requests or product enhancements are welcome too. Don't post non-constructive complaints, polls, or petitions.

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chrisfrommarion wrote:
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Are you holding down the "d" key, all by itself, just after the system shuts down for a restart?
And how long did you hold it down?
I held mine down for about 40-50 seconds. Then I lookat at my routers WAN light and it was flickering so I let up on the d key.
If that does not work then maybe there is something wrong with your MBP. Is that the reason you want to run this test, something isn't right with your unit?

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I've read conflicting info about camcorder compatibility with macs. Some say that using a firewall there is no issue uploading from any brand of minidvd camcorders. Others say this is not true, swear up and down that there are compatibility problems w/ Canon models vs. other brands. I want to purchase a Canon ZR900, ZR930 or ZR950 as these have had good reviews but am reluctant to do so until this question is answered.
Thank you!

The firewall in Mac OS X has absolutely no bearing on camcorder compatibility. The camcorder does not use the network.
With regard to mini-DVD camcorders, they record their video in MPEG2 format, which suffers two problems: 1.) it's a highly-compressed lossy format that's really poor for editing (the video they shoot is not intended to be edited, only played back as is); 2.) recompressing the MPEG2 to create a new movie makes things worse.
Since you're asking about the Canon ZR series, and they are MiniDV and not mini-DVD camcorders, that may not be important to you.
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That said I have a Canon ZR mini-DV camcorder (ZR500 -- standard definition), and it's a nice little camera. It's performance in low-light is not all that great, but in well-lit situations the video is quite good. Were I to buy a new camcorder, I'd go with a high-definition model that does 1080i, even if I were outputting to DVD because the sharpness of the video pops even there. However, though I am fond of the MiniDV cassettes as a backup medium, there's some huge advantages to SD and HD storage for camcorders (for example, no low-frequency hum from the DV tape mechanism), but AVCHD is really tough (takes a lot out of your computer) to work with.

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Hi
We have just bought a MacBook pro with iMovie HD 6 and were wondering which camorders were compatible. We bought a JVC HDD camcorder and it would not work with iMovie as it recorded in mpeg 2. The apple web page showing compatability does not seem to work. Any list of camcorders that record in mpeg 4 would be greatly appretiated.
cheers
Sam

I have been doing research for months now on which camera is best.
I have looked at every model, every brand, read their specs and checked their features.
ONLY CAMERAS WITH A FIRE WIRE PORT AND A MINIDV TAPE WILL WORK WITH iMOVIE directly with EASE OF USE, BEST QUALITY and LEAST AMOUNT OF COMPRESSION ISSUES.
Two choices:
1. High Definition cameras:
Conclusion: They all suck. It is a question of which one ***** the least. In my opinion it is the Canon HV20 ($1099.99). It has the best features (I love the 24p mode) for the money. I think Apple agrees with me, they sell it in the Apple Store. If only it had a decent 3CCD lens that worked well in low light, it would be perfect. If you are only going to shoot in good light, no problem.
Why I think they suck? NONE of the HD consumer level cameras have inputs for analogue and high definition video for recording from older equipment like VCRs and new equipment like cable boxes that output HD TV. This means you cannot record your favorite HD TV program OR MOVIE and make a HD DVD (Blue-ray or HD-DVD) with no loss of quality.
NOTE: The upper end cameras like the Sony HDR-FX1 ($3699,99) and the Canon XL-H1 (7,999.99) are the only cameras that don't suck, but the prices do.
WARNING ABOUT HD
YOU WILL NEED A POWERFUL COMPUTER LIKE THE NEW MAC PROS WITH 2 GIG OF RAM AND HUGE HUGE AMOUT OF HARD DRIVE STORAGE and Final Cut Pro TO BE HAPPY WORKING WITH HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO.
2. SD Cameras.
I like the Sony DCR-HC96. ($649.99) It has Analog-to-Digital Converter (with Pass Through) and Analog Audio/Video Input(s) (Multi A/V)
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SM

The firewall in Mac OS X has absolutely no bearing on camcorder compatibility. The camcorder does not use the network.
With regard to mini-DVD camcorders, they record their video in MPEG2 format, which suffers two problems: 1.) it's a highly-compressed lossy format that's really poor for editing (the video they shoot is not intended to be edited, only played back as is); 2.) recompressing the MPEG2 to create a new movie makes things worse.
Since you're asking about the Canon ZR series, and they are MiniDV and not mini-DVD camcorders, that may not be important to you.
Canon models don't have any particular problems. It's true that they use what OS X calls the FireWire basic profile (IEEE-1394 raw video) rather than IEEE-1394 DV, but the problem there is only that the OS X FireWire driver drops frames (rare, but it happens) sometimes with the basic profile. You generally won't notice, but it can be annoying (you can run Linux on your Mac and it works just fine, it's not a hardware issue). Just make sure that if you use Final Cut you turn off the option to terminate if a frame is lost (and there's a bug in FC where a dropped frame causes it to lose VTR control of the camcorder).
That said I have a Canon ZR mini-DV camcorder (ZR500 -- standard definition), and it's a nice little camera. It's performance in low-light is not all that great, but in well-lit situations the video is quite good. Were I to buy a new camcorder, I'd go with a high-definition model that does 1080i, even if I were outputting to DVD because the sharpness of the video pops even there. However, though I am fond of the MiniDV cassettes as a backup medium, there's some huge advantages to SD and HD storage for camcorders (for example, no low-frequency hum from the DV tape mechanism), but AVCHD is really tough (takes a lot out of your computer) to work with.

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will I have to live with some system house keeping and a few crashes or can I expect to run mostly clean ( no crashes ) with a Core Duo 2.0 ghz system with four gig of memory.
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Hunt

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Hi,
Apart from cpu speed disk size and memory,
what are the differences between the mac mini and the mini server?
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Also, what are the differences between the OS in the mini, mini server
and the XServe (apart from of course cpu cores etc)?
Thanks

Thanks.
Is it safe to say that these two pages list
all the differences?
http://www.apple.com/macosx/specs.html
http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/specs.html
Or is there any doc from Apple that lists the differences?
Thanks.

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Hi all,
I don't know where else to turn with this problem. I think I've damaged my Firewire kit.
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Rob,
If you mistakenly inserted the FireWire connector twisted 180 degrees, the power lines can be directly connected to the data lines and can result in a fried PHY (connects the port to the FireWire bridge) or the FireWire bridge itself.
You can take a look at the voltage specs for FireWire ports and see that your voltage readings are well withing specs:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58207
I am not sure where you go from here. You could try a known-good FireWire device connected to your Pismo and see if it works. If not, the data-side of the FW port may have failed. I don't know about testing the iPod or camcorder.
A possible cheap fix for the Pismo FireWire is a FireWire PC card; if running 10.x, it will just be a plug & play affair. However, unlike built-in FireWire ports, FireWire PC cards supply very little bus power. Your camcorder will work since it has it owns power supply (assuming there is no hardware failure) and but am unsure about the iPod. The iPod will not charge, of course, but it may still work in data transfers. There are a few FireWire PC cards that also have their own power supply.

Designing a board using Artix-7 FPGA where power rail (1.0V = VCCINT, VCCBRAM, MGTAVCC) ramp rate is less than 200usec (min spec)

I have a board design that uses Artix-7 FPGA (without using the GPT interface) where VCCINT, VCCBRAM, and MGTAVCC rails are tied together to one VRM source of 1.0V. The power sequence is correct (VCCINT>VCCBRAM>VCCAUX>VCCO), but the ramp rate of the 1.0V rails is less than the spec.
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Since I am new using this device; what is the risk involved on violating this spec if any? I need to know ASAP as this might drive a board spin.
Thanks for your support,
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Hi,
The specifications for the device ramp rate are developed based on limitations of our test equipment, not limitations of our parts. The 0.2 ms ramp rate specification is specified because the tester we have does not allow for faster ramp rates.
However, this is still a violation of our specifications so we cannot guarantee there will not be any reliability issues with the device (since we have not tested this condition).
The silicon itself does not have any problems with faster ramp rates.
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Mini Spec and Camcorder compatability

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