I've had a blue and white G3 350 for a couple of years and have always had the same problem with the signal from computer to camera - the in camera picture is "blocky" and flickers with blocks of pixels making export pointless. I've tried different cameras including PC100 and different leads and all the updates except moving up to OS 9... or whatever's latest. Premiere's lost all export options, Final Cut still has the blocky problem. I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Any solutions or suggestions?
(this message was sent C/O Tim Hogg for Hazel Grian)
Tim, I had a G3/300 until just recently that worked flawlessly with FCP & Premier 6 when exporting DV video to either a DV camcorder or a DVCam deck - so there is a way to get your 350mhz machine running smoothly.
What Mac OS are you using - 8.6? Using OS 9.1 made a big difference on the 300mhz G3 I had - so I would recommend an update, but 8.6 should work anyway. Download the latest firewire drivers from Apple, version 2.5 ( http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11838?OpenDocument ) and also install QuickTime 4.1.2 A clean install of the system software is a good idea and will ensure that nothing is corrupt in the system.
Optimise your hard drive with Norton Speed Disk or Alsoft Disk Warrior Plus Optimiser - hard drive performance is severely affected by fragmented files.
Have you tried another firewire cable? Often they get damaged, yours may be faulty.
I also Presume that you are using Premier 5.1c with the FireWire Dv Device Driver version 1.3? Premier 6 is a good upgrade to consider.
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regards
Steven Hood
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