Macbook pro powerful enough, or do I need a Mac pro?

[ImmerKleiner]

This is my first post and I am having trouble finding info for making a computer choice:

My needs:
1. Run a 30" monitor to edit large music scores in Finale
2. Edit HD video (1080p) off a Canon HV20 with no loss whatsoever
3. Some kind of solution for creating Blu-ray or other way of sharing HD video for playing on an HDTV
4. Portability solution for running Logic and Peak on location

Can point number 3 be done on a Macbook pro? I am having trouble finding info about this anywhere, and Apple sales people in the stores here (NY) do not really understand my need to output this HD video losslessly and on a physical disk that I can send to people. Outputting to YouTube or sending people 20gb email attachments does not seem practical for this.

If I need a Mac pro, then I would need a portable anyway. Would Logic and Peak run on a regular Macbook?

Thank you

 

[mojopixel]

dude, you clearly want to get both so get them and be happy!

 

[surferfromuk]

I'd start at the final cut pro pages on apple.com and dig from there - there is a ton of real world case studies as well - you may find others already doing what your after.

 

[motulist]

If you want to do hi def lossless video, then I'd say there's no question, you want as much power as you can possibly afford. Even on the very highest end laptop (apple or otherwise) there are going to be some processes you do while working with high def video that will still literally takes hours to complete. (I don't have any first hand knowledge of this, but I hear people talk about it on forums.)

 

[digitalnicotine]

In order to do all the points on your list without any compromises, you will need both a Mac Pro and a MBP. I hope you can afford it, because that will be an awesome setup! Happy shopping.

 

[mankar4]

i think you can do this on a mbp... final cut pro can author HD dvd's, if i'm not mistaken. What you should do is to buy the mbp, see if it works for you, and if it doesnt, you should get the mac pro. you'll need the mbp anyway if you want to run logic and peak on a portable.

 

[barijazz]

It really depends. If you are doing serious motion graphic editing then the MBP will probably slow you down. But if you are just rearranging clips than it will be fine. If you need a portable than the MP is out of the question as your only computer. I'm not sure how powerful a machine you will need to run logic and peak, I've never used either.

Good Luck

 

[forafireescape]

I'd say go for the Mac Pro, if you can afford it. You won't regret the extra power, that's for sure.

 

[theLimit]

I never done any HD video editing, so I can't comment on that. A MacBook Pro should be fine for running Logic and Peak. In fact, my PowerBook G4 is fine for Logic and Peak, but I'm ready to upgrade to a MBP for some more horsepower. The 30" monitor should be no problem, even my 2+ year old PB is capable of driving a 30" ACD.