I am thinking of getting a quad i7 iMac. Can't afford a Mac Pro right now and want to see what updates will bring later this year -eg. Lightpeak. In the meanwhile, I need something capable of editing material from a Sony EX3 and possibly RED. Is there a Firewire raid or other solution that would give me fast enough throughput to work with ProRes422? I'd like to be able to work in Color and send my image to a LCD monitor - probably with a Matrox box. Any other issues? Thanks.
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Editing Pro Res 422 on iMac - Can it Be Done?
- Thread starter hsilver
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FW800 is fast enough for ProRes, but getting a video signal out of the iMac is an issue. As far as I know there are only two potential options, and I'm not sure either will work.
The original MXO might, but it's a very picky piece of equipment, so you'd need to check whether it works with the current iMacs. The other possibility is the AJA IoHD, but it's pretty expensive, and as it uses FW800, you'd have to find an ethernet scratch solution.
The 17" MacBook Pro, however, has an ExpressCard/34 slot, which opens up storage and I/O options considerably.
The original MXO might, but it's a very picky piece of equipment, so you'd need to check whether it works with the current iMacs. The other possibility is the AJA IoHD, but it's pretty expensive, and as it uses FW800, you'd have to find an ethernet scratch solution.
The 17" MacBook Pro, however, has an ExpressCard/34 slot, which opens up storage and I/O options considerably.
Not only does the Io HD take away the only FW port on the iMac it also will only output an SD signal when working w/Color.
A used/refurbished Mac Pro could be had for around the same price as an i7 iMac and will be a much more versatile machine by far.
Lethal
Which begs the question, why doesn't an iMac have an ExpressCard slot? I've longed for one. Here is hoping USB3 shows up soon.
Except for your desire to get to an LCD monitor, I'd say Mac Pro might be a waste of time and money for you to consider.
My first Mac was a late 2006 iMac. Just a few months ago, I cut an entire 30 min show in 1080i XDCAM (shot on Sony EX3).
I'm currently cutting a 10 min marketing video all in Pro Res HQ (FW 400) without issue.
Even when cutting TV commercials, all of my local stations take DVDs. It's been a long time since I've had to go to tape so I haven't been hindered by iMac's inability to get to tape easily. I shot HDV in the Mexican desert in Nov. That was the last time I came from a tape in about a year. My world is mostly tapeless, thankfully.
I'm just about to add a new i7 iMac to the family. Frankly, I just don't see the need to think about the additional expense of a Mac Pro, refurb or not.
My first Mac was a late 2006 iMac. Just a few months ago, I cut an entire 30 min show in 1080i XDCAM (shot on Sony EX3).
I'm currently cutting a 10 min marketing video all in Pro Res HQ (FW 400) without issue.
Even when cutting TV commercials, all of my local stations take DVDs. It's been a long time since I've had to go to tape so I haven't been hindered by iMac's inability to get to tape easily. I shot HDV in the Mexican desert in Nov. That was the last time I came from a tape in about a year. My world is mostly tapeless, thankfully.
I'm just about to add a new i7 iMac to the family. Frankly, I just don't see the need to think about the additional expense of a Mac Pro, refurb or not.
well if the OP wants to color correct RED footage, they're going to need both proper monitoring and storage faster than FW800.
An i7 iMac is close in price to the cheaper refurbished towers and I wouldn't down play the 'benefit' of being able to actually see what is going on w/your footage (artifacting, field problems, proper color, make sure gfx look okay, etc.,). IMO it's a disservice to your clients if you judge the quality based on your iMac's screen. If all you are doing is work for the web it's a bit different story because the web has no standards for video display accuracy.
Lethal
Lethal
I think if you're doing it right and spending the money on a FSi monitor, the difference in price between an i7 imac and a refurb mac pro is really negligible and completely offset by the expandability/capability of the mac pro. Really if you're doing this professionally (as the FSi suggests), then you would make up the difference in (probably not even) a day's work. Plus, with the mac pro, instead of dropping $1k for an MXO you can get the MXO2 LE for the same price IIRC. Then you've got HD SDI in/out, audio monitoring, and HDMI out for a potential client monitor. You'd then be prepared to work with almost any video format (with the proper drive configuration).
I've heard that Matrox is being slow getting Snow Leopard updates out for the original MXO so that's something to keep in mind.
Lethal