Mac Pro at DVinfo.net

Ronald A. Halder · September 5th, 2006, 08:57 AM

I am about to commit myself to a Mac Pro 3Ghz Quad core and FCP for editing purpose,my camcorder is XLH1, should I be awere of any anything. I have never used a Mac before, always used PC and PP for editing. Are there any issues with this new macs. Thanks in advance

Don Steele · September 5th, 2006, 10:03 AM

Ron - I think for the most part you'll find yourself really happy with being on a Mac. I was on a PC for years and finally switched to a Mac in 2001 and wonder now why I waited so long.

The only thing you might want to be a tad wary of, is the lack of universal binary applications from Adobe. This means if you have Photoshop, Illustrator or more importantly After Effects, you won't be able to run them in "native", which pretty much equals much slower performance. For me After Effects is almost unusable. However, this issue also affects After Effect plug-ins for Final Cut Pro. For example, Magic Bullet for Editors does not work at all in Final Cut on an Intel machine because Adobe has yet to update the API to a universal binary.

The good news is that should all be moot very soon. The apple rumor sites are buzzing about Adobe universal binary releases as early as next week.

Cale Rogers · September 5th, 2006, 11:15 AM

Hello,

In addition to that software note, you may also want to consider adding capture and monitoring hardware. Something like an AJA, Decklink card or the Matrox MXO box for getting clean color and a durable references vs. firewire previews. FCP by itself does a poor job of providing good previews of a sequences during an edit. But, the third party hardware accelerates workflow, improves accuracy, betters the editing experience and increases the value of FCP.

Hope that helps,

CJ Rogers

Kevin Shaw · September 5th, 2006, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald A. Halder

I am about to commit myself to a Mac Pro 3Ghz Quad core and FCP for editing purpose,my camcorder is XLH1, should I be awere of any anything.

Check to make sure FCP can fully support all the frame rate modes of the XL-H1, and be advised that conforming HDV output may be slow even on the latest Mac.

Ronald A. Halder · September 6th, 2006, 11:53 AM

[QUOTE=Don Steele]. For me After Effects is almost unusable. However, this issue also affects After Effect plug-ins for Final Cut Pro. For example, Magic Bullet for Editors does not work at all in Final Cut on an Intel machine because Adobe has yet to update the API to a universal binary.

Thanks for all of your input. Don, do you think in a situation like this would I be able to use Win XP via boot camp to run After Eff more efficiantly? Because I depend a lot on After eff in post production.

William Hohauser · September 7th, 2006, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald A. Halder

Thanks for all of your input. Don, do you think in a situation like this would I be able to use Win XP via boot camp to run After Eff more efficiantly? Because I depend a lot on After eff in post production.

Should work very well unless there is an issue with the new Intel chips. A trip to the Adobe site should answer your questions. I think a better solution is to keep your XP station handy for AE work and send the files over by ethernet or hard drive. This will probably be a good way to work for the time until Adobe gets the Universal Mac version ready.

September 5th, 2006, 08:57 AM	#1
Ronald A. Halder New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh Posts: 22	Mac Pro I am about to commit myself to a Mac Pro 3Ghz Quad core and FCP for editing purpose,my camcorder is XLH1, should I be awere of any anything. I have never used a Mac before, always used PC and PP for editing. Are there any issues with this new macs. Thanks in advance

September 5th, 2006, 10:03 AM	#2
Don Steele New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: United States Posts: 22	Ron - I think for the most part you'll find yourself really happy with being on a Mac. I was on a PC for years and finally switched to a Mac in 2001 and wonder now why I waited so long. The only thing you might want to be a tad wary of, is the lack of universal binary applications from Adobe. This means if you have Photoshop, Illustrator or more importantly After Effects, you won't be able to run them in "native", which pretty much equals much slower performance. For me After Effects is almost unusable. However, this issue also affects After Effect plug-ins for Final Cut Pro. For example, Magic Bullet for Editors does not work at all in Final Cut on an Intel machine because Adobe has yet to update the API to a universal binary. The good news is that should all be moot very soon. The apple rumor sites are buzzing about Adobe universal binary releases as early as next week.

September 5th, 2006, 11:15 AM	#3
Cale Rogers Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greeley, CO Posts: 63	Hello, In addition to that software note, you may also want to consider adding capture and monitoring hardware. Something like an AJA, Decklink card or the Matrox MXO box for getting clean color and a durable references vs. firewire previews. FCP by itself does a poor job of providing good previews of a sequences during an edit. But, the third party hardware accelerates workflow, improves accuracy, betters the editing experience and increases the value of FCP. Hope that helps, CJ Rogers

September 6th, 2006, 11:53 AM	#5
Ronald A. Halder New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh Posts: 22	[QUOTE=Don Steele]. For me After Effects is almost unusable. However, this issue also affects After Effect plug-ins for Final Cut Pro. For example, Magic Bullet for Editors does not work at all in Final Cut on an Intel machine because Adobe has yet to update the API to a universal binary. Thanks for all of your input. Don, do you think in a situation like this would I be able to use Win XP via boot camp to run After Eff more efficiantly? Because I depend a lot on After eff in post production.