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.

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Using Final Cut Express for video editing without attaching external device

Hello,
I am a newbie to Final Cut Express as well as Mac's in general. I am wanting to use Final Cut Express for video editing of files, but without an attached camera. Is there any way to have Final Cut Express startup without having it prompt for an external A/V device? I just want to do some basic editing and use the chroma key feature. Can anyone help?
Greatly Appreciated,
Knight2000
iMAC Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi Zak,
Unfortunately, I've tried that and I get into an issue that was addressed in this posting: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=836595&tstart=120 where FCE will show the splash screen and then the program doesn't start. I then have to delete FCE preferences and then I will get the Easy Setup dialog box prompt me again for choosing the external device.
I am looking for a way to use FCE for video editing of files that I already have on my computer that I created using iClone software and is in .avi, or .mp4 format. I get FCE to work one time without the external device actually being attached, but then when restarting the program I get the dialog box asking for the external device and if it's not there, the program just closes, and to get it to work again, I have to delete the preference files and go through the process all over again which is time consuming especially when this is at work. If FCE is not the right program, can anyone suggest a good video editing program that doesn't require an external device and is as good or better than FCE?
Thanks again for your help and support,
Knight2000
iMAC Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Used G5...Okay for video editing???

Hello there. I am looking to buy a Mac explicitly for video and music editing as well as perhaps Internet browsing. For now I just wanted to focus on the video editing part. Since this computer will only need to do these things for me, I will be able to keep the hard drive very clean (I hope). Now, I was interested in getting a used one from this website:
http://www.gainsaver.com/Catalog/Detail.aspx?&CCode=1015^Apple&CCode=1024^iMacs& cICode=65467
I was wondering if you guys had any opinions on that sort of thing. Notice that you can add whatever specs, ram, etc. you want so essentially even though it's older computer I could still optimize it for video editing, right? Let me know if this is a good plan or if it's really necessary for me to get a newer model. Keep in mind that it will cost a heck of a lot more even though the specs could be essentially the same and that I'm also pretty new to video editing so I won't be doing anything crazy... yet.
Also, any important differences I should know between Final Cut Express/Pro? Thanks guys!

As stated before in:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13148516#13148516
and apparently ignored by you, the Mac in your link is NOT a G5. That means notta, negative, nil. I hope that is clear, if I need translate it to a different language, I will, or somebody else can. It is closer to be described as a G6, only Apple never called it that. Apple ran through the gamut of G processors with their joint venture of IBM & Motorola. Once it moved to Intel, it dropped the G prefix from the processor name.
For all intents the G1 was was the 68xxx series processors by Motorola.
For all intents the G2 was the 6xx series processors by IBM and Motorola.
G3, G4, G5 were the last of the IBM and Motorola processors Apple used through 2005, and left over machines that didn't get the Intel processor change until later in 2006.
Are you intending to buy the Mac in:
http://www.gainsaver.com/Catalog/Detail.aspx?&CCode=1015^Apple&CCode=1024^iMacs& cICode=65467
? Because if you are, do NOT seek out software that is G5 compatible as it may not work with the Mac in that link. You want something known to be Intel Core2Duo compatible. You got this thread posted in the right forum, but persisted in saying "Used G5" in the subject line.

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.

Multiple Hard Drives for Video Editing with Premiere Elements 8?

I'm using Premiere Elements 8 for video editing. These are the specs I'm using:
The camcorder I used to shoot the footage is a Sony Handycam with model number HDR-SR12. It's a digital HD video camera recorder that shoots in NTSC 1920x1080i HD recording. The footage was shot with AVC HD 9M (HQ), which records in higher image quality mode. The video camera is connected to my computer through a USB cable.
The computer itself is a Windows 7 desktop computer. The CPU is an HP Pavilion Elite HPE-150f PC with Intel Core i7-860 processor. I imported the video into Premiere by selecting "File" --> "Get Media From" and then choosing the third option from the top.
My import option is NTSC/AVCHD/Full HD 1080i 30 5.1 channel, which matches the specs of the camera I shot the footage with.
Even with the patch 8.0.1 that should be preventing crashing, the program keeps crashing upon startup with one specific video project. Using the exact same video files for that project, I recreated the video, with Elements, and never ran into the problem. Both times, I had the patch installed.
At the moment, I am using only the single internal hard drive for everything (software, OS, video editing, etc.). It is 1 TB in size. However, I am informed that one hard drive is not recommended for video editing, and that I need at least two hard drives, one for OS and one specifically for video editing. I was also informed of FireWire 800 and eSata; however, it does not appear that my computer supports eSata.
Can this problem be resolved if I have an external hard drive and connect it to my computer with FireWire 800 (which the computer supports)? If not, what can be done so this problem doesn't arise in the future?
Thanks for the help.

staring-into-space wrote: My import option is NTSC/AVCHD/Full HD 1080i 30 5.1 channel, which matches the specs of the camera I shot the footage with.
When you import the footage is there a red line across the whole of the timeline?
staring-into-space wrote:
I recreated the video, with Elements, and never ran into the problem.
As you have the recreated project working fine I'd be inclined to put this down as a one-off glitch. If it happens again on a different project then it may be more worrying. You may want to consider using save-as to create multiple versions of your project (note this does NOT duplicate the source clips - so you won't be eating up much extra disk space). You could for example use save-as to create a daily version - ProjectName-Mon, ProjectName-Tue etc....
Cheers,
Neale
Insanity is hereditary, you get it from your children

Best affordable choice for video editing & other stuff?

I've been a PC user forever. I'm looking to enter the world of Mac. I do video editing with Adobe CC on a windows 7 Destop PC with an i7 Quadcore and have a nice LED monitor. I'd like a Mac capable of doing graphics well and has the processing power of an i7. I was thinking of a Macbook rather than than a iMac because I don't need the built in screen - I already have a very nice LED monitor. I also like the idea of portability. So I figure i could hook up the Macbook to my LED monitor when at my desk, and then be able to port it around when I wanted to go mobile. Is this reasonable? Is a macbook laptop capable of this kind of processing? I know my HP Powerbook with Win7 struggles doing this kind of stuff even though it has a dedicated nVidea Graphics and is an i7 2.3GHz with 16G memory, so I never use my HP laptop for video editing. I thought about the Mac Pro, but that is WAY out of my budget. Is there a Macbook that would be good for video editing and not break the bank? Like I've said, I'v discounted the idea of getting an iMac because of space & (I already have a decent size LED monitor that I'd like to continue to use and share with my Windows PC.

the last 2 and the bottom of this link would be more than adequate: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro

Computer for Video Editing for the Present and Beyond

In an earlier post I announced that I have been a Premiere Elements user since Day One, and I also mentioned I was looking to have a new computer built from scratch rather than purchase from Dell or HP. I am close to finalizing that build, and am looking forward to upgrading to Elements 8.0. I am also looking forward to becoming a subscriber to Muvipix.com. Becoming a part of the Adobe Premiere Elements Forum coupled with being an eventual subscriber to Muvipix.com has elevated my enthusiasm for video editing. Special Thanks go to Bill Hunt and Steve Grisetti for anchoring this Adobe Pre E Forum. Your advice has motivated me to take my video editing with Premiere Elements to another level.
Speaking of advice, what does everyone think of the following specifications for my new computer? Is this a solid computer for video editing? In some cases some components lack specificity (model numbers, brand names, et cetera). Suggestions and comments will be greatly appreciated as I take this final step. Thanks to all!
ATX Antec     193 Computer Case
X58 ASUS      Motherboard
Core      i7- 930 Processor (1366)
700W     OCZ Power Supply
Triple     Channel DDR3 (6 GB RAM - 3x2GB)
64-bit      Windows 7 Home Premium
(2) Western     Digital 1T HDDs
22xDVD+/-RW      Burner
ATI Radeon 4670 Video Card DDR3 (dual     monitor support)

jcrystal76 wrote:
I read your computer spec sheet. Thanks for sharing. You said the ideal thing to do is use the computer just for video editing. Best way to go. However, you still need an OS, which requires updates. And you need to update drivers, and then there are product updates and add-ons. You need to connect with the Internet to do all of this
I do not have $$ or space to have 2 computers, so my single computer is for day to day work, and video editing as a hobbyist... which of course is not "ideal" for video editing... but I don't make $$ at this, so I use what I have
I am still learning about Win7 64bit, so do not have all the startup process optimized... that is my next project, to figure out what does not need to be running, and remove that un-needed stuff from the startup
You also asked about backup... the IMAGE program I use is mentioned in http://www.pacifier.com/~jtsmith/ADOBE.HTM#SmartOwn
I make a boot drive image to external USB hard drive before installing any new software

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:)

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.

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.

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 external monitor for video editing.

Hello all,
I own a IMAC that I use for video editing on FC7. I was wondering via Thunderbolt to VGA (or any other way) if there was a way to use an external moniter as my canvus and the internal comands to do so. Also the opinons of doing this. Good? Bad? any good ideas?
Thanks.

Eeewww! Oh, the horror of what you are trying to suggest!
No. A video signal for a computer display and a video signal intended for TV are very very different things. If you want to PROPERLY see what the video you shot looks like, a computer monitor is the LAST place to look. You want to use an HDTV at least. I'd even say avoid computer displays with HDMI inputs...but even those are better than VGA. VGA is a very low quality connection. DVI, HDMI...those are better.
But if your intention is to view your video at full quality...an HDTV is your better option.

I am planning to buy mac mini 2.5Gzh. I will be using it mainly for video editing and I am planning to upgrade up to 8GB. Is it a good buy or should I try some other alternative.

I am planning to buy my next desktop. I will be using this mainly for video editing. I am not a professional video editor, I normally do home made videos for youtube, like tutorial, DIY project etc. I use Nikon D3100 camera and some basic green screen techniques as part of recording. So my basic video editing would be just syncing audio, editing videos to cut un-necessary frames etc and some basic effects. I am also planning to buy final cut pro.
So my question is should I buy the mac mini or Imac?

Great advice from RRFS!
For video editing, do go for 16 GB of RAM ffrom OWC & consider the twice as fast i7 2.6 model, see Geekbench scores here..
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i5-2.5-late-2 012-specs.html
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-2.6-late-2 012-specs.html

How well will a 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.0GHz Quad-core Intel i7 work with Final Cut Pro X for video editing 4K

How well will a 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.0GHz Quad-core Intel i7 work with Final Cut Pro X for video editing 4K

It will work just fine. I would max out the RAM

Using MBP 2.0ghz for Video Editing

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