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Phat Bastard · Apr 23, 2002, 10:30 PM

I am not sure if I should buy the Combo drive or the Super drive model. The computer will be primarily used by my sister who uses iMovie like crazy (she's in a drama program in high school), and I'm sure she would enjoy burning DVDs..the only issue is, the movies she makes have to be shown at school, so they need to be dubbed onto VHS cassettes. But getting the Super drive would be awesome...convince me to spend the extra money!

thePurpleGiant · Apr 24, 2002, 03:44 AM

Yeah go the superdrive!! As far as I'm aware, the output on the new iMac is VGA only, no video out, so u need to get it onto VHS somehow anyway. And iDVD seriously does make nice looking DVD's with not much effort...I'm Happy

BrunoBruin · Apr 24, 2002, 09:05 AM

Don't forget that for your additional $300 you're also getting a faster processor and a bigger hard drive; the latter may be important if it proves really difficult to take the machine apart if you want to upgrade later. I would definitely go SuperDrive.

thePurpleGiant · Apr 24, 2002, 10:02 AM

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, it's very handy having 4.7GB on a DVD for backing up purposes...

Justin W. Williams · Apr 24, 2002, 10:57 AM

Nerd Ego. How co0l will you be when you say that you can burn DVDs?

That's why I have to have the best.

Matsu · Apr 24, 2002, 11:10 AM

Actually it might not be so handy. There are reports around the net that the DVDrw is pretty slow when it comes to backing up files (not just when burning a video disc)

You might want to look into it first. I think the camera will let you handle DV to analogue out. Does iMovie let you export back out to a DVtape? If so, you then just plug the DVcam into your VCR using standard A/V cables from your camera to your VCR. Hit record on the VCR and bingo.

Why doesn't the iMac have the same A/V out as the iBook and TiBook ??? I guess Steve only wants us to make DVD's.

Macintosh · Apr 24, 2002, 12:19 PM

Good ideas matsu!

As for schools having the capability of playing DVD's, I kinow my school has plenty of DVD players...thats why I got the Superdrive model.

I am in Computer Graphics and Video Media Arts so the new iMac Superdrive is perfect for me!

Phat Bastard · Apr 25, 2002, 12:50 PM

My DV camera supports analog out, of course. That's how we record to VHS tapes now. I just thought it might be convenient to make a DVD directly from the computer, instead of having to send the movie first to the camera and then to the VCR (not like it matters, it's all super fast with firewire anyway).

Before I could get much input in, my dad went out and bought the Superdrive model anyway. Yay! He got a deal too, it was $300 CDN cheaper than the Apple Store since it was a brand-new but store demo model. Sweet!

Matsu · Apr 25, 2002, 01:26 PM

Nice. DVD is the future anyway. The drive is a little slow (just like the first CDr's were) but you can use CD for backup (they're dirt cheap and fast) and DVD just for your film projects. The one other thing I would use DVD for is iTunes. Think about it. At 320Kbps, MP3 gets pretty decent sounding. At 4.7GB you can put an awful lot of MP3 on one disc, even at the highest bitrate. You could get about 500 songs on one disc (4min per song @ 320kbps) At about 10-12 average per CD you can get about 40-50 CD's worth of sound onto one DVD (MP3) disc. I could rip my entire CD collection down to a half dozen discs!

One thing to look at is the compatibility of (those cheapo) MP3 playing DVD players. While Apple's DVD format is compatible with existing players when it comes to 'Video'. The players may only read MP3 from CDrw and not DVDrw, it's possible that the MP3 decoding circuit is only tied to the CD pick-up and not the DVD. Anyone out there with a superdrive mac whose burned an MP3 DVD for use in a consumer player? Does it work? That be a great way to unburden your mac's HDD, especially since the budget consumer players in question are dirt cheap. I can pick MP3 capable DVD players for 150 Canadian!

Don't forget to tell your da you love him!

[ 04-25-2002: Message edited by: Matsu ]

xenu · Apr 25, 2002, 05:52 PM

I was in a similar situation.

I wrote out a table, putting down all the options, plus the price - for example, the iMac cd-rw with and without speakers, with more ram, etc -
and then looked up the price of ram, hard drives, etc.

I came to the conclusion that the iMac cd-rw was the best value for money, with an extra dose of ram.

Hope you like the machine. I ordered mine just before easter, and they have no idea when it will arrive.

Who knows, it may come installed with 10.2!!!

Macintosh · Apr 25, 2002, 10:24 PM

Speaking from experience here, YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!

Phat Bastard · Apr 26, 2002, 09:04 PM

I'm writing this from our brand new Superdrive iMac...this thing is INCREDIBLE!! I'm used to my G4-400 Powerbook and OS X is a little slow, but this thing FLIES. Thanks for all the advice, I'm glad we went with the Superdrive model. The faster drive and extra hard drive space is going to really come in handy for our film projects and MP3's. No OS 10.2 though, it's not even out yet people!

I formatted the HD and did a clean install of OS 10.1.4, but only afterwards I realized I screwed up. I tried installing OS 9.2 to keep up Classic compatibility, but it wouldn't let me install it unless I installed it on TOP of 10.1.4. And I didn't repartition the HD to keep a separate drive for OS 9.2. Is there anything I can do? Or should I just forget about it? There's a few little games and utilities I have that are OS 9 only.

Anyway, thanks for the advice everyone, and enjoy your iMacs!