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MacBook Pro Sony HDV and External Hard Drives
Hi,
I’m an Avid Xpress Pro refugee who has decided to convert to Final Cut Pro.
I have some questions.
Will I be able to use Final Cut Pro Universal on one of the MacBook Pro Dual Core laptops to Capture HDV from my Sony M10U deck via firewire to an external harddrive, either connected through USB or some how through the ExpressCard slot?
Once I get the HDV there will I be able to edit it with that machine?
The web site says Final Cut Pro Universal is shipping this month (March 2006). Has it? If I buy the regular Final Cut Pro now, will I still have to pay $50 for an upgrade or should I just wait for Universal to ship?
Sorry for all of the questions. As much as I enjoyed using Avid’s software, I really hated being an Avid customer so I’m feeling sort of liberated 🙂
Jeron
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2 Replies
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Since no one has tested it yet I can’t say for SURE that your plan will work but everything I’ve seen leads me to believe you’ll be fine. Those laptops can compare themselves to some of the early G5 Powermacs in terms of performance which is really awesome.
You’d certainly need external storage, like you suggested. Firewire 400 will probably work but that would be the bare minimum. Don’t use USB. I would start exploring options that work with card slot. That would be your best bet. I think you can get a firewire 800 card for that slot which would let you use something like a G-Tech RAID, among other options. (Maybe even a SATA card? I haven’t heard but it might exist.)
If you buy the non-universal version then, yes, you would have to pay to have the discs exchanged. Probably best for you to just wait until you can buy the universal version outright.
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Thanks Jeff,
I don’t mind spending $50 for the “crossgrade”. I just figured it would be easier if I could just order the Universal version it might be easier than placing 2 orders. I wasn’t too sure if the Universal was out yet or not. I was hoping since I couldn’t find an FCP Universal part number that Apple will just send me a copy of the Universal since I ordered it yesterday.
The laptop only has one firewire port which would be used by the deck. I’ve ruled out USB for external hard drive because of its unreliable sustained output. Some Xpress Pro users have gotten by with USB media drives but I don’t understand how 🙂
I’ve seen some firewire ExpressCard/34 announced and SIIG has an ExpressCard/54 which is a SATA controller for two drives. I’m hoping they will come out with an ExpressCard/34 SATA controller. The ideal solution for me would be to run two external SATA drives in a RAID 0 for my media drive 🙂
Jeron
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