FCP System Questions

[Tom Meegan]

If you need multiple component outputs, you could pick up a distribution amplifier like this one:

https://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=KR%2DVM100CB&off=158&sort=prod

Good luck with your transiton over to FCP.

Tom

[Russell Lasson]

I pick up a couple of component DA boxes ebay and they’ve worked great, plus save quite a bit of money too.

-Russ

[Richard Definis]

Russ,

What is your set-up?

rich

[Russell Lasson]

We have four edit systems connected by a SAN and a couple of portable edit systems (iMacs and MacBook Pros). The main systems have either a Kona LH or a Blackmagic HD card for digitizing. We have a HD projector and a couple of Sony HD CRT monitors.

All of the main machines are in one room and we use a patch bay to be able to use any machine in any room. That’s where I have the component distribution amps (to send to a broadcast monitor and the projector at the same time.)

We have DVI extention cables the go to each of the three (soon to be 4 and a half) edit rooms.

I’ve really put it all together myself (including building many of the audio and video cables).

-Russ

[Richard Definis]

Are you using the ATI Radeon X1900 XT graphics card with your machines or the stock NVIDIA cards? I’m trying to build this machine as a dual boot box with FCP & MC software but Avid has only approved the NVIDIA cards, imagine that!

[Russell Lasson]

The best graphics card that we have is the PCI-X ATI X800 XT in a G5 dual 2.5. We will be upgrading our Mac Pro to the ATI X1900 XT soon (best bang for the buck currently). My new MacBook Pro has a great NVIDIA mobile card in it. (GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB RAM)

-Russ

[Richard Definis]

Russ,

Do you have the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB card in the MacPro now? That is the only card approved by Avid so in order to make this new machine run both FCP & Avid I would need to use the NVIDIA card. I’m curious how much of a difference there is between the two cards (ATI & NVIDIA).

[Russell Lasson]

Yes, we have the 7300 in our Mac Pro now, but we’ll be putting a Kona 3 card and the ATI X1900 XT card in it to run Color.

Check out the benchmarks on the Mac Pro Graphics test:

https://barefeats.com/quad10.html

-Russ

[Richard Definis]

Wow! That’s impressive. I think I’m going to just roll the dice on this and go with the better card. Comes a point when you have to stop riding the see-saw and make the jump. Thanks for your input on everything so far.

rich

[Richard Definis]

Russ,

I’m on my way setting up the new system, MacPro 3.0GHz. Dual Core. I have a question about internal storage. I would like to put 2-250 gig bootable drives inside, one for FCP and one for Avid Media Composer, in the other bays I would like to put 2-500 gig drives for media storage. After reading the MacPro specs it states that bay one can have a 250 gig drive but the other 3 bays can have 500 or 750 gig drives, will it be a problem if I put a 250 gig in bay 2? Also, how should I stripe the 2- 500gig drives? Does my plan sound wacky or do you have a better idea on how to get both Avid and FCP on the same system. I will purchase external storage down the road but for now the 2-500 gig drives should work for me.

Rich