Premiere Pro 5.5

[Todd Kopriva]

You can try Premiere Pro CS5.5 free for 30 days and see for yourself.

There are basic resources for learning about Premiere Pro here.

BTW, regarding cost, note that Premiere Pro is 50% off right now.

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Todd Kopriva, Adobe Systems Incorporated
Technical Support for professional video software
After Effects Help & Support
Premiere Pro Help & Support
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[Daniel Startek]

I’m in the process of switching from Final Cut Pro to Premiere Pro for Windows. The Mercury engine rocks! No more renders and the keys are cleaner too! And an 8 core Windows computer is much cheaper than a Mac although Windows 7 bites!

[David Dobson]

There is no job you can’t do with Premier Pro CS5+. I work on PPro and FCP interchangeably and vastly prefer PPro on a PC. Win7 is better than Mac OSX, unless it’s all you know.

[Tom Daigon]

Dave- “Win7 is better than Mac OSX, unless it’s all you know.”

Hey Dave, all I know is after years on Windoze, living with a constant concern with threats of viruses and malware, and trying to stay current with the latest virus definitions, and concern when I went to new websites to get needed media…Im never going back. My current system flew with FCP and jets with Premiere Pro. And with support from great developers like Adobe and AJA I have a system that isnt top heavy with old code and riddled with operational flaws. But you seem to like it…probably because its all YOU know.

Tom Daigon
Avid DS / PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com

[Tim Kolb]

[Tom Daigon] “But you seem to like it…probably because its all YOU know.”

Tom, with all due respect…step carefully here.

Most of us who have been in this business any period of time have used a Mac…we had a fleet of them through the 90s…Media 100, ProTools (My partner had the first system in the midwest), Photoshop, Infini-D (there’s a blast from the past for someone no doubt.)…we ran Macs for every production role in the house.

We ran into some problems when G4s had so much RF noise in the case that moving forward with our Media 100s (hardware systems back then) proved impossible unless we wanted to run them case-open…not to mention an issue where the machine could ‘take’ a GB of RAM (a big deal back then, and priced accordingly) but anything over 512 MB actually slowed the machine’s operation…markedly. Of course, Apple didn’t tell me that and I had some expensive RAM that fit in nothing else made of course, that I could use to level table legs.

After all that, and a FW bus that would simply stop functioning whenever it darn well felt like it in the ProTools room (using a Digi02 control surface dependent on FW) requiring a trip to the authorized repair center each time, and the fact that Premiere 6.5 Mac version actually ran on Cheetah immediately, but we had to dual boot to launch FCP (possibly until Puma, but I don’t recall)…

We noticed that an evaluation workstation we had in-house that ran Windows 2000 Pro seemed to just run.

Windows machines were relatively inexpensive, so I bought another one later and once we rendered our first AE project on it…I was sold. The Macs were significantly slower when they were actually operational…but the time it was taking to keep them operational was unreasonable…we left for the dark side.

Until Macs went to Intel processors, every speed comparison that said Mac was faster at creative functions was just plain spin. Photoshop, AE…anything involving 3D…Windows machines were faster.

Now the Mac/Windows power debate is moot…the systems draw on so many similar hardware configurations…however, I could not move to a MacPro workstation if I wanted to as there simply are not enough peripheral board slots to move my system into one. I’ve had several colleagues who realized the board count limitations only after they’d purchased the peripheral that won’t go in without something coming out…they just assumed that a professional workstation, it had the capability to accommodate it.

When BOXX or Safe Harbor…or DV411 builds a system, the types of conflict issues that many seem to complain about just don’t occur. Judge Windows performance and stability on a professionally designed and built system if you want to compare one to a MacPro. If you want to use some computer homebrew guy’s account of how his system functions as a comparison, you’d need to find a home-built Mac…’nuff said.

Most Mac users are quick to point out the virus-prone Windows machines…well, we ran Norton AntiVirus on all our Macs in the 90s as there were several worm and trojan attacks…one that disguised itself as a print driver was rumored to have infected the entire print industry in Hong Kong in less than 24 hours.

I can’t remember ever having a virus that my antivirus software didn’t catch and quarantine on my Windows systems…and Macs aren’t immune…they’re just not popular enough to get much impact from hacking them. (I’d look for the next serious virus to attack iPhones at some point soon. If you want to make a name for yourself as a hacker, that’s the new frontier.)

I’ve used Macs on and off over the last series of years…they are very nice and the interface with the device is definitely a notch above most other computers, however, Windows 7 works pretty well in my shop…no more drivers and that sort of thing to deal with amongst the video peripherals than my friends on Mac deal with…in fact the last time I changed/added a harddrive subsystem, I don’t recall it affecting how many monitors I could light up…that was a problem a MacPro/FCP colleague had not so long ago. Some sort of Apple backdoor “resource balancing” or some such thing…the kind of nonsense a Mac user would expect from Windows I suppose.

Macs are nice, but it’s not like the rest of us are out here using Windows Millenium. Not everyone who has used a Mac has been baptized into the glow of its supposed indisputable and glorious perfection…

Some of us just need to get some stuff done, (and I don’t have to worry about Bill Gates jacking around with my edit software).

So I guess I’ll remain “un-churched” in the computer wars and when I can gain ground by switching again, I’ll do so.

Until then, we PPro users who run our Windows machines will continue to help FCP guys who are coming over, but remain working on Macs…but I’d steer clear of the OS religious wars because most of us PPro users are already setting aside the “You don’t use FCP? How can you be a professional?” prattle we’ve been getting from FCP users for too many years…

🙂

TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,

Adobe Certified Instructor

[Chris Rodriguez]

Thank you for the response. Unfortunately, since I don’t own either Final Cut or Avid the 50% discount doesn’t appear to apply to me…I pretty much have decided on Premiere, now I’m deciding between an iMac or a PC and Windows 7. Any opinions you have on that would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

[Chris Rodriguez]

I am leaning toward Premiere Pro and I had been leaning toward an iMac since I might install Dreamweaver as well. So you’re saying if I want to save I could get a PC with Windows 8?

thanks,
Chris

[Chris Rodriguez]

Hey Tom,

So is your current system a Mac? You feel Windows is more susceptible to a virus and it’s worth spending a little more to get a Mac?

Thank you,
Chris

[Tom Daigon]

Sorry Tim but I have little patience for snide comments (like Daves) that serve little purpose other than to belittle others folks choice of computers and stroke the ego of the antagonist. I dont care for pissing contests at all. But I will be damned if I tolerate sniping from others. I didnt like it when Avid users did it or when FCP users did it and I dont like it when PC users do it. Unless I start complaining about my setup and ask for advice on alternative computers to purchase, any snotty retorts about one system being superior to another are unrequested and inappropriate.
Yes its a shame that PrP users were treated with a lack of respect in the past. Is that a good reason for them to act in the same disrespectful manner to others?
Lets agree to disagree and make a deal. I wont make fun of yours as long as you dont make fun of mine.
In 30 years of editing I have used and loved many systems (CMX, Avid Media Composer, Avid DS, FCP). I have worked in video production facilities that were both mac and pc based. Editing is a labor of love for me. I get no happiness from denigrating other software, hardware or human beings. But I guess in this phase of my life I have little patience suffering foolish comments like the one that spawned this diatribe.

Tom Daigon
Avid DS / PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com

[Tom Daigon]

Chris, yes I have a Mac Pro now. I used to have a fine Dell several years ago. If Premiere Pro is your choice of NLE, I suggest exhaustive research on the performance of PrP with both computer platforms.
I went to Mac Pro in order to use FCP. I abandoned FCP X and came to the strongest contender at the moment. Both platforms have a lot to offer and some short comings as well. But base your decision on hard facts not emotional attachments of others. My system is solid and I never worry about viruses. Compare contemporary units (mine is 3 years old) to see how they do with CS 5.5. The best of luck and happy comparison shopping 🙂

Tom Daigon
Avid DS / PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com