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What mac for editing??
Hi everyone,
I am wanting to make the move from PC to Mac for editing for numerous reasons, te main is premiere and windows stability issues. Having never owned a Mac before I have a number of questions I hope someone can help me with.What I am wanting to know, is will a macbook pro, or imac (the new ones due to be released) edit video straight out of the box with no capture card device (i will be using final cut studio)? Also, what inputs / outputs are there for editing (an output for tv / monitor preview) and what video formats are they compatable with (DV/ Mini DV, HD?) Also, what is the mac like for editing to an external drive, is it ok or is speed a serious issue?
Obviously I want a macpro tower and might get a low end one to begin with (the cost of a tower and a macbook pro is negligible) but sensibly I can only really afford a imac at the moment.
I am filming currently on a Sony PD150 Mini DV, I occasionally use Canon XL1 and Sony DSR370 DV. I am looking at the near future of filming on mini HD (Sony HVR-V1E or A1E). I will be wanting to preview video on a tv / monitor. How would I do this?
When I do buy it I was thinking of only getting 2 gig of ram to begin with (and 250gig HD, purely for editing and apps, then upgrade to 500 gig), everything else on external HD for backup and music etc… How easy is it to upgrade the ram in any mac? This is definitely the first thing I will want to sort.
One more thing, presuming i DID go with a macbook pro, can I output the signal to an external monitor instead of using the laptops screen, OR hook it up to a monitor and use both screens?
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4 Replies
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[l_vaughan] “will a macbook pro, or imac (the new ones due to be released) edit video straight out of the box with no capture card device (i will be using final cut studio)?”
With FCS, yes. They are great machines.
[l_vaughan] “I will be wanting to preview video on a tv / monitor. How would I do this?”
For an iMac or MacBook Pro you have a couple of options:
– Out put over firewire to the camera and then to a TV
– Use a second display and show it full screen through FCP
– Get a Matrox MXO (output/monitoring only)
– Get a AJA IO (for SD the LA or LD, for HD the IO HD) (input and output capable)If you get an iMac, get the 24″ if you can because it has firewire800 which is fast enough for the stuff you’ll be doing.
-Russ
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excellent. thanks
justa quick question, is editing on a imac ok, or will it run real slow?
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Hello,
As to the group of first quesiton you posed, editing DV footage on a Mac has the same signal path and I/O as it does for Premier.
[l_vaughan] “s editing on a imac ok, or will it run real slow?
“https://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/specs.html
here’s the system requirements from Apple. iMac is not listed. While you can probably ‘get by’ with EDITING on an iMac for a while, you will quickly out grow it.Good Luck,
Todd at UCSB
Television Production -
If you get a new iMac, FCS2 will run great! They are nice machines.
-Russ
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