Rotten Apple

**The Gentleman Scamp** · 14-12-2007, 02:04 PM

I use i-movies and I use it very well, but sadly when my debut business project exceeded 25 minutes it started to judder and stutter in the timeline, and for the past week, Thailands top Apple experts have tried everything to resolve the problem - reinstalling, changing machines (it is smooth as silk on even lower spec machines) and even upgrading to Leopard, but it is a mystery and my local Apple rep has reached the conclusion that I am one of the unlucky ones who got one of the few MacBook pros of 2006 that couldn't handle anything ambitious in i-movie.

Due to the confidence installed in me regarding Apple and their popularity with those in the media industry, I didn't sign up to Applecare, though this was also down to the fact that I move around a lot and do not have a credit card.

I will collect my MBP today minus Photoshop and Final Cut which I can't get back as they were installed as a kind favour by the salesman 19 months ago so I don't have the install disks - so now, instead of completing my customers job, my first job, and enjoying a nice Christmas and prosperous new year with new work to look forward to (my customer knows plenty of potential customers) - I have enough money to survive for about two weeks if I am careful and then nothing.

I invested with confidence a machine that SHOULD be capable of utilising my creativity to produce a full length wedding or party movie for a customer, but unluckily for me I got a duff model and there's nothing I can do about it.

Thanks to Apple my business has fallen at the first hurdle, I have nothing but more problems to look forward to and I can only imagine the extravagant Christmas Steve Jobs will be enjoying.

I was so proud to be an Apple owner 18 months ago, I stood proud against the PC nay sayers who told me Apple were over rated, so you can imagine how dissapointed, angry and let down I feel by this company.

I understand it is down to me to get Applecare (it's too late now it's out of warranty) but if I have a 'rotten Apple' then warranty or not, surely Apple should be responsible if this is a problem that the MBP was 'born with' as my Apple rep has implied.

Apparently when they first came out some of them melted or had exploding batteries and had to be recalled, that can't be down to the customer to pay for. My Apple rep, after some phone calls, discovered that my i-movie glitch was exclusive only to a batch of MBP's and would only have gone out to an unlucky few customers - most of which will never realise the glitch as they won't need i-movies for anything too ambitious - if they use it at all.

Shouldn't it be Apple that tests it's products to the limit before releasing them instead of rushing to get them into the shops in excitement over their latest creation? That's not an accusation by the way, just something I heard that may or may not be true but for the past week I've been inclined to believe it.

I will be picking it up today and unless I can merge two i-movie projects into one (which I think I tried before and it doesn't work) - then I will have to offer my client a discount and an apology and make it a two disc movie, which seems a bit silly for something that will be about an hour long.

I was sold a product as a guinea pig - AND paying top whack for it as in early 2006 it had just come out.

What would you do in my situation? ..I will of course not give up and I will get the project done at whatever cost so that goes without saying.

**Sir Burr** · 14-12-2007, 02:26 PM

Buy another computer after selling the Apple?

**dirtydog** · 14-12-2007, 02:31 PM

Buy a pc after finding some mug to buy your apple

I think driventowin is in the market for a laptop

**Sir Burr** · 14-12-2007, 02:32 PM

Must be an echo in here......

**MeMock** · 14-12-2007, 02:38 PM

Sounds like you have a friendly apple tech who has tried everything to help you.

To help you get over this initial hurdle (first major customer) why not borrow one of the shops computers to finish the job?

bkkmadness · 14-12-2007, 03:15 PM

If I'd been sold a dodgy Apple computer and could confirm it was part of a bad batch then I would be taking it further and seeing what could be done about it.

I'd also be looking for a second opinion as to what could be wrong with it from a different Apple Rep because he might just be talking out of his arse. I know a few people that use Apple's to edit with and never heard of such problems.

Can you not reinstall a new version of Final Cut to finish the vid?

Only 2 weeks of cash left Scamp, what happened to the inheritance?

**Driventowin** · 14-12-2007, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Buy a pc after finding some mug to buy your apple

I think driventowin is in the market for a laptop

Thanks for considerately thinking of me DD but as I mentioned previously I have all the computers I need thank you....

**Abandon** · 14-12-2007, 04:23 PM

The Pope prays for world peace every Easter. The fact that it's never happened, has not stopped him being Catholic.

Same for Mac users. They are always let down by hardware or software, yet are still believers.

**El Gibbon** · 15-12-2007, 10:14 AM

Why bother with suggestions for Mr. Scamp? He ignores everything on every thread where he's begging for info.

Isn't this the same guy that was deciding on what to do with his inheritance? Maybe build a house for the hicks in PI?..... WTF... another troll.

E. G.

**The Gentleman Scamp** · 15-12-2007, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by MeMock

why not borrow one of the shops computers to finish the job?

I very much doubt that would be possible.

Originally Posted by Bkkmadness

If I'd been sold a dodgy Apple computer and could confirm it was part of a bad batch then I would be taking it further and seeing what could be done about it.

I will be.

I'd also be looking for a second opinion as to what could be wrong with it from a different Apple Rep because he might just be talking out of his arse. I know a few people that use Apple's to edit with and never heard of such problems.

The Apple guy wasthe most genuine and helpful Apple guy I have met since I bought my Mac. he has been on the phone to technicians in Bangkok and California and it is a problem so rare it would have only affected a small batch of machies.

The problem is still there but he has upgraded my software for free and says I am entitles to a free replacement battery as mine was from a dodgy batch... I have no gripe with the Apple guy.

Can you not reinstall a new version of Final Cut to finish the vid?

The vid is in i-movies, I need to get the new FCP - for free if possible.

Only 2 weeks of cash left Scamp, what happened to the inheritance

Nothing happened to it, and nothing is going to happen to it (until house prices in UK fall)

Originally Posted by El Gibbon

Why bother with suggestions for Mr. Scamp? He ignores everything on every thread where he's begging for info.

Isn't this the same guy that was deciding on what to do with his inheritance? Maybe build a house for the hicks in PI?..... WTF... another troll.

E. G.

You really are a miserable sod aren't you Gibbon, when I did that TD Avatar movie on my Mac I gave you the best treatment and ever since you have followed me around grumping and accusing me of being a troll.

I took your advice on the visa run 6 months ago but had to cancel due to a minor emergency - maybe you are the bad tempered, bad attitude visa Phil that does the runs.

**kingwilly** · 15-12-2007, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

capable of utilising my creativity to produce

you are so full of shite!

**kingwilly** · 15-12-2007, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

but had to cancel due to a minor emergency

emergency?

wot like Sandra refused to give u a blow job....

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

have followed me around grumping and accusing me of being a troll.

cos u fcking well are, and not even all that ingenious either.

**The Gentleman Scamp** · 15-12-2007, 11:57 AM

This thread is turning into a knob magnet.

Come back Maddie - get this back on track.

**kingwilly** · 15-12-2007, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

This thread is turning into a knob magnet.

starts with the OP really.

Rotten Apple

yes you are!

**peterpan** · 15-12-2007, 08:58 PM

TGS, I like some of postings and I am a little envious of your rampant imagination, but you are such a fvcking Drama Queen.
Are you like that is real life ?

**mrsquirrel** · 17-12-2007, 04:27 AM

Was the Apple shop in Thailand. If so I wouldn't believe a word the lad said to me. Sounds like they don't know what is wrong.

How much memory do you have? To render large movie files you will be needing 2GB+ 4GB would be more like it.

I very much doubt Apple released a batch of MBPs with faults that stopped them using I-movies.

BTW I-movies is the freebie shit that comes with a Mac. Professionals don't use it. It's for home users.

bkkmadness · 17-12-2007, 04:37 AM

^ Well this is what I was thinking, the apple guy was spinning him a line, so not a bad idea to get a second opinion.

Rendering movies takes a lot of juice, what's the full set up you have Scamp?

ps. Did the squirrel dare call Scamp unprofessional?

**mrsquirrel** · 17-12-2007, 08:12 AM

Apple - Support - Discussions - Final cut studio 2 & Leopard ...

Apple - Support - Discussions - Movie File stutters like **** - Not ...

How much HDD space do you have free as well?

I would try to reduce complexity of your project by splitting it into muliple, smaller segments, each a separate project of maybe 10 - 20 minutes only. You can assemble it back together into one large movie with iDVD later. That also lets you allocate the segments easily to two DVDs if it doesn't fit on just one. As has already been mentioned, if it gets much longer than 1 hour, consider splitting it into two DVDs, for better quality.

Regarding moving to either Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express... When you export from iMovie, you are not exporting a project. You are rendering your movie into one large DV file. When you import that into Final Cut, you get one big clip with one video track and two audio tracks. All your clips will be merged together, all effects, transitions and titles rendered (meaning you can't change them anymore), and all unused portions of your source clips are discarded.

**kayo** · 17-12-2007, 08:38 AM

Why does that silly Fruit cake company pre-cede every freckin' thing they do with "i"?

I mean, it was cute as a novelty for about 2.4 minutes when they came out with the i-pod, but WTF???

i-tunes, i-dvd, i-movies, i-vdo, i-FKNSuK as a computer.....

....

i-need.to.feckin'growup.

**Butterfly** · 18-12-2007, 09:59 AM

Scampy you seem to be blaming Apple and everyone else for your problems, but it's not, it's all your fault.

First, you have been told to buy a PC, not a Mac, even for Video Editing. Nobody, I repeat, nobody serious in the industry is using Mac anymore, PC do a better job, that's why. Macs are for pretty "marketing ladies" who want to impress their clients when doing a presentation. A few "pros" can manage iMovie but at what cost ? they are the exceptions, not the rule.

Second, you took your Mac to a repair shop without doing backup first, assuming that the tech guy will do it for you, with all your client files due in a few days. I mean what kind of stupid move is that ? to make things worse, you assumed that adding more RAM or disk space will fix things, while in reality Macs can't handle large files, the only way to do it is through fiberoptic network disk because the disk controller on Macs can't hack it. The batch excuse is not an excuse for an inferior machine.

Third, you waited 5 weeks to act, only a few days before the deadline to actually do something. I mean, are you real ? you did the first 25min and then nothing for 5 weeks !!! and then you took all your precious client files and hand them over to a clueless Thai monkey on Silom who then disappeared for 3 days and wouldn't answer your calls ??? I mean that got to take the prize of something, or are you really that clueless ? Blake7 is shaking his head in disbelieve.

I have been told that the first 25min looked great, so it's all a waste really, because the client will not get the DVDs on time now for Christmas, and you lost another 100,000 THB

**kingwilly** · 18-12-2007, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Scampy you seem to be blaming Apple and everyone else for your problems, but it's not, it's all your fault.

aint that always the case!?

**kingwilly** · 18-12-2007, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Butterfly

because the client will not get the DVDs on time now for Christmas, and you lost another 100,000 THB

**The Ghost Of The Moog** · 23-12-2007, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Blake7 is shaking his head in disbelieve.

Given that both TGS and Butterfly customarily have their heads and tongues between Blake 7's buttocks, I don't see how they can make any assessment of the motion of his cranium.

**britmaveric** · 23-12-2007, 11:13 PM

Should have bought a pc, now you are fked.

**Tao** · 25-12-2007, 10:40 PM

Definitely sounds like a RAM problem. Ever thought of taking RAM out rather than adding more? Have you added any RAM you bought from Pantip or other places of that ilk? If you have, take those ones out first. Put back the originals if you still have them.

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