Relief after Apple’s segregation of keyboards in the USA

If you read my recent article Apple USA unfortunately segregates Mac Mini’s keyboard options here in ProVideo Coalition magazine, you may now feel relief. After exploring multiple sources, I have fortunately located a USA-based company that is willing and able to offer both versions of the official Apple aluminum keyboards with the Spanish ISO layout. When I say “both versions”, I mean both the wired (USB) version with numeric keyboard, and the wireless (Bluetooth) version without the numeric keyboard. Now Apple users in the USA who choose the Mac Mini and would like an official Apple Spanish keyboard (with which Apple USA does not currently offer any Spanish keyboard option) can order their desired keyboard from this company. Of course, this also applies if you want a replacement keyboard for your iMac or MacPro, or if you want an external keyboard for a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro, regardless of whether the computer currently has a Spanish ISO or any other type of keymap, and regardless of whether you run your system in English (or in any other language).

Roland QUAD-CAPTURE: the little sister of the OCTA-CAPTURE

ProVideo Coalition readers who are into audio gadgets probably read my recent full review about the OCTA-CAPTURE from Roland. This article is about the OCTA-CAPTURE’s little sister, the QUAD-CAPTURE, and covers the differences between the two units, as well as its relative preamp and ADC (analog>digital conversion) quality compared with similar devices. Both of the two sisters connect to a computer via USB. One of the first things you’ll notice is that the QUAD-CAPTURE’s name insinuates more microphone inputs than it really has.

Why FCP X’s secondary monitor should be 1920x1200, not 1920x1080

While the jury is still out as to whether we can actually trust a calibrated Rec.709 or sRGB monitor connected directly to a Mac for critical gamma and color evaluation for grading from Final Cut Pro X (the way we can do conditionally as explained in my other articles with Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and 5.5), some editors who don’t yet demand that capability (or are awaiting complete integration between FCP X and the professional i/o devices from AJA, Blackmagic, Matrox, or MOTU) are looking to purchase a second monitor to use that feature in FCP X. Of course, I’m referring to the feature which Apple called “Digital Cinema Display” in classic FCP jargon, which displayed your “Canvas” (“program monitor” in traditional pro video jargon, plus some other functions) full screen onto a secondary monitor connected directly to your Mac computer. In FCP X, the jargon has changed, so it’s called showing your “Viewer” on a secondary monitor. In this article, I’ll explain why (even though you’re probably editing 1080p) your secondary monitor for FCP X should be 1920x1200, not 1920x1080. I’ll also recommend some monitor candidates for that.

Apple USA unfortunately segregates Mac Mini’s keyboard options

Apple is the most flexible of all computer manufacturers in the USA with its wonderful policy of offering all of the Apple computers with whichever keyboard the customer wants with a new BTO (built-to-order) computer purchase. Well, I should say almost all of them. The fact is that when ordering a BTO Mac from Apple USA’s online store at store.Apple.com (or via an Apple dealer that has access to BTO Macs), you can select your choice of keyboard, as long as it is an iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac Pro (tower). However, now that the Mac Mini has become such an attractive platform for professional video editing systems (see my related article about that), I have several disappointed consulting clients who are getting undesired answers when they called Apple USA’s 800 number after seeing incomplete keyboard options for the Mac Mini on the website.

Mac Mini w/Thunderbolt: preferred platform for many new editing systems

Whether they are planning to edit video with software from Adobe, Apple, or Avid, the new Mac Mini with Thunderbolt has become the preferred platform for many people, including several of my consulting clients who are tired of waiting for new MacPros to be released and can’t stand the glare from the ultra-glossy iMac. The Thunderbolt capabilities in the new Mac Mini (helpful for fast external RAIDs and the upcoming professional interfaces from AJA, Blackmagic, and Matrox) together with the available i7 processor and 8GB —or even 16GB— RAM upgrades from third-parties, plus direct dual monitor capability (which gives the editor the choice to purchase one or two high-quality matte displays) really seem to make the Mac Mini much more sensible for serious audio/video editing than in the past. In this article, I’ll cover all of the details about such a system.

Review: Roland OCTA-CAPTURE 8/10-channel USB 2.0 audio interface

Many of the affordable pro audio interfaces that are available on the market have a maximum of two balanced microphone inputs, and few of them include hardware-based limiting, compression, or gating. Among the special features of Roland’s OCTA-CAPTURE is the fact that it contains 10 total audio inputs, of which 8 are balanced microphone inputs. The OCTA-CAPTURE allows recording to a standalone audio recorder and/or to a computer. At least when used with a computer and a compatible piece of audio software, the operator can even record all of the available inputs on individual tracks, which provides extra flexibility in post-production, i.e. to mute a cough, or to re-adjust volume or equalization of any particular source after-the-fact without affecting any other source recorded simultaneously. The OCTA-CAPTURE also features onboard compression and gating. In this article, I’ll cover the OCTA-CAPTURE’s features, setup, preamp quality, compatible audio software, and then offer my conclusions.

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