Early 2011 MBP for video editing, or sell and get something better?

I want to start video editing, wont be extremely intensive just yet I guess that depends on my learning curve. Anyway I have a:
Early 2011 13 inch Macbook Pro
2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
Running on OS X 10.8.4
This is my only computer and buying a newer Mac one would be one **** of a task (pricey, im a broke college kid). So my question is if I upgrade the ram and change the HDD to a SDD would that be enough to run Adobe Premeire, After Effects, maybe Final Cut Pro depending on which I like more and not feel like i have the oldest computer in the world?
I also want to have a 3 external screen setup using USB video adapters and the mini displayport when im home running in clamshell mode I believe its called? I just need some experts advice.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll go with this config then.
I might look at another capture box that exports the video in DV since that seems like the easiest format to work with in FCE. I understand there aren't many products (Mac or PC) that edit MPEG2 files directly due to complexities in the file format? The product I was using on the PC was called TMPGEnc MPEG Editor which worked well - but I'd use this as part of a two step process - edit all the clips in this one product, and then import all the clips into a second editing suite (Nero Vision) to paste them all together, add photo shows, build the DVD menus and then burn the DVD. It was a bit painful going through the two steps, so hopefully capturing my analog content to DV and editing just once in FCE will do the job.

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MBP for video editing

Hi,
I am planning to purchase a MBP for editing HDV video while on the road using Final Cut Studio. My plan is to also use a G-Raid external HD for storage of content and backup.
My Question is regarding the internal HD..FCS2 takes up over 50G to install the entire suite, which really eats into the 160 gig internal HD. Will the 250 gig HD be more appropriate?? Any suggestions for seeting up a new MBP for video editing??
Apologies if this is in the wrong forum!
Cheers
SJH

Will the 250 gig HD be more appropriate?
If you're comparing it to the 160GB 7200rpm drive then you will get similar (though not better) performance. The best drive, assuming it's large enough for you is the Hitachi 200GB 7200pm drive. It has the best mix size and performance and comfortably beats the rest. Unfortunately it's not only the fastest but it's also the most expensive drive you can get at the moment. This might help…
http://www.barefeats.com/rosa06.html
EDIT : Be aware that this drive will require you to do your own installation and hence, potentially void your warranty. However, I do think it will be worth it in your case. I have one on order myself.

I would like to build a desk top computer for video editing, business management and online learning and also have a small compatible laptop or tablet or ipad to take to university, Can someone please advise me of the best set up for this?

I would like to build a desktop computer for video editing, business management and online learning and also have a small laptop, tablet or ipad to take to university, Can someone please advise me of the best set up for this?

Let's see if I understand this... You're asking for advice on building a desktop computer, in the Apple developer's forum? Why not just buy a Mac?

HELP - Choose mid specs laptop for video editing in Premiere and After Effects

Hello there,
Basically I have DSLR Camera (Canon 600D) which I use to film in Full HD (1080P 50fps) for my movies (short plays and medium plays).
So, I am thinking to buy a laptop with main porpouse to edit my videos in Premiere CS6 and After Effects CS6 and I would like to ask you guys if you can help me choose one. Maximum I could spend is 1000€.
So, I don't care how much time my laptop will take to export movies, but what is most important to me is smooth editing ( fast pre-rendering). I know that pre-render / in software render uses Nvidia CUDA cores to acelerate the process.
I choosed these two laptops:
ASUS K750JB:
Intel i7 4700HQ 2.4 - 3.4GhZ
12GB RAM 1600mHz
Nvidia GT 740M 2GB DDR3 384 Cuda Cores <<< ---- can this one do the job done?
1TB 5400RPM <<<--- I am thinking on buying 60GB SSD extra for OS and Adobe Programs
17.2'' Screen 1600x900
Price: 799€
HP Envy 15-j011sp:
Intel i7 4700MQ 2.4 - 3.4GhZ
8GB RAM 1600mHz <<<---- I could buy 4GB extra
Nvidia GT 740M 2GB DDR3 384 Cuda Cores
1TB 5400RPM <---- I could buy 60GB SSD extra
15.6'' Screen 1920x1080
Price: 810€
So, as you saw, Two of these laptops have 740M Graphic card. Asus is parcially alluminun, but HP is totally alluminum.
Do you think these two are good for edit videos from my DSLR camera? As I said, I don't care how much time it takes to render movie. What is most important to me is editing smooth experience.
Thank you!

Do either of these laptops allow you to install a second drive? This ASUS G750 that I am using now does and it made a world of difference when I cloned the OS/Applications disk from the 1 TB 5400 rpm drive to a 128 GB fast SSD and installed a second 256 GB SSD (both are Samsung 840 PRO SSD's). Without doing that I am quite sure you will be disappointed.especially with your media from a DSLR. See the excellant article by Harm on laptops

Recommended ExpressCards for new 17" MBP for video editing

Ok, so after sitting on the fence for months I had to buy the new 17" MBP. I just couldn't wait any longer and my trusty PB G4 is getting slow.
After reading the enormous amounts of posts I can see why people are so upset about losing the ExpressCard slot in the 15" models.
But, for the 17" models does anyone have any good suggestions of Expresscards? And what is the optimum set-up I should go for?
I am an Avid and Final Cut editor using a 4-pin Firewire Sony DVCAM deck and two Western Digital External Drives daisy-chained together.
Would love some advice.
thanks!

The Sony DVCAM is FW400 (aka iLink, aka IEEE1394a), so a 4-pin-to-6-pin or -to-9-pin cable will do. I'd get the 4-pin-to-9-pin (FW800 is fully backward compatible with FW400) so you can connect directly to the MBP's FW800 port, if needed. You can just get a FW800 ExpressCard, since it's backward compatible.
I'd recommend this one:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fw800expresscard34.html

MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air for video editing?

I am debating between a 13 inch MacBook Pro and a 13 inch MacBook Air. The MacBook Air seems to have a nicer battery life and price tag. But I'm not sure if it will be powerful enough for video editing. Which one would be better for my needs?

To be fair, they'll probably be about on par as both have integrated graphics chips, although the Pro has faster processors depending on spec.
Having said that, neither are particularly suitable. Ideally you should be looking at a 15" Pro with a dedicated graphics processor, and even faster CPU.
I find integrate graphics fine for graphics program's, but would want more power for video personally.

Need help choosing the best laptop or desktop for video editing.

Hi guys. I'm a videographer and am in need of upgrading my current Dell Dimension 8300 desktop to either another desktop or a laptop. My current Dell is just too slow. It takes forever to render a video.
Anyhow, what do you guys recommend for video editing? I'd like something with plenty of hard drive space, plenty of memory, and a powerful video card. There are just too many to choose from and was hoping to get some feedback.
Thank you,
Brian

You can find a fairly cheap quad core desktop with a nice video card. So if you need something that will last a while and not cost too much I would go this route.
If you want a laptop, put yourself in one of these categories: someone who needs high mobility/battery life (14 in screen or smaller), someone who needs high mobility with a big screen (15.4in), or someone who needs a powerful computer with a big screen (17-18.4 in).
Don't worry too much about laptop brands, only a handful of them actually make their own laptops, most of the big brands use the same two or three laptop manufacturers.
Get the most powerful intel processor you can afford, and put either a 9 series nvidia, or an ati radeon 4800 series in, four gb of ram, and a 7200 rpm hard disk.
After that it really comes down to price and personal style, I would stay away from the hp laptops, the brand that they use doesn't do so well making the internal components.
Here are some good picks.
1) ASUS G Series G50VT-X3 (15.4in)
2) Sager 5793 (17in)
3)ASUS N80 Series N80Vn-X5 (14.1in)
Asus actually manufactures their own laptops, and my experience with them has been spectacular. The Sager is a rebranded Clevo, which is one of the brands alienware, falcon northwest, and other high end companies use.

Going from iMac to MBP retina for video editing

I appreciate that this question probably gets asked reasonably regularly but I have a few specific points I'd like some help on.
I've been using a pretty high specced iMac for video editing for a couple of monthes;
Current model 21.5 - 2.8ghz with i7 processor
250GB SSD
16GB RAM
I also run off a second 24inch monitor
My main workflow is Premiere Pro 5.5 for editing, After Effects 5.5 for compositing and effects and Da Vinci Resolve 8 for grading. I push the software reasonably hard (footage doesnt stray above full HD res so far though, I use 5D mk2 video footage 99% of the time) and I've been super happy with how the iMac keeps up.
The general work that the iMac has to chew through is - big Premiere Pro projects with a reasonable amount of dynamic linking with AE. After Effects is used for mostly compositing with quite a lot of visual effects. Resolve is used for grading with a lot of 3D tracking, noise reduction and normal grading stuff - same as the others...quite intensive).
However..... I have no portable computer and not enough money to invest in a decent one in addition to the iMac. I don't go a week where having a good MBP wouldn't have been a massive help. I'm not a massive geek when it comes to macs. I appreciate that the iMac is a desktop and should outperform any laptop but there are loads of things on the MBP retina that seem to level the field. I'd look at the following spec;
2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage
As far as I see the MBP has;
the better USB3 sockets (a godsend when you have 64 gigs of footage to download).
More thunderbolt sockets (I could use two external monitors).
Faster RAM (1600mhz against 1333mhz).
Better screen res (although I have some questions on that).
More graphics RAM (1GB against 512mb)
So thats a lot of things that look better. Im not worried about the small 256mb HD as only the footage Im currently using will be on the MBP's HD itself.
So my questions are as follows;
How should the two units stack up against eachother performance wise when being given quite intensive tasks from Premiere Pro, After Effects and Resolve (the MBP just simply being a notebook.....the MBP having faster RAM....the iMac having a faster processor etc)?
How should the graphics compare (the iMac having a 6775 chip with 512 memory and the MBP having a 4000 chip with 1GB memory)?
How should the screens compare. The MBP obviously has a massive PPI boost but.....is the colour balancing meant to be good enough. So far I've been more than happy to use the iMac for colour grading).
Am I asking too much of the MBP to run two extra monitors when at home...?
Am I just being stupid getting rid of a desktop for a notebook as my main working computer...?
Any help that you knowledagable people can give me will be massivly appreciated...
Thank you!
Alex

I think the MBP Retina would outperform the 2011 iMac as far as CPU due to the updated Ivy Bridge processor. Since the CPU's are similar (hyper threading) the clock speed is important, but the MBP Retina can have TurboBoost of up to over 3GHz. That's faster. Remember, the iMac is still in the 2011 model. The MBP Retina is a 2012 model.
GPU Wise, the NVidia GeForce 650 outperforms the Radeon 6775. http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html. Now, the Intel HD 4000 isn't really about performance (in my opinion), so if you do get the MBP Retina, turn off automatic graphic switching.
Editing photo or video on the MBP Retina would be amazing. The display is really quite vibrant. Have you had the chance to see a MBP Retina in action? I would definitely do it, if you're serious about dropping that kind of cash.
I don't think using 2 monitors is too much to ask at all; I would love to have a triple monitor setup with coding and that sort. But I can live with one . I also think it's a great idea to use the MBP as a desktop. I currently do it, and have been since January 2011.
One other thing to add, you may want to look into a USB3 hub (with full speed), so you could hook up a large USB3 drive to store files on.

Better for Video Editing? MBP 13" or 15" w/9600M GT

I am planning on purchasing a Macbook Pro for relatively extensive use of Final Cut Pro (HD video) along with possibly some light Motion work and video transcoding. In addition I will be using it for photo editing and web editing. I don't plan on using it for any high-end gaming.
I will be purchasing a $200 24" external monitor to use most of the time along with external keyboard and mouse (so MBP screen size isn't an issue), but I need the portability and don't have the funds to purchase an additional dedicated desktop yet.
I am having trouble deciding between the 13" and the 15", mainly due to conflicting opinions I've been hearing over the importance of a dedicated graphics card for video editing. Salespeople at the Apple store tell me it's important and I should get the 15". Research online yielded heated forum arguments over whether it really makes a difference or not.
The price difference is quite significant though at the configurations I picked ($765) so I am seeking advice here for whether people think the cost difference is really justified for my needs. Note that both configurations include 4GB of RAM, smallest hard drive option (i've got external drives) and AppleCare protection.
Pricing with education discount after tax:
13" 2.26GHz - $1520
15" 2.66GHz w/9600M GT 256MB - $2285
*Is there a real difference in video editing performance and if so, is it really worth an extra $765? Or is there a better option that I'm not considering?*

Thanks everyone for the feedback!
Studio X wrote:
Are you planning on making any money at this or are you only in it for fun? Have you ever edited before? Have you ever edited with FCS before? What of the 44 billion HD formats are you planning on editing? Do you have a camera? What format does it record? If it's a flash media based device, what's your back up strategy? How are you planning to externally monitor the HD material ? What are you planning to use as media drives as the system drive should not be used for media capture or playback?
Still, I guess I come down on the side of "it doesn't matter as neither one is a serious editing machine". If I was in the market for a laptop and was limited to the current apple lineup, the only machine of interest is the 17" MacBookPro. The other two MacBookPros you are considering have no expresscard slot and come only with glossy screens - both are serious deficiencies in my world.
I do plan on using this computer professionally. I am a recent college graduate but do have professional FCS editing experience under my belt. However my work was done using both school and employer resources. I do have an archive of work in Mini DV(HDV) and AVCHD formats. I don't currently own an HD camera, however will likely be purchasing one in the near future. As far as externally monitoring HD material, what else would I need other than the 24" external monitor (perfectly capable of full HD) or a separate HDTV? In addition to several older usb2 external drives for backup I do have a 1TB 7200rpm external capable of FW800 and eSATA that I would use as a media drive.
I currently have an old 17" dell notebook with a glossy screen. The screen hasn't really bothered me, but the size and weight of the notebook has. And while the 17" MBP is a little lighter and smaller than my old dell, I would still prefer a 13" or 15". But from the opinions I've been hearing I'm steering away from the 13" and fully realize the downsides to the lack of ExpressCard slot in the current 15" as well. Still wondering while Apple decided to remove it.
MartinR wrote:
If budget is a primary constraint, then consider a refurbished 15" or 17" MBP from Apple, or a used MBP from a reputable supplier.
I hadn't checked into the refurbished options, but now that I did, I found a nice 15" (late 2008 unibody) configuration that would provide a lot more value for the buck. For about $550 more than the new 13" config I would get a faster processor, 2" bigger screen, 9600M 512mb GPU, double the internal storage, removable battery as well as the ExpressCard slot (even though its not listed in specs, it's there). The only trade off I can see is battery life.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC026LL/A?mco=MjE0NjE5MA

For video editing, is the new 13" MBP enough? Or should I go for 15"?

For video editing, I will be using both Final Cut Pro 7, and Adobe CS5.
Is the new 13" Macbook Pro enough? I'm asking both for the lower-end and higher-end 13". Or should I just go with the 15"?
I'm just seeking for opinions from more experienced mac users, since this is my first transfer from Windows to Mac. Also, I'm taking into consideration in the price difference among these different models.
Thank you very much

It will render much faster on the new quad cores then any other MBP ever made. This new release is really a pretty major deal in the laptop world to my thinking. If I didn't just get a new iMac, I would be probably getting one. I don't do a lot of video and I use FCE not Pro so my need isn't as great, but I do a lot of photography and with several things open at once so the power matched with sufficient ram is pretty amazing. But is it absolutely a must? I had a friend who just until this year was a film music editor and he was using Pro Tools on a G4 Power Book though he had to start working around the machine limitations at the end of the day, but it is possible. Still for the money, the new machines are a great deal at pretty much the same price as what they are replacing. I know I'm advocating here, but I'm just a user not and employee:)

13 inch 2.9GHZ MBP or 15 inch 2.3GHZ? for video editing

Hi, everyone. im looking to buy a new MBP but i don't know which one to buy, the 13 inch 2.9GHZ MBP or 15 inch 2.3GHZ? i will mainly use the computer for video editing and sometime photoshop. i'll be using Adobe Affter effect, and premier. i have a samsung and i think i already had enough of it. it takes me 40-60 min to render a 7 min video and if i have effects from after effects in it, it take even more to render my videos. im thinking about buying the 15 inch mainly beause of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory. but i don't know if the money is really worth it. i have the budget to buy these computer, so the budget is not a concern, but i still don't want to throw the money around.
i also been thinking about the 15 Inch 2.6GHZ but i don't see that big of a jump from the 2.3GHZ. BTH forgot to mention i want to buy the non-retina Display MBP
Which one wold you guys recommend.

that's an easy answer.
go with the 15' for what you'll be using it for. it has it's own discreet graphics.
the 2.3GHz is better because of the quad core design. especially true for video editing.
the 13' will also do what you want but slower because of the built in intel video which is driven by the processor and uses part of the system RAM.
if you're not worried about speed and are more concerned about portability, then you can stick with the 13'.
whatever, you decide to buy, you'll be happy with either macbooks. just make sure you max out the RAM for your purpose.

Using MBP 2.0ghz for Video Editing

Hey All,
I'm looking to buy a MacBook Pro 15" 2.0ghz for an array of uses, but mainly for video editing/DVD authoring.
My question is this:
If anybody out there uses their MBP primarily for video stuff (ie. editing, rendering, encoding, etc.) can you kindly provide me with some performance feedback?
I will most likely be using Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro combined with Adobe After Effects.
Thanks in advance,
Mark

I'm now looking for a good but relatively cheap
external harddrive. I'm looking for between
200-300gb.
What brands should I be looking for / avoiding? and
should I go with firewire or USB 2.0 or both? I know
the speeds of each but I don't know which is more
deliable for steady video?
Cheap is a bad idea for video as video has very high data transfer demands. USB is a no-go due to its limited bandwidth and subsequent frame-dropping. FW400 is minimum for DV, adding a /34 FW800 card and a FW800 drive is recommended (and mandatory for standards above DV) or - if affordable - Firmtek has introduced a /34 SATA card and external chassis, that would be the optimum and would even cover 8-bit uncompressed safely (no idea if you need that).
Edit: OWC, G-Tech and LaCie FW drives work pretty well - alternatively get a good FW chassis (e.g. MacPower) and put a HD in yourself.

Thinking to buy a new 15inch macbook pro retina display. Aim to use it for video editing and compositing... Is ıt worth for it?

Hi... I am a freelance filmmaker. Now I have 2008 model mac pro and I am thinking to buy a new macbook pro 15 inch retina display. Do you think its worth for it? I aim to use the macbook mainly for video editing, video compositing (after effects) and photo editing. My current old mac pro has 12 GB and the graphics card is ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB (Yes I still use it). My main question is, do you think its better to move to macbook pro or upgrading the old one? Making it 32 GB of RAM and buy a new NVIDIA cuda capable graphic card? I dont have enough budget to make it together... Want to hear your suggestions...

I'm not sure, I've seen pro animators use MBPs but usually with a large monitor. Especially doing video editing, compositing and editing it might make more sense to upgrade the Mac Pro to an SSD as the boot drive. What kind of CPU setup is in your Pro?
Check these out:
mac pro SSD upgrades?
SSD as system disk while users folder + data on HDD
Early 2008 8-Core Mac Pro GPU Upgrades
I deal exclusively with OWC. I'd call them and walk them through your system and see what they say.
What you do takes a lot of CPU, RAM, graphics and boot disk power.
I've upgraded my two computers to SSDs and the first thing I noticed was that Photoshop CS6 opens in 7 seconds vrs. 50 seconds when the application was on a HDD.

Which configurations are really important for video editing?

Hi everyone,
I'm a newbie looking for the best compromise budget Mac for AVCHD 1080p video editing with Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere CS6 and Adobe Aftereffects. The storage space is not important as I'm planning to keep all the files on a Thunderbolt-connected EHD (any comments on this?).
Currently, I'm working on a iMac 27'' 3.4GHz i7 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675 MX 1024 MB and would like to get a personal machine that also works (as) smooth, but for a smaller budget. These are the options I currently have:
1. Mac mini (late 2012) MD387xx/A
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
16GB DDR3 SDRAM
Intel HD 4000
500 GB HD
Thunderbolt USB 3
802.11n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0
2. iMac 27'' (mid 2011)
2.7GHZ Intel Core i5
16GB 1333 MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB
1TB HDD
3. MacBook Pro 17'' (early 2011)
2.3GHz Intel Core i7
8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB
Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB
500 GB SATA Storage
How important is the duo- or quad-core?
Which graphic card would be the best suited for video editing and graphics on FCPX/AfterEffects?
Which one would you go for if looking for a stable, strong performance for up to 5 years?
Thanks in advance for any tips!

I would also post here:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/professional_applications/final_cut_pro_ x

Which of these macs would you choose for video editing?

The main difference is the MBP has an Serial ATA drive, and the Air has a Flash drive. Also the MPB has 2.9Ghz, and the Air has only 2.0Ghz. Which one would you pick for editing with Final Cut Pro X? (Also curious which one you would pick even if video editing wasn't a concern for you, thanks!)
MacBook Pro 13.3” - Dual-Core i7 2.9Ghz ($1269 refurb, or $1399 new at BestBuy)
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program
Originally released June 2012
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution
8GB (2 x 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
750GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Or
MacBook Air 13.3” - Dual-Core i7 2Ghz ($1449 refurb)
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program
Originally released June 2012
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1440-by-900 resolution
8GB memory
512GB flash storage
720p FaceTime HD camera
Intel HD Graphics 4000

Zenman1969 wrote:
Thanks for the answer. Didn't realize the 13" MBPs differed from the 15" MBPs. I thought the screen was the only major difference.
Apple fools a lot of people with that. The 13" is really a MacBook and not a "Pro" machine.
The best machine for video editing depends upon what your going to do, full on production or casual home stuff.
A 15" MacBook Pro and a iMac for the casual lightweight stuff and iMove can do the job.
The new MacPro coming out for the heavy duty stuff.
The industry seems to be moving away from Final Cut Pro X as it's been consumerized or something, lacking needed features and moving towards Avid on powerful Mac's or Windows 7 towers.
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/07/does-apple-still-care-about-creative-pros/
http://www.avid.com/US/
So perhaps a mix of Avid and Final Cut Pro X if your serious about furthering your career.

Early 2011 MBP for video editing, or sell and get something better?

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