Powerbook g4 1.67 ghz 2 gb Ram= Realtime FCPROHD? at DVinfo.net

Sergio Perez · March 2nd, 2005, 10:53 PM

I bought a 1.67 17"aluminium Powerbook and just received it yesterday. It is GORGEOUS. I've purchased it with FCPRO HD (with livetype and compressor) and Adobe Suite CS.

I started playing with some applications of ILIFE, and am really surprised by Garageband (Someone got me SOundtrack, also- I still have to try it), great for some basic composing (with the keyboard typing function)

What I want to know is this:

I have tried Livetipe, picked a template and it was really SLOOW at previewing- Is that normal? Is there an option like in After Effects where you can preview in half resolution, or smaller frame size? Wireframe just doesn't cut it...

The same goes with final cut pro hd: I imported an old quicktime file saved in a 240x120 resolution (very small frame)with 2 min duration, and it couldn't preview (it said UNRENDERED), and the writing of the file took more than 3 min- I think something is wrong here- Even my old premiere 2 ghz PC could seee this file unrendered- is there anything I should do to make FCPRO faster?

Oh, and has anyone achieved realtime editing in a Powerbook?

I'm an OS X and Final CUt Pro Newbie, but am an experienced Premiere and Media 100 editor. All help appreciated- thanks!

EDIT- Are there any capture cards options for the powerbook to achieve good results? Thanks again!

Michael Botkin · March 4th, 2005, 03:52 PM

I'm very interested in hearing the answer to this question and also if there is anything needed to be done ie: turn journaling off on the HD for a brand new Powerbook 17" 1.67 100GB HD, mine is arriving today and the only reason I bought is to edit dv in FCP HD on the go. I currently have a dual 2ghz G5 and I'm sure I'll notice some performance difference but do you guys have any tips on setting it up for FCP HD and DVD SP 3 ?

Thanks,
Michael

Rhett Allen · March 4th, 2005, 04:30 PM

While it's not as speedy as the desktop, I haven't experienced the issues you mention here. LiveType has been pretty decent, sure if you pile up the effects it's going to slow down but for most stuff it's been quite nice and previewing at low res or wireframe is all I usually need anyway. I know what type looks like, I just want to preview the motion effects. You might want to check your "Project Properties" and make sure they are appropriate to your needs.

If you open a DV project (720x480) and import a little-bitty 240x120 web video file, of course it's going to have to render it because it's not in the native video format. Anything other than what matches your Project Properties will need rendering under these circumstances.
While some contend that rendering is a processor speed determined function it is actually a Hard Drive determined task. The faster the drive, the faster the rendering. Yes, processor plays a part, but when you are rendering you are actually writing the file to a singular location to be read back in thus... If you were to move your scratch disk over to a Firewire 800 disk, you would see a significant increase in rendering speed and a increase in overall performance. Also, a slower desktop with an internal RAID will usually be faster than an even faster desktop without one. I have seen this with FCP on many occasions.

I do not know what kind of capture device you are looking for? Like a Media100 card for a Laptop?

Remember, although these machines are very capable and very widely used for video production, they are NOT the best tool for the job. My PRIMARY editing machine is my Dual G4, I bought my Powerbook for location work and travel, I wouldn't expect it to keep up with my desktop.

As far as setting up FCP and DVDSP, there are a few discussions on here about that, you could probably find them with a quick search. Here is a sample one.

And for ALL FCP users I recommend, READ the manuals. It's all in there.

Sergio Perez · March 6th, 2005, 07:54 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Rhett Allen : While it's not as speedy as the desktop, I haven't experienced the issues you mention here. LiveType has been pretty decent, sure if you pile up the effects it's going to slow down but for most stuff it's been quite nice and previewing at low res or wireframe is all I usually need anyway. I know what type looks like, I just want to preview the motion effects. You might want to check your "Project Properties" and make sure they are appropriate to your needs.

If you open a DV project (720x480) and import a little-bitty 240x120 web video file, of course it's going to have to render it because it's not in the native video format. Anything other than what matches your Project Properties will need rendering under these circumstances.
While some contend that rendering is a processor speed determined function it is actually a Hard Drive determined task. The faster the drive, the faster the rendering. Yes, processor plays a part, but when you are rendering you are actually writing the file to a singular location to be read back in thus... If you were to move your scratch disk over to a Firewire 800 disk, you would see a significant increase in rendering speed and a increase in overall performance. Also, a slower desktop with an internal RAID will usually be faster than an even faster desktop without one. I have seen this with FCP on many occasions.

I do not know what kind of capture device you are looking for? Like a Media100 card for a Laptop?

Remember, although these machines are very capable and very widely used for video production, they are NOT the best tool for the job. My PRIMARY editing machine is my Dual G4, I bought my Powerbook for location work and travel, I wouldn't expect it to keep up with my desktop.

As far as setting up FCP and DVDSP, there are a few discussions on here about that, you could probably find them with a quick search. Here is a sample one.

And for ALL FCP users I recommend, READ the manuals. It's all in there. -->>>

Thanks for the info, Rhett.

I know this sounds noobish, but can you tell me how to downgrade the resolution of the previews in Livetype? How do you set up a Draft Ram preview (not wireframe) in Livetype?

It seems like I should be getting an external hdd for firewire 800- I've seen a discussion somewhere about this matter, but am still confused:

Since both 400 and 800 are on the same bus, will me investing on a firewire 800 drive still pose a performance increase with botha adv camera and the firewire working at the same time?
I know most dv cameras stream at 100 mb/sec, leaving hypoteticaly 700 mb/s free- is this going to affect my 800 HDD? Or capturing and rendering? Or will it only mean a 100mb/s decrease in Performance, leaving a stream and performance of 700 mb/s?

And about those capture cards- yes, I'm looking for something like Mojo or Media 100- something that either goes to my pc card slot or trough firewire. I've read something about mojo, and have seem some concerns about quality and such- Any other options?

March 2nd, 2005, 10:53 PM	#1
Sergio Perez Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Macau Posts: 331	Powerbook g4 1.67 ghz 2 gb Ram= Realtime FCPROHD? I bought a 1.67 17"aluminium Powerbook and just received it yesterday. It is GORGEOUS. I've purchased it with FCPRO HD (with livetype and compressor) and Adobe Suite CS. I started playing with some applications of ILIFE, and am really surprised by Garageband (Someone got me SOundtrack, also- I still have to try it), great for some basic composing (with the keyboard typing function) What I want to know is this: I have tried Livetipe, picked a template and it was really SLOOW at previewing- Is that normal? Is there an option like in After Effects where you can preview in half resolution, or smaller frame size? Wireframe just doesn't cut it... The same goes with final cut pro hd: I imported an old quicktime file saved in a 240x120 resolution (very small frame)with 2 min duration, and it couldn't preview (it said UNRENDERED), and the writing of the file took more than 3 min- I think something is wrong here- Even my old premiere 2 ghz PC could seee this file unrendered- is there anything I should do to make FCPRO faster? Oh, and has anyone achieved realtime editing in a Powerbook? I'm an OS X and Final CUt Pro Newbie, but am an experienced Premiere and Media 100 editor. All help appreciated- thanks! EDIT- Are there any capture cards options for the powerbook to achieve good results? Thanks again! __________________ If you don't believe in your film, no one else will.

March 4th, 2005, 03:52 PM	#2
Michael Botkin Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 70	I'm very interested in hearing the answer to this question and also if there is anything needed to be done ie: turn journaling off on the HD for a brand new Powerbook 17" 1.67 100GB HD, mine is arriving today and the only reason I bought is to edit dv in FCP HD on the go. I currently have a dual 2ghz G5 and I'm sure I'll notice some performance difference but do you guys have any tips on setting it up for FCP HD and DVD SP 3 ? Thanks, Michael __________________ Check out media and photographs at the brand new: http://www.coalmarch.com

March 6th, 2005, 07:54 PM	#4
Sergio Perez Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Macau Posts: 331	<<<-- Originally posted by Rhett Allen : While it's not as speedy as the desktop, I haven't experienced the issues you mention here. LiveType has been pretty decent, sure if you pile up the effects it's going to slow down but for most stuff it's been quite nice and previewing at low res or wireframe is all I usually need anyway. I know what type looks like, I just want to preview the motion effects. You might want to check your "Project Properties" and make sure they are appropriate to your needs. If you open a DV project (720x480) and import a little-bitty 240x120 web video file, of course it's going to have to render it because it's not in the native video format. Anything other than what matches your Project Properties will need rendering under these circumstances. While some contend that rendering is a processor speed determined function it is actually a Hard Drive determined task. The faster the drive, the faster the rendering. Yes, processor plays a part, but when you are rendering you are actually writing the file to a singular location to be read back in thus... If you were to move your scratch disk over to a Firewire 800 disk, you would see a significant increase in rendering speed and a increase in overall performance. Also, a slower desktop with an internal RAID will usually be faster than an even faster desktop without one. I have seen this with FCP on many occasions. I do not know what kind of capture device you are looking for? Like a Media100 card for a Laptop? Remember, although these machines are very capable and very widely used for video production, they are NOT the best tool for the job. My PRIMARY editing machine is my Dual G4, I bought my Powerbook for location work and travel, I wouldn't expect it to keep up with my desktop. As far as setting up FCP and DVDSP, there are a few discussions on here about that, you could probably find them with a quick search. Here is a sample one. And for ALL FCP users I recommend, READ the manuals. It's all in there. -->>> Thanks for the info, Rhett. I know this sounds noobish, but can you tell me how to downgrade the resolution of the previews in Livetype? How do you set up a Draft Ram preview (not wireframe) in Livetype? It seems like I should be getting an external hdd for firewire 800- I've seen a discussion somewhere about this matter, but am still confused: Since both 400 and 800 are on the same bus, will me investing on a firewire 800 drive still pose a performance increase with botha adv camera and the firewire working at the same time? I know most dv cameras stream at 100 mb/sec, leaving hypoteticaly 700 mb/s free- is this going to affect my 800 HDD? Or capturing and rendering? Or will it only mean a 100mb/s decrease in Performance, leaving a stream and performance of 700 mb/s? And about those capture cards- yes, I'm looking for something like Mojo or Media 100- something that either goes to my pc card slot or trough firewire. I've read something about mojo, and have seem some concerns about quality and such- Any other options? __________________ If you don't believe in your film, no one else will.

March 4th, 2005, 04:30 PM	#3
Rhett Allen Major Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 607	While it's not as speedy as the desktop, I haven't experienced the issues you mention here. LiveType has been pretty decent, sure if you pile up the effects it's going to slow down but for most stuff it's been quite nice and previewing at low res or wireframe is all I usually need anyway. I know what type looks like, I just want to preview the motion effects. You might want to check your "Project Properties" and make sure they are appropriate to your needs. If you open a DV project (720x480) and import a little-bitty 240x120 web video file, of course it's going to have to render it because it's not in the native video format. Anything other than what matches your Project Properties will need rendering under these circumstances. While some contend that rendering is a processor speed determined function it is actually a Hard Drive determined task. The faster the drive, the faster the rendering. Yes, processor plays a part, but when you are rendering you are actually writing the file to a singular location to be read back in thus... If you were to move your scratch disk over to a Firewire 800 disk, you would see a significant increase in rendering speed and a increase in overall performance. Also, a slower desktop with an internal RAID will usually be faster than an even faster desktop without one. I have seen this with FCP on many occasions. I do not know what kind of capture device you are looking for? Like a Media100 card for a Laptop? Remember, although these machines are very capable and very widely used for video production, they are NOT the best tool for the job. My PRIMARY editing machine is my Dual G4, I bought my Powerbook for location work and travel, I wouldn't expect it to keep up with my desktop. As far as setting up FCP and DVDSP, there are a few discussions on here about that, you could probably find them with a quick search. Here is a sample one. And for ALL FCP users I recommend, READ the manuals. It's all in there.