-
safest FCP version(s)
An intriguing issue to me is the diversity of Final Cut systems that are out there among us. I have just read another thread that touched on this(“Punks and perfection — The instability debate”).
To me our human nature is to assume that everyone else in the world uses the same hardware and software versions, “knows what I know,” “edits the way I do,” etc. But of course that’s not true. None of us is at the center of the universe.An important point made was that different Mac platforms have different behaviors, tendencies and (obviously) capabilities. That might make a certain configuration more suitable for one application or another. This got me focused on the question: what is currently the most stable recipe for my particular system? I wonder whether the larger population has a collective experience that could result in good advice about this.
Actually, for me it involves two systems, both set up within the past year. I’ll call them FCP System A and FCP System B.
FCP System A
content currently edited on this system: DV NTSC
hardware: Mac Pro dual-quadcore 3.0Ghz Intel Xeon
RAM: 5GB 667 MHz DDR2
FCP version: 6.0.1
QT version: 7.2
OS version: 10.4.10
media disc storage: two internal SATA 700GB / Journaled HFS+FCP System B
content currently edited on this system: DV NTSC
hardware: MacBook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5Ghz
RAM: 2GB 667 Mhz DDR2
FCP version: 6.0.1
QT version: 7.4.5
OS version: 10.5.2
media disc storage: various external USB drives / Journaled HFS+I realize the software versions I have are not the latest. My philosophy has long been that if you find a combination that works and is stable, don’t mess with it. And these two current FCP systems seem to reinforce that. In a year’s time my System A (the Mac Pro) has been a model of stability and predictability. System B has been less so. Fortunately so far its problems have been nothing that trashing preference files did not resolve, but I would like to improve its dependability.
Anyway, can anyone make suggestions on software updates likely to be beneficial on my particular systems? And I wonder if there’s a reliable reference for this kind of information on the web. It would be great if the advice was derived from input contributed by a large population of users.
Thanks in advance.
-
4 Replies
-
Hi Dave,
At first sight I see that you are using USB and Journaled HDs. USB HDs are no suitable for video editing because they o not offer a sustained transfer speed. Also no-Journaling has been long recommended for media storing.
You talk about software and hardware combinations as the reason of possible instability but there is another very important one: Maintenance.
If you want your system keep running smooth, Permissions and directories needs to be always clean. Those are the cause of the 90% of the strange behave of FC or any other application.
Cheers,
Rafael -
Media drives should NEVER be journaled. Turn that off the next time you erase them.
USB drives should NEVER be used for media storage. They simply are not capable of the sustained data rate needed for video editing. Especially as they fill up. FW400 would be a minimum for that system.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
-
hi Dave,
Not that I use USB connections for media drives, but in case it seems that USB2 (480 mbps) is marginally faster than FireWire 400 (400 mbps), the key term that Rafael and Walter have used is _sustained_ transfer rate.
USB2 can hypothetically reach transfer speeds of up to 480 megabits per second (divide by 8 for megaBYTES per second), only in short bursts.
As far as stability and speed go, I can vouch that the Sonnet SATA PRO ExpressCard/34 adapter
https://sonnettech.com/product/temposataproexpress34.html
gives my MacBook Pro screaming fast media drive access speeds.I’ve been putting various SATA drives (typically Seagate 7200 RPM units) into inexpensive eSATA + USB2 cases (usually Vantec), but next time I’m going to get Vantec’s new removable HD “toaster”
https://vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/372
and stop the rat’s nest of power supplies and housings.Not sure if I can use this unit in a RAID configuration, but if not I’ll buy 2 and be done with housings for the forseeable future.
For the budget-minded, there’s the Calvary Hurricane 1TB external eSATA/USB unit for only $149., though of couse one has no idea what drive is inside:
https://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/System_Drives/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&cs=cadhs1&sku=A2339781best,
Ross
-
As you have two pretty basic systems with no PCIe capture or raid cards that will also compete for PCI bandwidth and CPU cycle time; and you are editing a format that can be played on the slowest of hard drives, you have it pretty good.
I found FCP 6.0.1 to be the buggiest of them all, but for you it’s a beacon of stability (6.0.3 was terrible as well). Want to read about it? Pay special attention to the render files bug:
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/garchow_jeremy/final_cut_pro_6.php
The disk journaling war wages on. Journaling is ALWAYS ON for me.
Even number of RAM in 4, 8 or 16GB combinations seem to work best in MacPros, but since you don’t have any PCI cards that could possibly conflict, you might be okay there.
The rumor is to stay away from 10.5.6, but again you don’t have PCI cards so you’re fine. If you do decide to go to 10.5.6, make sure to download the stand alone 10.5.6 combo update installer from apple.com
Just like you said, there are too many variables of FCP systems to count, too many possible combinations, which by default would seem to rule out one possible omniscient source of FCP stability which is what it seems you are searching for . There is no ‘reliable’ resource that makes it easy for you and spells out exactly what switch to hit by typing in a url and having the most stable sources scroll across the screen in a CNN ticker style banner. You say that no one is the center of the universe, but if you read forums and see what people are doing to keep their machines stable to feed their families/pay the rent, you might start to see the forest for the trees (or the galaxy for the stars?).
B>[Dave Matthis] “And I wonder if there’s a reliable reference for this kind of information on the web. It would be great if the advice was derived from input contributed by a large population of users. “
Funny, it seems you might have already arrived at one possible destination. If you are having specific problems, I find it is best to ask questions. First you can try and search for someone else’s problems as it can help you avoid your own.
Welcome to the Cantina, pull up a chair and watch out for bounty hunters.
Jeremy
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up