iMac vs. MacPro for Editing
I've been a professional editor for over 25 years, and have set-up and/or owned numerous iMac and MacPro editing systems. While I'm sure that most editors (like myself) would prefer to have a big-a-- MacPro with 12-cores, >32GB RAM, three-32" monitors and lots of PCI card accessories, there are TONS of jobs that could easily be edited with an iMac.
As some have suggested, NAB would be a fantastic opportunity for Apple to roll-out new MacPros and iMacs to broadcasters. News editors don't need a MacPro to cut news stories, and a TV Station could save a lot of money by networking a half-dozen (or more) 27" iMac based edit booths and a couple of MacPro systems for longer documentary and special programs. And any number of businesses that need in-house production might also be very well served with iMac based systems, Thunderbolt drives and BOBs (Breakout Boxes).
Let's also not forget that FCPX is seeing new updates, including a major revision in the last year, and is an impressive editing system that can easily run on an iMac and handle most (at least 6-broadcast cameras) of the "multi-cam" shoots (that everybody "freaked" about loosing from FCP7), has an outstanding chroma-keyer, excellent audio enhancement and noise reduction, color correction, multiple formats (in one timeline) and excellent news graphics. Some are also speculating that Apple will add a matching 27" monitor to the product lineup - 'a two-monitor iMac set-up would KILL in a broadcast news setting.
It may be just a gut feeling, but I think Tim has big plans to bring broadcasters back into the fold with both iMacs and MacPros running a soon to be (again) updated version of FCPX where jobs get "turned over" sometimes in a matter of 15-minutes, but rarely more than 90.
So, in the big picture, there's plenty of room for iMacs to do professional broadcast and lower-end industrial/training work, while the new MacPros will still make the room-lights dim and flicker when the machines are turned on and rendering multiple layers of composited and motion-graphics.
And as a side-note, from my experience - I get seasick and whiplash with more than two large (27' or 32") monitors plus SD-CRT and HD-LCD monitors. Two 27" screens (one easily selectable between clip-bins and pixel for pixel 1920x1080 monitoring) would be a sweet system that could easily be run as a professional editor's "home" workstation" that he/she could enhance their ongoing projects after-hours, and transfer them into the "office suite" MacPro systems at any time. I often prefer to edit at home - and could add many billable hours with a reasonably-priced iMac based editing system there.
So, as Chauncey Gardiner said in the film "Being There:" "Look for new growth in the spring."
