HD Editing on a MacBookPro

[Chris Yigit]

Hello Edward,

Might I ask what formats you are planning to work with, SD/HD, DVCPro, XDCAM, etc…? I think this will influence you choice.
Also, will you be going back and forth from MBP to your MacPro?

The reason I ask is that although I do not have a SeriTek/SpyderHUB, it seems like a very handy device for solvinmg connectivity problems, however i do not think it will give you eSata throughput or bandwidth that you would expect to see when using an ESata device. If you connect the an eSata device to your SeriTek/SpyderHUB to USB, I suspect your performance will only be as good as a USB drive connected to the same USB port. Same for FW. However, if you are working with compressed video (that’s why I asked the questions prior), you should expect to be able to edit multiple layers of video easily on a quality FW storage.

I hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Chris

[Edward Bishop]

Hi Chris

Thanks for this.

At the moment all workflows will be centered on my Macbook Pro, so no going on to a MacPro for increased CPU speed and connectivity.

I’ll be working with all the common SD formats and compressed HD. In fact the reason I’m posting is because I’m probably going to have to do a Red Camera job in the next few weeks so I want to be able to work with Pro Res 2k files as easily as I can. Hence why I want the eSATA unit. I think, from what I read, that the setup I outlined in the earlier post will just about be up to it. Also I need to work with XDCAM, DVCproHD and the other common compressed HD formats.

As you mention, having the eSATA unit hooked up to the Spyder HUB and then connected to the FW800 port, will reduce bandwith to that of firewire 800, but my thinking is that if there is no immediate need to have the Matrox hooked up, then I can just connect the eSATA unit to the Express slot and enjoy all the bandwith that it offers. Then when it comes to sitting with the client I root the eSATA through the HUB and connect the Matrox back to the Express slot.

Do you think this makes sense?
Also if I downcovert HD in realtime during capture, is a FW800 connection going to be sufficient. I’m thinking it should be at Pro Ress is about 14 – 20 MB/s and the FW800 connection has bandwith of around 50MB/s.

Thanks again for your thoughts

Ed

[Chris Yigit]

Hi Edward,

OK, so I now understand why you would want the Spyder hub, your workflow makes sense. I was concerned that you were expecting eSata numbers through the hub, but obviously you understand the limitations. I think your setup makes sense. The fact that you plan to work with so many formats plays well with your choice of MXO2.

You mention downscaling on capture. If you are referring to HD->SD on capture, this will definitely help your cause. ProRes SD is less that 10MB/s. That should give you plenty of room to manoeuvre. Even is you work in the HD space you just need to make sure you get the right storage. There are several manufacturers out there. If you look at the following link, you can see some performance numbers that you should expect on a FW800 connection in terms of compressed streams.
https://www.g-technology.com/products/g-raid2.cfm

Again, I hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Chris

[Edward Bishop]

Great. Thanks for this Chris

[Ed Dooley]

This is what Matrox says about the Express card slot on MBPs:
>>>The MXO2 must be connected to the express34 slot to function on a MacBookPro and requires the full bandwidth from the express34 slot to work.

Since the full bandwidth from the express34 slot is exclusively needed for the MXO2, it’s not possible to connect the MXO2 to an eSATA port or allowing a passthrough for eSATA drives. Therefore, there isn’t a workaround possible to connect both the eSATA drives and MXO2 to the express34 slot.

If you must connect the eSATA drives to the express34 slot, then you cannot use the MXO2 at the same time. <<<<<

[Edward Bishop]

Thanks Ed.

I thought this might be the case, so I’m hoping capture and playback to and from an eSATA can be achieved using the spyder HUB connected to the FW800 port when I have the MX02 plugged in.

Thanks for the info
Ed

[Eyad Hamam]

Is there a Prores 2K???

As for firewire 800, it’s not the best but it’s pretty good. I sometimes edit HD Prores and XDCAM HD on a laptop using a CaldigitVR and a G-raid2. I use firewire 800 for both. I get realtime playback until I start getting into 3 or more layers.

If you end up trying the Hub please let us know if it works. You could also try posting a query in the matrox forum… https://forums.creativecow.net/forum/matroxvideosystems

regards

eyad hamam
http://www.eyadhh.com

[Gary Adcock]

[Eyad Hamam] “Is there a Prores 2K??? “

yes- but nothing to play it out from on a laptop.

however what in your right mind makes you think that you should even be attempting 2K on a laptop?
in any format?

Just plain ludicrous my friend.

I have been there and done that- I was showing UC HD on laptop before FCP did HD, I can assure you that this is not a good idea with the existing hardware.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

Inside look at the IoHD
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/adcock_gary/AJAIOHD.php

[Edward Bishop]

Hi Gary

I based the 2k Pro Res workflow on the statement below which comes from the website and you are absolutely right, they say don’t use 2k. Thanks for this reminder.

———————–

‘Transfer the entire contents of your RED-FLASH CF card or RED-DRIVE to another drive for editing (RAID storage is recommended for best performance)

Import the desired QuickTime reference movies into a new FCP project. You can use either the 2K or 1K sized reference movies. On a MacBook Pro laptop, we recommend the use of 1K size movies.

Select the ProRes HQ 1080p easy setup in FCP to render files and create an online quality, HD rendered media for finishing.’

[Gary Adcock]

[gary adcock] “have been there and done that- I was showing UC HD on laptop before FCP did HD, I can assure you that this is not a good idea with the existing hardware. “

That being said…

be prepared for hardware and software to fight you every step of the way, however if you are good enough with the technology, anything is possible.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

Inside look at the IoHD
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/adcock_gary/AJAIOHD.php