Video Editing: Mac or PC?

Blackout

Blackout

Blackout

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Hi there,

I am considering how best to spend my next PC upgrade cash (which usually involves handing down my 'old/current' PC to the missus for her to use for her video editing).

I am quite tempted myself by a MBP, but that aside for moment....

My current PC (Dual core) would be handed down to the missus for her video editing as part of my next PC upgrade, i'll throw in a few extra HDs to have separate source and target drives (as I have been told that has a BIG effect on performance in video editing).

So my questions are what sort of Mac equivalent would compare to this set up for her in terms of video editing? Would a Mac Mini cut it (minimal outlay in case she doesn't get on with a Mac!)?

What about HD space...separate drives etc, is that an issue here or can external/network drives be used without a hit on performance...as I dont think you can have more than 1 HD in Macs (maybe Pros though)?

Finally she uses Pinnacle studio to edit in...is the software that comes with the Mac on par with this or do i need to also consider getting her the Final cut express too...

Sorry for so many questions
 
I wouldn't have thought a mini would cut it.

You would have to use an external USB/Firewire Drive or NAS box to add more disks.

I would imagine more a Mac Pro with 8800GT would be the equivalent. You can cut down to a single Quad 2.8 to reduce the costs however still not a cheap intro to Mac.

I would suggest that get down to an Apple Store for a run out on the Mac to see how get on with one.
 
You'd be looking at a decent iMac with a FireWire backup drive, but still.. to get anywhere near enough power for professional editing you'd want a Mac Pro.
 
Hi mate,

Having a separate source/target drives can indeed affect the performance when working with video, however the bottleneck is more likely to be the processor doing the encoding... either way, if you get the right external drive with the right connection, they can be very fast and very usable for such intense application...

so that gives you the option of the lesser desktop offerings (mac mini, imac), but the mac pro is the clear winner when it comes to video work and heavy 3d work, but it comes with the hefty price tag (but yes this is the one where you can have multiple hard drives, up to 4 i think)

if she isn't doing it professionally, and doesn't need the tip top performance, i'd say go with an imac and get a nice fast firewire 800 drive (double this up as a time machine drive), i'm doubtful of the mac mini's abilities in the video department but it may be ok.

i cant think of a pinnacle-spec app for mac, they come with iMovie, which is a fairly watered down version for the average dabbler, then of course there's final cut and premiere pro which i reckon are the industry standards, with final cut coming out on top.

hope this helps, but in conclusion i'd say you'd be fine with an imac, a decent ext. drive and final cut, but if you have the money, there would be no beating a mac pro for video work with its massive potential processing power.

EDIT: jeez, took so long to type my reply that by the time i posted two people had answered :(
 
Thanks very much guys, you can tell I know very little about Macs can't you.

That's really helpful though! She is more of a hobbyist than a pro so really want to avoid the 'bigMac/pro' if I can as I doubt I can justify that level of cost for that level of use.

I had bought a NAS drive for the Missus a while back that never really worked as a source or destination drive (too slow I think...now a backup drive) maybe firewire 800 would be better though. I'll check out the prices on those.

Maybe I should get a MBP myself and see how she gets on with that. I don't video edit at all so I am about as much use as a *insert favourite 'useless' analogy* on that subject.

So what sort of level of Mac machine do you think would be comparable to my current set up (in PC format):

AMD 4400x2
2gb Ram
Probly 3x500gb HDs (non raid) (1 OS & Progs, 1 Destination, 1 backup)
7800GTX
...she doesn't play games at all so presume the graphics card is not needed for vid editing really
 
Blackout said:
So what sort of level of Mac machine do you think would be comparable to my current set up (in PC format):

AMD 4400x2
2gb Ram
Probly 3x500gb HDs (non raid) (1 OS & Progs, 1 Destination, 1 backup)
7800GTX
Click to expand...
an imac or a mbp, but its not as clear cut as that cuz the os x setup is more efficient and streamlined... for example, my macbook runs photoshop, illustrator, etc more smoothly and with much more grace than my pc with a c2d 2.4gig processor, 2 gig of ram, 8800GTX.

once you go mac, you never go back ;)
 
jonnyc747 said:
Are you referring to standard definition? I would imagine that full HD would require something like Mac Pro?
Click to expand...

Watch this. High Def video editing - MAC versus PC

Effortless on a standard MacBook

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Itxa7AD2-bA



Imagined wrong.

Watch how the "very high specced vista laptop" cannot handle HD and the standard MacBook does it with absolute ease.
 
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GraemeUK said:
Watch this. High Def video editing - MAC versus PC

Effortless on a standard MacBook

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Itxa7AD2-bA



Imagined wrong.

Watch how the "very high specced vista laptop" cannot handle HD and the standard MacBook does it with absolute ease.
Click to expand...

Interesting video but pinnacle software is a pile of crap - used it for a while before realizing how rubbish it was compared to other solutions like sony vegas. I would rather have saw a comparison between a professional windows app and final cut. iMovie is mainly only for the home user. Also I would be more concerned about the rendering times rather than the performance during editing itself.

I really do not think this is a fair comparison and it just seems too strange to be normal that a high spec windows laptop couldn't even play the HD video back properly within the editing windows - something wrong there.

Also this was a comparison for making up short movie clips. Would be interested to see the stats for a macbook editing full length dvd movies. Without a decent gfx any serious video editor would recommend not to go near a macbook. Should be using Final Cut for proper editing in my opinion. When I bought my MBP it was recommended to at least have a 256MB gfx card for Final Cut
 
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Yes you are correct Mr Spew...no HD right now, although it is an interesting point to bare in mind as she may upgrade her video camera at some point in the future.

Checking out the link now Johnyc747
 
Mr Spew said:
Who ever mentioned HD? I assumed that because it's a casual editing thing, it wouldn't be HD, as casual video-makers don't get expensive HD cameras.
Click to expand...

The link to the video is HD so that is why I mentinoed it. Even for standard video editing in a proper video editing suite a better spec'd up machine would be a much more useful solution. WHen I got my MBP the apple guys specifically told me to never use anything less than a MBP for video editing. If only doing small home video with imovie it might work but for anyone wanting to take editing seriously then go for MBP or Mac Pro.
 
Blackout said:
Yes you are correct Mr Spew...no HD right now, although it is an interesting point to bare in mind as she may upgrade her video camera at some point in the future.

Checking out the link now Johnyc747
Click to expand...
You'd be making a huge mistake by doing so, it takes up multiple times more space compared to SD, you'd be silly to invest in a HD camera when you can get a far better (in terms of quality) SD camera which would do everything you need.
jonnyc747 said:
The link to the video is HD so that is why I mentinoed it. Even for standard video editing in a proper video editing suite a better spec'd up machine would be a much more useful solution. WHen I got my MBP the apple guys specifically told me to never use anything less than a MBP for video editing. If only doing small home video with imovie it might work but for anyone wanting to take editing seriously then go for MBP or Mac Pro.
Click to expand...
The YouTube link comparing speeds? Indeed, but the OP didn't mention it, and currently, the HD camcorders that are available in a decent price-range, well, they're okay but I find SD ones much more friendly and easier to deal with. I've used a MacBook for lots of coursework with 2GB RAM, it's great.
 
Mr Spew said:
you'd be silly to invest in a HD camera when you can get a far better (in terms of quality) SD camera which would do everything you need.
Click to expand...

You really sure? HD is always going to be better quality than SD! I know the demands for HD editing are much bigger than SD but its maybe not a bad idea to start looking at the future and having a future-proof solution would be useful i think.
 
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