Thanks loads guys. In running around the web reading about VoltaicHD, I kept seeing references to another program called ClipWrap, and many people seem a lot happier with ClipWrap, so I read some reviews about that program too. VoltaicHD costs $40, and ClipWrap costs $50, so maybe you get what you pay for. Buying either program would be a dang sight cheaper than buying an Intel Mac and Final Cut Pro 6, just to be able to use video from a AVCHD camera.
I downloaded trial versions of both VoltaicHD (Version 3.0.0) and ClipWrap (2.5.1), but I can't tell much about them just by looking at their conversion windows. Not having an ACVHD camera (yet), I have nothing to convert. However, there are some demos on YouTube that make both programs look good. ClipWrap appears to be a lot faster in the conversions. As to the resolutions of the video, so far I've been able to do everything I want with standard definition. I've never worked with high definition video, and I fear HD files would fill up my hard drives too fast anyway, not to mention probably slowing Final Cut down with intolerable rendering and exporting times on a G5. I'll have to check to see whether Final Cut 5 can even handle HD. If it can't, that's OK with me right now. I just want to get the more modern optics and greater reliability of a tapeless video camera, although I'm sure the future of video is HD, and it would be nice to have a camera that can do that if I ever want to. One thing I found, or didn't find, was any basic instructions about how to get video from an AVCHD videocam into the Mac. So I'll ask here: when you hook an AVCHD camcorder to a G5 running 10.5.8 (with either a USB or firewire cable, or maybe a card reader?), does it just create a folder on the desktop full of .mt files, the same way a card reader for a digital still camera just pops a folder full of .jpegs on the desktop? If so, then I assume you just drop those files into the window of either VoltaicHD or ClipWrap, and let it convert the .mts into .movs or whatever best works in Final Cut. Is that correct? -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
