Buying a Laptop

k so.. now basically the last thing thats coming up is something my brother brought my attention to.

if i will be investing alot of money into a laptop, he suggests that it may be wise to get a mac, solely for the purpose of the field that im going into.

I may have decent knowledge on most editors as they are not all that different, but he says things such as if i ever join a company or get jobs, the majority of the world will be running on and requiring Mac knowledge.

is there some truth to this? Are the two platforms THAT different? Would it be smarter to go with amc if the extra cash is found?
 
I would say go with a mac, because FCP is a powerful tool, and from what i have seen alot of people do use macs when it comes to web video and graphic design.
 
PaPa--
You have echoed all my concerns in the same decision process. Because of the future changes in the HD field, I have selected the HVX200, pricey as it is, as a total novice to videography/documentaries, coming from an academic writing background. I have no video editing software and dread the learning curve.

That said, I also need a notebook. My problem is that I will be going to Central Asia, the Mongolian desert, etc. etc.. I will be gone for > year. The PC is generally well known in third world countries whereas the Mac is not. If the Mac breaks, I will be stuck, if the PC crashes, I will always find a local computer tech. I use external hard drives and just boght a 500GB for $199! I will wait for the P2 to drop.

My question would be where are the best and cheapest tapes to be found in metro NY, what type of lightest, smallest backpacking tripod can I buy, ditto for lights and microphones, absolutely essential lenses, filters, portabrace for <32F, shoulder holder -- all needs to fit in my backback for the plane and for locl travel.

Thanks.
 
errr... buddy.... don't get sucked into the -80s and -90s Mac propaganda. it is not true that the mac is better for audio, video and design work. mac and pc is the same. it was true in the past, but the past is a long time ago.

the pros for getting a mac are that it has a good interface, ease of use and that many other people use it

the cons are that once it breaks ('cause they do) you're screwed because fixes have to be done by mac and are expensive as hell. macs are also more expensive and everything is proprietory - no 3rd party hardware etc. it's more money for the same system

the pros of a pc are that you have MUCH more programs to choose from and that if you want to fix/replace/upgrade components a multitude of companies will supply you with what you need. also, there are a lot of companies making PCs which means lower prices due to competition.

the cons are that the XP interface for all it's good qualities also is harder to use. and you can get infected with virus, malware, spyware. BUT all this can be fixed with a simple virus killer and some due diligence when surfing the web.

The claim that you will be a better/more attractive editor if you know FCP is a dubious one - it depends on where you go. as was established in another thread I can't find at the moment AVID is still the benchmark editing system and all the editing systems are pretty much the same these days. if you know Premiere it should only take you a few days to figure out how FCP works and the other way around.

The reason why I run PCs is that I can control what my PC does down to every single little program, I can custom build them exactly to my specifications and upgrade them indefinitely and that Premiere and After Effects and Photoshop and Illustrator now works completely seamlessly together. if you're doing compositing in AE, you will LOVE the new cross features with Premiere. you don't even have to render your AE comps anymore. just dump them straight into Premiere and they get rendered there. you can even change them. same goes with Photoshop and Illustrator.

this last point is widely ignored by FCP fanatics because it just isn't the case with FCP.

don't make your choice based on what your brother said. it just isn't true any more.

mor10
 
PaPa said:
k so.. now basically the last thing thats coming up is something my brother brought my attention to.

if i will be investing alot of money into a laptop, he suggests that it may be wise to get a mac, solely for the purpose of the field that im going into.

I may have decent knowledge on most editors as they are not all that different, but he says things such as if i ever join a company or get jobs, the majority of the world will be running on and requiring Mac knowledge.

is there some truth to this? Are the two platforms THAT different? Would it be smarter to go with amc if the extra cash is found?
Click to expand...


TRUE on the MAC. King Kong was done on Apple Shake on Macs.
 
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Keep in mind most Mac users are religiously devoted to their macs - no matter what you say they'll never be able to take a critical and balanced look at the issue.

so King Kong was made with Shake.... how many thousands of excellent movies were (and are) edited on AVID? or done with After Effects?

Regardless, the majority of what makes King Kong great is the CG, camera work and excellent script. the editing station has very little to do with anything.

look for a good hardware sollution. don't make your decision based on fanaticism in either direction.

mor10
 
morten said:
look for a good hardware sollution. don't make your decision based on fanaticism in either direction.

mor10
Click to expand...
I agree with your Morten.. heheh. I started video editing only when I got my Mac. If I had started doing video editing when I was on a PC I might have said go for PC. For me to cross platform now would be too troublesome (for me anyway) so I'll stick with a Mac. The original thread was either PC or Mac. Mac now can run both platforms, so you may want to consider that. You still have a choice of running PC NLE on a Mac. The reverse is not true.

and Mac is mucho expensive compared to a PC.

p.s. sorry about my previous post being in large fonts! changed it already
 
lol im still really torn between the two.

the core 2 duo mac starts at 2300 canadian, where as i can get that for 1300 on a pc.
 
i just found out that money that has been put away for school ( was actually planning on going to theatre school in england, "RADA" "GSMD",) can be put towards things such as a laptop. Therefor price really isnt that much of an issue.


hmmm.. too many things to think about.... im really lost now...

seems to me now, the reality of it is both systems will be capable of doing the same thigns and reasonablly equally.

Now, apple has all these neat programs, FCP, apple shake, etc..

PC has a couple i know of like premier pro, after effects.

I realise that i will probably be using MACs when i ever get into hte field of film, but like i said before, the difference between NLE's and such is very minimal and normally is shown through the algorithsm of effects and the ways in which it renders, etc..

man, i just dont really know what to do.

The only thing i know is how i feel about the situation. And that is that ive been on PC my entire life, and as a videogrpaher and editor, its been only PC. Therefor im very comfortable in the PC environment.

hmmm,. what to do
 
Get a MAC. I don't use MAC because I personally can BUILD a better machine and tweak the hell out of the thing to make it fast and faster than a MAC..........BUT.........A laptop doesn't tweak like a desktop.
The difference for me now between the MAc's and PC's is that PC's have a terrible low end market (buy a box of cereal and get a free PC) and MAC doesn't have that low end product.
With knowledge in both platforms, you are just that much more skilled.
 
Hey
I just got a refurbished Mac Book with super drive 2 ghz for 1099.00 from the apple website. and i come s with the same warrenty as a new one.
and it awsome
 
PaPa said:
The only thing i know is how i feel about the situation. And that is that ive been on PC my entire life, and as a videogrpaher and editor, its been only PC. Therefor im very comfortable in the PC environment.

hmmm,. what to do
Click to expand...

you just answered your own question buddy. you are comfortable with the PC environment so stick with it. Honestly, there is no reason to think that because you want to go into the film industry you "will be using mac". more likely you will be using a multitude of different platforms. What's important right now is to get the most bang for your buck and that you get something you can use.

Shake and the other fancy Mac stuff is stuff you probably won't use. get a PC and the Adobe Production Studio (standard or premium depending on whether you want Photoshop and Illustrator or not). that's all you need to get going.

that's what I'm running and it works like a charm.

mor10
 
PaPa said:
i just found out that money that has been put away for school ( was actually planning on going to theatre school in england, "RADA" "GSMD",) can be put towards things such as a laptop. Therefor price really isnt that much of an issue.
Click to expand...

Yo dude, if price is not an issue, get the Mac, Seriously. You can dual boot OSX AND Windows XP (and eventually Vista). Best of both worlds and the core 2 duo meroms with 2 gig of ram and 120 gig HD kicks some serious ass.
 
okay.

ive settled on getting the new Macbook Pro, 2,33 ghz core 2 duo. i think its 4mb bus speed?

2 gigs of ram
- Really cant justify spending the extra 650 canadian on upping it to 3 gigs of ram.. at least now yet at that price.

120 gig Harddrive ( anyone know the speed? )

should come to about 2700 canadian with the student discount page.

will thi suit the needs of this ambitious pationate upcoming movie maker? :) lol
 
PaPa said:
okay.

ive settled on getting the new Macbook Pro, 2,33 ghz core 2 duo. i think its 4mb bus speed?

2 gigs of ram
- Really cant justify spending the extra 650 canadian on upping it to 3 gigs of ram.. at least now yet at that price.

120 gig Harddrive ( anyone know the speed? )

should come to about 2700 canadian with the student discount page.

will thi suit the needs of this ambitious pationate upcoming movie maker? :) lol
Click to expand...

The Mac community welcomes you. You have now been sucessfully assimilated! Resistance was futile anyway. We're now extremely jealous of your Merom chipped acquisition. Damn, I could almost drool!

NOTE: Don't bother buying the RAM from Apple, PLEASE!!!! 1 gig of RAM do not cost $650 out in the market place.. don't make that mistake. I got 1 gig for around $150! and they all work fine (well test them first!)

120gig is 5400rpm.. not that fast, 7200 would be good but costly. you can up it to 160gig 5400rpm I think.. just DON"T GET THE RAM! PLEEEAAASE, perfectly good waste of so much money!!!!

17 incher or 15??
 
im thinking 15, but i want the 17 for the higher resolution, as the resolution is quite shitty if i can say so comparitively to the dells.. oh well

and as for the ram, its expensive because it comes with 1 gig and 1 gig, to up it to 3 gigs, you have to replace one of the 1 gigs with a single 2 gig stick..

very pricey.

but ill wait till prices drop

probably going with the 15 inch....
 
alright, i need somwhat of a quick response for this question.

It says there are two screens i an get, the first option is macbook pro 15" screen
and macbook pro 15" glossy.

is one glossy and the other extreme glossy? Is one matte?

which one is better for video editing? more accurate colors and saturation for better control of CC.
oi guess the question is

although i know i should be checking a calibrated monitor ( which i dont have ) for colors and exposure.

but which of the two screens will give me a better idea and control over my color correction?

matte or glossy>?



answer would be better sooner than later

waiting to make my purchase tnoight :)
 
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sorry to be pushy guys, just really would like to get some responses on this as im waiting to hit BUY NOW.

glossy or matte? pros and cons? i wont be using a CRT monitor for CC so which am i better off getting for real color and saturation?

even though the glossy is brighter and more saturated, is that a bad thing?
 
Get the matte option....glossy tends to be oversaturated and contrasty. With glossy you also get glare from lights.
 
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