[Sam Roberts]

Hi Ben..well since I am a one man band, the ability to have multiple systems isn’t a worry. If that was a concern I would be looking seriously at AVID too.

But you are correct….. for what you pay for a Velocity turnkey system you could by a few Mac Pro/FCP bundles. Still, money aside, my big worry is the real time handicap you get with any CPU driven system. In another discussion group on this Velocity vs FCP subject, a reliable source said that he asked Apple to build him an FCP system that would do real time like the $25,000.00 Velocity turnkey—-the price?…$65,000.00. This may be a bit on the high side but it does make Velocity’s price look resonable in comparison.

I guess I’m spoiled as far as renders go, I rarely have to do them even with multiple stacked effects on the timeline (with VelocityQ SD) and most of my rendering is done in Velocity’s bundled EFX program, DFX, which I don’t really have to use that often.

On the other hand for what I do…output to DVD and the WEB, FCP and the other bundled software is far superior and the new Adobe Premier bundle is even better still….

speed, functionality, longevity, price…..I wonder if the HD switchover on the camera side of things will be as much of a pain in the arse?

Cheers,
Sam

[Sam Roberts]

ok here’s another point in the discussion.

Let’s say I go with VelocityHD and in 5 years Harris Leitch terminates it’s post production business. It is a stable and well built system, it could last a few more years after that.

But somewhere along the road I WOULD have to buy another system. What about FCP? Would you not need to change it or upgrade it in a major way (or any other NLE software/hardware combo you may be using) every 5 years or so? Or at least spend a few thousand on hardware and software updates?

Perhaps worrying about having to shell out more bucks in the years to come is true for ANY system I get. In other words it’s the nature of the NLE beast. You can’t just buy a system and that’s it for say, 20 years.

All that Velocity hardware assisted processing power is better than CPU assisted power, at least now. Maybe that too will change in the years to come. Still, you do have a lot of great software to play with.

I feel like it’s me and a few Velocity buddies sitting around the house on a Saturday night wringing our hands and talking seriously about the future. Where as next door my Final Cut Pro neighbours are having this huge party with loud music and loud talking and laughter is making it difficult for us Velocity nerds to hear each other. We keep looking longingly over to your side of the fence wondering what if…….

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah it’s the rendering thing that has me standing on the edge. I hardly spend any time rendering in Velocity. So many pros and cons to both systems. I have posted this Stay or Go question all over the place and am amazed at all the differing opinions. Thanks for yours.

Sam

[Sam Roberts]

Hi David…well it is hard to get a straight answer and there are alot of rumours…they have already killed development and support for their VelocityQ SD NLE which I now use and love, so this is why I am not automatically staying with them…. which I would do if Leitch Harris was reliable when it comes to the future of their Post Production business.

All good points about FCP. I like the idea of strength in numbers and the fact there is so much support around offical and otherwise. But I’d really like to hear about the experience of actually switching over to FCP and what the differences are that effect the editor directly (besides having to learn a new platform OS and tons of new software.

Will a fully loaded MAC Pro do the real time thing as well as a fully loaded Velocity system…in HD? I don’t mind waiting for renders in an EFX program such as DFX or After Effects…but on the timeline?…

I
need
the
speed.

Cheers,
Sam