I'll be getting a Mac on monday for video... advice?

Hi, guys. First post.
I will be getting a Mac on monday (if I don't panic). I asked for a quote on a 2.66mhz iMac with 4GB RAM, and I'd be paying USD $1.970 (i'm outside the US) so I wanted to get validation from you guys.
I own a Vaio laptop and a custom made PC, both of them almost 3 years old... so this is my first big investment in a long period of "computer lifetime". I've been wanting to make and upload short videos, capturing clips of the news (fair use of course) ... but a 15 minute video took about 8 hours to "render" and "export" in Adobe Premiere for Windows in my 1.73Mhz Pentium M Vaio FS750 with 1GB RAM. I'm thinking it will be easier and faster now ... with a Mac.
If I buy the Mac I'll be getting a Pinnacle USB Stick to connect the computer to cable TV (you know, the fat fiber-optics wire)
Will it really be easier? any advice? should I go for it no doubts? anything I should know as a newbie? should I be getting Final Cut Pro or Express? I won't be making Pixar-quality stuff, just YouTube-quality "informative" material.
Regards, and thanks!
Ana

Well, my understanding is that Adobe's rendering engine is faster than Apple's. That said, what format are you editing in and rendering to? 8-hours for 15-minutes certainly seems excessive. But then maybe you captured in some rare codec, edited in another and then wanted to compress to a third... I don't know. For best performance, editing and otherwise, I suggest sticking with miniDV on tape.
As far as easier, well I certainly like the operating system easier more than Windows. Windows is quite annoying about being your face all the time. That alone drives me nuts. In terms of editing be easier... I don't see how unless the program you were using was frequently crashing. Editing is editing. I do prefer my Mac because it is more stable. There is a big difference between FCS and FCE. However, in terms of pure editing, FCE is pretty powerful and not all that different than FCP. FCS will also come with Compressor for more control over your output; Motion, for motion graphics; Soundtrack for audio editing; Color for advanced color correction/coloring; and DVD Studio Pro for more advanced DVD authoring than iDVD. Again, in terms of just editing, not much difference. But the other tools in the FCS can make a difference should you decide to use them.
As far as having doubts.... let me just say that another reason I like my Mac is that if I do encounter an issue, it is more than likely ignorance on my part and not a problem with the computer. That really narrows down the troubleshooting. And then I can come here for advice on what I am doing wrong. HUGE benefit in my book.
Mike

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thank you for both your answers.
I have to try and remember to state things I have tried previously or am aware of; my bad!
Alberto:
Thanks for your ideas.
I'm aware of ex-fat format.
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http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2096886&tstart=0
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Message was edited by: Samsara

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Christopher Dobrian wrote:
Thanks for the response! Yes, it's a 5x70 video card, a 5770 I believe. In any case, it does have the three ports, but (a not-well documented fact) that doesn't mean one can really get three full-resolution signals out of it at one time, as you alluded to in your message. So, yes, we did try hooking all three up directly to the computer, but the computer would only recognize two of those monitors, and the only way to get it to "de-recognize" the second monitor and recognize the third monitor was to physically disconnect the second monitor.
I did say when you want to connect three monitors to 5x70's there are some rules to adhere to. These are covered in the first two apple docs mentioned above, or by title:
Mac Pro (Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Early 2009): Issues with three displays and multiple DVI, HDMI connections
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I'm doubtful that SwitchResX would be able to convince the computer that there were only two monitors connected and direct the second monitor signal to the correct place, but it certainly seems worth a try, so thanks for the idea! Any other ideas are still welcome in the meantime.
I'm not doubtful. It is a very powerful utility for dealing with all aspects of multiple monitor configurations (they call them "Display Sets") complete with forcing EDID information if necessary. The different configurations can be controlled with a (contextual) menu and/or hot key.
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New to macs need guidence on what macbook pro to get for video & photo

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among the features I have read about snow leopard, it has a "put back" feature for accidental deletions, does leopard have anything like this?
I am in California, if I get a macbookpro directly from mac online or a mac store do I pay tax? like a regular electronics store? why dont macs ever go on sale? they seem to be the same price all over.
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Message was edited by: Sossity

Hi -
You will get a lot of different answers to your questions. Here are mine:
Sossity wrote:
I see there are alot of what looks like good deals on ebay for macbookpros, is ebay a safe place to get a mac book pro?
I my opinion, no.
If I get one with OS leopard from ebay, can I get a discount or free upgrade to snow leopard?
No.
among the features I have read about snow leopard, it has a "put back" feature for accidental deletions, does leopard have anything like this?
I believe you are referring to TIme Machine, which is a built in software back up feature in both Leopard and Snow Leopard. You will need an external hard disc drive to make it work.
I am in California, if I get a macbookpro directly from mac online or a mac store do I pay tax? like a regular electronics store?
If you buy a computer from the Apple Web Store, you will have to pay the sales tax your state charges - but you won't have to pay for shipping.
why dont macs ever go on sale?
They sell at full price so why should Apple discount them?
they seem to be the same price all over.
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what would be the bare minimum in specs to get in a macbookpro for smooth rendering/editing of all types of video like high def?
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I may also need to run some windows programs; MS word, Excel, photoshop & roxio easy media creator. I have read about vm ware fusion & paralles for macs, which would be best for running my windows programs without problems. Will vm ware fusion or parallels run on OS snow leopard?
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I had been using roxio easy media creator on a Dell Pentium 4 PC with windows XP home, editing .mpg movies clips taken with my Sony cybershot digital still camera & I could never make a DVD without some difficulty, until I cannot do it at all now, the video & audio are out of sync. I have talked to some people about this & alot have told me a mac would be better suited to what I do. So now I am looking at macs, they seem very expensive, so the less I have to spend would be better, but I am willing to spend a little to get good reliable performance.
OK, well this is something I can't advise you on. If you were to get a new Mac, you would need to: Buy the Mac, buy Fusion or Parallels, buy a full copy of Windows to install on your windows partition, buy the ram upgrade, and buy external storage. Plus, you will have to learn a new operating system, and new software like iMovie and iDVD.
What the relative value this has to you, I don't know. If you have a long term commitment to working with photography and videography, then without a doubt, I would recommend doing it as eventually in your career you will need to be familiar with how to work on the Mac platform.
If you are doing it just to make better DVDs from MPG movies shot with a still camera, I would think about it.
Hope this helps, and good luck!

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I have multiple emails associated with my i phone, but can't get my mac to associate some of the email names because it is associated with other apple id , but it's my id. how can i get around this?

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Apple - Support - iTunes - Contact Us
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Gotta say thank you — again. Sorry the posts were spread out over more than one location. I'll check and see if Third Party Software is considered a "peripheral", maybe that would have been a better single thread choice?
Definitely news we can use and the reference link is appreciated.
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I'll be getting a Mac on monday for video... advice?

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