Hey, my friend is looking for a really cheap mac to use imovie on, and was thinking about getting an iBook. Would this be sufficient? He really doesn't want to spend more than $150, but needs iMovie to run pretty well. Thanx!
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Good cheap computer for video editing...
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"Cheap" and "video editing" don't go together. There is a reason people spend thousands on Mac Pros for this. I'd stay for away from any PowerPC machines. A Mac Mini might work if he is looking to go cheapish.
Go for a mac mini. Buy a low-end intel version. I used one last fall and it edited HDV 1080i60 just fine. The render was a little long but nonetheless it did edit just fine.
Or try and find a cheap MacBook intel I've seen them go for $300-400 on Craigslist.
Or try and find a cheap MacBook intel I've seen them go for $300-400 on Craigslist.
A used PowerPC Mac with an iMovie version to prior to 08 and 09 would work. I have dual 867MHz processor machine that works fine and is likely about the minimum you'd want. You'll also want at least 1GB of ram. A used Mac mini PPC machine comes under my minimum qualification here. Yes, it would be better if you could find an Intel box.
HD editing would be pushing your luck at $150 but not impossible. To do HD, you'd need the right version of iMovie. I think iMovie HD was part of iLife 05 and 06. It was able to handle material from HDV cameras, so that excludes newer cameras unless a time consuming process of conversion is used.
Use Craigslist and other avenues to find a used machine.
HD editing would be pushing your luck at $150 but not impossible. To do HD, you'd need the right version of iMovie. I think iMovie HD was part of iLife 05 and 06. It was able to handle material from HDV cameras, so that excludes newer cameras unless a time consuming process of conversion is used.
Use Craigslist and other avenues to find a used machine.
I was just going to say that.
Things are much easier on the PC side of things cause you can just build your own and save thousands. If you need a Mac, the new Quad Core iMac should be enough for your needs or even the 3.06GHz Core 2 if you're doing HD video editing. You really don't need 8 Cores or something wild like that unless you're dealing with monsters cameras with high ass bit rates like Broadcast (50-100+MBps) and or doing a bunch of visual effects work on top of your film. Editing on most machines is easy its the DAMN RENDERING.
What's his motivation?
What equipment does he have already and what does he want to achieve? I used to edit DV from my Sony camcorder on my G4 Mac using iMovie 5 (and 4, 3, 2 and 1) and make DVDs for distribution to all and sundry. However, if he wants to do overlays (PIP) and chromakeying*, use a modern AVCHD camcorder or have an easy upload to this YooToob thing all the kids are talking about, he'd be better off using iMovie 9 and a more modern Mac with LOTS of hard drive space.
For the former, get any old Mac but I'd recommend a desktop over a laptop (but that's just me) and remember that you're buying old stuff with limited life and no upgrade pathway, either for the hardware or for what you learn using the software. For the latter, a second hand Mac Mini with iLife 09 and Snow Leopard with an external USB drive.
He's not going to get a whole lot for $150 though.
* You can get GeeThree plugins to do this sort of stuff with the old iMovies, but it's really a workaround, co$t$ a bit and once you start using Final Cut you realise just how restrictive iMovie can be.
What equipment does he have already and what does he want to achieve? I used to edit DV from my Sony camcorder on my G4 Mac using iMovie 5 (and 4, 3, 2 and 1) and make DVDs for distribution to all and sundry. However, if he wants to do overlays (PIP) and chromakeying*, use a modern AVCHD camcorder or have an easy upload to this YooToob thing all the kids are talking about, he'd be better off using iMovie 9 and a more modern Mac with LOTS of hard drive space.
For the former, get any old Mac but I'd recommend a desktop over a laptop (but that's just me) and remember that you're buying old stuff with limited life and no upgrade pathway, either for the hardware or for what you learn using the software. For the latter, a second hand Mac Mini with iLife 09 and Snow Leopard with an external USB drive.
He's not going to get a whole lot for $150 though.
* You can get GeeThree plugins to do this sort of stuff with the old iMovies, but it's really a workaround, co$t$ a bit and once you start using Final Cut you realise just how restrictive iMovie can be.
thanx for all the replies. uummm, He would probably like to use a pc, but I don't know of any good software. Any recommendations (for pc)? He has vista, I think.
You can get the free version of Avid DV for PC's. It's no longer available for direct download, but you can find it on the net. It was a free product so I have no idea if downloading it now is legal or not.
There's also Video spin , which is imovie like.. easy to master, not very full featured. ( www.videospin.com )
I personally think you'd be happier saving money up for a mac, but these products are much better than nothing, and if your budget is super small, go for it!
You don't need a mac you can use the industry standard (AVID) on PC or Premiere Pro CS4 which is pretty much Adobe Final Cut Pro.
$150
Wow, That Won't Really Buy Much Even In PC Terms. Hell, If Your Planning On Using iMovie, That Itself Will Cost About $80.
Alright, That Aside, I Would Just Like To Clear Something Up; I Don't Know WHY Someone Commented To Stay Away From PowerPC Macs, Because Many REAL Television And Film Companies Still Use Them - Granted If We Had Unlimited Budgets We Would All Migrate Over To The Latest Mac Pro's, But In This REAL World With REAL Production Companies Folding All The Time Due To Our Industry Shrinking The Way It Is, A Lot Of Us Still Rely On Our G5 Farms And Stuff - They Will Suit Your Budget Perfectly, And If I May Add, They Are Far From Dead
Alright. If You Are VERY Lucky, You May Be Able To Pick Up An Old First Gen PowerMac G5 For About This Price - It Should Include iMovie Too - Bonus!, So Make Sure It Comes With All The Installation Disks And Bumf.
That Said, A PowerMac G4 Will Probably Meet The Price You Set More Easily. I Still Have An Old G4 Dual 800 And It Runs Leopard Fantastically ( Although It Isn't Officially Supposed To Do That....).
These Machines WILL Do Everything You Want Them To Do For Basic Video Editing, They Are Great, And You Will Be Pleasantly Surprised What They Can Still Do - But Don't Not Expect Them To Blow Your Skirt Up.
Also, Try Not Go Lower Than An 800 Mhz G4 Machine.
On A Final Note Video Editing Is Very Demanding So You Need To Spec It Out With As Much Memory As It Will Take And Fast Hard Drive Help Too.
But This Can Always Be Done At A Later Stage - The G4's Were The Easiest Macs To Upgrade.
Barney
Wow, That Won't Really Buy Much Even In PC Terms. Hell, If Your Planning On Using iMovie, That Itself Will Cost About $80.
Alright, That Aside, I Would Just Like To Clear Something Up; I Don't Know WHY Someone Commented To Stay Away From PowerPC Macs, Because Many REAL Television And Film Companies Still Use Them - Granted If We Had Unlimited Budgets We Would All Migrate Over To The Latest Mac Pro's, But In This REAL World With REAL Production Companies Folding All The Time Due To Our Industry Shrinking The Way It Is, A Lot Of Us Still Rely On Our G5 Farms And Stuff - They Will Suit Your Budget Perfectly, And If I May Add, They Are Far From Dead
Alright. If You Are VERY Lucky, You May Be Able To Pick Up An Old First Gen PowerMac G5 For About This Price - It Should Include iMovie Too - Bonus!, So Make Sure It Comes With All The Installation Disks And Bumf.
That Said, A PowerMac G4 Will Probably Meet The Price You Set More Easily. I Still Have An Old G4 Dual 800 And It Runs Leopard Fantastically ( Although It Isn't Officially Supposed To Do That....).
These Machines WILL Do Everything You Want Them To Do For Basic Video Editing, They Are Great, And You Will Be Pleasantly Surprised What They Can Still Do - But Don't Not Expect Them To Blow Your Skirt Up.
Also, Try Not Go Lower Than An 800 Mhz G4 Machine.
On A Final Note Video Editing Is Very Demanding So You Need To Spec It Out With As Much Memory As It Will Take And Fast Hard Drive Help Too.
But This Can Always Be Done At A Later Stage - The G4's Were The Easiest Macs To Upgrade.
Barney
I can purchase it for cheap but I'm a student so yeah. But for 150... what are you expecting to edit like seriously 150 dollars for a computer is SUPER cheap in Windows machine world. Good luck with that. Tell your pal to stop being cheap or get a second job.
Hey thanx for all the great replies. I think he'll look anto Avid free, but I geuss I didn't tell the whole story. He is a freshman in highschool, He's got a 400 dollar pc, he wants an ok easy to use software, and he wants a mac. Obviously, a mac would be tough to fit in his budget, so software for pc's is what we're looking for now. THANX!!!!