15″ or 17 ” laptop

[Jerry Hofmann]

Probably will need a PC card that adds another FW port to the setup sometimes you can’t use PB’s to capture from a FIrewire device to a FW drive… otherwise, the screen size is really the only big difference between the PB’s… Currently, only the G4’s will run FCP until later this month when Apple ships the universal version… remains to be seen if there’s gotcha’s sharing project files between non universal and universal systems, but I’ll bet they go back and forth OK.

Jerry

Apple Certified Trainer

Author: “Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro 4” Click here

Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D

[Debe]

I went back and forth on the decision myself a year or so ago.

The pros for the 15″ are it’s a lot easier to use on an airplane. It’s lighter, and it’s easier to carry around.

The pro for the 17″ is really screen real estate.

The cons for the 15″, when I purchased mine, are they were having higher incidents of repairs, and the recall on the batteries. There were screen, keyboard, and airport issues with the 15″. I believe that’s all taken care of, and the introduction of the MacBook makes all that moot, anyhow.

The cons for the 17″ are really it’s size. It’s more of a handful to travel with. Size is good and not so good.

However, that being said, the reason I bought my PB was to edit on-site, not to use on an airplane. My work didn’t require me to use the computer on an airplane. I also bought a computer case with wheels, because regardless of the computer’s size, I had a physical ailment at the time that made it very tough for me to carry either one. Wheels were the answer. Then the ease of hauling the 15″ became less of an issue for me.

So I chose the 17″. I’ve edited on a client’s 15″, and after using my 17″, really see the difference those extra 2″ diagonally get you for screen real estate. I bought my computer to edit on. I decided to buy the best computer I could for editing. Ease of transportation was a secondary concern for me. After all, I’d spend a lot more time editing on it than I’d spend hauling it around. After not too long, you get used to it. Now that I am physically able to carry my computer, it’s just a little workout every time I go somewhere that my wheels can’t. Exercise isn’t all bad! My 17″ PB is certainly still lighter than the 15″ PC laptops my husband needs to use for some of his work. The extra weight is relative. Yes, the 15″ is lighter than the 17″, but the 12″ is lighter than the 15″. The 17″ is lighter than most PC laptops on the market of the same size. My husband’s 15″ PCs are tanks, and larger than off the shelf PC laptops.

So, the decision, for me, came down to what would be better for editing on. I chose the 17″ because I wanted as much screen real estate as I could get. For the way I edit, screen real estate is very important for me to be able to edit efficiently and quickly on-site.

I can still use it on an airplane, I am merely very conscious of my neighbors. I choose to leave it in the bag on some flights because quarters are too close. I choose to use it on other flights when perhaps I’m flying with my husband, or the row isn’t full. I have only once used it during a full flight, and that was because they made me check the computer case because the flight was too full. I, of course, was not going to let my computer get tossed into the belly of the plane, so I took that out. Since it was going to spend the flight on my lap anyhow, and that wasn’t my choice, I decided to watch a movie. I felt a little guilty about the fact that my computer overlapped my tray table a wee bit, but it didn’t officially enter into my neighbor’s “air space”, so I let the guilt go.

I also second Tom’s recommendation that you look into a second firewire card bus. You will decrease the chances that you’ll have throughput issues using firewire for media if you have separate busses for input and output data paths. Both the 15″ and the 17″, in fact, all Macs, including the MacBook Pro, ship with one FW bus. Multiple ports, yes, but all those ports share the same internal hardware. The MacBook not having a FW 800 port may only be an issue for you if you work on resolution greater than DV. That’s not been shown yet, as there are currently no MacBooks running FCP yet.

Hope this helps you decide what you priorities are in choosing a laptop.

debe

[Debe]

[debe] “Hope this helps you decide what you priorities are in choosing a laptop.”

That should be “Hope this helps you decide what your priorities are in choosing a laptop.”

Grrr, argh!

debe

[Ed Dooley]

Debe,
If people corrected themselves every time I’ve seen just 2 common
ignorant uses of spelling, your instead of you’re, or loose instead of lose,
the internet would slow to a crawl from the bandwidth used. 🙂
(I’m a card-carrying member of the language and spelling police)
All good thoughts on the pros and cons, and pretty much my thinking. The only thing I’d add
is that: I travel a lot, and I sometimes edit on location, or at least somewhere in the country
I’m working in. I try to take advantage of the fact that a client has paid me to go to Italy or Spain,
or Slovakia, so I stay a little longer for fun, and I justify it by doing some rough editing while there.
I bring my 17″ PB, a 2 drive FW RAID, if we’re shooting Beta an AJA IOLA, and a 9″ LCD monitor
that’s VGA, NTSC/PAL. I use it as a field monitor on the shoot, then I can plug it in to the laptop
for more real estate for editing, and plugged in to the AJA, it’s a video monitor (NTSC or PAL).
If the flight is long or boring I bring out the PB and watch one of the several films or TV shows
I have loaded (Sopranos, Six Feet Under, etc.), being very careful to remember the R rating of some
of the films/TV on my G rated flight. The only problem I have is when the person in the seat in front of me
reclines. On some planes, that ends my viewing on a 17″ PB.
Ed

[debe] “[debe] “Hope this helps you decide what you priorities are in choosing a laptop.”

That should be “Hope this helps you decide what your priorities are in choosing a laptop.”

Grrr, argh!”

[Debe]

Well, Ed…

I am truly sorry to have irritated and yet somehow soothed your pet peeves all in one fell swoop. It seems that few correct themselves. I feel that it should occasionally be shown that people DO proofread their posts and DO correct themselves, as an example to those who think they should just hammer out whatever comes rattling out of their brains and take no heed of whether or not it’s readable or understandable. Everyone who makes a typo is NOT going to hop on my bandwagon and correct themselves, but if a handful start proofreading their posts, then I feel this improves the community, and is not a waste of bandwidth.

I have certainly let a few of my errors go. This one sat wrong with me. It reads horribly, and “you” instead of “your” is one of MY pet peeves, even though it’s usually a typo and not poor grammar. Personally, I would like to have the ability to edit my posts here on the COW, like I do on virtually all other fora in which I participate.

Respectfully,

debe

[Ed Dooley]

Sorry Debe,
I was joking, that’s what the smiley face was for. See look, here it is again. 🙂
Ed

[Debe]

Yes, Ed, I did see your joke.

I guess I just didn

[Mitchji]

[debe] “The pros for the 15″ are it’s a lot easier to use on an airplane. It’s lighter, and it’s easier to carry around.

The pro for the 17″ is really screen real estate.

However, that being said, the reason I bought my PB was to edit on-site, not to use on an airplane. My work didn’t require me to use the computer on an airplane. I also bought a computer case with wheels, because regardless of the computer’s size,

So I chose the 17”. I’ve edited on a client’s 15″, and after using my 17″, really see the difference those extra 2″ diagonally get you for screen real estate. I bought my computer to edit on. I decided to buy the best computer I could for editing. Ease of transportation was a secondary concern for me. After all, I’d spend a lot more time editing on it than I’d spend hauling it around.

I also second Tom’s recommendation that you look into a second firewire card bus. You will decrease the chances that you’ll have throughput issues using firewire for media if you have separate busses for input and output data paths. Both the 15″ and the 17″, in fact, all Macs, including the MacBook Pro, ship with one FW bus. Multiple ports, yes, but all those ports share the same internal hardware. “

Another option that would probably cost less and give you much more screen real estate would be to get the 15″ and carry a second LCD for a dual screen configuration. In a wheeled case that would not be too hard.

A second option would be to use an iMac (maybe with a 20″ screen). A friend got an iMac G5 for location editing. This is what he had to say:
“I just got my iMac today – infinitely faster than any powerbook I could have bought at three times the cost. I got the cheapest I could find: a new 1.6gHz 17″ with a CDRW/DVD and 256 RAM on eBay. I upgraded to 1GB RAM and got the iLugger bag.”

I asked him about DV capture:
Can you capture DV with the G5 iMac to a drive other than the boot drive (one firewire bus)? If so are there any problems or tricks?
“Absolutely no problems. I upgraded the imac’s drive to a 320gb and could capture to that drive but I have a firewire drive workflow. I capture to a FWHD on the iMac. I use a Buslink 6 port FW hub on the imac. I really like the imac G5.

This is the bag he got for location use:
https://luggerbags.com/G5.htm

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Debe]

[MitchJi] “Another option that would probably cost less and give you much more screen real estate would be to get the 15” and carry a second LCD for a dual screen configuration. In a wheeled case that would not be too hard. “

Except that my wheeled case is used to also carry my DSR-45 when I travel. I usually do not have the room to pack another monitor. However, it is an interesting idea.

I still stand by my purchase. For the way I like to work, my 17″ been nothing but a pleasure to use. The fewer things I have to lug around, the better.

I know of a guy who takes his iMac G5 on the road. He seems to have much more of a hassle than I do with my laptop, even though he has the wireless keyboard and mouse. This is just my perception. He may think the same thing about my setup.

debe

[Ed Dooley]

And I wouldn’t get to watch The Sopranos at 30,000 feet with an iMac. 🙂
Ed

[debe] “[MitchJi] “Another option that would probably cost less and give you much more screen real estate would be to get the 15″ and carry a second LCD for a dual screen configuration. In a wheeled case that would not be too hard. ”

Except that my wheeled case is used to also carry my DSR-45 when I travel. I usually do not have the room to pack another monitor. However, it is an interesting idea.

I still stand by my purchase. For the way I like to work, my 17″ been nothing but a pleasure to use. The fewer things I have to lug around, the better.

I know of a guy who takes his iMac G5 on the road. He seems to have much more of a hassle than I do with my laptop, even though he has the wireless keyboard and mouse. This is just my perception. He may think the same thing about my setup.”