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Considering FC Studio Purchase & Need Some Info
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@ Shane:
Well, this would tend to put to rest the suggestion which some have made claiming FCP is not good enough to do Network TV post with. I’m really glad to hear this 🙂Mark
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Yup…I use FCP professionally. Three broadcast specials and two Tv series.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Mark Job] “One editor refered to FCP as “render cut pro.” Is this really fair ? “
Nope, not with a properly configured system.
[Mark Job] “2. Can I run FC Studio on the top new iMAC computer ? “
Yes, but then you WILL be doing a lot of unnecessary rendering. If you plan to work pro, purchase a Mac Pro, high speed media array and a Kona 3.
We’ve delivered upwards of 100 network HD shows using nothing but Final Cut Studio. Color is a HUGE part of those shows.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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If I understood you correctly, Walter, you’re using FCP with a MAC Pro and a hardware video accelerator card (Kona 3), and you don’t have to render to playback and trim and drop effects onto your timeline ?
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Mark[Mark Job] “I am an Avid editor who is seriously considering the purchase of a MAC computer and running Final Cut Studio on it. I need to get some serious feedback from experienced final cut pro editors on a few points.”
Mark,
Since March, when you asked pretty much the same questions not much has changed, except you said back then that you edited on Avid Xpress Pro. You received a number of answers about FCP on the iMac in March, so I’m wondering what happened, why the need to ask the same questions?
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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[Mark Job] “If I understood you correctly, Walter, you’re using FCP with a MAC Pro and a hardware video accelerator card (Kona 3), and you don’t have to render to playback and trim and drop effects onto your timeline ?”
The Kona card is not a video accelerator. It’s a high end video I/O card that allows me to work all the way up to 2K resolution. It also converts just about anything to anything. SD to HD. 720 to 1080. 1080 to 720. HD to SD. All in realtime at full broadcast quality.
The Kona also allows a bit more realtime funationality running DVCPro HD and HDV due to the realtime scaling handled by the card allowing the processors to bypass that function.
Where we really get more realtime functionality are very fast SATA Arrays. Running up to and beyond 500MB/s that’s what really gives us the most realtime functionality. High speed processors, AJA Kona 3 and very high speed arrays, it’s the entire package that gives you the most realtime functionality.
If you click on my Profile, you can see exactly what we run in all three suites.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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TONS of broadcast shows edit with FCP…and a few network shows too, like SCRUBS.
But FCP doesn’t do everything, it does fit every workflow. Avid excels in areas where FCP chokes. And FCP excels in areas where Avid chokes. It all depends on the workflow you have and what you need done.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Shane Ross] “But FCP doesn’t do everything, it does fit every workflow. Avid excels in areas where FCP chokes. And FCP excels in areas where Avid chokes. It all depends on the workflow you have and what you need done. “
Very well said. The big difference between FCP and Avid is FCP is infinitely configurable. Avid you have to follow a very strict set of configurations. That’s how Avid can guarantee performance and FCP’s performance is wholly based on how you set it up.
FCP on an iMac is not nearly as strong as FCP on a Mac Pro with an AJA Kona 3 and a fast SATA or Fibre array.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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@ David:
Several things have changed. One, you already mentioned. Now I run on Avid MC.2. Apple has upgraded their top model of iMAC, and I wanted to know if any FCP users were cutting on an iMAC without problems. I wantede to know what FCP editors thought about using the strongest model. One FCP user responded that he was cutting on an iMAC and it worked well for him.
3. I never asked about rendering times or amount of rendering required in FCP, and this was the subject of some controversey on the Avid user forum (Avid website) for a while. When somebody trashes something as bad as it got trashed, then I get suspicious and want to revisit my initial inquireries and do a little more research. The FCP editors here have been very kind to update me and give me a little more specific information on a subject I did not ask about before.
What’s the matter David ? Did I do something wrong ? I haven’t been here since March, and now I’m back. Did I break some forum rule or something ? You make it sound like I shouldn’t be here. 🙁
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Mark,
The limitation I mention in my post above probably contributes more to the rendering criticisms that you have heard more than anything else. It’s a clear difference in performance from Avid and one that a lot of people making the switch are shocked about…since its something an Avid could do for many years, they just assume FCP can do it… and are stunned and annoyed at all the rendering they have to do on a fully decked out, Kona 3 equipped FCP system. I do a great deal of work on sports programming, so I run into people who are frustrated with this limitation all the time. However, not every show has the same needs. If you don’t need keyable graphics all over your show, you will probably never notice or care about this limitation. If you are doing complex layered graphics, using lots of plugins, that always need renders on both Avid and FCP you will also probably not notice the difference. I have delivered network shows on both platforms. You need to do your homework about the strengths and weaknesses of both (which you are doing!) and think hard about what your needs are.
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