Hi, I finally got a Mac, Power book G4 17 inch. It’s good, but it’s been a huge nightmare converting everything. Anyway, right now i have all these avi files on a pc and I would like to be able to edit them in my final cut express, and was wondering how I can convert the files so it can be read in the mac. I need to cut them onto CD and was wondering which program on the PC will allow the multi-read.
Thanks! For all the advice and now!! (it’s a typo… I thnk I should have read, before….)
Yan
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 
Hi Yan. I’m Matteo from China-underrgound.com. Please contact me as soon as possible for the project.
Ciao.
P.S.: I think you can open .avi files with Final Cut Pro, or maybe you could convert on your pc from .avi to .mov, or maybe you could also export your videos on a videocamera, and then re-import the videos on your mac (if the videos are very long, maybe this is the fastest solution because you don’t need to render again the files)
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just install virtual machine on your Mac and you’ll be able to run all Windows compatible programs and files 🙂
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Hope you’re ready: 1,2,3 – I HATE MACS. Been owner and user of both Mac and PC.
Macs are A) overpriced (didn’t you know you’re paying 80% of that computer towards their marketing campaigns) B) slow (I don’t care what stats they give you, just use them and you’ll know) C) outdated within a year and not easily upgradable nor economical to upgrade) D) Makers of the iPod MP3 monopoly campaign (’nuff said)
I’ve seen Macs from the beginning when there were no hard drives, only 5.25 disk drives to beige PC copies to clear translucent turqoise to stainless steel. They might have some cool industrial designers working on them but seriously, think about where your $$$ goes to when you purchase something.
Enjoy the Macintosh purchase 😉
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FCE works only with DV files. If you convert your .AVI files to DV you’ll be fine.
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Thanks… I will look into all of it.
I have to say, so far, I can see some good use for Macs, and I really do need fce otherwise I would not suggest non editing and maybe graphics people to get one. Windows xp is a very good system for everything else…I miss backspace and delete buttons and also the second click on the touch ppad. maybe I don’t know how to use one yet, but I like Wilson haven’t seen the micraculous upgrade from my pc. I have even lost a whole load of files due to a bad design in iphotos. But yies there are some better programs and design that does make my life easier in editing.
yan
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Hi Yan, nice purchase :o) I’ve been a mac person for years, and moderate on an internet forum devoted to this kind of stuff. Anyway, Quicktime-Pro (as opposed to the regular qt – just needs the serial number) should be able to read .avi, then export as .mov and open in FinalCut (FCP uses QT .mov files as the basis for all it’s editing. When you really start cranking the realtime edits, you’ll see why FCP is so great)
Also have a search around versiontracker.com it’s a clearinghouse for all the latest software and utilities for macs.
Other options:
VLC, which reads pretty much any media format, and again can export to .mov
3ivx (haven’t tried, but one of the favourites of dvd ripping) http://www.3ivx.com/download/macos.html
and: control–click is the same as right-click (and there are good design reasons why macs only have a single button)
iPhoto, is a bit dodgy, especially if you’re trying to use if for professional photography (i’ve tried extensis portfolio and a few othere, and in the end junked them all. I just sort them in the finder and use preview)
frances
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if you like XP Pro, try Virtual PC for Mac with XP Pro 😉
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Hi Yan,
Just did the same conversion from Windows to Mac. It’s quite easy to transfer stuff over if you set up a home network. Let me know if you need any help.
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Okay!! I will try and do all of that. This is pretty hard
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Yes, be careful with iPhoto. I don’t know if by Design Bug you mean the part of every changes being permanment immediately? It took me a moment to get used to, the idea is that it’s trying to save the original photo on your harddrive and the changes, so you can undo back to the original. I’m not sure how well it works over time… because I never trusted it 🙂
3ivx is a codec and might be necessary for your AVI files. Remember, AVI is not a codec, but just a file. This is important to remember, because otherwise it will difficult to sort out problems like this.
What it means, is that AVI is just a shell, the real movie type is inside and is called the codec. So you need to find out codec the file is in and then get that codec.
And finally, if not using VLC… upgrading your Quicktime to Pro is a good idea as others suggested. Just order it from the US site, that’s where it’s the cheapest.
And I promise you, even after 3 months, you still miss the delete+backspace button. I see how some people get confused over the two… but they always appear to understand the concept of one of them. So why can’t “delete” work for deleting stuff in OS X too? I still don’t understand this design decision. But you will probably notice, that some apps, will use the Delete key for deleting things.
For the right clicking, it’s perfectly okay to buy a PC USB mouse with two or more buttons. And I think, even the scroll should work… let me check… Yep! the scroll works perfectly fine, hmm. Maybe I should go get that new Phillip Starck MS mouse for my Mac.
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Okay… thanks…sigh
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