Single resource for video software capability

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Tim Murray - 11 May 2005 02:53 GMT

As I sit and look at my applications list, I think, "okay, I have
such-and-such media, and my goal is such-and-such. Do I use HandBrake,
iMovie, iDVD, MacTheRipper, forty-two, ffmpegX, DVDRemaster, DVD2oneX, MPEG
Streamclip, DivX Doctor, Popcorn, Toast, QuickTime Pro, or MPEG2 Works?" ...
the list goes on and on.

Anyone know of somewhere where someone has put together a chart of video
software capability? There are so many good products out there, but there are
SO many that I can't remember which product does what. I have to actually
open a few and play around to see what they do.

Guess I'm getting too old. Think I'll dig my dad's slide project out of the
closet. At least I can remember what it does.

If there is no resource, that would be a good project for someone to work on.
If I knew more about codecs and formats I'd do it myself.

Reply to this Message

DJ Craig - 11 May 2005 03:36 GMT

I have the same trouble with lots of types of software, particularly
Macromedia and Adobe software. Adobe Pagemaker, Illustrator, InDesign,
InCopy, Macromedia Freehand, Authorware, etc, they all seem to be for
the same thing. And your problem isn't getting old, because I'm 14.

Reply to this Message

Miguel Cruz - 11 May 2005 07:45 GMT

> I have the same trouble with lots of types of software, particularly
> Macromedia and Adobe software. Adobe Pagemaker, Illustrator, InDesign,
> InCopy, Macromedia Freehand, Authorware, etc, they all seem to be for
> the same thing.

I'll try to help out a little. Illustrator is for opening Illustrator-format
documents and re-saving them in a usable format so that you can open them in
Freehand and work on them properly.

> And your problem isn't getting old, because I'm 14.

If you can't see the difference between Illustrator and InDesign, maybe your
problem is that you're too young?

miguel

Signature

Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

Reply to this Message

Zaphod B - 11 May 2005 09:03 GMT

> > I have the same trouble with lots of types of software, particularly
> > Macromedia and Adobe software. Adobe Pagemaker, Illustrator, InDesign,
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> documents and re-saving them in a usable format so that you can open them in
> Freehand and work on them properly.

Hm. Irony is a fine art, not always easy in ASCII. Take care. ;-)

> > And your problem isn't getting old, because I'm 14.
>
> If you can't see the difference between Illustrator and InDesign, maybe your
> problem is that you're too young?

What he and the OP are saying is a valid point, I think.

AFAIU it's about selecting the right tool for the job, when so many
tools seem to do (almost) the same thing in so many cases. And it isn't
easy to do, in many instances.

It is fairly obvious that you (MC) prefer Freehand to Illustrator, but
(seriously) those two seem pretty much overlapping to an outside
observer, as do Quark Xpress and InDesign, etc - see the thread. Whether
or not one is better for a particular task is what the OP and DJC are
asking for.

I haven't seen such a listing for a long time that was close to being
objective, though I've seen many that are sponsored by one or the other
vendor, or by someone with vested interets or who is just bigoted. I
think your best bet would be to look at more than one website or
magazine devoted to your kinds of apps and form your own conclusions,
really.

Signature

/Z
Remove NOT..INVALID to email

Reply to this Message

Miguel Cruz - 11 May 2005 12:09 GMT

>>> I have the same trouble with lots of types of software, particularly
>>> Macromedia and Adobe software. Adobe Pagemaker, Illustrator, InDesign,
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> or not one is better for a particular task is what the OP and DJC are
> asking for.

Well, two different types of comparisons are being conflated here. Sure,
Freehand and Illustrator are aimed at roughly the same sorts of tasks.

But Freehand and InDesign are not. DJ Craig grouped them all together
without seeming to understand the broad categories that vendors and
observers alike can probably agree on.

InDesign and QuarkXPress are page layout programs optimized for laying out
multipage text-intensive publications. Freehand and Illustrator are (mainly)
vector drawing programs optimized for creating illustrations and graphs and
so on.

QuarkXPress has a few primitive vector drawing tools, and Illustrator has
some rudimentary page layout capabilities, but it's really hard to confuse
the two unless you've never used either one (or any similar program) for
anything serious.

> I haven't seen such a listing for a long time that was close to being
> objective, though I've seen many that are sponsored by one or the other
> vendor, or by someone with vested interets or who is just bigoted.

Coming back around to my Freehand-vs-Illustrator swipe, I think that almost
all of the programs that survive today are pretty capable, and really it's
just a matter of which interface you prefer. I can't imagine coming up with
a chart comparing Freehand and Illustrator that was useful in decisionmaking
except in a few marginal cases (like some esoteric feature that only one
program has). Really it's about what you find comfortable to work with, what
you have experience with, and probably most importantly, what's being used
by the other people you work with.

miguel

Signature

Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

Reply to this Message

Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / May 2005

Single resource for video software capability