MBP 2016 for Video Editing

[DaBeare]

Hi all,
I don't want to be too redundant, I am sure there are a lot of posts like this, but I have not been able to find the answers I have been looking for. I have a late-2013 13-inch MBP that is now starting to fall apart in terms of battery life and the fact i have accidentally dropped it so the screen is starting to go. Also, I have been getting into a lot more video editing, mainly small productions for small companies and my school so I will need a more powerful computer. I have been mainly using Premiere Pro, but I would also like to get into After Effects. I would prefer the 13-inch MBP because I will be taking it with me everywhere. Along with that, I am happy with the 2016 model dongle life, it won't be a problem. I have a budget around $2k and I have the educational discount so pricing for the 13-inch should not be much of an issue. Also, I have several external hard drives so storage will not be a problem. Will a 3.1GHz i5 processor be sufficient for video editing on Premiere and possibly After Effects or would the 3.3 i7 be better? I would prefer the 2016 but, would it be better to get an almost fully maxed out 2015 MBP? And last, I have heard that FCPX is much smoother and faster than Premiere so would it be smart to buy FCPX and Motion instead of continuing to use Premiere?
Thanks
Michael

TL: DR Would a 16 GB RAM, 3.1 GHz i5 13-inch MBP 2016 be good enough for semi-intense video editing in Premiere and After Effects? Is there much of a difference between i5 and i7 in a 13-inch? Would it be better to get a maxed out 2015 13-inch MBP?

EDIT: I would be up for the 2016 15-inch. I would still prefer 13-inch due to portability but I am starting to see that the 15-inch is much better for video editing, even the base version. Is that correct?

 

[0388279]

Hi D,

I own a 2016 MBP15 (2.9 GHz, 1 TB, 460) that I use for processing 4K 60 FPS generated from a DJI Phantom 4 Pro coded either H.264 or H.265. I use Premier Pro and AfterEffects for processing.

I have found processing with Premier Pro a frustrating experience. Playback in Premier Pro is "stuttery" which makes it difficult to determine how to assemble and which portion of clips to use. To eliminate much of the stuttering I have to reduce reduce the resolution to 1/16 and turn off any effects.

There also can be stuttering of playback of 4K 60 FPS in QuickTime. However, I have found that if I turn off all other applications and force the discrete card on then playback in QuickTime is acceptable.

If your goal is to process 4k 60 FPS then you might want to consider a Windows 10 desktop.

Donald Barar

BTW. One more thought. I recently read about the concept of "proxies". This might help with 4k production.

 

[rawweb]

I own a 2.9/460 15" 2016 for video editing. & web design. It's always my belief that you should purchase the best you can afford, particularly the video card. Upgrading to the best dGPU (Radeon Pro 460) isn't a deal breaker, it's an extra $200 with the entry level 15".

I personally have not experienced the issues dgbarar mentions. I primarily work with raw 1080 and H.264 4k and haven't experienced any stuttering or playback problems. Final Cut Pro X feels fast and efficient. Premiere Pro, I'll agree, has its moments. I actually experience the worst Premiere Pro bugs on my 8-core Dual D700 nMP at work.

 

[0388279]

Hi RawWeb,

Interesting reading your comments and has made me think about my 2016 MBP15. You mentioned that you did not have issues with 4K H.264. Several questions for you?

1. What frame rate?
2. Premier Pro or FCPX?
3. What effects do you have applied? Generally, I have the following: Levels, Curves, Saturation, Sharpen.
4. If you are using Premier Pro do you have any stuttering reviewing the assembly in Program with 4K H.264 and x frame rate?

I ask these questions because I am disappointed in the performance of the 2016 MBP15 and wondering if I have an issue with my copy.

Donald Barar

 

[rawweb]

Hi RawWeb,

Interesting reading your comments and has made me think about my 2016 MBP15. You mentioned that you did not have issues with 4K H.264. Several questions for you?

1. What frame rate?
2. Premier Pro or FCPX?
3. What effects do you have applied? Generally, I have the following: Levels, Curves, Saturation, Sharpen.
4. If you are using Premier Pro do you have any stuttering reviewing the assembly in Program with 4K H.264 and x frame rate?

I ask these questions because I am disappointed in the performance of 2016 MBP15 and wondering if I have an issue with my copy.

Donald Barar

Hey dgbarar, I tend to work with several different flavors of 4k. I'm not doubting that you may have some issues/choppiness with workflow as this is Adobe Premiere after all. .

In fact, last week I had a rush edit on a red 4k project, and didn't have time to convert the files so worked with them in their native format in Premiere Pro/AE. I didn't encounter any issues, but it was 23.97 FPS.

1.
4096x2160 @23.97 - 4:2:2 10-BIT - H.264
3840x2160 @ 60 & 23.97 - 12-BIT - R3D
1920x1080 @ 24-60FPS - 12-BIT - Cinema DNG

2. I've been trying to switch mainly to FCPX (I just feel like it's best optimized for the hardware), which is what I've been using with the laptop a lot. Most of my projects are in Premiere though.

3.
I commonly use lumetri color and many effects from the red giant suite. Please note however, that any effect from red giant pretty much destroys real time playback on any computer, those plugins are insane resource destroyers.

4.
I haven't experienced any issues playing back footage like you described...however on closer inspection for some details for you, I see that it defaults to 1/2 resolution when I create a sequence from a clip, which is fine for me since the preview monitor is tiny enough that I'm not viewing it full rez on the laptop. I immediately thought this might become an issue if you're using another monitor as playback ref, which you'd want at a higher resolution. Is that your setup?

 

[Sanpete]

If you're going to do 4K in Premiere, you'll definitely want the 15". Reports are the 13" easily chokes on that. If you're working in HD, you might do OK with the 13", but you'll probably want to move up to 4K soon enough.

Yes, FCPX is much faster on the MBP than Premiere is. It amazes former Premiere users how snappy it is. But it doesn't have all the same functionality, I'm told.

The 455 is about 15% faster than the 450, and the 460 is about 10% faster than the 455 according to Geekbench 4.

 

[ACepero]

15" l 2.9 l 16GB l 1TB l 460

I use it to process 4K 30 FPS generated from a Hero5 black coded either in H.264 or H.265. I use Motion 5 and FCPX to create titles and generators for use in those videos. The tbMBP is much faster than my late 2013 build 15" rMBP. It's very snappy in every aspect. From USB-C/thunderbolt connection for my external SSD to creating a master file for upload to Youtube.

 

[0388279]

Hi RawWeb,

I did not think that you were doubting me. What I am attempting to do is determine if I have a hardware issue as I am disappointed with 4K 60 FPS H.264 performance with my 2016 MBP15 and Premier Pro.

Looks like your machine is equivalently configured to mine. If you would be so kind to run a small test for me in Premier Pro CC 2017. Take a 4K 60 FPS H.264 file and apply a few effects. Do you get choppy playback in the Program window. This will the tell me if maybe I have a hardware issue with my copy.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers,

Donald Barar

 

[DaBeare]

Thanks for all your replies. It seems like 15-inch is the way to go no doubt. With that being said, would the base level 15" | 2.6 | 16GB | 256GB | 450 be sufficient for video editing? I will be mainly shooting 1080p but it is nice to have the capability of 4k.

Also, would the 13" be capable of 1080p editing if I moved to FCPX?

 

[rawweb]

Hi RawWeb,

I did not think that you were doubting me. What I am attempting to do is determine if I have a hardware issue as I am disappointed with 4K 60 FPS H.264 performance with my 2016 MBP15 and Premier Pro.

Looks like your machine is equivalently configured to mine. If you would be so kind to run a small test for me in Premier Pro CC 2017. Take a 4K 60 FPS H.264 file and apply a few effects. Do you get choppy playback in the Program window. This will the tell me if maybe I have a hardware issue with my copy.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers,

Donald Barar

If you want it more scientific, throw a small 5-10 second clip on dropbox and have me download it. Then we can also throw the same effects on the video. That way both machines have the same variables.
[doublepost=1488834283][/doublepost]

Thanks for all your replies. It seems like 15-inch is the way to go no doubt. With that being said, would the base level 15" | 2.6 | 16GB | 256GB | 450 be sufficient for video editing? I will be mainly shooting 1080p but it is nice to have the capability of 4k.

Also, would the 13" be capable of 1080p editing if I moved to FCPX?

This is all my opinion, others may differ....

If you're editing video, don't get a 13". Apple only offers it in dual core configurations without dGPU. You really will want a quad-core and dGPU to get sufficient results. But hey, you can really make anything work. It's what you make of it. I've seen people edit video on a 12" MacBook.

That said, I would highly advise you at least get the stock 2.7 configuration and upgrade to the Radeon 460 if you can afford it. "Buy as much as you can afford, and use the tool the best you can." The differences between 2.7 and 2.9 are much less cohesive than the 2.6 which features less L3 cache. Consider also with only 256GB of storage, you're going to need external options to store and edit video, though you should get that either way. I think my primary OS and apps eat up about 200 GB these days.

That's my $.02.

 

[edenorchestra]

Here's a good video on why FinalCutPro makes sense on a MBP as opposed to Premiere, assuming you have the wherewithall to consider a change in editing. I only use FCPX and its really like butter on my setup.