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New to Mac, new to FCP–what do I need to upgrade?
I kind of hijacked this thread, and have more questions so I thought I’d start a new post. Here’s the original thread:
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/8/956318
Background:
I’m an Avid user who just took a job where they use FCP. I’m determined to give it a fair shake, but I’m pretty new to FCP and Macs in general. Here’s my system as best as I can recall (not in front of it right now).G5 PowerPC
Dual 2.0GHz (or 2.2GHz, can’t remember exactly which)
2GB RAM
RAID 5 with about 650 GB Storage (it’s an XServe or XSan or something. I can’t remember exactly it’s called–I power it up and down with an XServe RAID Admin app)
Not sure about the graphics card, but I think it’s an AGP 64MB card powering an Apple Cinema Display. Not sure of the size monitor.
Aurora Studio Pipe capture card PCI-X (that’s giving me hell)
OS 10.3.9
Quicktime 7.0.3
FCP 4.5I also have Livetype, the DVD program, and Soundtrack.
I would love to upgrade to FCS 2.0. If I’m going to learn FCP, I’d prefer to have the latest and greatest. We shoot entirely on DVCPro DV50, usually 60i but possibly 30P for greenscreen work, occasionally anamorphic. We do receive Beta tapes from some clients so I’ll need analog component capture for that. Our DVCPro deck is SDI In/Out, embedded audio.
Question:
What do I need to upgrade to run the newest version of FCS? It seems (based on the thread above) that I can run FCP 6.0, but my capture card is from a now deceased company. I don’t expect it to work with FCP 6. If so, what capture card do you suggest? We may be doing HD in a year, but probably not. Otherwise, how does everything else look? Do I need a new graphics card (I’ll post exactly which one I have when I get back to work), more RAM, better storage?There isn’t a budget for a new Mac or I’d just suggest that to the powers that be (or sell this one and go the Avid route, but I’d rather learn another tool. You can’t know too many!). If this were your system, what would you do with it?
Thanks in advance for any and all help. I’ve searched the forums but I’m just not even sure what to search for, so maybe you can just point me to the right thread? Again, I’m a hardcore PC guy coming from Avid, but I must learn Mac and FCP if I plan to compete in the future, so I promise to accept all advice with a big smile and a thank you! 🙂
Michael.
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3 Replies
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I’d upgrade to FCS2.
As for the capture card, if you’re staying SD footage, I’d look for an old Decklink Extreme (SD only version) on ebay. It’s a good card and you can get a great deal on one. If you’re looking at new cards then:
– AJA has great cards and great support
– Blackmagic Design has good cards and support has been difficult to reach in the pastI wouldn’t go with any other card other than these two.
As for the graphics card, if you can find a ATI X800 XT or X850 XT then go for it if you will be using Motion or Color. If you’re not going to be using either of these programs, don’t bother upgrading.
-Russ
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Thanks so much!
However…I had one of the specs wrong. There is no PCI-X, it’s PCI only. With Dual 2GHz processors. So I’ll have to find a PCI card from AJA (I’ve read great things about them, just haven’t had a chance/reason to use their products).
As far as the graphics card goes–do I need to use Color? No. Do I want to use Color and learn as much as I can about it? You better believe it. I’ll check out the card too.
Again, thanks so much for your advice. It’s appreciated.
Michael.
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There were several Dual 2.0 G5 models that had PCI-X and only the last model that only had PCI. You might want to double check the model of your PowerMac just in case.
Another option for you is to use a AJA IO and digitize over firewire.
-Russ
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