iMovie '08 & iDVD: what's Up Doc!!!

iMovie '08 & iDVD

Well it is now in stores and on new Macs. It is a big change. I am reviewing David Pogue's book iMovie '08 & iDVD : The Missing Manual and I will have more later to say as I work through iLife 08.

But until then have a look what Mr. Pogue says about iMovie '08.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/17/apple-takes-a-step-back-with-imovie-08/
there are comments from over 200 other people (and counting) under this editorial type reading but before I looked through them I typed in my own to echo similar or different sentiments.

I haved used versions of iMovie to make videos concerning my travels. These have included my hosting trips to Caribbean, Europe, S. Africa to see total solar eclipses, videotaping 10 different types of hummingbirds south of Tucson, visiting Seattle and Vancouver and its aquariums and parks, stormchasing in KS, OK, NE, capturing the great brilliant Comet McNaught 1/10/2007 on video and much more. They came out pretty well. But that changed with trying to master complete DVDs recently.

I have had much trouble with iMovie 6 and iDVD 6. It was (1) difficult to connect with the videos I wanted to place on the DVDs; (2) quit the DVD process eventhough there was plenty of room on the DVD; (3) hard to decipher whether connected to mv files were the problem or what; (4) left parts of the video on the DVD but not others ; (5) even doing the one step feature did not work. Why have the books I have read so glowing and that there is trouble here?

That's why when iMovie and iDVD 08 came out a week or so ago, I thought that would solve my problems (when I would get the versions or find out possible remedies in his new book). But for many as Mr. Pogue says in this blog and his book that I am reviewing , it is a step backwards in many ways. And I am cringing even before I get past the introduction.

I might be wrong but I have a feeling that the problems that I have had with these two programs and DVD mastering is a problem for others as well. And I still have iMovie HD and iDVD 5 : The Missing Manual book here next to me . No matter how well I tried to make sense of it and another great book by iLife 06 by Heid, trying several times with the programs and the videos I have, I could not find the answers to my problems.

I mean sometimes, Apple , I think, makes things so elegant it actually makes things ----confusing. And I think despite all that is said about Apple and its machines and software (and I am a huge fan!), some PC users don't understand or want to understand it. And I have noticed some of this before but more so with the problems I have had with the previous versions of these two applications.

I like tinkering with the movies and not just splattering it in the computer and snapping on to a DVD, quick dirty but NOT NICE. I mean why show your DVDs unless they look good. But in my case lately, its not "why" it's "can't".

And maybe Steve Jobs heard that mac users were dissatified with DVD creations, so as an easy way out (and with the help of a tech designer , had a applicatin solution). Now we have these 08 versions which many can't understand (why this was done). And when I see Mr. Pogue echo these sentiments I wonder what is really going on?

Now I am stuck to either figuring out the previous version (which I have not been able to do for 2 or so years ) or making a go of this shread (or is it shrek) of iMovie or move to Final cut express or what?

I guess I will read more, look at the Missing Manual and more of Mr. Pogue's and the comments from other people in the book and take a look at iMovie ).

Step back, step forward who knows. I am still in the middle frozen until I figure out what do with videos and dvds next.

Dr. Eric Flescher, Olathe, KS(dreric1kansas@aol.com): DrEric1MacNews/Macsightings Blog : http://dreric1macnewsmacsightings.blogspot.com/ : editor MacsU.N.I.T.E. ( MacIntosh Users Network for Integrating Technology into Education):(Subscribe send email to :macsunitsubscribe@egroups.com)
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