TDVideo Costs

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TD Video is affordable because you build your own system with off the shelf components. To use TD Video, you'll need: TD Video software from BW Software A Macintosh computer, preferrably with a factory installed Firewire port TD Video Requires Mac OS X v10.4.0 or newer. A video camcorder, preferrably a digital video camcorder A large hard drive Optional hardware includes: A Media Converter to capture or produce analog video (VHS / SVHS / DVD) A ShuttlePro or ShuttleXpress remote elgato turbo.264 HD to accelerate export of H.264 files Prices shown below were researched in May of 2010. Costs of components will change. TD Video software - $1195 US No annual support fee. Free Product Upgrades can be downloaded from www.playmakerpro.com. Order from BW Software at 888-752-9625 (toll free) or 734-769-8587. Computers Any Macintosh G3, G4, G5 or Intel based computer. You'll want a Mac with a factory installed FireWire port if you are using Digital8, miniDV, or a media converter. You'll need an XGA (1024 by 768) or higher resolution display. The latest version of QuickTime. To create video DVDs, you'll want a Mac with Apple's SuperDrive (DVD burner) and iDVD software. If you want to create lots of Video DVDs, a multi processor machine is recommended. Macs that support 2 displays (a display and a projector) are great for team meetings. The least expensive Macintosh is a Mac Mini. Its low price reflects the fact that you need to supply a keyboard, mouse, and display for it. You may need to add an external disk drive to store a season's worth of video. If you have a display that you're not using, it can be a bargain. A dual processor Mini would be handy if you're going to create lots of video DVDs. Apple's iMacs are a great choice. You can have them custom built with larger hard drives so they can store more video on their internal drive. The new Intel processor iMacs have a dual processor design that comes in handy if you want to create video DVDs. The new iMacs also support 2 displays. A minitower Macintosh is more expensive and more versatile than other Macs. A minitower can utilize multiple internal hard drives, which are faster than external drives. Minitowers usually support 2 displays. The new Mac Pros have 4 to 8 processors and multiple FireWire 800 ports. Apple laptops (iBooks, MacBooks, PowerBooks and MacBook Pros) are convenient for capturing video at a game, or for watching video anywhere. Laptops may not have the disk space to store a whole season's worth of video. External FireWire drives are often used with laptops to extend their disk capacity. Most recent Apple laptops support 2 displays. Disk Space You'll want lots of fast disk space. Go Big ! External Hard disks should spin at 7200 rpm or faster. A 500 gigabyte drive in an external FireWire enclosure costs about $135. A 500 gigabyte drive should provide 38 hours of recording time. This could hold over 50 single camera high school games (assuming 40 minutes per game). A similar terabyte drive (1000 gigabytes) costs around $155. FireWire 800 drives are faster than traditional FireWire 400 drives, if your Mac supports them. The speed that you can copy a game from one drive to another is limited by the slowest drive. You can use USB2 external drives, but hard drives connected with FIreWire will perform much better. USB2 drives might be useful for supplying video to a Windows PC. Camcorders Consumer grade digital video camcorders range in price from $250 to $1,000. TD Video works best with miniDV camcorders. You can use hard drive or flash drive camcorders, but you'll need to capture their video with iMovie 8. If you want to use a remote control tri-pod, look for a camcorder with a LANC interface also. Sony has combined the LANC connector with the AV connector on some of their latest camcorders. You'll need a Sony tripod to remote control those. There are many to choose from. Remember, the camera you buy will ultimately determine the quality of the video you shoot. Stick to Sony, Canon, JVC, or Panasonic. Click here to see Apple's list of camcorders supported by iMovie 8 . Media Converters A Green Valley / Canopus ADVC 110 costs about $280 at the Apple Store. You can get it for less from other sources. Check the page titled "What Hardware Do I Need" for more information on media converters. Remote Control Contour Design's ShuttlePro list price is $109. Contour Design's ShuttleXpress list price is $59. Total System Prices System Price: TD Video + Computer + 320 gigabyte Disk Space = Total Price Macintosh Disk Drive Total Price Educational Price I have a Macintosh Computer 500 GB external $1330 $1330 Mac Mini Intel Duo - recycled display, SuperDrive 320 GB internal $1992 $1942 21 inch iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo, SuperDrive 500 GB internal $2394 $2344 Mac Pro minitower - 24 inch panel, SuperDrive 640 GB internal $4593 $4293 Mac Pro minitower - 24 inch panel, SuperDrive 1Terabyte $4693 $4383 White MacBook 13 inch Laptop Not Recommended XXX XXX MacBook Pro- 13 inch, SuperDrive, Intel Core 2 320 GB internal $2444 $2339 MacBook Pro- 15 inch, SuperDrive, Intel Core 2 320 GB internal $2994 $2894 Click on highlighted items for a shopping list. Optional Equipment Add $250 to $1,000 for a hard drive or flash drive camcorder Add $280 for a Thomson Grass Valley ADVC 110 media converter Add $100 to $160 for additional external FireWire hard drives Add $59 for a jog-shuttle called ShuttleXPress. Add $ 149 for an elgato turbo.264 HD to accelerate export of H.264 files. If you already have a capable Mac and a digital camcorder, you can create your own digital VCR for $ 1350. That includes TD Video and a terabyte hard drive. Places to Shop For Hardware Apple Computer can provide everything you need except the TD Video software. You can save some money with Apple's Educator pricing. If you order directly from Apple, you can also custom order Macs with larger than usual hard drives. To shop Apple's online stores visit www.apple.com and click on the Store button. You can also find Macintosh hardware at www.contourdesign.com, www.macmall.com, www.maczone.com, www.macconnection.com, etc. PlayMaker Pro How To Order Online Store