Issues?? Yeah...I can't find the battery. lol

There is a known issue with VSL/SSL and 4gb of ram. The MBP has only 2 slots, so im hoping 2 x 4gb of ram wont be an issue.

store.apple.com

has anyone been using this? Both spots I work at have both s video and composite connections for video. This will work?

that will not work on the new unibody mbp. you need "mini display" to vga. and then you need to buy this www.aver.com. get it from amazon. it's much cheaper and free shipping.

store.apple.com why not this one?

because it won't fit

it says it right there in fine print, only for imac and macbook. the new unibody's will not have a connection for s-video. you need and adapter like the quickplay or an expensive converter box.

crazy lol

can u link me to the right mini dvi to vga adapter on apple.com? I found that quickplay plug for 62 plus 7 bux shipping. Thanks

store.apple.com

Mine has been working great. The one place I've been using Video-SL has all HDMI video connections, so I just had to get a DVI-HDMI cable for their switcher, then use Apple's Mini-Displayport to DVI adaptor.

The SSL "distortion" problem still affects the new 17-inch model, as I posted elsewhere. In my normal use (I don't carry it in sleep mode, so it's freshly-booted at each gig) I haven't seen the distortion happen either on this new unibody 17, or on the unibody 15 I had for a month before exchanging it for the 17 (both computers with 4gb RAM).

nice mark, im acutally going to have 8gb ram in it, running at 64 bit, so i hope all is going to be well, i hope so for 3500 bux!

from my understanding, you probably won't have probs as long as you don't tap into the 2nd stick of ram. in millz's case, he shouldn't run into probs as long as he doesn't dip into needing 4.1 gb's of ram or more.

For whatever it's worth, 4gb seems to be more than enough for Video-SL, even on the highest settings. Checking Activity Monitor with Video-SL running revealed plenty of free RAM and no use of the pagefile.

I mention that because 4gb DDR3 SDRAM modules are still really expensive, and unless you're using some other applications that are RAM hogs you may see little to no real-world benefit. For now, the extra money might do you much more good spent on other stuff...like backup drive(s), a spare 85-watt power adaptor, a nice protective case/backpack...

By the time more apps actually are making use of >4gb RAM, I'm betting the prices of the 4gb RAM modules will have come *way* down.

A very worthwhile/inexpensive upgrade for right now is a Hitachi 320-gig 7200rpm drive. That *will* perform noticeably better than the 5400rpm drive the computer comes standard with. Plus if you do that replacement yourself, you can put the stock drive in a case for backup use.

Don't try cloning an OS install from an older machine for this. The new 17's need to be run from the OS that's provided with that computer. There's newer System Extensions (kext) files than what the older models use (even comparing fully-updated 10.5.6 installations). Interestingly, the (SF) Apple Store display models of the 17 have been using the wrong installation, resulting in dim screens and Bluetooth not being controllable ("on" checkbox dimmed out in its System Preference pane).

One last word of advice, from experience with this and other Macs...when opening those ten screws on the bottom, put all the screws in order so you can put them back in exactly the same holes they came out of. That will help prevent problems that might come up from minuscule differences in screw-threading...I've seen some posts from people who had some trouble getting screws back in.

Hope this helps...I think you'll really like the new computer.

My own tests show that the distortion problem seems to have nothing to do with RAM use itself. When freshly-booted, I can run Video-SL at maximum settings and have RAM filled up by having other apps running (two browsers both playing HD videos, for example, along with a bunch of other stuff going on). No distortion in that case.

In order to get the distortion to happen, I had to leave the computer on for a couple days and through a few sleep/wake cycles. After doing that, the distortion in SSL was immediate. And *that* was with no other apps running at the time, and Activity Monitor showing well under 2gb RAM being used.

I thank u guys for ur input. The only real reason Im gettin all the ram now is so I dont have to worry about it in the future. I was saving for a SVM1000, but Im using a DJM 800 now, so Im still all good. Im gettin the 7200 320 drive, and have a 7200 500 giger to put in when it arrives. I got the 3 year service plan, so they wont let me put the 2nd hdd in myself, so I will have to take it to an apple store. No biggie. I got a pellican case designed for a 17 inch laptop, so the case is taken care of. For my old Dell Inspiron 1720, I have 2 power supplies, so buying another p/s for the apple is definitly planned in the near future. Im gettin the Mini display port to VGA plug from apple, and I already bought the AVerMedia Quickplay Video adapter. I talked with apple today, and they said in the near future that the mini display port to composite/s video will be made available soon. They also said that there is an update for the OS coming soon that should fix the sound issues people are having with certain programs...the guy even said some people using pro tools and logic have had sound quality issues, so that just proves it an apple problem, not a Serato/Rane issue. I do plan to install both Logic and Pro Tools on this machine, but not before WMC. My goal is to run this MBP for a few weeks before WMC, then take it down to Miami and spin with it down there. I read about alot of u cats leaving your lappies on for days/weeks at a time, but that is something I will never do. Only time this MBP will be on is when djing, or when Im producing mixes. I was going to get final cut pro, but Im so used to Vegas 8.x 64 bit, that Im just goin to stick with that for video production, for now. Robbie Rivera swears by Logic, so I suppose I will be trying to learn that program for house music production and remixing. 3500 bux is a lot of freakin money for a lappie, but I figure I can get @ least 5 years out of this machine, without falling 2 far behind.

If the current cost is something you can live with, by all means. Barring any unknown hardware issues lurking in the innards of these new machines, I'm also expecting they'll stay useful for a long time. Especially with the upcoming Snow Leopard release supposedly making the OS more efficient/faster.

I do want to point out that opening your computer will NOT invalidate your warranty (regular or AppleCare) as long as you don't damage your computer in the process. I found removing the bottom to be fairly simple, though it needs to be done with a good-quality *small* Phillip's-head screwdriver and with reasonable manual dexterity.

Are you planning to remove the DVD drive to put in the second hard drive, or did you just mean replacing the 320-gig with the 500-gig later?

In either case, beware of those Seagate 500-gig/7200 rpm drives. There's quite a few trouble-reports about them, and Seagate drives in general. For myself, Seagate has been on my "DO NOT BUY" list for a few years.

I am going to remove the dvd rom (although I just kinda found out that I would have to do that to add the 2nd drive). Its a Maxtor 500.7200. I know, same parent company as seagate. I plan to load the 320 up with my mp3 collection and add most of the extended vid edits ive done in the 2nd 500 giger. I have been running the 2nd 500 gig Maxtor in my PC/Dell lappie for a few months with no issues. Then Im going to run a 1tb firewire for all my single vids.

Okay...I am pretty certain that removing the optical drive and putting a hard drive in its place *will* invalidate any warranty or AppleCare, since it involves modification of the interior in a way that wouldn't be easy to reverse.

Not something I'd consider doing with mine, at any rate.

Yea, thats what the guys @ Apple said. I paid for the lappie Friday morning, and it should ship sometime this week. Then its off to the apple store to get the 2nd hdd put in. I wish it would arrive 2 morrow lol.

I am surprised they said they would do that mod. None of the Apple stores in my area will even swap out hard drives in a laptop let along add a second drive.

Millz> you may want to think twice about the SVM1000....I was talking to 2nd nature when he was up at Club 22 and he told me alot of bad experiences with it. He says its great when it works, but that they flake out. Guess what he's using now. TTM57 and MBP. Funny thing was at the Atlantic City convention last year, all the pioneer guys were against the software Dj platforms.

I was there when the dvj crapped out on kris p....I ended up leaving early...alot of egos going on at the PO party.

I bought my MBP instead of the SVM...now Im playing that waiting game till it arrives from Apple...sigh

Sorta thread jumping here, but my MBP unibody arrived yesterday, i just want to know if the CD drive is meant to sound noisy when you put the CD in (before it starts spinning), it's not a smooth loading sound at all (i.e. CDJ style), it really does sound faulty.

I called apple and they got me to run a hardware test, which found nothing, but im not convinced at all it's healthy..

How long did it take u to get urs? I am STILL waiting, paid for it on March 5th.

my macbook pro cd drive (last years model) is pretty noisy and clicky when i put a CD in also, think it's pretty normal....

damn...i ordered my 15in on 3/10, it was shipped 3/14[a saturday] and arrived 3/16, yesterday...

i still haven't popped a cd n the drive, bout to do it right now tho

LOL, just popped a cd in, it sounds mad abrupt going in and out, but once its in it does what it needs to do and sounds fine... i know i'm gonna laugh whenever i pop a disc in and hear these crazy noises

Yea I ordered the 17 inch, with all the bells and whistles...sigh

Do you guys find the edges to be kinda sharp??
i feel like i'm gonna cut myself

The edges feel a little sharp, but not so sharp that they'd cut anything. But I've read plenty of complaints about that from people on other Apple-related forums, so maybe there's some manufacturing variations in how sharp the edges are.

The optical drive is kind of noisy when a disc is inserted. All the other Apple laptops I've had with slot-load optical drives have been similar. The G4 iBook I had briefly in 2005 was the loudest by far.

Part of the reason I never buy BTO Macs is the extra wait usually involved, and the need to mail-order....and because in my opinion the cost of the upgrades usually isn't worth the extra $ (especially drives and RAM from Apple).

But being billed March 5 and not seeing delivery by March 17 sounds wrong. I thought usually Apple didn't apply the charge until right before shipping.

Well I wasn't happy so sent my laptop back, it was inside the 14 days so it's a straight replacement, will just wait and see if the replacement is the same...

I finally got my MBP...they overnighted it from China. And they deducted close to 100$ because of the delay. So I guess thats not too bad. Its really fast thou, and plan to use it tonight at a gig

so how was it millz at the gig was it all u expected?

yeah man... whats the Skinny?

i'm the skinny.

There's a new firmware update (this afternoon) that addresses the graphics issues some people have had.

support.apple.com

I've been having no graphics issues at all, so I'm holding off applying this until I learn more about it (as in, exactly what this update is doing). If, for example, it's downclocking the GPU, it might not be desirable for a user that speeds up the cooling fans when running CPU/CPU-intense applications.

Hey fellas/ladies,


Ive been in Miami for the past week for WMC. I used the lappie Saturday at a gig, and I had one minor issue, which was the sound output being distorted. All I had to do was reboot. The MBP was on for about 5 hours prior to the start of the gig (analyzing files from my wedding external 1tb drive). I used it at 2 gigs here in Miami with no issue @ all. Im acutally on it now sittin on the beach :)
Serato is sooo solid on this machine, I am very happy I spent the extra $ as now I wont have to upgrade for a good while.
I also went to the Serato meet and greet and was hanging out there. Thanks to Mike for the cold beverages. I shouldve brought some video mixes down so I could help him demo it.

hey fellas withe the 17inch macbook pro...does everything inside SSL look small when running on this model?

Yes. The "pixel density" of the 17-inch (1920x1200) screen is quite a lot higher than the other mac laptops, so things on the screen are correspondingly smaller.

It's not just SSL, same thing affects all applications.

i just made my resolution less, and i have no issues....i love my mac.

I wish they could make SSL automatically (or create an option) to scale to the maximum resolution of the display...

I'm sry I have a 17" mac n I don't understand what is the issue with the resolution n display n if I change it what will it do to my scratchlive?

DJMark, do you use the new unibody macbook? If so, when using VSL, do you notice your waveforms stuttering more when video is enabled and the output window is full screen on the output source? I have the 13" unibody and once I enable video and full screen it, the waveforms become very jumpy

No, I'm using one of the 17" unibody MBP's. I only see the waveforms get jumpy if I have the quality on the highest setting, AND enable effects on both decks. That's with the output full-screen to a secondary 1920x1200 source...the one place I'm mainly using video at, we have all the video fed through HDMI at that size. (of course, my source videos are much lower resolution than that).



If you like the SSL display as it is by default on the 17, there's no issue at all. The screen will look sharpest when set to its native 1920x1200 resolution. The people bothered by things looking "small" at that resolution might be happier with the screen set to something lower, like maybe 1680x1050.

I want to run it at max resolution...and keep everything propertional but it would probably use more system resources now that i think about it...

meaning large and high res