system requirements at DVinfo.net

Elton Wishart · January 22nd, 2006, 12:51 PM

I'm thinking of switching to a Mac and FCP, but I'm on a budget. What would be the minimum requirements for editing HDV? Standard DV? Is it possible to get acceptable editing performace out of an imac or do I definitely need a power mac? I've used Mac's in the past but only for graphics work (Photoshop, etc.) and it was owned by the company so I never had to worry about it before. Any help would be appreciated.

Tim Dashwood · January 22nd, 2006, 02:57 PM

Every mac ever sold with a firewire port will edit standard DV. I have a friend who bought an iMacDV 400Mhz when it was new (1999?) and still uses it for editing DV (and it only has a G3 processor.)

When it comes to HDV, RAM is the most important factor in MacOS X. Buy a minimum of 1GB of RAM... ideally 2Gb.

Any G5 (including iMac G5) will have more than enough processing power to capture and play back HDV. I use a 6-year old G4 with a Dual 1.2Ghz G4 upgrade card and I've never had a problem digitizing and working with HDV.
I've also used a 1.67Ghz PowerbookG4 without any problems.
With FCP, the basic rule is that the more power you have, the more real-time rendering you'll get.
HDV is not hard to digitize (since it is the same bitrate or less than DV.)
The tough job for any processor is decompressing the stream for frame accurate playback. Hard drive speed doesn't seem to be a factor (even firewire 400) unless you transcode your footage to a high bitrate codec.

The recently announced Intel Duo-Core Macs (iMac & MacBook Pro) will be ideally suited for HDV because they are just plain fast. The new iMac even has the ability to hook up a second monitor for more screen real estate.
I imagine that even the forthcoming (but not yet announced) Intel DuoCore MacMini or iBook will work well. However a "Universal" version of FCP that will be compatible with the Intel chips won't be available for a couple of weeks.

You should remember though, every new Mac comes pre-loaded with iMovie HD, which will get you going before you invest in Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express.

Tim Dashwood · February 28th, 2006, 04:50 PM

New Mac minis were released today. The DuoCore version is awesome for the price. It even comes with a dual-layer DVD-burner!

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

Ben De Rydt · March 1st, 2006, 07:38 AM

But Final Cut Pro doesn't run on it yet.

Boyd Ostroff · March 1st, 2006, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben De Rydt

But Final Cut Pro doesn't run on it yet.

It will in just about a month :-)

Tim Dashwood · March 1st, 2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben De Rydt

But Final Cut Pro doesn't run on it yet.

You can order the Universal Crossgrade right now.

http://www.apple.com/universal/crossgrade/

January 22nd, 2006, 12:51 PM	#1
Elton Wishart New Boot Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Bristol, CT Posts: 20	system requirements I'm thinking of switching to a Mac and FCP, but I'm on a budget. What would be the minimum requirements for editing HDV? Standard DV? Is it possible to get acceptable editing performace out of an imac or do I definitely need a power mac? I've used Mac's in the past but only for graphics work (Photoshop, etc.) and it was owned by the company so I never had to worry about it before. Any help would be appreciated.

January 22nd, 2006, 02:57 PM	#2
Tim Dashwood Wrangler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 3,637	Every mac ever sold with a firewire port will edit standard DV. I have a friend who bought an iMacDV 400Mhz when it was new (1999?) and still uses it for editing DV (and it only has a G3 processor.) When it comes to HDV, RAM is the most important factor in MacOS X. Buy a minimum of 1GB of RAM... ideally 2Gb. Any G5 (including iMac G5) will have more than enough processing power to capture and play back HDV. I use a 6-year old G4 with a Dual 1.2Ghz G4 upgrade card and I've never had a problem digitizing and working with HDV. I've also used a 1.67Ghz PowerbookG4 without any problems. With FCP, the basic rule is that the more power you have, the more real-time rendering you'll get. HDV is not hard to digitize (since it is the same bitrate or less than DV.) The tough job for any processor is decompressing the stream for frame accurate playback. Hard drive speed doesn't seem to be a factor (even firewire 400) unless you transcode your footage to a high bitrate codec. The recently announced Intel Duo-Core Macs (iMac & MacBook Pro) will be ideally suited for HDV because they are just plain fast. The new iMac even has the ability to hook up a second monitor for more screen real estate. I imagine that even the forthcoming (but not yet announced) Intel DuoCore MacMini or iBook will work well. However a "Universal" version of FCP that will be compatible with the Intel chips won't be available for a couple of weeks. You should remember though, every new Mac comes pre-loaded with iMovie HD, which will get you going before you invest in Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express. __________________ Tim Dashwood

February 28th, 2006, 04:50 PM	#3
Tim Dashwood Wrangler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 3,637	New Mac minis New Mac minis were released today. The DuoCore version is awesome for the price. It even comes with a dual-layer DVD-burner! http://www.apple.com/macmini/ __________________ Tim Dashwood

March 1st, 2006, 07:38 AM	#4
Ben De Rydt Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 139	But Final Cut Pro doesn't run on it yet. __________________ Please keep in mind that English is not my native language.