Keeping Current with Mac I was happy to see an edition of Vidoemaker E-news sponsored by a Mac supplier (MacMall). I have read your magazine faithfully for several years and get irritated when I see specs on older versions of Macs when more powerful versions are on the market. I do not blame Videom

$1,099 Matrox Electronic Systems 1055 St-Regis Dorval, QC, Canada H9P 2T4 (514) 822-6000 www.matrox.com For some time now, almost all "real-time" hardware solutions for Adobe Premiere have provided real-time previews only. When you were ready to send DV back to your camcorder, you still n

Last month, we took a look at corrective filters; those small programs that let you fix unexpected problems in your footage. This month, we’ll examine special effects filters. Even more than corrective filters, special effects filters come in an almost mind-boggling assortment. In a typical v

Panasonic Mini DV VCR with LCD for the Road Panasonic’s new AG-DV1DC is an ultra-lightweight Mini DV VCR with a 3.5" color LCD monitor and built-in speaker. Ready for DC battery power (included) or AC operation, this ultra-compact Mini DV VCR — measuring just 5.6" wide by 3.7&

Ever wonder what exactly makes a video editing computer work? Ever want to know what separates the ordinary, game-playing, document-creating PC from the kind that can easily pump out hour-long, professional-looking home videos? No matter if you already own a video editing computer or plan to buy one

Sonic Foundry’s Vegas Video made a splash at the Ball nearly two years ago, surprising the established industry players with its maturity and poise. Sporting a simple, clean and uncluttered workspace and powerful audio features, Vegas 2.0 was an impressive product despite a few minor weaknesse

Not so very long ago, only the biggest, fastest, most expensive hard drives were capable of supporting the speed and capacity necessary for nonlinear editing. Fortunately for video editors, those days are gone. Today, even inexpensive hard drives are likely to have the performance characteristics n

Shoot the Still Shot? I have had a Canon Elura for two years and have yet to use the still-photo feature, except to see how it works. I find that I can get very good stills from video clips by selecting and deinterlacing a good frame. When I want really good quality stills I use my multi-megapixel

$4,060 DVGear 10634 East Riverside Drive, Suite 130 Bothell, WA 98011-3758 (877) 415-0628 www.dvgear.com The first thing you’ll notice when you uncrate this DVGear Pro-ONE turnkey system is the contrast between the monolithic cubic black case and the lithe 17-inch LCD flat panel. This is a ve

$99 MedioStream 2107 North First St. Suite 530 San Jose, CA 95131 (866) 422 6734 www.mediostream.com Affordable DVD authoring apps have been oozing out of the woodwork during the last year. And, as rapidly as the technology has emerged, second generation (and later) products are also appearing. Pro

Have you ever been hypnotized? If you’ve ever been to the movies and found yourself completely lost in the story, you have. A well-edited movie does exactly that, and it’s not a bad thing. It captures the imagination in a way that virtually takes over the brain. We surrender to the story

Q. I’ve been thinking about getting a real-time capture card for DV but I’m intimidated by the price of these cards. My computer already has a FireWire card and I am editing with Premiere. I think it would be great if I didn’t have to render anymore. How do I decide on a card? D.

Today, nonlinear editing (NLE) is the common language spoken in home and professional editing suites. It’s important to know your NLE ABCs, whether you are looking to purchase a system and do your own editing or outsource your video and have it edited by a pro. Take one part graphics, two par

If you are taking the time to produce a video masterpiece, whether for fun or fame and fortune, you depend on your monitors to provide you with true, high-quality images. Whether you are considering a VGA computer monitor or NTSC production monitor, there are several characteristics to think about.

Airport Security I received the latest issue of Videomaker today and as usual, I read it cover to cover. I noticed something that I wanted to bring up to you and your readers. In the "What’s Legal?" sidebar of Home Video Hints this month (April 2002), Jim Stinson says, "Legally

$50 Pinnacle Systems 280 N. Bernardo Avenue Mountain View, CA 94043 (650) 526-1600 www.pinnaclesys.com The first wave of introductory-level DVD authoring software has broken with a plethora of products from many top manufacturers, from Apple to Ulead. In the sub-$100 range, wizards and templates ar

$5,495 MacroSystem US 5485 Conestoga Court Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 440-5311 www.casablanca.tv In the continuum of video editing solutions, if a do-it-yourself, built-from-scratch system represents one end, the Casablanca Kron lies at the other. The Kron, and the very small number of video appliance

DVD editing turnkeys are the way to go for no-hassle DVD authoring. We recently got our paws on the Compaq Presario 8000T and the HP Pavilion 9995, two solid competitors in the emerging DVD turnkey market. The two machines fall into two slightly different price categories, with the HP occupying the

Once you’ve accomplished a perfect shoot, you’ll face many labor-intensive hours back at the editing suite logging and then digitizing the footage to your computer’s hard disk drive (HDD) before you can begin to edit your project. FireStore from Videonics, who recently merged with

If you want to add a little extra polish to your video project without spending hours designing and rendering 3D elements, Ulead’s Pick-a-Video stock footage library may be the answer. If you are looking for elements to use for video intros, title backgrounds, a production logo or DVD menu bac