>(although I am not sure what connection type I need...firewire, USB 2.0, >etc)
On an Bondi with Harmoni, go for firewire. You can't use the extra speed of USB 2.0 on that machine, so there is no reason to get that version (you will be limited to USB 1 speeds, which top out for burning at 4x... with firewire, you can reliably go at least as fast as 52x, although you will hit a speed limit on the DVD burner long before you get that fast). >And, whets the difference in DVD-R and dual layer? Dual Layer is just another version of DVD-R. Although likely any Dual Layer you get will really be DVD+R... in DVD Speak, the -R isn't just a seperator like in CD-R... "-R" is a kind of DVD burning. "+R" is another kind (and both have a RW version to match). The Dual Layer spec currently only has an official +R version. Some burners are offering a -R version, but there is no "offical" spec for that yet, so anything that is offered for Dual Layer -R is subject to change. If the price is right, you can get a Dual Layer burner. However, be aware that right now, dual layer blanks are VERY expensive (in the $8 - $12 PER DISK range). My guess is, as dual layer burners become more popular, that price will drop fast, and I wouldn't be surprised if by summer, they are in the $1 - $5 per disk range, with christmas having 50 packs in the $0.50 to $1.00 per disk range. Fortunatly, any dual layer burner I've seen will also happily do single layer. So by purchasing a dual layer burner, you are really just assuring yourself a slightly less obsolete burner. When the blank prices fall, you will be ready to move up to using dual layer blanks. And then to jump back a bit, since I'm sure you will ask, what is the difference between +R and -R (Plus R, Minus R). They are just two formats for burner DVDs. They were developed by two different groups. Alledgedly there are pros and cons to each format (maybe someone else can list them), but to me, the difference is simply where do you plan to use the burned disks... and what format does that use require. For instance, one of my DVD Players will not play +R disks, so I burn my movies on -R so I can play them on either of my DVD Players. Because -R is slightly older of a spec, there tend to be more devices that support it over +R. In my findings, most everything that supports +R also supports -R, but not the other way around. And finally, -R blanks seem to be slightly cheaper (although often I see both styles for the same price). Of course, all this is likely not to matter, because I'm not sure there are burners on the market any more that only do one of the formats. I think they all do both formats. So the only thing that will matter for you is when buying blanks, just get the kind that will work best for you. >Finally, I am running OS 9.2.2 and do not fully understand what programs >will be required to make personal copies of home movies etc. First if you are using OS 9, I don't think the PatchBurn software I mentioned will work for you. I think it is an OS X only thing. (I'm not entirely sure, so you should check the web site for it). As for what applications are needed to make movies in OS 9, I can't really help you there. I do mine in OS X. I happen to use iMovie and Toast. If I had a G4, I'd buy iLife and probably use iMovie and iDVD. You could probably use iMovie and Toast under OS 9, but since I've never tried to do that for DVDs, I can't really say (I did it for VCDs, and that worked just fine, so DVDs probably would as well). >I have >been told I will need one program to upload/digitize the movie, one >program to compress it, and one program to save to DVD. In my making of VCDs in OS 9, iMovie handled the upload/digitize process for me. I fed the video in from my camcorder or a VCR connected to the DV passthru on my camcorder, then was able to save it out of iMovie as VCD format for Toast, and iMovie took care of the compression into MPEG. Toast then took over and laid everything out in VCD format and burned to disk. It worked pretty well, although I was a little disappointed with the overall quality as compared to my stand alone VCD burner (I own a VCD burner that works just like a VCR, except it records to Video CD instead of Video Tape). Also, because I only have a 400 MHz G3, the time it took to compress the video into MPEG was too long for my taste (it took about 10 minutes per minute of video). I still have the speed of compression issue when I burn DVDs under OS X, but since I don't own a stand alone DVD burner (yet), I just accept it. I hope some of the above was helpful -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/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/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
