Upgrade RAM for 1080p video

[ekgotmilk]

I'm trying to edit 1080p video with Final Cut Pro (converted to Pro Res 422), but my MBP can't play it back (in FCP or Quicktime) very well - it's super jerky and out of sync.

It's an older model (late 2006) with 2 GB RAM. The max I can go is 3 GB. Will upgrading to 3 gigs do the trick?

Thanks!!

 

[Looon]

The video ram has more to do with HD playback I believe

 

[ekgotmilk]

Thanks for your response.

I only have 256 MB VRAM. How much should I have?

 

[SXR]

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro 13 inch with also 256 MB VRAM ( Nvidia Geforece 320 M ) and HD playback ( 1080 ) works fine for me. I have 4 GB RAM though.

What type of video card do you have ?

 

[ekgotmilk]

RadeonX1600

 

[SXR]

Yeah, you were right its 256 MB VRAM. Im confused, cause my MBP has the same amount of VRAM , just more RAM and maybe a faster processor. Tasks like that run fine on my machine..

 

[ekgotmilk]

I've got a 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.

Well maybe I'll start by upgrading to 3 GB RAM and see if that helps?

 

[sadcamper]

More RAM might help a bit, but I agree that it probably has more to do with your video card. Check your Activity Monitor while you're trying to play the videos to see if your RAM is maxed out. You could also try another video player to see if that helps.

 

[SXR]

I've got a 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.

Well maybe I'll start by upgrading to 3 GB RAM and see if that helps?

Going from 2 to 3 is always an improvement, but Im not sure if this is going to fix your particular issue.

 

[green86]

It most likely won't help unless your running a lot of Apps at once. Adding RAM really only speeds things up if your running out of it.

And it has nothing to do with your video card, encoding, editing, and playback is almost all done on the processor in Macs. Sounds like your bit-rate is too high for your processor to play...