<< 1. I need to convert vhs and u-matic to quicktime. I need to be able to convert quicktime to umatic, vhs and dvd. >>

Most of this is fairly straight forward and can be done with a basic video card like the Aurora or DC30. It might be worth working with a low res quicktime version in PT to lessen the hit on your PCI Bus and only using the hi res version when bouncing back to your U-Matic.

<< 2. I need to be able to do very basic video editing. >>

Packaged with many video editing cards, free of charge is Adobe Premiere 4.1LE. I only need very basic video editing as well and Premiere 4.1LE works fine.

I don't have first hand experience with the Magma but understand they work very well and are the expansion chassis of choice for most PT users. Although, they can sometimes be a little difficult to setup and have problems with certain cards or extentions.

I believe that some people have had problems with the super-drives, although in theory you should be able to create DVDs. Sorry I can't be more specific.

<< Finally is this my best approach? >>

No, but it is the most realistic one unless you've got some serious cash to play around with. The only other option that might be worth looking at (especially if you've got an old Mac lying around) is the Virtual VTR:
http://www.gallery.co.uk/virtualvtr/index.html

Lastly, I haven't really researched this area for a couple of years so don't take what I've written above for absolute gospel!

Greg

Hmm...Thanks.
Your idea about virtual vtr is interesting. It would be cheaper for me to get a second used mac than a chassis, as I have found used chassis's to be so few and far between in the uk. In fact the cheapest option would be to sell my g4 and buy a newer, but used one with the four slots instead of three. That might be simpler than having two machines on the go. I'm wondering what digi will do next with the hardware. I imagine that the mix farms will sooner or later become very much more powerful, so perhaps a chassis wont be needed for extra farm cards. Maybe digi will have a single card incorporating core and farms...who knows?
Thanks for your advice
Jack

I'm still running PT from my old 9600. The 6 slots sure are useful. However at some stage in the not too distant future I'll get a new Mac and then I'll use the 9600 for Virtual VTR. The big advantage will be that all the video stuff will be handled by my 9600 and not be a drain on the CPU or PCI bus of my PT computer. The only disadvantage is that you have to wait for about a second (according to the sales lit.) for the video to lock up as opposed to it being virtually instant from within PT.

<< I'm wondering what digi will do next with the hardware. >>

Aren't we all! There seems to be a trend though, not just with Digi but with computers in general. As soon as there is a leap forward in power, something comes along which will use up all that power! I expect any new mix farm cards to probably double or triple in processing power. There again they will probably introduce 96k at the same time which will require double the processing power. By the time the dust has settled you'll probably find that you need just as many of the new mix cards as you do the existing ones. Of course this is all complete speculation! :)

Greg

very true
I read your post about reverb1 on jules's forum. I have the demo at the moment and it is really very good. However it's a hungry little sod. If we are going to demand plug ins that really compete with dedicated hardware engines, they are going to be very costly in terms of processing....it's only fair! I think I shall sell the mac and buy a four slot version. That should keep me going into the middle distance. I could always get a 9600 later if I really need a lot more video resources. By then a used g3 will be cheap! Thanks for your input Greg...we need to tempt a few more users over from the safety of the DUC! (I'm absolutlely sure it's getting slowly but surely more boring over there.) Jack