[Frank Black]

Stephen and Alf, thanks guys. In this thread and from other research, I have learned a lot about both FCP and Vegas and a lot about how editing systems must re-compress when changes are made, thereby resulting in a lost of quality, and for this reason a higher quality codec will eventually result in less of a loss. Also that it is better for system performance and finished product to work in one codec, especially if you will be jumping from system to system, such as Color.

[Frank Black]

Thanks Dave — about IPS.

[Frank Black]

Sebastian, how do you color balance them?

[Frank Black]

Scott, thanks a lot for the links. I’m looking into this now.

[Frank Black]

Thanks Erik. From your four posts, I learned a lot about FCP (and about post). Cool website by the way — the site and the first two commercials (very very very cool). Looking forward to seeing the rest. Thanks again, and I’m open to anything else you may want to advise me on — in regards to FCP or post. My workflow intentions are undefined but client-oriented so far.

[Frank Black]

So you’re saying one reason why AMD is good is b/c it owns ATI and works good with it while Intel and Nvidia fight over the way the work w/ each other?

[Frank Black]

Do you guys have any idea why some say that ATI FirePro and AMD in general allows faster performance? I’ve heard this from some yet others say the opposite and the rest say it’s a matter of preference.

Any ideas?

[Frank Black]

Lance, but why are you done building PCs? And I know what you mean about HPs being pricey. I’ve been noticing Sony and HP pro computers costing as much as 6,000 when it seems to me that I could build a PC with the same specs for half that. Am I not noticing something?

And regarding the 27″ Mac — if you’re talking about the iMac — I’ve never seen a more beautiful piece of technology, wrapped with one sheet of aluminum, no screws in sight. The keyboard itself is a pleasure to look at. And they come in quad core now which not only handle iMovie but alsp FCP.

In regards to what you said about the codecs — I think this explains why FCP only wants everything in one or two codecs. Right?

And thanks for your help.

[Frank Black]

Erik thanks a lot. So the only reason I would wanna use Windows on a Mac is if I like the Mac hardware, right? And so not to take a hit in performance, I would need to have only Windows and not two operating systems. And if I do want two, I would need to run one as “virtual,” thereby taking a hit, right? Did I understand you right in regards to both points?

And — in terms of losing quality — does the image get re-compressed 10 times if I try 10 different frame rate speeds before I decide on one? Are you saying that ANY change causes a re-compression, whether adding a title, changing the title, changing it back, etc?

[Frank Black]

Lance, you hit all the right notes, but you leave me with many questions. First, thank you for your input. And second, can tell me more —

You say “just because you can throw a bunch of clips with various codecs on the timelime doesn’t mean you should! This is a bad idea in any NLE unless you have a specific reason for doing so!” Now — why? You explain how FCP works well with ProRes and Vegas likes XDCAM, but I still don’t understand why it’s a “bad idea” to take advantage of throwing various stuff on the timeline. Please let me know in as much detail as you can. Thanks

Also, what do you mean that Vegas 10 is “buggy and completely unusable in it’s current state as a pro tool due to radical instability.” What exactly have you experienced. Please do tell. And what do you think is causing this? Why is 9 different in regards to this?

Also, what do you mean that you can “be more precise….output easier and more accurately” with FCP? I can understand the “easier” part — I assume that has to do with the industry standard factor. But what do you mean by “precise” and “accurately?” These are exactly some of the things I’m trying to find out, regardless of whether for play or for pro work.

And why did you choose Vegas for your feature?

In the end you say that it all depends on whether I’ll be playing or working, but the details you give above seem to be ones that would have a difference for me regardless of whether I’m playing or working.

And finally, you mention, in regards to going with Vegas, that a dell or hp pro workstation would be best. Would it be better than building a well-researched PC off of TigerDirect.com? I remember reading that Robert Rodriguez, for his PC-based systems, also orders from Dell and rips out the unnecessary parts, and I wonder to myself — why doesn’t he just “build” a PC rather than order from Dell? What can you tell me about this?

Thanks a lot.