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FCPX AVCHD on very old MBP?
According to Apple, my old 2008 MacBook Pro qualifies for FCPX (C2D, 2.6 ghz, 4gb RAM, 256 VRAM, OpenCL-capable graphics card, OSX 10.6.8, 160gb-5400 drive, fw8-7200 drive, etc.). However, some users report that on such a machine native AVCHD editing chokes. Here’s a quote:
“First, I ingested the native AVCHD 1080p 25. Super fast import, however, after a cut or two on the timeline, performance slowed right down. FCPX kept losing sync or begun playing sound from an event clip as the playhead moved on the timeline. Then the crashes, at least half a dozen of them, with restarts in between. I was simply cutting a single camera interview!!”
Here’s the link: https://philipbloom.net/2011/07/09/guest-blog-a-week-with-fcpx/
Without a demo, I don’t know if FCPX will work or not for what I want to do – native 60i AVCHD editing from a GH2 of short static interviews with talking heads and no video or audio effects. This is the utmost basic editing, but according to that blogger I’d be wasting my dough.
One commenter to that blog says to turn off background rendering, whereas another says to pre-convert, which seems self-defeating. I’m starting an endeavor that requires instant editing. Currently I’m on FCP6, so there’s dedicated transcode time which I don’t want anymore. I wish Apple had a demo. I prefer not to buy X and hustle a refund.
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2 Replies
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What an amazing coincedence. I am the commenter that you were reffering to at that blog and I must say that my advice actually works. I must have pissed off Phillip too and Im sorry for that. Its just that there have been so many cries for weeks about native editing slow downs, and I had it at the begginning too..up until I read a post by Richard Harrington about turning off the background renderring on the preferrences pane and boy fcpx started flying. The slow down is caused by all the background renderring processes that happens everytime you do anything on a clip..which actually brings even mac pros to it knees. Now if you tick that off…I can now place 5 layers of color correction and 3 effects and I can preview everything without droping a frame. And the export takes as long as the output time…sometimes shorter! FCPXs speed amazing!
I do hope though that Apple provided a trial for though…it would smoothen up the transition.
Quobetah
New=Better -
So I guess background rendering is once again rendered useless. I’ve seen this dog and pony show before. Remember the “Stratosphere” circa 1997-98. Saw an attempted demo of that twice with so many crashes the vendor finally gave up….TWICE! At least they let you turn it off.
FCP Studio 2
Dual 3Gg Quad Core
4Gg RAM
KONA 2
OS 10.5.8
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