--- You wrote: FW DV uses a completely different compression scheme than does MPEG(2). The Pyro and Dazzle units produce a 'standard' DV stream (file) which is approximately 6MB per second, which your Mac ingests through its FW port. FW can easily handle such a data rate.
The Instant DVD device sends an MPEG2 stream of ~1MB/s (or less, depending on the capture settings) into a USB port. USB can easily handle such a data rate. The key difference is that DV streams are fully editable, in such apps as iMovie and Final Cut Pro. MPEG2 streams cannot be directly edited, except for basic cuts. However, one pays a considerable price for the ability to play with DV streams. They are huge files! That means copying, duplicating, rendering, all that stuff takes lots of time. --- end of quote --- What's interesting to me about all this is that apparently these outboard boxes can compress analog video to Mpeg 2 in real time, it shouldn't be much of a trick to compress DV format into Mpeg2 in real time. But iDVD on my machine (G4 466 mhz) probably takes four or five hours to compress an hour of DV. At that rate, maybe a G5 could do it in an hour or less. But real time is real time. I guess the boxes are using dedicated hardware that the computer can't match. But wouldn't it be cool if someone could make a firewire box that would do the iDVD's compression outboard? Apparently the techniology exists. Rich -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
