Okay, guys. I know this has been done to DEATH, but here goes (and I appreciate any help in advance).

I want to go to Mac. I currently edit in Vegas 7.0. (I've taken a lot of time off).

Do they not have Vegas for Macs?

My budget is between 2K and 2.5K for a mac (doesn't have to be a laptop).

What is the BEST Mac I can get for this amount of money and what should the configuration be? (processor speed, ram, etc)...and I house all my footage on external drives, so the HD is not really a big factor.

Thanks in advance guys.

Freddie.

Freddie,

You're right, it's been asked and re-asked to death, so rather than have us repeat what's been said multiple times how about using the super-cool search feature and doing some research.

Also, Apple is widely rumoured to be releasing new hardware very soon. It would be wise to wait and see what comes out before spending money on a system that may very quickly be outmoded by the next generation model.

Vegas is not and will not ever be available as a native OSX application. Sony and Apple don't play well together in the software arena.

Thank you, Robert.

I knew that other people had asked the same thing, but everyone's circumstances and budgets are different and I didn't really find any answers in the other threads, with the exception that I need 512 vs. 256 and 7200 Rpm hd and a min of 4GB ram.

I did, however see where someone posted mac is coming out with something new in March, so I will take your good advice and wait.

Thanks for being a gentleman.

Fred Goltz.

Some people will say to wait, but some will also say buy it if you need it. Sounds like you can wait though.

My advice that a search probably won't tell you right off the bat is that if you're going to use your external hard drives for the Mac, be prepared to archive your current drives and reformat them to the Mac format (Mac OS Extended Journaled or something like that). You can't write to NTFS drives on Mac OSX. Or you can just get new externals all together, connecting to either FW800 or eSata (which you'll need to buy an adapter for).

If the budget is for the Mac alone, look into a Mac Pro even if it's just the base configs. They'll take you farther than a loaded iMac or MBP.

If your budget is only $2500, that's not very much in Macland, IMO. Not for video editing. You're also going to need to switch to either Final Cut or Premiere. My advice is don't do it. You can build a super computer for $1200-$1500, PC-style.

If your budget is only $2500, that's not very much in Macland, IMO. Not for video editing.

For what it's worth, I recently picked up a small MacBook Pro, purely so I could edit while in a client's offices. It can edit 1080p XDCAM EX footage with no problems. (And 1080p in Motion too.) On the US Apple Store, I noticed a 13" MBP (with better specs than mine) for $1500. With $1,000 for FCS, that's within the $2,500 budget. Alternately, you could get a 21.5" iMac (with a 1920 X 1080 resolution screen) for $1,500.

Of course, if you use Kona or Blackmagic cards, etc., you'd need a Mac Pro tower.

But, if your needs are simpler, it's possible to happily edit 1080p and export to web, DVD, etc. using a Mac and FCS for $2,500.

Just sayin'.

Paul, I think you're right. I wasn't aware Sony and Apple didn't play well together, so I'll stick with what I know best (and am quite happy with).

If a P.C. is the way to go for 1500 to 2000 bucks...then I'll take the path more travelled.

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I'm never disappointed here.

EDIT: (If i choose to stick with my P.C. and want to send my tower in to be upgraded, are there any places in particular I can use that are familiar with the best configurations for editing P.C's?)

I wasn't aware Sony and Apple didn't play well together

Neither was I. And I have been using Sony cameras and FCP as a pair since 2004. And currently using XDCAM EX and everything plays fine together. I know there was some issues early on with XDCAM but I have not had a single issue since starting with XDCAM EX about 2 months ago.

That's the Sony computer division and Apple don't play well together. The pro video division has a different take on the relationship.

Ahh ok - I misundertook that statement.

be prepared to archive your current drives and reformat them to the Mac format (Mac OS Extended Journaled or something like that). You can't write to NTFS drives on Mac OSX.

Actually with this software you can:

PARAGON Software Group - NTFS for Mac, communication channel between Mac OS X and Windows (http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/)

It works great for dealing for archived projects. As you also may know you can set up a dual boot scenario and boot your mac into Windows to have access to your Vegas projects.