[Ben Holmes]

[John Collucci] “Ben, forgive me if you have mentioned this already, but I’ve been reading about this new option enabled on the rMBP for applications. If you get info on an app file, there is now a checkbox to disable HiDPI mode, or rather “Open in low resolution”.

Have you tried this with FCP7? What is the default setting?”

Hi John

The box is greyed out for FCP7 – with ‘low resolution’ checked. This is the behaviour of apps that OSX does not deem retina- capable. I think it’s safe to assume it won’t ever be ‘retina ready’.

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

[Eric Santiago] “Im curious as to how this rMBP works with an Apple Cinema 30 (if its even possible) or (uggh the glare) Apple 27 TB.”

Hi Eric. I don’t own either, but I’ll try tomorrow with a 27″ iMac – I plan on using this setup from time to time in the field, as it’s a nice way to get a bigger desktop and a mobile system when I’m working out of a hotel on tournaments.

FWIW, the rMBP is still glare-y if the sun’s behind you – but who edits outdoors?

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

Hi John

I’m running the 2.6Ghz with 512Gb flash memory (read and write speeds of 400Mb/s+!) and 16Gb RAM. Performance is very ‘snappy’ – feels a little quicker than my 2011 quad-core iMac, and way faster than my 2008/9 Mac Pros.

As I said in the FCP forum thread, the weirdest thing is adapting to a display that looks sharp at so many different sizes. Although you only get the ‘print sharp’ text at ‘optimised for retina’ 1400×900, all of the ‘more space’ resolutions (which officially max at a 1920×1200 ‘equivalent’) look super sharp as well – no scaling evident.

For info, I achieved the 2880×1800 resolution using the Wineskin hack (see other thread). It’s surprisingly readable…

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

By the way – all of the above have been adjusted to give the much vaunted 100% HD video window. Here’s the ‘true retina’ setting GUI with a 100% window:

Unless I’m missing something, not sure I’d ever use FCPX like that – no room for the inspector for a start. If you note the windows above all claim to be 100% for HD, it’s obvious the scaled outputs give scaled HD…

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

I’m still yet to install the MXO2, but I can confirm that Avid Symphony works fine (it works in low resolution mode, and looks fine at higher scaled resolutions).

I’m slowly getting used to the idea of the rMBP. Unlike the 17″ MBP, which only had one sharp resolution of 1920×1200, with small text everywhere, the massive resolution of this machine allows me to choose between several very sharp resolutions – depending on what I’m using. This is the reason Apple have removed the display ‘resolutions’ on the display options – really, it’s just a matter of choosing what your size/space tradeoff is.

All the pictures of ‘bad’ apps (such as Twitter, which looks particularly soft at Retina setting) look better at higher ‘scaled’ resolutions. I really don’t find anything ‘unusable’ at these settings. The amazing thing is that you DON’T SEE THE SCALING. I think that’s the hardest thing to explain – when your only point of reference is LOWERING the resolution on a standard display.

I’ve spent some time in Retina setting, and whilst it initially looks like a small workspace, you quickly adapt to making the text smaller in retina apps, and enjoying the crisp text. Whilst I can’t wait for all apps to be retina-ready, in the mean time, it really needn’t give you concern at all.

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

[Andrew Kimery] “With regards to the bug, toggling external video on/off has always fixed it for me”

Thanks Andrew – that does work, with the external video set to Main display, although I had to do it twice, once for the canvas, and once for the viewer.

I’m amazed I’ve used a piece of software for so long without seeing this – as I said, I never needed to switch resolutions before….

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

Hi Paul

I have a Samson USB mike – but I can’t really recommend it, and I use it infrequently. I hear good things about the Snowball mikes. Apple sell some in store – maybe ask to try one? Usually, we use a USB audio interface and a Coles lip mike to do voice-over in busy areas on outside broadcasts. I forget the name of the interface, but it has an XLR input and is inexpensive – I think it’s an older version of the M-Audio mobile pre. If you get one of these, you can probably use existing mics….

As far as ‘top spec’ goes – the 2.7Ghz upgrade and 756Gb flash upgrades CANNOT be worth the extra cash – I cannot recommend either. I’m pleased with my spec -the 2.6 comes as standard with the 512Gb memory (and I’ve already filled 100GB with Applications) BUT DO UPGRADE to 16gb RAM. It’s a must now for newer apps, and you CANNOT upgrade it later.

This may mean a ‘custom’ spec you can’t get in the Apple store – but mark my words it will be the most popular spec with resellers. I get my gear from the excellent Jigsaw24 – and I expect they’ll carry this spec in stock – when they can get them back in stock!

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

Hi Paul

My method has been unchanged for a while – and I’ve never had a problem. So let’s see if we’re doing this the same way:

1. Insert FCS installer disk
2. Open disk Utility
3. Click on the DISK (not the drive) in the left hand column.
4. Select “New Image” at the top
5. Select destination to external drive or desktop. (I leave the settings as they are ‘compressed’ etc)
6. Wait for disk image to write.
7. Eject external drive and take to new computer. Insert drive, and browse to the desk image you created, and double click.

The image then mounts exactly as if you had inserted the disk. Anything on it can be installed exactly as if it were on the disk.

Sorry if this is exactly what you are doing – but I thought I’d lay it out in case it differs. Lion or not, I’ve never had a problem yet. I will admit, I don’t bother imaging all the media disks for FCS these days, as I use AE for most graphics work, and can’t stand Livetype etc.

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

Hi John

That’s interesting about the bug – I suppose I have been using FCP7 for so long on Cinema displays and laptops where I NEVER change resolution that I was unaware of it. The caveat still holds though – you may find yourself playing around more with resolution than you did on any other Mac. I still can’t decide what I prefer – the amazing text of the retina setting, or the increased space (and still relative sharpness) of the 2 scaled settings. Some applications suit some better than others.

As far as CS6 goes, quick tests opening AE and PS show clear differences in GUI text rendering. At Retina resolution, the text in AE is clear – whereas PS is fuzzy, like that bad Chrome rendering that was all over the web after launch.

However, switch to the ‘scaled’ setting, and it’s much less apparent – even the one-scale-up of ‘1680×1050″ equivalent makes it appear much sharper – although it’s already quite small at this res.

Ben

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[Ben Holmes]

Hi Paul

No problem.

As far as the adapter issues go – well, I guess that will bother some people more than others. I don’t see a big difference between a lead, and a lead with an adapter on it. I already own one thunderbolt drive, and see the firewire ones as legacy in the next couple of years – some of them are FW400 anyway, and already require a FW400 to 800 adapter anyway! I use ethernet sometimes to connect to SAN storage, so I’ll be getting a full set of adapters soon. Apple as ever is ahead of the curve here, but thunderbolt and USB3 is MUCH more useful to me than FW and ethernet – so I’ll take it. I can’t argue about the audio input – I own a single USB condenser mike for guide voicing, so this is not my issue, but can see it could be yours.

As far as battery goes – I had my 17″ with integrated battery for 2.5 years, used it every day and never saw any serious degradation in battery life, so I don’t have any big worries there. I also sold the 17″ for 50% of what I paid for it – and my guess is that the resale on these retina units will be far better in 2-3 years than the standard (soon to be obsolete) MBPs. I factor this into all my Mac purchases now – and I probably spend more than most.

Having the 512Gb SSD (or flash) is seriously useful. You can see the benefits all over the system and my brief play with CS6 shows how useful this will be for disk caching in AE. I’m seeing drive speeds of 400Mb/s on read AND write.

With regards to your specific questions:

1. Yes HDMI output works for vision AND audio. This is pretty neat – especially as it’s a standard HDMI connection, not some sort of mini adapter arrangement. BUT – brief tests I did with my Samsung HDTV showed juddering in panning shots. In other words – it’s a great addition, but is no substitute for a video output device. I look forward to adding an AJA T-tap as well as testing output from the MXO2. Mirroring the desktop via HDMI worked well, as well as extending the desktop – much more sensible than using a DVI-HDMI adapter.

2. I installed FCP7 from a disk image I keep on a USB drive for installing FCS. This is a great way to speed up installation (I have 3 Mac Pros that regularly get scrubbed and cleaned) as it’s much faster. However – I did do a disk based installation on a Macbook Air recently using Air Disk from the iMac in my office, and would think this would be a relatively simple alternative.

I’d also add another benefit. Although this machine is not as light as an Air (I have an 11″) it’s certainly lighter than the old ones, and after the riot shield of steel that was my 17″ MBP, I’d have to say I’m pleased with the portability. Even the new-fangled fans are nicer – and rarely seem to kick in.

Ben

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