CompuServe Messages

Hi Ed, Thought I'd try to connect about Vlab again. I'm, nearly, jumping on the wagon. If I can truly work out an edit script and do clean audio editing (audio that can be locked up to video tape and inserted ) at the price of Vlab… its a big plus. Going into Mac land looks like a minimum of $3000 more. So I wondered more about your direct experience. Sounds like a big hard drive is important. 1.5 -3 gig? What size do you work with?? Right now I have only a 255mg removeable syquest and 200mg on another dirve (quantum)… both will do sustained data transfer at 2.5 – 3 mg/sec. with the SYQ seeking in 13.5 millisec, and the quantum in 11 millisec. Have you had crashes? or any other hangups? I have 10mg of ram total, I wonder if I need more?? What size transfer buffer do you have to use (I've heard that 6-8mg is a good idea)?? I know that Studio 16 needed lots of buffering in order to keep up with the seek and playback from disk of the various tracks. It helped to be using two seperate drives for the source samples. Merging tracks to a single track (sample) was the only solution to playback problems. Do you have a 24 bit video card? I've thought I would have to get a Retina Z3 to be truly functional… but I don't know what effect that has on playback speed. I know what effect it will have on my wallet. Could I do without the card?? How good is it for capturing still frames. Can it grab a stable full rez image that can be worked with in other programs?? Does Vlab capture 30 frames/sec or 60 fields/sec?? I'm not sure, but I think that it makes a difference when working with time-code. In one note you spoke of 75% JPEG as being achievable… do you have an accelerator card or are you using a stock 3000 (mine is a standard 25/30 machine just as it came out of the box.)?? Have ou ever tried to convert the Vlab output to a quicktime (MAC or WIN) movie… I wonder if it can be done?? I'm a little nervous about sinking alot of money into Vlab… since Commodore engineers (in the forum) are talking aobut the next Amiga being a completely different animal. That would make Vlab a great tool so long as it met my editing needs but raises the poosibility that it could be a cul de sac. But that's always a problem with computers (and video gear.. there's always been somethng smaller lighter and better quality at a lower cost… the toaster is an example to be sure…. The answer for me is to try to be sure that the machinery I use serves the work I'm doing whether it has all the MAC bells & whistles or not. I've been vvery happy with Amigas for 10 years) I guess I'm looking for a reason to buy in but want to know about the warts so I don't have unrealistic expectations. Thanks for any real lfe experience you can shed on Vlab/tocatta All best to you Tom… drive friendly in texas