Generic Use & Casual Video Editing

[calluma11]

Hi Folks,

I've been referred to this forum from a GoPro forum.
(I'd like to state I have used the search function, admittedly only for 15 minutes because I'm at work, and havent found what I'm looking for)

I'm on the brink of ordering a 13" Non Retina MBP, the only thing being upgraded is 8GB ram (thats the limit of my budget, i cant upgrade anything else).

It will be used for casual home use (internet browsing, YouTube, Netflix), intermediate HD video editing, intermediate audio editing and very very very rare gaming. I dont need lightning fast rendering speeds as the video and sound editing are hobbies, so I dont have deadlines. This is why I'm content with not having SSD.

Im aware I can get more value for money with desktops and Windows based products, but I'm very keen to have a Mac & also use their programs (ie, Final Cut and Logic). I also need portability

My main concern is video editing. Can the MBP smoothly handle HD video editing? (max: 1080p 60fps)

Many thanks
Callum

Edit: Uh-oh! I fear this thread is in the wrong section sorry!

 

[leman]

Any computer Apple currently sells will be absolutely sufficient for your tasks. Still, I would recommend you to get an SSD simply because it makes interfacing with a computer a much more fluent and pleasurable experience. And - for the price of the non-retina MBP you can also get a 13" MBA with 256GB SSD - a much better computer overall.

 

[Meister]

Of course it can handle 1080p 60fps video editing.
A macbook air or retina macbook pro would handle it better.
Why get a non-retina mbp?

 

[ColdCase]

BTW, iMovie which should be included, performs great for HD video editing. Its only when you get into pro effects and media management of large libraries that you need to start considering Final Cut. Any mac sold over the past 4 or 5 years is capable of editing HD Video nicely. The more RAM and CPU capability (and SSD) the smoother it runs. Larger screen sizes will make for a more efficient work flow.

As far as value for your money, that depends on how much your time and stress level is worth. The Mac and Mac apps are just going to work for you without much tinkering.

 

[ShiggyMiyamoto]

Of course it can handle 1080p 60fps video editing.
A macbook air or retina macbook pro would handle it better.
Why get a non-retina mbp?

So just so I can confirm what you just said: a MacBook Air 13" 1.7 GHz highest spec'd model with the Intel HD 5000 GPU should perform well under Adobe Premiere Pro (for example) when editing 1080p video footage from a smartphone ?

 

[leman]

So just so I can confirm what you just said: a MacBook Air 13" 1.7 GHz highest spec'd model with the Intel HD 5000 GPU should perform well under Adobe Premiere Pro (for example) when editing 1080p video footage from a smartphone ?

I bet you don't even need the i7, the base model is completely sufficient. Of course, it all depends on how you define 'well'. Certainly, a Mac Pro will be much faster at video editing than a MBA. But the MBA won't be any slower then the computer OP is looking at. In fact, it might be slightly faster.

 

[Meister]

So just so I can confirm what you just said: a MacBook Air 13" 1.7 GHz highest spec'd model with the Intel HD 5000 GPU should perform well under Adobe Premiere Pro (for example) when editing 1080p video footage from a smartphone ?

i have edited 1080p on my mac mini so i conclude that a 2013 mba should perform just fine.
It does of course depend on the extent of your editing needs.
For professional grade editing get a mac pro. A macbook is not going to cut it.

 

[ColdCase]

So just so I can confirm what you just said: a MacBook Air 13" 1.7 GHz highest spec'd model with the Intel HD 5000 GPU should perform well under Adobe Premiere Pro (for example) when editing 1080p video footage from a smartphone ?

What do you mean by well? Any rendering or transcoding will be slow, too slow for me... but perhaps not slow for you. If it takes 30 minutes to export a 30 minute clip... is That well?

 

[calluma11]

Any computer Apple currently sells will be absolutely sufficient for your tasks. Still, I would recommend you to get an SSD simply because it makes interfacing with a computer a much more fluent and pleasurable experience. And - for the price of the non-retina MBP you can also get a 13" MBA with 256GB SSD - a much better computer overall.

I'll admit I hadnt looked at the 13" MBA, but now I have I'm pretty impressed. I can easily buy an external hard drive in later months when i need it, & a superdrive. Thanks for the suggestion!

Why get a non-retina mbp?

Whilst it would be nice, I would rather have the extra RAM than better screen - even though I am working with video. :/

What do you mean by well? Any rendering or transcoding will be slow, too slow for me... but perhaps not slow for you. If it takes 30 minutes to export a 30 minute clip... is That well?

It is for me, yes I'm used to it taking a LOT longer. As I say, I have no deadlines so when it comes to rendering I can leave it going when I go out, when i'm at work, eating, sleeping etc. (& i'm a pretty patient guy )
Whilst it would be nice to be super fast, I do understand my budget limits me in some ways, this being one.

Edit: Whoops, that post wasnt intended for me. Sorry Shiggy! xD

 

[ShiggyMiyamoto]

What do you mean by well? Any rendering or transcoding will be slow, too slow for me... but perhaps not slow for you. If it takes 30 minutes to export a 30 minute clip... is That well?

OK what about previewing a certain area in the timeline? I'm just wondering about overall performance. If it takes 30 mins for a 30 min project then that's fine. I rarely export projects of that length. I have a super charged awesome desktop (specs in sig) here at home if I need have something done faster. I don't have an MBA of any kind right now. I'm just trying to figure out if it'll be too underpowered for me and whether or not I want/should get an rMBP of some sort instead.

----------

I'll admit I hadnt looked at the 13" MBA, but now I have I'm pretty impressed. I can easily buy an external hard drive in later months when i need it, & a superdrive. Thanks for the suggestion!

Whilst it would be nice, I would rather have the extra RAM than better screen - even though I am working with video. :/




It is for me, yes I'm used to it taking a LOT longer. As I say, I have no deadlines so when it comes to rendering I can leave it going when I go out, when i'm at work, eating, sleeping etc. (& i'm a pretty patient guy )
Whilst it would be nice to be super fast, I do understand my budget limits me in some ways, this being one.

Edit: Whoops, that post wasnt intended for me. Sorry Shiggy! xD

Haha it's okay. You seem to have the same needs as I do, so no harm done!

 

[Meister]

Whilst it would be nice, I would rather have the extra RAM than better screen - even though I am working with video. :/

The retina can be speced with 16gb of ram if thats what you crave.
If you choose the non-retina you are stuck with a slower (soldered) cpu, graphics and replacable hdd/ssd (sata)
The retina has pcie ssd which should make all the difference for your use.

 

[leman]

The retina can be speced with 16gb of ram if thats what you crave.
If you choose the non-retina you are stuck with a slower (soldered) cpu, graphics and replacable hdd/ssd (sata)
The retina has pcie ssd which should make all the difference for your use.

Well, OP said they were on a budget. New retina is pretty much out of question here. On the other side, this seems like a winner:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

Quick calluma11, get one while its still there

 

[calluma11]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

Quick calluma11, get one while its still there

That is a brilliant deal, No doubt! Unfortunately, i've just looked and there's no equivalent on the UK apple site -must be popular!!!

Edit: Oh wait!! I think I've found it

 

[Barney63]

That is a brilliant deal, No doubt! Unfortunately, i've just looked and there's no equivalent on the UK apple site -must be popular!!!

Edit: Oh wait!! I think I've found it

Have a look on the Education Store, you get 3 years Apple Care.

Barney

 

[calluma11]

Well guys, i'd just like to thank you tremendously for helping out. I was a bit overwhelmed and you steered me in the right direction.

I think I'm going to go for the MBA, but i've just noticed. Both have i5 processors, but the MBA has 1.4GHz - turbo 2.7GHz & the MBP has 2.5GHz - turbo 3.1GHz.

Will this make a big difference for how I want to use it?
Or is it a case that the MBP has more to run in the 'background'?


Cheers

 

[ColdCase]

The MBP will perform better, the MBA will be more portable. I just went through this with daughter a couple months ago and she needed more HD space than was available in the MBA, the MBP was better bang for the buck. The new MBAs are available with 512GB, however.

If you convert all your video to ProRes before editing, there will be no time line lag for simple edits. It may be a little slower applying effects, but if you wait a few minutes, enough of the video would be rendered in the background to not be a real time issue.... until you skip way ahead in the time line. You may have to pause.

Certainly not as powerful as your desktop real time effect, but if you are patient its not an issue.

 

[calluma11]

The MBP will perform better, the MBA will be more portable. I just went through this with daughter a couple months ago and she needed more HD space than was available in the MBA, the MBP was better bang for the buck. The new MBAs are available with 512GB, however.

If you convert all your video to ProRes before editing, there will be no time line lag for simple edits. It may be a little slower applying effects, but if you wait a few minutes, enough of the video would be rendered in the background to not be a real time issue.... until you skip way ahead in the time line. You may have to pause.

Certainly not as powerful as your desktop real time effect, but if you are patient its not an issue.

Hmm, thats put a spanner in the works.

The laptop I currently use is larger than the MBP, so i'd consider both MB's to be portable. Despite the fact i'll be editing stuff, hard drive space isnt an issue. I'm planning to get an external HD either way.

Perhaps it's not as straightforward as I had begun to think, haha!