Something Like Ifoedit For Mac
A roundup of 7 Mac mini alternatives is what we’ve cooked up for you today, dressed in small form factors and packing a good deal of hardware. The device in question does a fine job as a living room PC and it has quite a decent offering of specifications as well. However, not everyone is accustomed to the OS X platform and some might prefer Windows instead. Apart from this, the Apple-made compact desktop might just be out of your desired price range.
Well, fret not – The list below comprises of both, budget-oriented as well as high performance setups that cater to various needs ranging from home entertainment to gaming. So go ahead and have a look. Intel NUC BOXDC3217BY: There was a time where high performance computing meant large setups. But no more – The NUC which stands for the ‘Next Unit of Computing’ is the latest to roll out through Intel’s stable. Encased within its compact form factor of 4.59 x 4.41 x 1.55 inches is a 4- x 4-inch motherboard that has a Core i3 3217U processor operating at 1.8GHz soldered down. With the third generation CPU on-board, you’d be able to implement this rig as a home theater system where music and videos can be enjoyed on an HDTV.
The main board basically supports up to 16GB DDR3 RAM and it comes with a full-size mini PCI Express slot with mSATA support and a half-size one too. Where ports are concerned, you’ll have Thunderbolt, HDMI 1.4a output and 5 USB 2.0 sockets. Price: $314.99 2. MSI Wind Box DC110: The Wind Box DC110 is the most affordable option on today’s computers like Mac mini roster. Its small design footprint means you can conveniently place it anywhere in the house. And owing to the inclusion of a VGA as well as an HDMI port, the device can be connected to a monitor or even an HDTV.
MSI is shipping the PC with Windows 8 pre-installed, giving you the latest there is from Microsoft. A Celeron 847 dual core processor powers it up and there’s 2GB of DDR3 RAM on-board which can be upgraded to 4GB max. Also fitted within dimensions of 191.8mm x 150.93mm x 34.94mm are a couple of USB 2.0 ports, a 2.5-inch SATA II 320GB 5400 RPM HDD, a LAN socket and a 4-in-1 card reader.
Price: £269.99 3. Samsung Series 3 Chromebox: The Series 3 Chromebox was initially launched back in May last year. However, it was quite similar in design compared to Apple’s compact PC. A redesigned version was introduced back in January, albeit the internal specifications have remained untouched. As you probably know, the Chrome OS comes pre-loaded with the device and it tags along various enhancements like built-in virus protection, automatic updates and a quick boot time that sums up to mere seconds. Where hardware is concerned, you’ll find a Celeron B840 processor on the inside with a clock speed of 1.9GHz.
Memory needs are taken care of by 4GB DDR3 RAM and a 16GB SSD. Other features include 6 USB 2.0 ports, audio output, Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n amongst others. Price: $329.99 4. Asus EeeBox PC EB1505: Through this roster, we’re not only giving you a list of PCs similar to Mac mini, but also various rigs that bring in enhanced features that aren’t available in the former.
The EeeBox PC EB1505 is one such system that incorporates a slot-in Supermulti DVD RW drive. And if you want to kick things up a notch, the company is offering an optional Blu-ray disc combo as well. At 39mm thick, the device is fitted with a plethora of components such as 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB HDD, a 4-in-1 card reader, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi, HDMI output and much more. Delivering the computing juice is yet again the highly efficient and power-friendly Celeron 847 1.1GHz processor clubbed with integrated Intel HD Graphics. Windows 8 is the OS you’ll received bundled with the device. Price: £369.69 5.
Acer Revo RL80-UR318: To describe the Revo RL80-UR318 in a single sentence, we’d have to say that it’s got the looks and a good deal of hardware fitted within a compact form factor that measures 2.1 x 8.3 x 8.3 inches. The exterior is sprayed with a matte black finish, while physical buttons such as the copper-color power key and the volume wheel complement its stylish appearance. The device runs on Microsoft’s latest OS out of the box and you’ll find a1.5GHz dual core i3 2377M processor carrying the load with up to 8GB of RAM (4GB is standard) for assistance. Other features include a DVD writer, 500GB HDD storage, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-FI, Gigabit Ethernet and a total of 6 USB ports. Price: $499.99 6. Lenovo IdeaCentre Q190: Like most other systems in the computers like Mac mini lineup, the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q190 comes with a dock stand. That means you’ll be able to position it as a tower just besides your display.
Something Like Ifoedit For Mac Os
Available in 3 options, the base and the mid variants will provide you with a Celeron 887 CPU clocked at 1.5GHz, 4GB of RAM and a USB powered keyboard as well as mouse. The high-end version packs a second generation i3 2365M processor, 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM and a wireless remote that has a backlit keyboard integrated. Storage options start from 500GB and go all the way up to 1TB, while the top-tier choice even sports a Blu-ray combo drive. Common attributes include Wi-Fi, HDMI, integrated HD Graphics, a copy Windows 8 64-bit and a 6-in-1 card reader. Price: Starts at $335.20 7.
ASRock VisionX 321B: To end this compilation, we’ve got a beefy setup which comes through the doors of ASRock. Being part of the VisionX series, the 321B compact computer knows how to pack a punch by delivering high performance and discrete graphics through the inclusion of a Core i5 3210M Ivy Bridge CPU and a Radeon HD7850M GPU. We wouldn’t quite call it a desktop PC as the hardware incorporated here are all mobile components. Needless to say, they’re highly capable ones.
You’ll also get a series of connectivity options such as LAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 or 3.0 HS, USB 3.0, a 4-in-1 card reader and HDMI output. And amongst all these, the company has found space to fit in a Blu-ray combo drive as well. Price: $879.99 Conclusion: These 7 Mac mini alternatives ought to narrow down your choices as they’re all viable options which aren’t too expensive and high in performance. If you’re looking for a setup to fuel your entertainment needs such as a, we’d suggest you take the adventurous road and get your hands on a few developer boards like the Raspberry Pi or the Arndale Board.
Or, you could opt for those plug-n-play Android dongles that can run Linux too. Before we drop the curtains on this post, we’d like to know which of the aforementioned compact PCs managed to grab your attention. Also, if you’ve got a few suggestions, be sure to shoot them our way.
I have researched and read the forums but have found so solution to this. I have exported as quicktime reference, quicktime movie, used widescreen / native. The project is edited and shot widescreen, but when I import it into sonic dvd, it turns to 4:3.
Yes, project settings, movie display. Everything is set to 16:9.
I'd call Sonic and Avid, but they charge for support. Funny, it is a problem with their software and they charge me to get help. Please, anyone, I am SOOOOOOO frustrated!!!!
Thanks, Todd. Firstly, the problem that you're having is absolutely nothing to do with DVCpro. Do not letterbox your vision prior to output. That will ensure that when you play your media on a true 16x9 display you will have a small envelope-sized picture in the centre of a black screen. While I don't use Sonic, if you have the full Avid install you will have Sorenson, which I use. The approach for Sorenson is to export a QT ref file from Avid and compress in Sorenson to MPEG2, setting your compression there to 16:9 format.
Use the MPEG file that creates to author your DVD in whatever application you sue (including Sonic). It will then play letterboxed on a 4x3 screen and fullscreen on a 16x9 monitor. If you want to compress in Sonic given that this is an issue that all companies supplying this type of software have had to address, I find it hard to believe that there isn't a similar setting there too. If you go the Sorenson path and you're working with HDV originals mixdown to DNxHD prior to export your QT ref.
You may also find that you need to export at RGB levels, not 601/709. The approach for Sorenson is to export a QT ref file from Avid and compress in Sorenson to MPEG2, setting your compression there to 16:9 format.
This is so helpful to the problem I've been facing lately. I have a project I shot on HDV and have exported as a QTRef then dropped into Avid DVD. When I've burned off a DVD using the 16:9 setting the final looks great on my Widescreen computer monitor, but playing it on a Full Screen TV the DVD player displays a 'pan and scan' filling the TV frame with the very center of my widescreen footage. The only thing I could find in Avid DVD to fix that problem was to export the timeline as a 4:3 image whhich gave a letterboxed effect on the TV, but caused the 'envelope' effect mentioned above on my Widescreen monitor. All this to say, Your suggestion of using Sorenson to write the MPEG 2 in 16:9 seems like the answer I'm looking for. My only question is when I'm looking at the settings in Sorenson I see the 'Display Aspect Ratio' settings are either 'Unconstrained' or 'Letterbox or Pillar' the third option of 'maintain Aspect Ratio' is greyed out.
Which of these settings do I want to get the final effect of filling a Widescreen Display while letterboxing and fullscreen display? I would greatly appreciate any help and advice.
Something Like Ifoedit For Mac
I've spent so much time lately waiting for burns and exports that have turned out wrong. This behavior could actually be due to a setting on the TV itself. Boy do I feel sheepish. Yws that was the answer! I put in one of my previous drafts let the movie start playing and saw the same old Pan and Scan, hit the DVD player's menu button (not disc menu) and in the display window I found found a setting that was set on 'Pan and Scan' but could be changed to 'Letterbox' That's what I did and voila, I had a letterboxed image. It was beautiful! I'd just like to note for future readers who may be having the same issue, this is the DVD player I use all the time to watch widescreen movies on, I don't know why there is a difference between the widescreen I burned at home versus the ones I buy at Walmart, but they have always displayed properly.
I just mention this because for this very reason I was skeptical that this this is where my problem was. Thanks so much to Pheral and all the users who have helped me sort this out! I don't know why there is a difference between the widescreen I burned at home versus the ones I buy at Walmart, but they have always displayed properly.Don't pat yourself on the back too soon then. If that's the case you still have a problem. A correctly flagged disk will behave in exactly the same way as the commercial product.
To see if your discs are correctly authored you could try a little utility called. With that program, open a disc that you've burned and navigate to VIDEOTS VIDEOTS.IFO. A whole stack of data will appear in the lower window.
You will see both menu and title data for the DVD. The menu data may say something like: Video: MPEG-2 720x576 (PAL) (PAL 625/50) (4:3) (not specified perm.display) or Video: MPEG-2 720x480 (NTSC) (NTSC 525/60) (4:3) (not specified perm.display) To a degree this doesn't matter. You can have 4:3 menus on 16:9 discs and NTSC menus on PAL discs. What is important is the information in the video title sets. For example, the commercial disc that I'm currently looking at has the following entry for title 1. Title Set 1: VTS1 Video: MPEG-2 720x480 (NTSC) (NTSC 525/60) (16:9) (letterboxed) VTS1 Audio 1: English (Dolby AC-3) 2ch 48Kbps DRC In comparison a disc that I burned has the following entry for title 1. Title Set 1: VTS1 Video: MPEG-2 720x576 (PAL) (PAL 625/50) (16:9) (letterboxed) VTS1 Audio 1: English (Dolby AC-3) 2ch 48Kbps DRC Apart from the different television standards, both are identified as 16x9 letterboxed.
This means that the full frame will be used, but that it will be played back letterboxed on a 4x3 display and full screen on a 16x9 display. I can absolutely guarantee from what you have just posted that yours will not be the same. The most likely configuration will be like the following. VTS1 Video: MPEG-2 720x480 (NTSC) (NTSC 525/60) (4:3) (not specified perm.display) In other words you are producing an NTSC 4x3 DVD which you are then adjusting during playback to give you the display that you need. That's OK as long as you are not giving those DVDs to anyone else. If you do they will just regard it as a faulty DVD.
You can use IfoEdit to modify the IFO files on the DVD to correct the problem. To do so would in my opinion be dumb. It's far better to supply the correct media in the first place. The steps to follow are: 1. Export either a QTref (preferred) or QT file of your program.
It will be flagged as 4x3. Open it in the compression software you prefer.
VERY IMPORTANT: Set up the compressor to create a 16x9 file. Compress your program to MPEG-2. Import that MPEG-2 file and its associated audio into your authoring software.
Author your DVD and burn a tester onto a rewritable disc. Check your disc. If it doesn't perform as a commercial DVD does, check the steps above and try again. Long post, but a lot of information to digest. I hope that some of it helps.
Jwlr, Thanks for this long post. It is helpful. If nothing else it gives me a way to look at the DVD files and understand the way things SHOULD be. I am experimenting now to see if Ifoedit will let me check the formatting from a write file on the hard drive rather than burning to a disc (mostly just for curiosity.) I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your helpfulness. I really meant to get back to this sooner, but got busy with other projects. I am being brought back now to a previous question, in Sonernson does anyoen know if I should be using the option for 'unconstrained' or 'letterboxed/pillar' Also I have been having trouble with m2v files imported into Avid DVD. The video plays 'upside down' and flashes.
This problem seems to be consistent with the final DVD as well as in the authoring software, I wonder if anyone knows where I'm going wrong here. Thanks everyone for your help, Jonny.