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Video Editing - iMac or MBP?

M

midas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 28, 2008
4
0
Hi all,
I am buying my first Mac. It will be used mostly for video and photo editing. I have never used a Mac before and my dilemma is between these two configurations. If performance and not portability is the issue, which one would you recommend for video editing? Is a bigger screen better for that purpose? Is iMac compatible in performance with MPB or MPB has the lead?
I am curious to find out what these, who have used both machines, think.

iMac:
24-inch
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
1TB Serial ATA Drive

MBP:
2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

I haven't gotten it yet and already feel like an addict :)
 
midas said:
Hi all,
I am buying my first Mac. It will be used mostly for video and photo editing. I have never used a Mac before and my dilemma is between these two configurations. If performance and not portability is the issue, which one would you recommend for video editing? Is a bigger screen better for that purpose? Is iMac compatible in performance with MPB or MPB has the lead?
I am curious to find out what these, who have used both machines, think.

iMac:
24-inch
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
1TB Serial ATA Drive

MBP:
2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

I haven't gotten it yet and already feel like an addict :)
Click to expand...

I have a 20" iMac I use for editing broadcast material. It more than copes with Final Cut and Motion etc. The only thing I would suggest is not bothering with a 1TB internal drive - as you should always have your applications and footage on separate drives. Just get a large FireWire drive for your footage.
 
iMac and HD DVDs?

Leemo said:
I have a 20" iMac I use for editing broadcast material. It more than copes with Final Cut and Motion etc. The only thing I would suggest is not bothering with a 1TB internal drive - as you should always have your applications and footage on separate drives. Just get a large FireWire drive for your footage.
Click to expand...

I also am about to spend major bucks on a Mac and am deciding between the 20" iMac and Mac Pro, quad core for about $1,000 more. Can the iMac produce very good quality HD DVDs? I want to produce them here in my home studio with Final Cut and Pro Tools audio.
Your comments are very appreciate.

Chuck S
Los Angeles, CA
 
For the price of that iMac, get the Mac Pro in Quad, with minimum RAM, 8800 video card & wireless capability.

buy a screen from Dell or someplace that can get you a 24" or larger for a price you can afford.

internal HDs are less than $150 for 500GB models

then get more RAM as you can afford it,read up on how to configure your RAM

8GBs is plenty

will this cost more? YES will it be a better value? if you keep your computer longer than 2 years, I believe so

MUCH more powerful, will be useful for MUCH longer
 
rhythman said:
Can the iMac produce very good quality HD DVDs?
Click to expand...

Apple doesn't support Hi-Def burning yet (except in a very limited fashion in DVDSP). You could use Adobe Encore for Blu-ray authoring.

The quality of a DVD (or a Blu-ray/HD-DVD) is not dependent on the type of computer. They results will be identical. Differences in quality come down to how the video was shot and processes that are applied to it (in software).


Oh, if you go with the Mac Pro, do not get the 8800GT unless you are going to be playing games. It doesn't provide any advantage in video production apps.
 
The mac pro is easier to add a blu ray to later. And to upgrade the blu ray as faster versions come out.

Tho with the iMac you could always add the blu ray as an external DVD drive, and upgrade that one as necessary.
 
bigbossbmb said:
Oh, if you go with the Mac Pro, do not get the 8800GT unless you are going to be playing games. It doesn't provide any advantage in video production apps.
Click to expand...

Is that true of Motion? I read somewhere that 2600XT was actually faster in a lot of Motion (the Core Image-y bits), but it seems surprising. Same question for Color...
 
I'm thinking the same thing. But I do need a portable.

so my question is, what spec of MBP should I get? I was considering the base with a 7200 drive thrown in. I have a 320GB external too which already houses most of my video work.

It would only be for fairly light editing. anything more hardcore will be done on the MacPro when I'm able to use it
 
Nope.

I was in the same hole as you mate. I needed something to edit on that was powerful and affordable. Buy the Mac Pro. Because, once you have Final Cut it comes with a host of other programs, Color, LiveType and Motion. You'll start wanting to use the programs. Clients, now expect you to be able to use those programs along with After Effects. You have all the room in the world to grow w/ your Mac Pro and you have the comfort of expanding on that Mac Pro if you need too. 32 Gigs of RAM if need be.

I don't know a single pro that uses an IMac and there will be dudes saying, "well I'm doing this and that on my iMac just fine."

If you edit any kind of video or do any kind of graphics, don't be a fool, get the Mac Pro. You'll be happy that you did. Get the iMac and you'll always have doubts.

Just my opinion thou!
 
Do you make money from editing? I don't mean in the future. I mean right now this moment? Is it your main income?

If yes, then yes buy a Mac Pro. If you don't make enough money from editing to cover the cost of a mac pro, then don't buy a mac pro.

Back when I made money from writing, I bought a Powerbook, as I wanted a laptop with the best keyboard on the market. That powerbook paid for itself several times over.

Now, I make my money other ways, not from writing, so now I'm on a macbook. Buying a MBP would be silly as my main income is no longer through the laptop.
 
thanks for all the advices

Red Tomato, thanks for the "Do you make money from editing?" advice. I need to remind myself on a daily basis that I shouldn't spend more than I can afford and I should stick to what I really need.

Everybody was really helpful and it seems that iMAC is the way to go. I may wait a week or two for the update. I'll let you know when it's on my desk ;)
 
Don't know why everyone is mentioning a tower. I thought the original question was iMac vs. MBP.

My suggestion would be 17" MPB with the 1920 x 1200 low glare (NOT glossy) display. They come with 512GB VRAM, so they can run just about any external display you could want, including the behemoth 30" Cinema display.

No matter which way you go, you'll NEVER use your boot/app drive for your project and render files, so you'll be getting external FW drives for that. The 17" MBP has FW800, which is wicked fast, and when it comes time to do a RAID array, you'll get a ExpressCard/34 FW800 for $75 which will give you a completely separate second FW bus.

The 17" MBP is expensive. But being able to work anywhere is a huge productivity booster, IMHO. Apple laptops tend to quickly become appendages that you use every hour of the day for everything. I am a believer in the "desktop replacement" ethic, now that portable systems are capable of a ridiculous CPU workload--and Apple's are the best of the best. Reliable, durable, and sleek.

These are the good ol' days, AFAIC.
 
Go for the desktop and you won't be disappointed. The info that everyone has given is right on. Skip the 1TB internal and grab a LaCie RAID enclosure that will last you longer and provide a much faster bandwidth.

Also, as was said.... you may want to consider the Mac Pro since you are spending that much cash. That machine alone will last you a LONG time cutting video and what not.
 
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