Check out my specs, and be brutally honest...

[MadMacLean]

Hello all,
I'm looking to back up my rather extensive DVD collection, and before I invest in a burner, I want to make sure my mac is up for the job:

700 Mhz G4 (iMac)
384 MB RAM

About how long will it take to rip a dvd using MTR, and burn a full (non compressed) copy onto a DL DVD? I plan on picking up the Lacie D2 burner.

Also, any predictions on when the cost of Dual Layer discs will start to drop. I really can't afford to start this project until they drop to ~$2.00 a disc. I'm afraid that any compression at all will be painfully visible on a 51" HDTV.

Thank you,
madmaclean

[davefx]

being a mac user i hesitate to say this for fear of flamefest, but although i do almost all my work on macs i have one pc dedicated to dvd backup and mpeg2 conversion.

if you can agree on no other reason for this, then simply because i dont want to tie my macs up for the amount of time it takes to do these things.

i would say your mac is powerful enough to do what you want, i have burned dvd's on a slower mac than yours just fine.

i will never tell you to get a pc to do these things, but a couple hundred bucks later and you can still use your mac for the good stuff while the pc works away quietly. sometimes my mpeg2 conversions take up to several hundred hours and i can still do all i want on my g4 while this is happening. for dvd backups, i think your imac 700mhz would take a little while, i guess 2 to 4 hours per disc but thats only a guess. if your doing any type of mpeg2 conversion i have found it is slower on a mac in my experience.

this is not a pc/mac response. i use both but vastly prefer mac for anything besides dvd backup and mpeg2 conversion.

[Case]

Ripping and burning isn't that time-consuming. The OP stated no (slow) transcoding will be needed. Reading and writing time will depend on the optical drive speed, which will be fast enough with a new dual layer burner. Should be doable well under 1 hour.

[pusa]

MadMacLean, don't worry. I have an eMac 700MHz model. On this eMac, I do a lot of video editing with Final Cut Pro HD, audio composing with GarageBand(part of iLife '05), graphic stuff with Adobe Photoshop CS, surf the net, chat, etc...
I was able to purchase an I/O Magic Dual format, Double layer burner from Compusa for about $50 after rebate(s).
http://iomagic.com/Products/show_all_results.asp?ProdID=idvd16dd
The latest version of Toast recognized the drive, but the other apps like iTunes didn't work, so I installed "Patchburn" and all of my apps work now. I have yet to purchase a 3 pack DL DVD+R from Verbatim.
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=316758&pfp=BROWSE

[MadMacLean]

Thanks for the replies,

Good to know it's possible - any idea if bumping up the total ram would help (from 384MB to 640MB)?

Thanks again,
madmaclean

[G13]

Max out the RAM!!!

[tgpo]

I back up on my 450mhz G4 Cube all the time. It doesn't take long at all.