Printer Question And Video Card

[Uncle_Ho]

Hello guys ..

I am planning on buying a new printer with a buit-in cd printing .. i am looking at Canon Pixman ip3000 or ip4000 .. anyone already using these ? which one ? does anyone know how much it is selling at Pantip or anywhere else in bangkok ?

Also i have a mini dv tapes from my 3ccd camera .. i want to know how to transfer it to my computer so i can edit - add transitions and burn onto vcd and dvd ..

what all do i need ? i am looking for mid-range to top of the range products

my pc spec is :

p4 2.4

ram 512 ddr ( i think i have to add another 512)

Geforce 4 mx 440 (64 mb)

gigabyte dvd writer

thank u in advance

[Firefoxx]

Canon IP3000 is around 4,600 (hardware house), I think you should spend a bit more and get a bigger model, the ip4000 or ip5000. I have the older range, but it prints very well. You can find bulk packs of printable CD-Rs and DVD-Rs for pretty cheap.

For DV tapes, you can buy a firewire (ieee1394) PCI card for your computer (or PCMCIA card for your laptop) for less than 1000 baht. Then connect the video camera to the firewire port, and import the movie (windv is a free utility for that) and edit using any editing program like Premiere or Videostudio. You can then convert to Mpeg2 using tmpgenc and use tmpgenc dvd author to author a DVD. On a side note, you can get DV tapes for cheap in chinatown, 5 for 650 baht (compared to 1,200 baht in retail stores). Remember that DV files are very large, 1 hour takes 12GB of harddisk space.

If you want to do DV editing, you should get another 512MB for 1GB. I have similar specs, but my P42.4 is overclocked to 3.2, and I have 1GB of ram.

[Uncle_Ho]

If you want to do DV editing, you should get another 512MB for 1GB.  I have similar specs, but my P42.4 is overclocked to 3.2, and I have 1GB of ram.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

where can i overclock my p4 2.4 ? how much do they charge ? is it safe ? will the computer be stable after the process ?

thanks

[Uncle_Ho]

one more thing , will the quality deteriorate when stransfer from camera to pc using windv

[Firefoxx]

Overclocking your CPU depends on the CPU, the heatsink/airflow, and the mainboard. I have the northwood P4 2.4 (hyperthreading), and it's a very overclockable CPU. It also happens to overclock with not much heat, so the included heatsink is enough. My mainboard (P4P800) is very overclock-friendly, it has overclock functions in the bios setup. I built the computer myself, and overclocked it myself. You usually don't ask shops to overclock for you. Don't try it unless you know what you're doing.

If done correctly and within parameters, overclocking is totally safe and stable. I overclocked my old Celeron 300mhz to 450mhz for several years, and it was stable.

DV transfer by firewire is a direct transfer, bit by bit, of the data on the tape to the computer. You'll get pretty much exactly the same data that you have on your computer as on your camcorder, that's one of the advantages of digital video. You could transfer the data back and forth between the computer and camera a thousand times and still get the same video. If you got an AV capture card, you'd get deteriorated video, since the camcorder would convert its digital data to analog, pass it to the AV card, and your computer would then recompress and convert the analog signal to digital.

You don't seem to know much about these things, but are attempting something pretty complicated. Do some research, read some books.

BTW, you can "edit" your post, so you don't have to post twice to add something. The edit button is in the bottom right corner of your post.

[Firefoxx]

Hmm, I wonder where the edit button went, I guess you can only edit within a certain time/session.

Anyways, the Canon IP4000 is around 6,500

The IP4000R (has wireless b/g) is around 9,500

The IP5000 is around 9,000

Source: www.tohome.com

Ram is pretty cheap... Last time I looked "rambo" brand DDR 400 ram was going for 2,800/512MB.

[Uncle_Ho]

Firefoxx , thanks for ur input .. really worth it ...

since u told me about overclocking and windv .. i have been busy with Google doing the research ..

thanks a lot

u r a legend mate

[lopburi3]

Will echo the recommendation of IP4000 (although do not have one) as from reading I have done it is quite a bit better than the IP3000 model if you are serious about photo quality. Higher levels give more features but not much more quality.

[grahamb]

I recently got a Pixma IP4000 to replace the i850 that stopped working. The print quality seems very good (not used it much yet) and it's faster than the old printer. The duplex feature is quite nice as well (I think the IP3000 also has that.)

I've got the CD printing tray but haven't bothered getting printable CDs for it so can't comment on the quality. I use regular CD labels and an applicator I got in the US years ago (great invention!)

I compared the IP4000 and IP5000 in online reviews and in the store and couldn't see any difference in the print quality. I know the IP5000 has smaller dots but that's only in certain situations. For me, it was better to save a few thousand baht.

1 thing to note though - if you're checking the print quality, make sure to ask for a few samples. When I was looking at the IP4000, initially they gave me a 'sample print' that had allegedly been printed on it. It looked worse than the Lexmark I first got 5 years ago!! Only after asking a few times did the guy dig out some more samples that looked better. Of course by doing that, he also showed me how little difference there was between the 2 printers and I ended up buying the cheaper one so I can see what he was trying to do

[Firefoxx]

The technology has come a long way, and currently most medium range photo quality printers produce prints that are indistinguishable (to the naked eye) from lab photos. You'd only need the higher end models if you're a pro (and need the increased color gamut and resolution), need very big prints, or need lots of speed. The ip4000 is a nice balance of quality/price.

Of course, you can't acheive "photo" prints with normal paper. You'll need "photo" paper, and it's pretty expensive. Usually, it's best to buy the paper from the same company as the printer (canon, epson, etc) since they're engineered for each other. From what I've seen, most 3rd party papers are roughly the same price for the specs.

The combination of expensive ink and paper is what makes inkjet printers have a high TOC (total cost of ownership). It's much more economical to buy a laser printer if you're aiming for volume black and white prints. Color lasers are nice and their prices have come down considerbly, but their photo quality is still very lacking.

As for printing on CDs, I've done several prints, and my friends are impressed by the quality. There is a shop in IT Mall (Fortune, next to Rama 9 subway station) called "sunshine" that sells bulk CDRs and DVDRs for cheap. They have plenty of examples of CDR printing.

Edited March 13, 2005 by Firefoxx

[lopburi3]

Will just add a comment on CD labels as they have been a source of corrupted data in tests and most people do not recommend any kind of adhesive type label be placed on to back of a CD (unless there has been a change in the last year that I missed). In some tests the disks were makes unusable in a very short period of time so it can be a serious problem if you need for more than a few weeks life.