SD reader on new 27" i-mac OK for video importing? + FCE4 vs 3.5?

I just ordered a new i-mac (my first btw!) and am trying to figure out a few things. Mac won't get here for a couple of weeks since I upgraded the ram and video card, so I can't test my questions yet.
I want to shoot some simple "how to" instructional vids for some motorcycle parts I sell. I will host them via You-Tube. I plan to use the Video function of my DSLR Canon T1i (500D) which shoots Full HD video at 1920 x 1080 resolution with HDMI output for HD viewing of stills and video in MOV format. I saw a few comments in the 27" i-mac reviews section suggesting that the SD format was having issues with importing of video to FCE.
I am considering FCE 4 for video editing, however there are quite a few reviews that suggest FCE 3.5 may be a better app if I can find it. (several new in box copies on e-bay now for good prices)
Main concerns I noted were that FCE 4 no longer includes Soundtrack 1.2, but it does offer support for AVCHD. I'm confused if I really need Soundtrack 1.2 and if I have to have AVCHD for quick importing from the SD media my camera uses?
I will be using some music in my vids and would like to be able to do easy voice overs, but nothing crazy soundtrack wise. Is there no sound track editing in FCE4?
Thanks for helping a NOOB!

The problem with your camera is that, like 95%+ of the market, it is a compromise, trying to be a jack of all trades, combining video with stills and aimed at people who generally don't want to do any serious video editing.
As such, the designers have not concerned themselves as to whether it will be compatible with existing editing systems as most users will simply want to view their all the footage they shoot or at the most just cut out a few bad bits.
Almost every other camera that has been introduced in the last few years seems to have been given its own unique format which is totally incompatible with everything else. It makes the VHS/Betamax etc. wars of the 1980s seem like a walk in the park.
To answer your question about about AVCHD, it is the most popular high definition format in the consumer market and will probably take over everything unless/until it is superseded by some, as yet unannounced, format.

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Mac mini for video / music production

hello!
i'm really into music and video, i currently do all my video work in premiere pro on the pc, and music is done in a combination of packages like reason, soundforge, etc.
i'm really tempted by the offer of a mac mini for a few hundred pounds complete with garageband, imovie, etc. plus i can always get final cut on there too.
I am serious about what i do and would want high quality results. what i'm asking is basically, consdiering the specs of the mac mini, (i'd have to go for the top of the range to get the dvd writer) will it be capable of performing well with video work and more importantly, will garageband let me do professional sounding sequencing and mixing?
or am i kidding myself that the mini is capable? because if the option is buying a G5, i'll use the cash to upgrade my windows pc instead. it's all about tools for the job for me, i've got no brand loyalty.
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There's no doubt that the mini CAN do what you want - it outperforms many Mac systems that have been sucessfully doing pro-level video and audio work for years. On the video side the system is very capable, and whether in iMovie or Final Cut, professional results are achievable. Indeed, being digital, there's no practical way to tell from the rsult whether it came off a mini or an old G3 iMac or a brand new G5 tower. The mini's only drawback is that rendering takes time. Less time than older systems, and more time than a G5 would. Some rendering (such as transitions or effects in iMovie) run in the background and don't prevent continuing work.
On the audio side, I'll leave that to people who have a better knowledge of the application than I do as a rather 8th-rate amateur!
As for the model you should buy, I would suggest NOT the $699 version with superdrive. I'd suggest you buy the $599 model, replace the 512Mb RAM with a 1Gb stick, and add an external burner. That way you would be getting enough memory to give the mini a solid performance in video work, and giving yourself the choice of DVD burner which not only would include possible dual layer devices (the superdrive is single) but also better burn speeds.

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Thanks in advance.

budget, time-line, stomach for 1.0 revamp (every new model, 2012 could be 3x), lack of Rosetta of course.
production never = bleeding edge, go for a mature well tested proven design - expect to see firmware change, compatibility issues, and 3-4 months for a unified build and drivers rolled out, no?
a nice $2200 "hold me over the hump" for the next 6-12 months for now, W3690/X3690 DIY (the w3680 3.33 6-core is mere $620)
no easy answer that I see with all the products Intel has on their plates.

2010 Mac Pro for video work: ATI 5770 or 5870? performance vs. fan noise

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I've got the 6-core w/5870 on order, so don't yet have it myself. I've been looking into this issue also, as noise is a concern.
This (http://techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/RadeonHD5870/29.html) test showed me that the card is pretty typical at idle, but fairly loud when loaded.
I don't expect I'll be loading my video card much with the work that I do right now, so wasn't as concerned. In the end, I guess I'll find out when my new machine arrives.
Mark

New mac suggestions for video editing

I have been looking at getting a new mac to do mostly video editing and DVD authoring. I currently have a 450mhz g4 sawtooth that I thought about upgrading, but figured with the costs to just retire it. I have about a $1200 budget so I am unable to splurge and get a mac pro. Does anybody have any suggestions on what would work best for the money i.e. G5, G4 DP MDD, Macbook.
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A refurbished MacBook Pro is a little more than your budget (at $1,449), but I think it's a better choice than the MacBook, as the MacBook has no expansion slot and an inferior graphics card.
I eliminate the iMac for the same reason - no expansion slots.
Basically, it's not recommended to capture video to your built-in drive, so you'd need to connect either a FireWire drive or an eSATA drive (with an ExpressCard adapter). However, your video camera is also likely to be FireWire, so you'd be trying to daisy chain a camera through the FireWire drive which is likely to cause performance problems. Even if the MacBook had two FireWire ports (the newest models do, a FW400 and a FW800, but the refurbs are the previous generation) they still share the same FireWire bus, so it's wise to get a FireWire ExpressCard adapter to add a second FireWire bus to the computer. That way, the drive can use one bus and the camera can use the other. Most cameras operate at 100 Mbps speeds, and slow everything else on the same bus down to those speeds as well. While DV is only 25 Mbps, you still have much less headroom to work with if the bus is operating a 100 Mbps speeds.
If you go with a MBP (or any Intel Mac) and you don't already have Final Cut Studio 5.1, you'll need to order the crossgrade. For users of Final Cut Studio 5, it's only a $49 upgrade, but you have to take advantage of it before the end of the year.
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IMac vs the new Mac Pro for video editing in FCPX?

Hi.
I am currently using a macbook air for all my editing and rendering of videos in FCPX. The editing process is reasonably smooth when dealing with shorter clips, but when I tried to edit multicam clips, things started to slow down. Also, the rendering and compression processes are tedious. I am planning to edit and process a much larger number of videos in the next years to come, so I have decided to do a serious upgrade of my system.
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When I look at benchmarks of the new Mac Pro's in Geekbench, the iMac is never very far away in terms of performance. Does tests like this tell anything about how well the Mac Pro will perform in FCP? Does the hardware in the Mac Pro have features which makes it superior to the iMac, in other ways than for example the "pure power" of the CPU and GPU?
Christopher.

FCP X 10.1, Motion 5.1 Updates w/Dual GPU Support (new Mac Pros) (from Thursday)
Apple released Final Cut Pro X 10.1 Thursday with support for Dual GPUs in the new Mac Pro and more.
Long list in the Final Cut Pro X 10.1 Release Notes that also links to info on How to back up important FCP X 10.0.x files before updating. (Today's Apple docs listing also has more related to Final Cut Pro X 10.1.)
Also out today are Compressor 4.1 and Motion 5.1. Full release notes below but here's a clip from the App store Motion 5.1 changes:
Optimized playback and rendering using dual GPUs in the new Mac Pro
FxPlug 3 with custom plug-in interfaces and dual-GPU support
Faster project loading, especially for complex projects
Share directly to YouTube at 4K resolution
Spanish language localization
Dual FirePro Dxxx Rendering FCP-X
http://www.barefeats.com/tube05.html
Intel Xeon processors are designed to run 24/7 and stay cool and under load.
Mac Pro so far hold up strongly for years, easy to add and upgrade RAM and processor, and maybe, hopefully, even the twin GPUs. Thunderbolt2 for all your projects and storage as well.
6 or 8-cores is going to walk away from iMac which is breathing hard and not designed for constant heat. Haswell was designed to conserve and reduce.

Mac mini for video editing

I have just started to video edit and need a new machine. As of now I have a late 2006 black MacBook. It is very slow and lags in iMovie. I am considering getting a ssd but I know that won't help entirely. I will use this machine to run final cut pro x or possible final cut 7. I will also be doing stuff involving special effects and what not. I am still new too this stuff. I love film and want to make a couple short films. I am going to college for history and communicatins and want to get my noise wet before hand. Would you consider a Mac mini good for a starter and something that will last a couple of years. Also what model. I want to put a ssd in it and want to know of toi is hard to do. I want quad core so I am looking into the server model. Is the server worth the money? Please don't tell me to get an iMac I don't like them. The glossy screen hurts my eyes and besides I have a grat set up. I have a 23" apple cinema display, keyboard, mouse, and magic trackpad. Or do you think I should get a 15" MBP.

I went to the Apple Store last night after work to by the Mac Mini, but they wanted to charge me an extra £80 compared to the online price. I wanted the 1gb memory upgrade and apparently they was going to charge me for the 500mb they would have to take out to put the 1gb in.
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From iMac to Mac Pro for video work.. suggestions please!

Hello all! Soon I'll be upgrading from my 2.66 GHz quad core iMac with 4gb of RAM to a new Mac Pro. The idea is to increase my productivity with applications such as After Effects & Final Cut Pro by hopefully decreasing time spent rendering/buffering/burning. The iMac has been working really well all this time, but a bit faster would be better!
I have about $4,000 to work with for a new machine. I welcome your thoughts on the best bang for my buck, be that a new/refurbished from Apple or used from eBay. Thanks everyone!

The Hatter has provided his insights as well as some excellent links.
The performance of the 2009 and later models is nearly twice that of the previous models with the same specs due to architectural changes including Hyper Threading.
All the Xeon Macs are keeping their value very well, and that means there are very few real deals on eBay.

Can we have a BE-ALL, END-ALL thread for your BEST Mac solutions for video?

Sorry if this already exists. But I am trying to find the sweet spot for encoding my videos (existing files, like AVI, not from DVD - I get Handbrake).
There are SO many programs and SO many options. But the discussions of these seem to be far-flung and unorganized.
So.
If you have spent hours experimenting, what have you found? I'm looking for the best Mac-based programs, and the best settings in those programs.
- I want videos that will look good on TV, but not have a crazy file size.
- I want it to be relatively fast (QuickTIme Pro is horribly slow).
- I want it to have a queue.
- I REALLY want it to be free of audio/video sync problems.
I want, I want, I want.
So far I have tried iSquint, Podner, QT Pro, FFMPEG, MPEG Streamclip...
All of them work, but they all have problems to some degree. However, one of them may be your favorite.
Have you found ONE program and ONE set of settings that you use all the time now? Share!

Justin,
I hate to stomp on your post, but unfortunately what you're asking here is against the Terms of Use for these discussions boards. Polls, petitions, surveys, etc... are not allowed.
If you have a specific question or problem regarding your iPod , you can feel free to ask it and someone here will try to help.
Otherwise, a forum such as those on iLounge might be a better place to post non-technical topics.

Is the new iMac a step forward for video editing?

Hi,
Do the changes in the new iMacs make them better video editing machines?
Thanks

Faster system, more RAM (which can be added to the previous model) and new graphics system (which won't affect graphics editing much if at all). That's basically what I see. Since I have no complaints about video editing with my year old iMac I'm not rushing out to buy.

External storage for early 08 mac pro for video storage and editing

Early 08 Mac Pro mod 3.1, 2x Intel 2.8 Quad Core Processors. Bus speed 1.6 Ghz. 10 GB DDR2 FB-Dimm 800 MHz. USB2, Firewire 400, 800. ATI Radeon HD 2600 PCIe 256 mbVRAM. Currently running OS 10.6.8.
I use machine for photo and video storage and editing. I tried using 2x 3TB and 2x1TB HDD internally ( 8 TB total). All are Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200. Experienced constant spinning wheel and lockup requiring manual shutdown. I had upgraded to Lion and to Maverick. Did not help so I did a clean install of primary with Snow Leopard and did not install past 10.6.8. Works now if I don’t exceed 3.5 TB internally. I also discovered that my Disk Permissions experienced voluminous corruption that could not be repaired if I installed Java for Mac OS 10.6 Update 17 as suggested each time I check for software updates.
I need to be able to have a total of about six TBs available in my system for storage and editing of video via Imovie. I don’t know the maximum of HDD storage that can be used in the four internal bays without causing lockup and corruption. If 3.5 TB is about the max, then I would like to have some ability to have external storage via firewire 800 if that would facility fast enough transfer for either video edition and or playback. I don’t know if thunderbolt can be installed via PCI card. I could add a SATA PCI card. However, I assume that would cause the same problem as experienced with 8 TBs installed internally in the four bays.
I would appreciate any suggestions.

olderguy1 wrote:
Do you mean 2x2TB and 2x3TB for a total internal capacity of 10TBs? Are you running Snow Leopard or something else? Actually, I took it to an authorized repair facility who ran checks and said nothing is wrong with the hardware.
Yes, I've got a total of to TB and I'm running Snow Leopard. If your hardware checks out, that pretty much makes it a software problem,,, reinstall the OS?
Does the High Point Technologies SATA3 PCIe connect to eternal drive enclosures or does it somehow connect to drives in some of your four internal bays?
Highpoint makes several RocketRAID 2700 series SATA3 controllers for Mac with external mini-SAS connectors, probably the cleanest/least expensive external hook-up. They also offer a combo internal/external board that (for marketing reasons) is listed as not working for internals with Mac Pro. I believe that this is due to pressure from Apple (who apparently does some business with High Point Tech) but to the best of my knowledge it will. Technically, the "not supported" statement is true since all the internal bays are tied to the motherboard SATA 2 controller, but this can be remedied with a special cable. HOWEVER... the boards are not bootable, so your system disk needs to be on the motherboard controller.
In truth, I bought one of their 8-port "internal only" boards designated for PC only and flashed it so the Mac Pro sees it as a 2722 board, so I have 8 internal ports. I'm not recommending you do the same unless you're pretty geeky, but the 2721 would give you half-and-half or the 2722 would give you 8 external with no mods to the board.

Best Mac configuration for video editing

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Buy the best MacPro you can afford. Go for the best ATi video card that is an option, try to get at least a gig of RAM per CPU core, and don't skimp on your storage.
At that budget I'd say 8 core 2.4, 12gb RAM, 1tb boot drive, 2x 2tb editing drives, the ATi 5870, and a single 27 inch window. That comes in at about 5700 without FCS. The cuts I'd make if that's too much are 8gb RAM and 1 2tb drive for editing to get down to 5100, 6100 with FCS. If you can wait Final Cut X comes out this summer for about $300. We don't know a whole lot about it yet, but the better specs with FCX will be a lot faster than the lower specs with FCS. Whether or not you can wait is a question you need to answer for yourself.
If you don't need the monitor change your boot drive to the SSD.

Create a new clip for a new scene doesn't work on video import

For the last few months I cannot get i movie4 to import video with a new clip for each sequence. It will import the video as one only large clip although the button "create a new clip for a new scene" has been selected in the imovie preferences.
What can I do to solve this problem ?

Set the camcorder's clock. See also:
http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/video/2006.shtml

IMac or Mac Pro for video editing?

Should I invest in a Mac Pro or an IMAC for my video editing needs?
I am using Final Cut Pro x (latest version) on my late 2009 model MacBook Pro (with upgrades)
the rendering is obviously slow and lags.
wondering if I should wait for the new Mac Pro (black cylinder) late 2013
Or will a IMAC top of the line (i7 chip, 16-32 ram 1tb HD) due???
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2-3 days a week.
4-5 hrs a day.
Future plans: 4-5 days
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Connecting I-Phone 4S to Mac Mini for photo import

Hi! I use a Mac Mini, OS x 10.6.8. I have 2 Iphone 4S, one work, one personal. I have been able to upload photos by connecting to the Mac and using the I-Tunes interface UNTIL I upgraded to IOS 8, and since then the photos appear in the I-photo window but cannot up imported as the file is not recognised. ( It seems it only relates to photos taken after the upgrade)
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Is iTunes fully update? I thin 10,7 is the latest for SL since SL does not support 12.
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http://i-funbox.com/ifunboxmac/
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SD reader on new 27" i-mac OK for video importing? + FCE4 vs 3.5?

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