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Ok, I really need help justifying Apple Motion….
I’ve submitted my proposal for an Apple Motion-based graphics workstation at my TV station. News director liked it, wants to talk about it more, and wants to direct our engineers to look Motion up at NAB and report back.
Here’s my problem: Our engineers hate Macs with a passion. They don’t take care of the Macs we have; I don’t think they know what repairing permissions is. Our corporate owners “seem” to be deciding to standardize on all Windows computers….everywhere. Sounds like our graphics department is going to replace the G4 and G5 workstations with Dells this fall. Even if it’s just a silly rumor, it’s scaring the poo out of me. I’m hearing comments that “Windows is way cheaper,” and “It’s too tough to network OSX with Windows,” both of which are dubious comments, but I don’t have any hard facts to fight against XP networking assumptions.
This fight I’m looking at is probably going to be the fight of my life, so I’m asking all of you for any help or wisdom concerning Windows networking and integration issues with Avid Symphony and Avid Newscutters (Avid Unity down the road – but not yet!). I’m pretty sure I can render out any video project to Avid’s Meridian codec or to Avid’s DV codec. I suspect my fellow engineers just are ignorant of how to hook stuff up, so I might have to do their work for them. (Get the idea I don’t know Windows very well?)
I don’t know all the “gotcha’s” the engineers might throw at me. How much of a “hassle” is importing & rendering Avid media files? I assume no more a hassle than importing anything, but I’m still pretty green with Motion.
Even if any of you can point me to someone who’s knowledgeable I’d be ready to lick your boots. And if anyone from Apple reads these forums, PLEASE, PLEASE SEND ME AN ANGEL!!!! (sound of hand tremors, shivering)
Mucho thank you’s ahead of time,
mschirad
Dual 2 G5 (2.5 gig RAM), G4, Powerbook G3, PowerMac 8500
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4 Replies
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If the bigwigs are heading to NAB they’ll get an eyeful at the Apple booth.
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You might have some problems no matter what. If you time the same 2D animation project (you on the Mac, them on the Window$) and you win, out goes one of the engineers that the company no longer needs..
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Our engineers won’t win on that one, because there’s tons of stuff they aren’t taking care of already….so there’s plenty for them to do.
A friend told me their Powermacs can’t see their HP Avid Adrenaline’s drives at her post house, and that they need….what is it called….MacDrive? Or something like that, installed on their PC’s in order to see HFS+ formatted drives. They only Ethernet’ed all the computers together; no file server is used. Does any of this sound familiar to people? She doesn’t know why the Adrenaline’s drives don’t show up to OSX. I think she’s referencing the Huge Systems RAID hooked to the Avid. Might there be a Windows setting that protects the RAID from being read by any other networked systems? Just throwing things out here…..
I need a drink….
mschirad
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There are ways to interface with a Windows formatted drive in MacOs X but at a larger level, you’re fighting an uphill battle to justify one application. After Effects and Combustion are both PC and MAC and they are the accepted process in most PC based houses.
I personaly don’t get the PC only mentality but the price of a MAC is not the defining reason for choosing a platform, to me. If it works for your facility, I seriously doubt you can effectively change any minds with Motion.
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