[Pat Defilippo]

Yea, personal shoppers if you don’t mind, Shane!

I did see that monitor at B&H and it aught to fit into the budget for this year, anyway. Looks like it’s fitting into a lot of other budgets, too, if they’re sold out! I’ve found it at a few other places as well for not quite as low a price but at least still under a grand.

If anyone has any ideas of where to buy any of these things at good prices, or knows of who is selling any of this used, or knows of better equipment than what I have listed, or of a piece of gear that I haven’t thought of, please do let me know. My eMail is below, too, if you’d prefer not to share your sources with the world.

Thanks again very much, Shane, and to everyone in advance,
-Pat

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

Thanks for the posts on this link – very informative!

I am currently a Final Cut Studio user since FCS1 and am switching to both Avid and PPro (and Production Premium). I bought the CS 5.5 upgrade just before their 30% off deal expired last week, so I have the Mac software here in a brand new box all ready to install.

I am currently looking at the latest and greatest Mac Pro and adding 32gbs of RAM from OWC to it.

A primary consideration for me for staying on Mac is that I have 5+ years of Final Cut Pro projects that I may need to revisit down the road. It doesn’t happen often, but being able to keep on the Mac OS and now that Wes Plate from Automatic Duck is now with Adobe, I know that I can convert my old projects to/from easily (and even Avid projects).

Another consideration for me is that I’ve seen first hand Windows and Windows manufacturers follow Apple since when Windows 3.1 came out in 1993. Even small things like Apple not shipping with a 3.5″ floppy in the mid ’90s and instead only CD drives, and everybody in the Windows market reacting negatively to that only to do exactly the same a few years later. There have been many things like this that Apple has done and other companies have followed – including Windows itself! So, if Apple is really going to do away with the Mac Pro, there is good reason to believe that Windows hardware manufacturers will do the same a few years later. Apple may be believing that their Thunderbolt IO will take hold and that will soon make the iMac a viable professional tool for video professionals, and perhaps that’s where the talk of the Thunderbolt-less Mac Pro is stemming from. Again, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see other companies do the same 1-2 years after Apple leads the way. Several other companies have already been cloning the all-in-one look of iMacs for years and adding Thunderbolt connectivity to Windows hardware could soon follow. So, I’m really not phased by the possible phasing out of the Mac Pro. There is already a Thunderbolt enabled box that will let you run your full-sized cards like the AJA LHi and Quadra 4000 via a MacBook Pro – so, it’s entirely possible that the Mac Pro’s days are numbered. But, I can still get years of power, speed and OS reliability and virus-free operation out of my new Mac Pro just like I got for 5 years from my G5.

Another consideration for me is what somebody else mentioned in this thread – I have all kinds of Mac software and plug-ins that I’d rather not have to re-buy. Plus, Avid works on Mac as well – which is just that much less for me to buy and have all installed on one unit. I have read that all three software titles (FCS3, Avid MC 6 and Production Premium CS 5.5) can all run on the same Mac – I’m sure the same can be said about Windows, except that it can’t run FCS!

That said, I’m not sure how well the AJA LHi is going to work with all three softwares, but according to AJA, all three work well with driver downloads. I am also looking at the Quadra 4000 for down the road and it looks like most people are happy with the acceleration it provides.

First, though, I need to get up to speed with the software as I’ve got a ways to go!

Anyway, thanks again for everyone’s posts here. While I’ll be sticking with Apple, it was good to hear in the above post that an equal amount or more similar problems are happening on Windows.
-Pat

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

Thanks, Tom, but there are a few things I’m banking on:

1) At this point, I mostly edit with Final Cut Studio 3 – so, the latest Mac Pro should shake hands pretty well with that Apple-only software.

2) By the time I get up to speed with Production Premium CS5.5 (which the upgrade from CS4 is “in the mail”) will be in a few months, at which time I would think that Adobe would have fixed more bugs to get it to shake hands with the latest Mac Pro.

3) I’m primarily a Mac guy, starting non-linearly with Avid and the ImMix VideoCube in 1994. For as possibly better as a Windows system might be, I don’t have any desire editing on it given my experience with several of their OS’s since Windows 3.0. Just the thought of a virus taking down my entire system in the middle of an edit or on-site is enough in-and-of-itself to keep me on a Mac.

I see that you have the NVidia Quadro 4000, which looks like something I might look into in the first or second quarter of 2012 (depending on how quickly I make the transition). I read the info about that.

I’m needing to re-learn Avid (and I’ll be upgrading to 6.0 by 12/31) first, though, in order to edit in-house with it at a couple of corporate facilities, so I’m a little ways off before I get around to getting up to speed with CS5.5. I should be completely off of Final Cut Studio by the end of 2012, yet still have all three software titles on my system for versatility.

Thanks again everyone,
-Pat

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

Wow – thank you all for your great input!

I’ve spent time more off than on over the last few weeks gathering specs and prices. Since this is coming out of my own pocket, the $7000 (without monitors yet) that I’m adding up to right now is about as much performance-wise as I can get!

Regarding the Mac Pro, I’ve done a lot of looking around and am arriving at a refurbished 8-core “Westmere” (the latest) for $3200 delivered. I’d need to add RAM as it comes with 6-1gbs, but have found 8-4gb cards (32gb total) from OWC for $274.

One of the points Vince brought up was trading performance for MBP compatibility. So, I looked at a lot of options and have found a best-price Mini SAS solution with the G-Tech ES Pro 8TB ($1547) plus the ATTO R680 card ($683) for 400 MB/s transfer rates. I haven’t found any lower price situation for that speed after looking at Drobo (which uses the ethernet port) and Caldigit. I haven’t found an Mini SAS Express34 card for connectivity to my 17″ MBP, but I do have an older 1TB two-drive eSata solution with an eSata Express34 card that I can use on-site when the rare situation occurs.

For connectivity to my older, seldom used UVW1800 Beta-SP deck, I talked with the folks at AJA who said the best bet is their LHi card ($1324). It upconverts & downconverts from/to everything and has HDMI for whatever monitor I go with. AJA said the best extra about that card is that it plays nicely with FCP natively, but also Premier AND Avid with driver downloads.

I see that Tom has the NVidia Quadro 4000, which is a card that I would add at some point in the future once I get deeper into the switch to Premier from FCP.

So, thanks to all of you for your input and guidance! If you know of any of these components that I can get at a lower price, please let me know as I’ll be wearing out my personal credit card by the end of this month!

Also, if you have any suggestions for a good, low cost LCD production monitor, please let me know. I’m looking at an entry-level Sony LMD-2110 for $900 – 21″ 16×9 with 1920×1080. It has HDMI, but I can also input a few other sources like component (from my DA from Beta-SP), S-Video (directly from my Sony DSR-40 DVCam deck, which I hope to be able to get a FW800 cable for to go straight in to the Mac Pro) and composite.

Thanks again,
-Pat

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

That’s all great info, thanks AJA Sales Department!

Kona LHi it is!

If you know where I can get one at a great price, please let me know!

Thanks again,
-Pat

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

Thanks very much, AJA Sales!

It does sound like the LHi would be the best bet.

In addition to the HDMI output for monitoring, will the component outputs work simultaneously or is it either/or? I have older component monitors now but plan to add at least one HDMI monitor soon.

Will the LHi work with all Final Cut, Premier and Avid software well? Will the LHi provide the mercury engine that Premier needs to play HD footage smoothly or is that a different animal NVIDEA 4000?

Would your Kona 3G add a great deal for me if I’m mostly editing EX1 and P2 footage?

Thanks again,
-Pat

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

I just got this eMail back from Larry Jordan regarding if Audition can replace Multi-Clip:

“No. Audition does not replace multiclip. the big problem is that you can’t blade an audition. It is all a single clip, no cuts.”

So, yep, FCPX for this and other major reasons is not for professional use (as of yet). Gary Adcock and Larry Jordan agree on this. I also read somewhere that the upcoming release of Lion and the following FCPX might put FCPX in the professional ballpark, though.

-Pat DeFilippo

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

I’m not sure, but I think the Auditions feature of Final Cut Pro X will replace Multi-clip. Auditions lets you have multiple clips pre-loaded (similar to the old linear days where Grass Valley systems let you save and recall from several marks for different takes, etc.) and I would assume you can sync several camera angles in one clip (like you can in a Multi-Clip), edit with one camera angle, “blade” it, and then “audition” to another camera angle. Read through the new Audition feature – I think this is one of the functions it can do, in addition to let you audition several takes of the same scene, several different color correction “looks”, etc. FCPX might actually do multi-clip, but it has a lot of other professional features that it took away to account for.

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

There are several other things that Larry mentions, Bob, including no importing from Final Cut 7 or earlier projects as well.

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Pat Defilippo]

Hello,

I too am seeing my serial number on my splash screen and in the “About” menu in FCP 7.0.3.

Are you perhaps using an educational version on all of your machines? Perhaps they don’t install or display serial numbers? I’m not 100% sure about that, though.
-Pat

G5 Quad Desktop with 4GB Ram, 750GB HD & eSata ~ 30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA
~ Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
2.33gz Intel MacBook Pro with 3GB Ram, 500GB HD
AJA Io LA
Final Cut Studio 2 on G5 & 3 on MBP
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP
Sony DSR-40 DVCam

P D Post Productions, Inc.
TV~DVD~WEB-Device
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs and Family Occasions since 1983
E-mail PD@PDPost.com
Website http://www.PDPost.com
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671