deanmass Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I am sitting here today trying to convert analog video to DV via a hardware converter I purchased, the Formac TVR This hardware was not cheap, running around $300.00 I digitize an hour of video for a friend over and over, but each time, the audio and video will not stay in sync, no matter what quality I set it at...Huh, I think...I try another tape source...same thing...After digging around a bit, I find the bbs at VersionTracker.com, and about 40 people are on their griping about the same issue. To eBay it goes...I borrowed a Sony Media converter with a built in codec, and it works like a charm. Then, I am tallying all the hardware I have had issues with, some a while back, some recently... The eyeTV by El Gato..Same issue as the formac...eBay'ed it A new Epson CX5400 multi function (print scan etc) purchased from the apple store...It will work, but it KILLS the Printer Utility and Print Center, requiring an OS REINSTALL!! AHHH! Gave it to my wife. A Canon LiDE 30 flat bed scanner. The canon software for OS X is a train wreck. It is sitting in a junk pile now. An HP Photo Scan 1000. No drivers ( I bought it knowing this thinking ...ehh..I'll get it to work...no dice) AND!! you have to BUY a CDROM from HP to get the XP drivers...BS! eBay! Last but not least, an M-Audio Radium 49e. I contacted Gus about this, and he is keeping me updated. The driver currently available just does not work under 10.3.4. I am scared to attached my Mobile Pre! I am giving this about 3-5 more days, then to eBay it goes, and I am moving to a Novation Keystation. The driver thing is getting silly. I LOVE OS X, and my mac's, but unless this hardware stuff gets much better in my next few purchases.... As an aside, I think apple needs to make their own AV converter box, and bundle the damn thing with iDvd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeton Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 A lot of this sounds like the manufacturers of the products are being lame, and that OS X isn't really the problem here. Thenagain, it could be that Apple doesn't release the specs for the binary interfaces so that the organizations can create proper drivers for them. (this is the case for hardware on linux and the BSDs) Unfortunately, you'll never know which it is. In any event, about the only bit of it you can attribute it to OSX is that it's the 3rd most hated OS by hardware driver developers. Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovepusher Sly Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 To convert analog video to digital, I dub the tape from the VHS to the DV camcorder, then firewire it to the Mac. Sly Whasineva ehaiz, ehissgot ta be Funky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 "A Canon LiDE 30 flat bed scanner. The canon software for OS X is a train wreck. It is sitting in a junk pile now." Oh, man...don't even get me started on this scanner. AND Canon. What Groovepusher said. I do conversions via my TRV27 and Firewire. Works like a charm. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1_dup16 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I don't want do piss you off, but do you never look for compatibility issue before puying any crap out there??????? OSX is an operating system, it is not God, so a check is a must. Sucking the brain's vacuum Waiting for the Nuclear Fusion. More energy, less damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Originally posted by 1: I don't want do piss you off, but do you never look for compatibility issue before puying any crap out there??????? OSX is an operating system, it is not God, so a check is a must.I didn't want to bring this up; it's never a good idea to blindly update or add to a system...there was just no polite way for me to address it. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanmass Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 Yes, I have checked compatability within reason on each device. GIANT OS X stickers have been on each box. All of them have stated compatability with OS X 10.3. You guys are probably correct re: OS X not being the issue, but I am getting frustrated with the 10.x.x revisions messing everything up, especially a USB driven device..I mean...Why? I can understand the **ix core functions being hurt, but why do the issues all seem to revolve around USB? (BTW, I have had these issues on 3 different powerbooks, different flavors each) I still love OSX, and I am not in a production enviro, or I would be far slower to run updates. It is just frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblue1 Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Yeah... even before I hit the end of your initial post, I was muttering, it ain't the OS -- it's the drivers! But I see you got there on your own. I'm a Windows guy but despite what must certainly have been a beyond-herculean effort by MS, there were a few pieces of hardware that seemed destined to not make the switch to XP with me. MS was smart enough to create a diagnostic program that would go through your existing system and tell you what hardware and software wouldn't work in XP. Brilliant idea and it saved me enormous suffering. And, far as I can tell, it was MS -- not HP and Intel and a few other hardware companies that took the pains to get the drivers up to speed. My Intel digital cam would probably still be in a drawer if it came down to those bozos. And HP announced there'd be no support for my scanner (an in-production unit I bought right about the time XP came out!!!) but a month or so after I switched, as I was dutifuly doing my Windows Update, there was a driver for the scanner! It was minimal, and I lost the OCR functionality -- but at least I could use the darn thing for its basic purposes. Ditto, a few months later for the Intel cam. I noticed M-Audio in your list... they seem to have more problem with drivers than any other company out there. While they were still called MidiMan they lost me as a customer for not bothering to support a recent MIDI interface that didn't make the jump from Win95 to '98 (not much of a jump at all, but they couldn't be bothered!) In fact, I was almost softening on my personal ban on M-Audio products when I was looking for an audio interface for my new laptop. I was very, very close, in fact, to ordering their Quattro USB interface... but I thought, man, I better see if I can get some user feedback on this. Oh boy! One nightmare story after another. In fact, I even found a website called "quattrosucks" or something to that effect. I spent up and bought a MOTU 828mkII and have had zero problems. bookmark these: news.google.com | m-w dictionary | wikipedia encyclopedia | Columbia Encyclopedia TK Major / one blue nine | myspace.com/onebluenine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyH Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Unfortunately, box stickers don't mean nothin'. Stickers are created by the marketing department(s), not the engineers. Before you spend, you need to get on line and read the discussions. Granted, most people who post are having problems, but at least you can go in with a heads-up. Try Googling " FAQ", " problems", " discussion", and you should have the scoop before you in a hurry. The gang over at www.osxaudio.com is very helpful as well. Try searching for drivers and helpful things at www.Versiontracker.com. I have an older Canon scanner, downloaded the Silverfast SE third-party scanning software, and I can scan well enough. (search versiontracker for 'canon scan') Maybe it's a fluke, but I have a Quattro USB, and although it craps out if the computer goes to sleep, it will pipe audio in and out otherwise. I'm running 10.3.4. I'd buy a nicer interface, but I'm mainly a musical hobbyist. Randyh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeton Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 About the only thing i can add to RandyH's fine post, is just a tip to also hit the "groups" section when you google your problems. 8/10 i find my answer in google groups instead of google web. good luck. Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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