Mac vs. PC

Is Mac really that much better than a pc that I have to go and spend a ton more for it? Has any one worked with a good pc and a good mac? Is it any better? How? Thank you whoever you are....

[Chris Hurd]

For starters, see http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=5268

[Alex Taylor]

They both have their strengths and weaknesses.. Mac OS tends to be much more stable than Windows, and more user-friendly if that's an issue. Also, Final Cut Pro is available only for Mac, that's the reason why a lot of people choose it over PC.

PCs are generally more versatile as they have more software available to them, and like you said they're cheaper than Macs. If you're doing strictly video/digital art work I would go with a Mac, if it's going to be a general use computer then PC would probably be the best bet.

[Chris Hurd]

See also http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=5394

There are a lot of Mac users here on DV info Net. I'm at the MacWorld show right now in San Francisco in fact. However I prefer to edit video on a PC, because real-time performance is much easier to attain at an affordable price.

For instance, a Canopus DVStorm 2 offers superb real-time editing that Final Cut Pro can't touch, only because FCP is software only and therefore titles, filters etc. must be rendered out. Canopus is hardware and software combined, and rock-solid stable. FCP is a much more elegant interface, however, and very feature-rich. It's the choice of a huge number of pro editors.

In my opinion the Mac vs. PC question primarily revolves around whether or not you really need real-time output to DV and titles, transitions, etc. without waiting to render (which a PC will accomplish for less money). If you prefer a professional first-rate editing platform and don't mind renders, then FCP on a Mac is the way to go.

If you come from a Mac background, stick with a Mac. If you come from a PC background, stick with that. It's all about being comfortable with the operating system interface and each platform's various quirks, etc. Both Macs and PC's are prone to crash occasionally -- no one platform is bullet proof.

In the long run, *always* try before you buy. Hope this helps,

[Jeff Donald]

I edit on both Mac's and PC's. My preference and what I own are Mac's. The type of editing that I do on my own projects and the work I'm hired to do for clients do not generally require a great deal of rendering. Newer Mac's do Real Time previews for many effects (they need to be rendered before going to tape) such as cross fades, many filters, color correction etc. Final Cut Pro 4 is due within the next few months (probably less) and is rumored to offer many more Real Time Preview effects etc.

If you are considering a switch, now is a good time. As Chris pointed out MacWorld is underway and new machines will be announced shortly. Thus, current models will be discounted to make way for the new. Not be alarmed, this is a semi annual event for Macs. Sort of out with the old, in with the new.

Getting around to why I prefer Macs, the ease, and elegance of the interface is certainly one reason. Only FCP and Avid have the ability to conform an edit back to film. FCP is scaleable meaning with additional hardware you can edit analog in various forms (Beta SP etc.) you can edit compressed and uncompressed for higher quality, and even HD. All with the same software, just add hardware as your projects grow.

What type of projects do you edit? That can be a good indication of what might work better for you.

[Rhett Allen]

I personally own both systems but I really only use the Mac anymore. I bought the PC to test compatibility and perform certain tasks, I also needed to run Maya which wasn't on the Mac at the time. I have used Media 100 on both platforms and the Mac was by far more stable. I also use Cleaner on both platforms. My Dual Processor Mac is at least twice as fast as my dual processor PC of double the MHz rating (2xG4 500Mhz vs. 2xP3 1000Mhz).
I just have problems with Windows that no-one can solve (all of my friend in the PC support field have given up), for example I was sent a contract proposal in Microsoft Word format, my PC crashes, chokes and dies whenever I use Word to open these files (or really any). My Mac on the other hand opens them just fine in Word for Mac, and these files were created on a PC.
The whole "there is more software for the PC" argument just doesn't fly with me. Most of the crap I have seen that isn't available for the Mac, isn't worth having anyway. Not that there aren't some really great programs for the PC that aren't on the Mac, but there are replacements that do just as well. Example: Cakewalk Sonar, PC only audio, Logic Platinum, better, and now Mac only, Pro tools, both.
I don't know how to decide really, you will probably make a financial decision when it comes down to it and then it will depend on the software and hardware you want to use and their costs.
I own both, but prefer Mac.

good luck

[Steve Leone]

There is plenty of indication that most of the folks on here use Macs(re: LOVE Macs)....most psychiatrists will tell you that "love" is a pretty irrational state of mind...reading the thread about how Macs are just so much more powerful than PCs may be a fine example....read these sobering links:

Apple Best and Worst of Times

http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/2002/10_oct/editorials/cw_editorial60.htm

Mac vs. PC III Mac Slaughtered Again

http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/2002/11_nov/reviews/cw_macvspciii.htm

To paraphrase Errol Morris, when you ply thru all the hype and eyewitness accounts, there is still, at the end of the day, such a thing as "a matter of fact"

[Rick Spilman]

Funny, every time I use a Mac I get annoyed by how non-intutive and generally annoying it all is. It is really all what you are use to.

PCs are cheaper and work well. Some would say better. I'll settle for well. If you are locked into FCP, Mac is your only chioce but if you want Avid DV Xpress, Premiere, Vegas and so on, the PC gives you more choices. Like Chris I have a Canpos RT card which allows me to do color correction and filters that would take forever if rendered.

Rick

[Doug Quance]

Gee, I thought I was the only PC user that doesn't "get" the so-called 'intuitiveness' of the Mac.

I remember going to Kinko's a few years back... I needed to do something (I can't remember what), and all they had there were Macs. Since I've been playing with computers since 1980, I figured "No Problem".

Yeah, right.

I couldn't do anything with those machines. There was nothing intuitive about it for me. The GUI might have well been in Chinese.

I have never denied that Macs, in the past, have been the standard for graphics and video. I think those days are over. PC's are quickly overtaking Macs in sheer brute strength versus the dollar spent. The PC OS is now much more stable than in the past, so the recent flood of Apple TV ads pretty much tell a big lie.

Thanks, Steve, for the link to the performance comparisons. I know my system is much faster than a G4, and now the proof is in the pudding. Read 'em and weep.

[Doug Quance]

P.S. To all you Mac users out there, no offense. I've just dealt with my share of "Apple Snobs" that think that PC's suck, and you must be a moron if you own one. ;)

[Curtis T. Stoeber]

It's funny to read that Mac users can be regarded as "snobs" but PC users can never be seen as such. I have run into my fair share of PC users that think it would be utterly embarrasing to own a Mac and would never consider it. Another intersting thing noted above is that lots of people LOVE Macs and that love is an irrational state of mind. Nobody in the PC camp LOVES PCs? Just the title of "Mac's Slaughtered Again" shows extreme bias. Now PCs may or may not be faster (I don't care) but if the article was not biased, it would have been titled differently. That title shows LOVE for the PC. I don't want to read a biased article, which it must be judging from the title. Waste of time.

I think when one camp gets harsh on the other, it is because they are jealous for one reason or another, and that they'd like to have both but don't want to/can't pay for both. I'm sure many PC and Mac users will say "I've NEVER been jealous of what goes on on the other platform!" Yeah right. Both have advantages that can only be realized if you own both. Stop whining. If your computer is really better, then there is no need to prove it. That goes for both sides.

I own both Mac and PC. I use the Mac more. But I like my PC as well.

[Doug Quance]

Curtis,

If your job was to sell magazines (or in this case, banner ads)... and the two top competing platforms went head to head for some serious number-crunching... and either side was twice as fast... wouldn't YOU write the headline that it "was a slaughter"?

I know I would.

If the Mac kicked the PC's ass, I think they headline would be very similar... just reversed. In the highly competitive marketplace of personal computers, this is no small news. This was a slam dunk.

Just think, what if Apple were to market a high-end computer that was twice as fast as a PC... and less money? Wouldn't that be even BIGGER news?

Don't take the revelation badly.

And those PC snobs who wouldn't own a Mac? Just consider them ignorant.

I had to seriously consider learning how to use one when I started my research to buy an NLE, as I thought I would be purchasing a Mac. I was pleased to learn that cross-training wasn't necessary.

[Henrik Bengtsson]

Well in the end, we are currently yapping about what brand of brush to use when painting. Will the end viewer see the difference in the painting? nope. Its all tools and nothing else.

As for PC vs Mac snobs, thats the ultimate form of ignorance in my book. They need to feel that they belong somewhere so bad that anything other than what they use must be wrong per definition. The computerbrand is just the expression, not the reason of their behaviour. If it were not the computer, it'd be the car brand, coffie brand, clothing, etc.

Me i edit & do audio and post on Mac simply because the workflow in FCP & AFX works well for me. 3D i still prefere to do on PC's since yes, they are cheaper and you get more cpu power for your $. The Mac route is a tad more expensive in the beginning (HW being more expensive) but the lifespan is longer. I still edit and work on my 3 year old g4 and have no problems with that. I had to upgrade my 3 year old PC quite recently because it just became too slow to handle.

In the end, it's just a tool. It's the person wielding the brush who paints.. a brush without a painter will just be lying on the shelf.

/Henrik

[Ken Tanaka]

Henrik: "Well in the end, we are currently yapping about what brand of brush to use when painting. Will the end viewer see the difference in the painting? nope. Its all tools and nothing else."

Amen.

Every so often someone comes along here, and elsewhere, and asks just such a question and ignites just such a storm.

I've used PC's since they became...well...PC's. I still have two very capable Dells. During the past couple of years I've used Macs for most tasks and have become very fond of the Apple environment, much fonder than I ever was of the Windows environment. Nevertheless, I still use Windows.

Remember two things. First, remember what Henrik said: these are just tools. They're only a means to an end. Select the platform that feels best to you financially and functionally. Then devote yourself to learning every nuance of the tools it offers.

Second, remember that this is not a matter of religion or political affiliation. You can use both if you need to do so! And, in fact, it's never been easier to do so.

[Steve Leone]

OK, I have a vested interest here.....Nothing to do with religion, except for those clients who have so bought into the Apple hype that they wont consider using my editing service because I edit on a Win2k machine..."oh, you dont edit FCP on a mac?? how does that look?? it cant look as good, right?? doesnt it crash all the time?? I need this done quickly, I really cant afford to wait"...those are the knee-jerk comments I have heard just in the last month, and yes, I lost work, despite the fact that I have a nice looking reel, my machine NEVER crashes(really), and I could do MORE than the Macs I was competing with in terms of compositing and audio mastering. You cant argue with religion, and there is nothing more hard-headed than " a reformed Baptist"....the current TV campaign is the worst sort of propaganda...Leni Reifenstahl would be proud, but its nothing they dont teach in Film 101.
On the practical side, I have worked with Macs, and as far as interface goes, I can sit in front of one and make it work just fine....a gui is a gui, more or less, and if you work on a computer, you have to navigate files and folders...the metaphores may be a bit different, but the task is essentially the same, despite what Apple may say.
I custom designed and built my system myself..as a result it is very powerful, stable, and gives me all the tools I need to get my work done quickly and with very little hassle....I am not "switching" just because some marketing guy In New York thinks I should. Someone would need to make a REAL argument to convince me.....