peterson

just a thought, but how much of the software ( ie billing and taxes) do you already possess to do the things you want to do? Macs are in mid-cycle of a major cpu changeover to Intel chips which will require new 'Universal' versions of most if not all programs for compatability. Just a heads up if you decide b-stock imacs or ibooks of powerbooks based on the IBM g4 or G5 chip. THey are a great deal right now because the new laptops are coming out. And if the idea of being able to run both windows and MAC OS on the same laptop appeals to you, it is in fact beginning to happen now with the newer Macbooks coming out now. That said, I still have a 6 years+ old powerbook PISMO that, with the addition of a new drive now and then,has been all I'd ever need if I restricted its use to the things you describe. peter tooke

That there is no avoiding software and computer code is a given. The MacOSX is very solid. But is does crash on occasion and I figure it out. There is time, I am not in the back of a van or squatting in the rain. I have lost cuts, I have lost media, I have had drives go down. Who hasn't? I think the difference with a laptop is the temptation to multi-purpose the device, as it is by design built to do many, many more complex things than just record audio. If it & its internal SATA drive can do real time 8 bit NTSC video, well audio is easy. Its just that there is a mess of other software thrown into the mix and so if you can resist using your recorder to edit home movies, you are ahead of the game. One last thing - there have been posts about how much more is expected of the location mixer these days. This may be a slippery slope, be careful or soon you will be asked to lay out your ISOs in edit rough cuts, perhaps with titles & effects...

As a post guy who used to do location sound - albeit a few years back in the far less tech heavy days doing documentary sound - I can only say that there is great comfort in a device designed, along with the now ubiquitous software to go with it, for a single purpose. Years in Avid and Final Cut Pro have taught there is no such thing a bug-proof computer. And when you are in the middle of an edit with a fast approaching deadline or air time, thats one thing & bad enough. But on a shoot with someone calling action this gets elevated to an entirely different level of freak out. As I return to doing sound I love the ease of interface between the two worlds, and love the many new ways to record high quality audio now available. But at the risk of sounding luddite, a single purpose dedicated machine gives great comfort in a job where there are often so many fish to fry. And when the recorder isn't a concern. Just my two bits - Peter Tooke

Thank you all for the information & courtesy of a reply. So according to Philip, it appears that in many if not most instances my laptop's DVD-R should suffice. Regards, Peter Tooke

Howdy - returning to location sound work, mostly documentary, after some years away and learning all I can about the new tools of the trade. Why the insistence upon DVD RAM as opposed to other DVD media? What prompted this particular question was an inquiry I saw on anther forum for good Mac-compatible DVD RAM drives and it made me wonder why not just use the internal DVD R/W drive already there? Please excuse the newbie nature of this inquiry, but thats the truth. thanks- peter