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eMac or iBook

T

tgynther

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 4, 2003
15
0
I have decided to buy iBook 12" or eMac but I can't make my choice :) I don't need laptop but iBook (1200 €) costs as much as eMac with superdrive (1200€). I am worried about eMac noise and size.

I want to burn my videos to dvd so I need superdrive. Can I connect external dvd-r drive to iBook and burn movies with DVD Studio Pro or similiar program?
 
If you buy a program like Toast 6 it will take your home video footage and burn it to any DVD±RW drive.

If you are worried about space... then get the iBook. If you want a desktop with a bigger screen, get the eMac. The eMac will also be more powerful than the iBook so it could potentially last longer.
 
I have readed that there is some problems to play dvd on stand-alone player when disk is burned with Toast. So I rather stay with Apple programs. I think eMac and iBook both have enough power to do my tasks.

Is eMac noise really so annoying what people says? Is it 30db or 40db or 50db? I can't find any test about eMac noise...
 
i have one of the new 1ghz emacs with superdrive.

for the price i think it is excellent. as far as the noise...
well the only think i have to compare it to is my HP desktop that it replaced.
the emac is definately more quiet.
the emac is not silent though. there is a slight humming sound. that is about the best way to describe it. i dont think it is troublesome at all and it is not too loud or anything.ive had both an ibook and an emac and i would recommend the emac if you dont need portability.

the price is excellent on the superdrive model. especially if you can get the education pricing (i did).
its nice to have a larger storage capacity than the ibook, plus the display is very nice. you may find it more usefull if you are messing around with video and stuff.

hope i could help
 
tgynther: the problems with DVD±RW playback aren't with Toast, but with the DVD players. Whether you burn with DVD Studio Pro, iDVD, Nero or any DVD/VCD burning program doesn't make a difference. Generally, Sony and Panasonic DVD players will play back burned DVDs (+ & -, R & RW), and Toshibas won't.

This is a compatibility list: http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers

My eMac is noisy because the wall behind it reflects the noise. I was thinking of getting some of that sound-deadening foam you see in recording studios. However, it doesn't bother anyone else in the house and I'm probably the only one who notices it. I have an iBook but it's a G3... of course your question is whether to get a new G4 iBook or an eMac... evil is right - if you need portability get the iBook but if you need power, get the eMac. You might be more comfortable using a full size keyboard and a real mouse... of course you could buy a keyboard and mouse to connect to the iBook, but they're included in the eMac.

screen size / display resolution:
iBook: 1024x768 | eMac: 1280x960
advantage, eMac

built-in speakers:
iBook: tiny and cruddy | eMac: nice and decent
advantage, eMac

processing power:
iBook: 800MHz G4 (the one tgynther is comparing) | eMac: 1GHz G4
advantage, eMac

video card:
iBook: Radeon 9200 32MB | eMac: Radeon 7500 32 MB
advantage, iBook

weight:
iBook: ~5 lbs. | eMac: ~50 lbs.
advantage, draw (depends on your priorities)

audio line in:
iBook: no | eMac: yes
advantage, eMac

FW, USB ports
iBook: 1, 2 | eMac: 2, 5 (3 USB connections available once the keyboard and mouse are connected)
advantage, eMac

The 25% processor-power advantage of the eMac will make a HUGE difference, considering you want to edit video. My eMac is 700MHz, and my final renders (applying the broadcast safe and color correction filters) take 12-14 hours for a 60 minute video, and my MPEG2 encodings take a similar amount of time (2-pass VBR).
 
go for the fastest G4 because they are pokes in the first place. Emac is apples best value is my humble yahoo opinion, a 1 gig or better g4 you may be happy with, anything less then a gig is going to leave you wanting. had g4s running at 733/800 1.33 & 1.467.
 
get the ibook you may not think that portability is a issue its so usefull the ibook's ghraphics card will make up for the emacs higher clock speed ibooks are so much nicer to work whith due to the lcd my freids emac's screen hurts my eyes alfter a while also ibooks are virtualy indestructible dont wory about droping it
 
Generally, Sony and Panasonic DVD players will play back burned DVDs (+ & -, R & RW), and Toshibas won't.
Click to expand...
Funny you should say that. I noticed the "generally" but just want to point out that My Toshiba has no problems playing something from a superdrive, and nor does my girlfriend's older model.
 
Originally posted by Rod Rod
FW, USB ports
iBook: 1, 2 | eMac: 2, 5 (3 USB connections available once the keyboard and mouse are connected)
advantage, eMac
Click to expand...
Except that the iBook has USB 2.0 and the eMac does not.


Originally posted by evil
i have one of the new 1ghz emacs with superdrive.
Click to expand...
Do you notice any screen shimmer when using the built-in speakers? I had decided on the eMac, but every eMac at the local Apple Store had the screen shimmer. I am now leaning towards the 933MHz iBook.


Also, Amazon.com has free carrying cases and $100 rebates on the iBooks. Combined with no sales tax (at least for me), and they appear to be the best bet going AFAIK.

Michael
 
screen shimmer does occur, but only when the speakers are at a high volume.
when i first got the emac i was a little turned off by this, but it actually does not bother me at all.

to reiterate, it does only occur at high volume on the spearkers.
it does not intrude on my every day use of the emac whatsoever.

this is my opinion, other people have had a much larger problem with the screen shimmer.
 
Thanks for replies. I am still quite confused which mac is better for me.

I have readed several forums about eMac and people are complaining about poor display. Other con is noise. New iBook got high praises.

Can I connect external DVD-Writer to iBook and use dvd studio pro or similiar program to burn movies?

How much dv-data I can save into iBook 30Gb drive?

Pros:

iBook, better display for eyes
iBook, silent
iBook, size
eMac, Superdrive
eMac, Bigger hard disk
 
eMac display, iBook silence

hi tgynther,

the eMac's display's refresh rate is slowest at its highest resolution. it seems quite a few people don't like the screen flicker at the highest res setting. the simple solution is to decrease resolution one or two steps. I have my eMac set at the highest resolution and it doesn't bother me. I barely notice it.

the iBook isn't completely silent, but it's very quiet relative to the eMac. I'm typing this on my iBook, and I can put my ear to my keyboard and hear a hum. and when the iBook's fan turns on, it's like a little hair dryer.

your best bet with storing a lot of DV is to get an external firewire hard drive or two. I have a 120 GB one and it's great. anyhow, your question was how much fits on the iBook's 30 GB drive... well, figure about 8 GB for the built in apps and the OS, and that leaves you 22 GB, of which you can probably safely budget 20 GB for your files (because it's a bad idea to completely fill any HD), and in 20 GB you can fit about an hour and 40 minutes of DV. One hour of DV= ~13 GB. This of course doesn't leave you any room for your MPEG-2 and AC3/PCM files for DVD creation, let alone much room for your render files in Final Cut Pro.

to answer your other question, yes you can burn your DVD Studio Pro projects on an external DVD drive. you'll just have to make sure your drive is supported by DVD Studio Pro. in case you get an incredible deal on a non-supported DVD burner, well there's a good chance Toast or Dragon Burn supports that burner. from DVDSP you'd just build & format your DVD, making a disc image file, and use Toast or Dragon Burn to burn that image onto DVD. I make image files from DVDSP all the time because the program won't write DVD-RW... so I burn the image file on DVD-RW in Disk Copy.
 
resolving my flicker problem

I had a problem with my new 1 G eMac flickering when set above 1024 x 768 too, even with the sound off. In my case the problem was interference from the two transformers on my powerstrip which was about 6" from my eMac. Once I moved the strip, the flicker was gone even at the highest res.
 
I am glad to see so much good about the emac in this discussion. I think the eMac is a good deal. I have to admit that my visit to the Compusa in Spokane left me most impressed. I liked the eMac and the iBook best. The price and looks are good. It is a big machine, so is every desktop. I heard that consumer reports rated the eMac a good thing. Nice job!
 
I've got an emac 700, and the screen flicker persits all the time. I use external speakers, so it can't be the internal speaker rattle. I don't quite know what causes it.

Also, it only shakes in the bottom left corner of the screen. While a bit annoying, I rarely notice it.

Noise is minimal. It's a computer, and they make noise. I really like my emac, but the non-upgradeability is a major draw back. Apple needs a system that's upgradable besides the powermac's.... but that's another story all together.
 
If you want to burn DVDs and size is not an issue get the emac Then you can use iDVD and thats just so much better then Toast for DVDs. And for editing movies a larger screen is better. So - get the emac. ( if you have the time - wait for the next update )
 
would halo run better on an ibook or the emac, or is it relative to the settings you set?

Also, how much stuff is upgradable on the emac, such as ram, vram and video card capabilities?
 
Just a thought.

I don't know if you could find one at a good price, but what about an older Powerbook? Like maybe the 12'' Rev. A G4 with superdrive. I would think they would be about in the price range your looking for. Just a thought... God Luck.
 
i personally would go with the ibook. i have used the emac at school and i find that i don't really like the CRT that it has. the emac is quite large also. you also with get a higher resale value on the ibook if that matters to you.
 
I have both - if I could only have one it'd be eMac.

Got the iBook a few months ago and the eMac on last Tuesday. If I could only have one it would be the eMac. IMHO, better display wins over portability, but portability is not that important to me. I just think that the display is soooo much better on the larger screen, but you really have to ask yourself one question - laptop vs desktop.

One note - this thing does have a bit of a loud fan on it and I'm getting used to it. My old PC was about just the same, but not sitting on my desk like this is.

P.S. I got the flames 'macskinz' on the iBook, so that ups the cool factor, but for my money I like the eMac.
 
Originally posted by Hector
halo should run the same on both
Click to expand...
Not true.

www.barefeats.com/halo.html

Performance is still processor bound.

I would go for the eMac. The faster hard drive will make a huge difference if you are doing video stuff. You should be able to get 80GB or 160GB with the eMac.

Yes, you can get an external dvd burner (firewire) to use with the iBook.

RAM and hard drive are upgradeable, the video card is not, as far as I know (for both systems).
 
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