last week i bought a ibook for field work and i absolutely fell in love with it. On friday my PC died so i thought i'd take out the old visa and buy a 20" Intel Imac. I got one yesterday but it had about 7 dead pixels so nextbyte replaced the machine no questions asked..

As a wildlife ecologist who uses video a lot for research i was very keen to test out this computer's video editing capabilities. Obviously I am limited to Imovie for the time being but i am very impressed. I am using a Sony HDR-HC1 which in short is a HDV consumer video camera. So far i have only imported video into imovie which works in real-time! The only issue i came across is when i set the camera to output standard DV imovie still wanted HDV but that isn't a biggie considering it does HDV in real-time. I'm about to do some editing so i'll give you my thoughts on how that goes.

I can't wait to test out FCP Universal

If anyone has any questions, i'll be happy to answer them

Machine Specs
-------------------
Intel Imac 20" 512 MB RAM, 128 MB Video Memory (it has 1 GB but i hadn't put the second stick in properly)

great to hear!

I'll take you up on that!

Have you noticed any of these bugs I've heard about from others:

- Any issues with sleep?
- Like it just doesn't wake from sleep?
- Like wireless networks not being visible after waking the machine from sleep?
- Volume/eject keys on keyboard not working after sleep/dim?
- Very slow wireless internet connection?
- Photobooth/iSight camera not working properly?
- USB ports that sometimes don't work at all?
- Computer hanging, when attempting a restart?
- Very long lag when using Apple remote (like up to a half a minute)?
- Loud drive noise when a CD is inside?
- Seemlngly random cracking/popping noises from speakers?

I was ready to buy one of these machines, but all these bug reports put me off for now. I'd love to know if you actually haven't experienced any of them though, because it might convince me to change my mind!

Thanks,
g.

i havent had any of those issues on my imac
mine has been flawless

I've been trialling a 17" model and I've experienced freezes and unresponsiveness to the remote control. These have been infrequent however.

That's encouraging iSlayer - what config is yours?

If I could know that I'll get a bugfree machine, I'd do it straight away, but there are so few completely satisfied reports compared to unsatisfied ones, that it makes me feel reluctant. It will be a work machine so things like slow internet and losing airport signals etc are significant for me.

g.

I'll take you up on that!

Have you noticed any of these bugs I've heard about from others:

- Any issues with sleep?
Nope
- Like it just doesn't wake from sleep?
Nope
- Like wireless networks not being visible after waking the machine from sleep?
Nope
- Volume/eject keys on keyboard not working after sleep/dim?
Nope
- Very slow wireless internet connection?
Kind of, it is definately slower than using wired lan, but it wasn't any slower than my Ibook G4. Just the slowness i associate with wireless
- Photobooth/iSight camera not working properly?
Nope
- USB ports that sometimes don't work at all?
About 3 times my keyboard has stopped working, i haven't worked out if it is the keyboard or the usb port. Unplugging it and plugging it back then it works fine so I haven't troubleshooted the problem any further.
- Computer hanging, when attempting a restart?
Nope
- Very long lag when using Apple remote (like up to a half a minute)?
When i first got the machine i did experience some lag but it fires up in less than a second these days.
- Loud drive noise when a CD is inside?
Nope
- Seemlngly random cracking/popping noises from speakers?
Nope

I was ready to buy one of these machines, but all these bug reports put me off for now. I'd love to know if you actually haven't experienced any of them though, because it might convince me to change my mind!

Overall I have been very happy with my purchase, there are a couple of issues that are somewhat annoying.

1. I can't connect to the trailer server through frontrow. However it works fine using a browser.
That is the only "bug" I have experienced.

2. Many plugins for browsers aren't universal. It is all well to have universal browsers but i need flash and flip for mac isn't universal either which is hampering my attempts to watch the cricket via extremely dodgy streams. That will all change soon though..





Thanks,
g.

standard 17" with 2gb of ram added

I thought this was just me.

Got a net 17" intel mac today and was trying out frontrow. Played around for a bit (damn apple movie trailer site not responding problem) then went back to installing stuff. Tried having another play and nothing happened...oh well and went back to installing stuff. Halfway through Frontrow started, went back and forth then exited again...this was about 2 minutes after I put down the remote.

The only other weird thing I've noticed is the number of people peering into my office to see the Mac (one person asked "where is the computer" :lol: )

Have you installed all the updates, that fixed my lag issue but not the server not responding issue.

My 20" iMac arrived on Monday. After installing the complete Final cut production suite the only problems are that DVD studio doesn't display buttons (the button bar across the top of the window is blank) although it will build, format and burn a project quite happily from the drop down menus. Motion 2 crashes as soon as it opens, but I've read on other boards that this is to be expected until the UB arrives.

Has anyone else had better luck than me with DVD studio 4 or Motion 2 ?

Google earth has a problem painting the mouse pointer correctly, although this may be a video driver issue. It appears as a white box instead of a pointer. Still works though.

Other than that, everything that has a UB update runs extremely well, especially Doom 3 at ultra high quality settings (it hurts to think that Battlefield 1942 will never be UB).

I'm yet to fill the second ram slot and see what true dual channel memory bandwidth will offer.

Had mine for 10 days now and it hasn't exhibited any of those problems. 17" Intel iMac, stock config

I have Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II and I hear popping noises everytime i start-up....

:angry:

I support a several of these machines - from the 17" and 20" Rev A, to the G5 with inbuilt camera up to the latest Core Duo. I have used a 17" Rev A since October 2004 as my main work machine.

Approx numbers: time frame Oct 2004 - present

4 x 17" Rev A G5
2 x 17" Rev B G5
2 x 17" in built camera G5

6 x 20" (3 x Rev A) G5
3 x 17" Core Duo

In short:

o Great machine to work with
o All 3 of the Rev A 20" had power supply and/or logic board replacements
o 1 17" Rev B has had p/s and logic board replaced
o Rest have been trouble-free
o Core Duos so far have had no issues

So, verdict? Teething troubles, especially Rev A 20". Now appears to have been fixed, with one exception. All repairs under warranty and done promptly.

Damian

I'm typing this on a brand new 20" iMac (stock config), sadly it is my sister's. :P

I must say that I have experienced the lag on Front Row too, but that was when I was playing with it. i.e. starting and turning it off again and again.

I have not exeperienced any of the other problems.

OMG, this screen is so much larger then my 15" powerbook. It is so much brighter, I'm using it on the lowest setting, in a dim room, and it still feels so bright.