And then there’s this…

[Andrew Kimery]

If only it could fix the battery life and GFX problems people are reporting… 😉

[Scott Witthaus]

never buy the first generation of a new product or a new OS.

Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter

[Andrew Kimery]

[Scott Witthaus] “never buy the first generation of a new product or a new OS.”

That’s typically my thinking (which is one reason why I ended up buying a 2015 MBP instead of a 2016), though it made more sense when Apple released products on an annual cycle.

[Bill Davis]

Two things.

When I got my wife a MacBook last year that has the single USB C port I bought a similar gizmo. Damn thing gets hotter than hell. So I dumped it and got a Satechi Multi-Port adaptor that’s a MUCH better solution. So do your research.

Second thing: I get that for many, cost is a key factor. I’m very sympathetic to that. But as you move on – the “grunt for dollars” considerations seem more and more to me as an artifact of the long gone era when ONLY the very best computing boxes could stand a chance of handling video streams efficiently. Now they ALL can. Desktops and laptops alike.

Sure, you should spend frugally. But you should invest – commensurate with what you expect as a return.

I want three things from my edit rig.
A – get out of my way and let me get my work done.
B – let me use the software that I feel makes me a faster and more efficient editor
and C – If something goes wrong — let me make things right FAST, so client satisfaction isn’t jeopardized.

Port and/or Dongle issues appear on this list exactly NOWHERE.

IMO it’s emotional comfort misdirection masquerading as a serious issue – largely promoted by people with too much fear of “choosing wrong” in their hearts and too much time on their hands.

FCP X on a MacBook Pro – A is CHECK – B is CHECK – C is ALSO a big fat CHECK.

Result:

Maximum personal comfort. Done.

YMMV.

Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.

[Andrew Kimery]

Weird… it’s almost like your list (based on your experiences, priorities, and needs) and my list (based on my experiences, priorities, and needs) aren’t the same list… ????

I do agree though that tech has reached a point where a broad spectrum of off the shelf machines are suitable based on one’s needs which is why I bought a 2015 model at a discount instead of a 2016 model which, IMO, is overpriced. If my laptop was my main computer I might have made a different decision, but for a secondary machine I think I’m going to be very happy with the 2015 MBP (which is replacing a 2011 MBP).

-Andrew

[Bret Williams]

So where are the thunderbolt ports? I basically need usb and thunderbolt ports just like on my iMac. Usb isn’t an issue as you can basically put a $4 adapter on the end of your usb cable instead of a bulky dongle. But I need to hook up my TB raid and my TB AJA. So I guess I’d be plugging in two dongles into this thing. The HDMI is useful and the SD card is useful every 6 months or so.

_______________________________________________________________________
https://BretFX.com FCP X Plugins & Templates for Editors & Motion Graphics Artists

[Bill Davis]

I thought the USB 3 spec was a fully compatible superset of the Thunderbolt spec and all the new ports support Thunderbolt I/O via plug-and-play adaptors. Am I mistaken about that?

Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.

[Andrew Kimery]

1.5/5 rating aside, wouldn’t this adapter from Apple do the trick, Bret?

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter