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nMP and avid...good combo?
- Thread starter pat500000
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I appreciate your answer. You're statement gives me some idea how effective it might run with nMP.
If you like, I can ask him for more information about what model they're using -- how many cores, what video, etc.
I have. He sometimes works weekends, no surprise there, but I think not this weekend. I've asked him for core count and video card information. I might not know until Monday, though. I doubt he can give that information off the top of his head. The shop is big enough to have full time technical people, so the editors don't have to mess with hardware and specs unless they want to.
Here's the answer.
They're running the 6-core 3.5 GHz with 16 GB RAM and D500s. They also use the Matrox MXO2 mini, which he says "isn't great."
They're running OS X 10.9.4, and Avid MC 08. I haven't checked, but as you must know it takes Avid a very long time to move on to a new version of OS X. That's probably why they're using 10.9.
They're running the 6-core 3.5 GHz with 16 GB RAM and D500s. They also use the Matrox MXO2 mini, which he says "isn't great."
They're running OS X 10.9.4, and Avid MC 08. I haven't checked, but as you must know it takes Avid a very long time to move on to a new version of OS X. That's probably why they're using 10.9.
Surprisingly, Avid now says that MC 8.5 is supported on El Capitan, however they don't recommend using it. The current Mac Pro is an Avid certified platform for their software, so there should be no issues running it. I support a lab full of 6-core nMPs, and they're fine.
This is interesting. I don't really know much about AVID's history...but from what you told me the currently setting (10.9 and MC 08) would be running smoothly. Avid really need to step up.
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Why wouldn't they recommend it?
They're very conservative. No doubt they know of a few situations where it might not perform as expected. The larger post houses are extremely conservative too -- my son's shop waits a very long time before updating anything. They cannot afford to update and then discover that something's not quite right.
This is not how people should live their life doing video or etc....by waiting for the company up to actually update.
Yet that's exactly how people doing production video work do it: get a workflow that's solid, and stay with it. Avid has always been conservative. It's a big deal if their systems fail while in production.
Details on Avid's thinking of El Capitan are here:
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/...ia-Composer-Pro-Tools-Sibelius-EUCON-and-ISIS
Thanks for info....but why are they so conservative? Reputation? I understand that the company is household name...but...really?
When you're in the middle of making a movie or an album, you have to really know that your stuff is going to work.
That is very very true. Are you currently using avid? If so, is it perfectly working at this time?
What chrfr said is exactly what I've understood. It's nothing new. There can be hundreds of thousands of dollars involved in post work, and non-negotiable deadlines.
A company that risks its reputation (not to mention cash flow) on unproven upgrades is a company that's not going to be around very long.
A company that risks its reputation (not to mention cash flow) on unproven upgrades is a company that's not going to be around very long.
I haven't tried Avid on a nMP but it runs great on the 12 Core Tower my suite has at the studio, from what I've heard the nMP will out-perform at at the very least.
However, what do you plan on doing within avid? Are you just doing Offline edits or will you be running Symphony for onlines? Software only or Hardware as well?
My Mac Pro runs with an Avid Nitris box which is great for printing or ingesting but would be a bit of a pain I would think with a nMP because you'd need a TB PCI enclosure for the card. I think that would be the major drawback of it. if you need a Hardware IO than you are increasing your cost a lot and having to deal with things being external.
As for 8.5 and El Capitan, I wouldn't worry too much. There are some buggy issues with AMAed RED footage but only if you try to cut with it and that's a bad idea in general. Plus I think it only affects the 12-Core Tower, not the nMP. Aside from that it seems pretty stable.
In general companies do avoid updating things unless they have to because it could break SOMETHING and result in a deadline getting missed. However once avid decides that an OS is compatible it's usually okay. I run Mavericks at work for a few reasons (mainly because of our Fibre Channel shared storage) but I have an Avid License at home on El Capitan that runs fine.
However, what do you plan on doing within avid? Are you just doing Offline edits or will you be running Symphony for onlines? Software only or Hardware as well?
My Mac Pro runs with an Avid Nitris box which is great for printing or ingesting but would be a bit of a pain I would think with a nMP because you'd need a TB PCI enclosure for the card. I think that would be the major drawback of it. if you need a Hardware IO than you are increasing your cost a lot and having to deal with things being external.
As for 8.5 and El Capitan, I wouldn't worry too much. There are some buggy issues with AMAed RED footage but only if you try to cut with it and that's a bad idea in general. Plus I think it only affects the 12-Core Tower, not the nMP. Aside from that it seems pretty stable.
In general companies do avoid updating things unless they have to because it could break SOMETHING and result in a deadline getting missed. However once avid decides that an OS is compatible it's usually okay. I run Mavericks at work for a few reasons (mainly because of our Fibre Channel shared storage) but I have an Avid License at home on El Capitan that runs fine.
Well I'm planning to edit videos through either premiere pro or avid media. At this time, I don't think I don't think I would need hardware io but what do they go for?
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That would be critical and not only that but reputation would be at stake.
I can tell you what my son said when I told him I wanted to shift away from FCP X. He said I'd be better served by Premiere Pro (I already have a CC licence) than by Avid, considering that I would be working alone (rather than in a shared environment, which is where Avid excels) and that he thought PP was much easier to work with.
I'm not going to be going out there looking for a job cutting, so having Avid experience is unimportant to me.
I'm still using FCP X, because I haven't found time to set about learning a new editor. I used Premiere back around the turn of the century, and Avid DV at about the same time, but those old versions didn't give me a leg up on their modern descendents. I'm planning to give PP a go one of these days.
I use both PP CC and FCPX. If you currently or ever plan on shooting H264 4k in the future (even if you never deliver 4k), be sure to test the timeline performance of PP CC vs FCPX on H264 4k before you make the move.
Depends what type you're looking for. The Nitris Box I use isn't made anymore as Avid moved away from the hardware game and basically just gave their business to Black Magic. A comparable product to the avid hardware is the UltraStudio line which conveniently does work via Thunderbolt so no need for external PCI. They range from around $140 (For just HDMI and SDI Out) to $2900 for a full studio version that has everything you could ever possibly need for IO.
Honestly though, unless you need a client monitor, you could go without hardware. If you need a full screen monitor even the lower to mid-end Black magic would do the trick, unless you need 4K. I believe that you only get 4K playback support from the top two tiers which will set you back $1500+.
We use the Nitris box because we still print / capture from tape and colour on a broadcast spec monitor. However if you don't need those capabilities than software only or a very simple client monitor box would do the trick for you.
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As for your questions regarding Software choice. As mentioned, Avid is king in a shared storage environment. Unity, Facilis, ISIS (terrible name Avid), etc all work amazing with Avid but they are costly and not at all necessary if you are working on projects on your own. If that's the case, most people do find Premier does very well. It's about the only main NLE I don't have experience with so I can't say for certain but I know a former colleague used avid for %+ years and switched seamlessly to Premiere and loves it. Barely any transcoding, strong features, and a solid price considering you get the rest of the CC Suite as well.
Definitely try them both out(although obviously stagger the trials to get the most out of both) and see which one you personally like more.