Hello, any PowerBook & FCP 3 users

[Elmer Lang]

Hi,

I just got a new PB (1.25 Ghz, 1 gig RAM) which I'll be using with FW HDs to edit on FCP 3.

What success have you had in previewing RT Effects? How many tracks of video, what kind of effects do you get previewed? (I can't even get a cross-dissolve to preview w/o rendering and only one track of video of the simplest kind.)

Any tricks you've found to help maximize RT Effects?

I would really appreciate your thoughts.

Sincerely,
Elmer Lang

[Michael Botkin]

I'd love to see some follow up's on this topic. I'm thinking about getting a new powerbook and would like to know if anyone here edits on a powerbook and how the performance is. Basically, i'd like to xfer a few sequences I'm working on from my G5 and be able to work on them anywhere. I know the hard drives on powerbooks are only at 4200rpm, I can't imagine the performance for video would be that good, even with the top model with max RAM. Anyone out there with laptop editing experience, let us know!

Mike

[Jeff Donald]

I have a student with the 17 inch PowerBook and FCP 4 with RT Extreme and he's able to do several tracks of video and audio without any issues. Beyond that, you will get into rendering your effects probably. You can also lower the quality of playback to free up system resources for more tracks or better performance.

[Boyd Ostroff]

I've run FCP 3 un 10.2.8 on my 1 ghz 15" aluminum powerbook (768MB RAM) without any problems. I kept all my scratch and project files on a 160 GB external firewire 400 drive (with the oxford 911 chipset). No real problems at all.

I don't know what RT effects you're looking for. My project mostly consisted of two video tracks with lots of crossfades (done by varying the opacity of the tracks). None of these would preview in real time in my configuration, but I did not try changing the render quality, etc. I was also working with an external widescreen monitor connected to the VGA port (editing anamorphic 16:9).

I have also edited short sequences using the internal drives on a variety of Powerbooks (667 Titanium, 800 Titanium and 1 ghz aluminum) and for the most part that worked fine as well. I really wouldn't suggest doing this as a way of life however.

I have usually work with FCP3 on a 1.25 ghz single processor desktop G4 with 1.28 GB RAM. Performance on the laptop was a little slower for things like rendering, but not a huge difference. As far as realtime effects, on my desktop machine I can realtime color correction yet I don't believe this worked on the laptop.

Of course with FCP 3 the "realtime" effects don't seem all that great to me since they are only for preview on the computer monitor and are rendered at pretty low quality. And of course you need to render them eventually anyway.

[Elmer Lang]

RE: RT Effects and PB

Thanks all for answering.

I've been working for a couple years with a TiPB 400 & FCP 3. Using the free Dane Hack was a wonderful time-saver, I could preview 3, 4 and sometimes more tracks of video and some transitions, so not wasting hours waiting for renders before checking out and tweaking complicated motion graphics. But Apple quickly squelched that without improving FCP's RT Effects.

I think it's a shame that Apple hamstrings its product when they could easily provide the benefit to its users.

But on another front, I wonder if putting in a faster (5400 or 7200 rpm) HD in my new 1.25 ghz PB would improve it's RT Effects performance? Or would it be too hot or something? Has anyone ever changed their internal HD?

I'm reluctant to get FCP 4 and unhappy with my new PB when it looks like I can do a better job with my old TiPB.

Anybody want a good price on a brand new, hardly used PB, 1.25 Ghz with 1 gig RAM?

I'd consider it.

Thanks again,
Elmer Lang

[Jeff Donald]

Heat issues are always a concern, but if you don't plan on extended editing sessions with your laptop you should be fine with faster drives. I've heard (no personal experience) that the faster drives are a modest improvement. I can't imagine your 400 TiPB could even compete with the current PowerBooks.

[Elmer Lang]

Thanks, Jeff, but au contrairie, since my 1.25 can't even preview a cross-dissolve while my TiPB 400 w/ the Dane Hack can preview 3, 4 or more tracks of video, or even just one track of a complex motion graphic (you cannont believe the time I wasted before the Dane waiting for the damn thing to render so I could check it out for 10 seconds before tweaking and then waiting waiting waiting for it to render again before I watched it for 10 seconds and tweaked it on and on... ad infinitum.

Render time when through isn't the problem, it's waiting before tweaking that sets you pacing, anxious and pissed. Maybe if I was a regular film guy where the story is single-tracked I wouldn't worry, but coming out of the world of poetry I tell stories with narration, graphics (pictures and text), video reenactments, and music. I can get a few tracks going at the same time. And the more complex, the more render time and the greater need for preview.

I'm still willing to listen to a reasonable offer for this steel bucket.

Definitely appreciate all contact and conversation--

Best of luck,
Elmer Lang

PS You guys are so much more helpful than the folks over at 2-Pop, DV Info is hot these days and they're not, I guess.

[Boyd Ostroff]

<<<-- Originally posted by Elmer Lang : my TiPB 400 w/ the Dane Hack can preview 3, 4 or more tracks of video -->>>

You've mentioned this several times, and I assume this is the patch to FCP3 that fools the software into thinking you have a faster machine and permits more RT effects? On Anders Holck Petersen's website it says

After over 5.000+ downloads, and lot's of feedback from happy professionals: Sorry, fellow editors! At the request of the Apple Legal Department, all download links to 'The Dane Hack' & 'The Dane Hack 2' have been removed...

Why did Apple force him to stop distributing? Why won't it work on the new generation of PowerBooks? For a given speed of CPU (such as your 1.25 ghz PowerBook) would FCP 4 provide more RT effects? I also use FCP3 and have put off upgrading to FCP4 since I'm pretty content as-is. However if I thought there were an improvement in the RT effects on a single processor G4, and/or if rendering were faster, that might convince me to make the jump.

[Jeff Donald]

You must have some of your preferences set incorrectly or are having other issues. I've seen my students 17" PB do the effects your talking about with RT Extreme and FCP 4. What version OS and FCP are you using?

[Elmer Lang]

JEFF: "You must have some of your preferences set incorrectly or are having other issues. I've seen my students 17" PB do the effects your talking about with RT Extreme and FCP 4. What version OS and FCP are you using?"

I got OS X Panther and FCP 3 on my new 1.25 Ghz PB with 1 gig RAM. I'm trying to check out 2-pop's forum FCP 4 for more info.

What is RT Extreme, Jeff, sounds very interesting? Is it a card or part of the FCP 4 package?

Is he using FW 400 or 800?

How many tracks is he previewing? Video with motion graphics?

(Jeff, you've been great with the followups, thanks.)



BOYD in quotes:

"Why did Apple force him to stop distributing?"

Cause the hack made possible things they prefer to dole out in future versions, I suppose.

"Why won't it work on the new generation of PowerBooks?"

It was for OS 9.

"For a given speed of CPU (such as your 1.25 ghz PowerBook) would FCP 4 provide more RT effects? "

That's what I'm trying to find out. I just posted on 2-pop's FCP 4 site, you might wanna check it out. Unfortunately, FCP 4 is maximized for the G5, esp. those dual processors, but I'm a-hoping for a hopeful response.

The Dane Hack was an incredible time-saver, particularly if, like me, you do alot of layered motion graphics and you have to tweak and watch, tweak and watch.

Hope this helps,
Elmer Lang

[Jeff Donald]

I don't have a definite answer on the HD, but I suspect FW400. You can read about RT Extreme here and see it in operation here.

[Elmer Lang]

Wow! Thanks, Jeff, the site for checking out FCP 4 has really got me juiced. Hopefully, it can be used on a G4 PB, too, and not just the G5.

Anyone else interested in the "giant leap forward" in FCP 4 should check it out.

Thanks again,
Elmer

PS If you find out anything more from that student about the 'can-do' on his PB I'd love to hear it.

[Jeff Donald]

I'll let you know Monday or Tuesday.

[Torrey C. Harris]

I'm having all the same problems elmers having. I have a pb g4 tweaked out with ram and external fw hd, osx, fcp 4.1, where is rt extreme?

[Elmer Lang]

Torrey,

If you look 3 posts above, in Jeff Donald's post, you'll find where to go for info.

Elmer 'Pileated Woodpecker' Lang