Some numbers first

Amount of disk space taken by 1 hour of video in various encoded formats:

1 hour DV : 12Gb

1 hour HDV (native) : 12Gb

1 hour HDV (AIC): 40Gb

1 hour H264 encoded DV-sized video: 4Gb

The iMovie 'catalog'

iMovie 08 has been introduced by Apple in 2007 to fix some of the problems of iMovie 06, namely:

• the time-consuming video editing
• some complex concepts including the timeline,
• and more...

In doing so, Apple introduced a new way to capture and store footage on disk that is not bound to projects anymore, but rather, to the new concept of a library.
Why would one need iDive, if iMovie brings cataloging of videos on the Mac ?
Well, iDive has a number of unique features that make it a great complement to iMovie.

1.iDive does not requires that all the data be on disk

iDive offers some great flexibility when it comes to ingesting your media. You don't need to have everything on disk. You can decide to capture only samples of your footage, that will be both lightweight and easy to navigate.

2.Unique annotations and search features...including Spotlight

iDive lets you annotate your video using familiar concepts, such as people, places and events. iDive offers unique cross searches that are very visual (you see what your video really consist of) while you refine your criteria, mixing dates and tags.

3.Everything-on-disk does not work with HD material

4.Offline browsing

Very often, your data is sitting on a big disk, while you are on the road with your laptop. iDive handles this situation well, by letting you take a lightweight version of your data on the road, while still preserving the annotations capabilities.

Cataloging strategies

Building a catalog when you have lots of tapes

Coming soon

Building a catalog when you need mobility

Coming soon