New Home Gear Advice Please

[Bemidjiboy]

Hey gang. Just joined and first post here. I've benefited from forums like this one when boat shopping and thought I'd try the techie world as I plan out my new office (I bet the average age of my helpers is lower than the fishermen). I'm remodeling my home office (building book cases, desk, etc.) and am upgrading all my computer stuff. I have a 7 year-old iMac. House also has an iPad, iPhone, 3 iPod touches, Macbook Pro, old router, etc. OK: The new computer is going to do all the usual domestic stuff plus some home video editing. My iTunes library isn't that big and I don't store big movies on my computer, but I like it to work fast. I'll also be getting an Apple TV, a new television (maybe LG 6500) a new camcorder. Got the new printer already - wireless, it will be on a new electronics shelf in the office closet. Questions are this: what setup would you pick for home video editing? 27"? How fast? Which storage? Would you go with the Time Capsule/router? Would you just use the Macbook Pro and hope that an imac improvement (SSD?) comes out later this year? I have questions on the TV setup as well, but maybe that should go on another forum. Thanks for any help!

 

[forty2j]

Once you use a 27", it's hard to go smaller.. but honestly that would be unnecessary for you. If any computer upgrade could be called "necessary" (and if we're being honest, we are talking about optional improvements to a luxury item) it's some kind of SSD. I'm loving the Fusion drive, and would recommend it for most situations for its combination of speed, capacity, and cost. Home video editing usually isn't very intense, but you'd probably not want the base model - it's ok for surfing etc. but not meant for doing much work on. So my recommendation would be the high-end 21" model with the Fusion drive upgrade. If you have the budget to go bigger, then by all means.. but if you have to choose drive performance vs. screen size, I'd suggest drive performance.

I can't recommend trying to get by on older hardware, because you don't know when it's coming and if it will realistically be any different for you. I just sat through a 10 month wait for this new iMac.. and I waited only because the model for sale 10 months ago was the same model I passed on the prior year. I'm personally glad I waited and extremely happy with my purchase but it's not for the feint of heart and these models that just came out are excellent.

Not sure how old your fishermen are.. but in this "young" tech forum I can see 40 coming

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Oh, I missed some questions..

People will say not to get the time capsule because it's bundling two functions (wireless router and backup drive), and if it fails you're out both. They're not wrong but for home use that's not a huge consideration for me. However, Apple's routers don't have the best reputation for signal strength, handling many devices, etc. After trashing 4 routers over the course of 2 years, I finally came across the Linksys EA4500 and it's been phenomenal. I don't even have to hard reset it.. ever, really. First router I've ever owned that I could just set up and forget about. You can get any external drive and hook it up to the router or the iMac to use for Time Machine backups.

 

[Bemidjiboy]

Thanks

Hey 42, thanks for the info. Welcome to the 40's - almost! Good decade so far, for sure! That's interesting advice on the router - I will definitely keep that in mind. I've been checking out other posts - some complaints on the 27" and its design/performance. I'll look some more, but I'd like the larger screen. I can afford the bigger one, but think the SSD price is obscene. Did I see that the new imacs have wifi? The fewer cables the better on the new desk. Any thoughts on setting up the new TV?

 

[forty2j]

Hey 42, thanks for the info. Welcome to the 40's - almost! Good decade so far, for sure! That's interesting advice on the router - I will definitely keep that in mind. I've been checking out other posts - some complaints on the 27" and its design/performance. I'll look some more, but I'd like the larger screen. I can afford the bigger one, but think the SSD price is obscene. Did I see that the new imacs have wifi? The fewer cables the better on the new desk. Any thoughts on setting up the new TV?

People that complain about the 27" performance either want the iMac to be something it's not (a desktop tower with a full desktop gaming video card) or miss the optical drive for one reason or another. Personally I love it. I wouldn't pay the full SSD price, but the $250 Fusion drive upgrade gives you SSD performance most of the time for much cheaper.

Yes, iMacs have wifi. They also have wireless keyboards. And wireless mice/trackpads. (Highly recommend the trackpad.)

On the TV, all I can really tell you is:
- Samsung and Sony have the best picture quality, but it also varies individually by model, so you can't just walk into a store and pick up the brand name and go home. You need to research them all individually.
- Don't waste your money on 3D, unless it also happens to be the best available 2D TV in your price range.
- Don't waste your money on a "Smart" TV if you can find the equivalent "Dumb" TV. The Smart features just duplicate half of what Apple TV already gives you, in a less intuitive interface than Apple's.
- For managing broadcast TV/DVR, if you have Cable, I highly recommend TiVo rather than the Cable company's box. Outside of the initial investment (and you can sometimes find a deal bundled with a TV), the monthly cost usually works out about the same. You'll need to pay the cable company about $2/month for a CableCard and then pay TiVo's subscription fee rather than the csble's DVr and remote rental fees. People also set up their Macs as DVRs but I've found that solution less satisfying/easy to use.