The Future Is DV

( 2/24/00; 10:00 AM EST)
By Marty Cortinas, TechWeb

Back in the days when the Macintosh was scuffling around looking for its place in the market, one little spark set of a fire that raged for years. That spark was desktop publishing. That fire kept Apple warm for years, both at the consumer and professional levels.

Have you used iMovie? Tell us about it in threads.

In the years since, Apple has been searching for another spark, with varying levels of success. When Steve Jobs returned to the fold, he plunged right into the Internet with the wildly successful iMac and its portable sibling, the iBook. Apple will continue to have success on the Internet, but it will only be one of dozens of players. The market is wide open and limited only to the imagination of the competitors. But Jobs and Apple want more than that. They want to be the big dog.

With its recent hardware rollouts, including the new PowerBooks at Macworld Tokyo this month, Apple has shown it's bound and determined to rule the nascent world of desktop video. Apple has advantages in this space, not the least of which is the fact that it's pretty much defining the market right now. Here are some of its other pluses:

• Hardware. Apple is gearing nearly its entire lineup to handle digital video in one form or another. The G4 desktop machines are powerhouses, with the Velocity Engine (also known as Altivec) designed directly for handling resources hogs like graphics and video. The pro portables -- the PowerBooks -- aren't slouches, either. Although they don't sport the G4, they've got the fastest G3s available, along with FireWire connections and an S-video output port.

Apple will continue to have success on the Internet, but it will only be one of dozens of players.

On the consumer side, there's the iMac DV, with its DVD drive and FireWire connections. The exception in the Apple line is the iBook, but I'm willing to wager that the next generation will include FireWire at the least.

• Software. Apple has a two-tier strategy here, with Final Cut Pro for the serious video editors, and iMovie for the consumer and hobbyist set. Both are outstanding pieces of work, but what really sets them apart is the hardware. For example, iMovie is currently available only on the DV iMac. At first glance, this is a limitation. On the other hand, this lets Apple know exactly what setup the software will be running on, including processor, DVD drive, hard drive, and monitor. This makes for a much smoother experience, and minimizes configuration problems.

Final Cut Pro has similar advantages, but not quite in the same degree as iMovie. Engineers at least knew it would be running on a Mac that falls within certain performance levels.

• Connections. One word: FireWire. This just might be the key to the kingdom. You can make the grooviest video-editing hardware and software in the world, but it's not going to do anything until the raw material is in the machine. So how do you get it there? The easiest (and therefore best) way is to be able to download it directly from the device that recorded the material. Hence, FireWire, the connection standard of choice for most digital camcorders. Just plug it in and you're ready to go.

These are the big three reasons to watch Apple and desktop video, but there almost certainly will be more.

© 1998 CMP Media, Inc.