Can the new Apple Unibody handle the HMC150

Michael Pick

Active member
Can the new Apple Unibody handle the HMC150 AVCHD footage?

Specifically the New Apple MacBook Pro MB986LL/A 15" 2.8ghz 8g RAM 500gb HDD? (I'd like to get the 15" version because of the SD card slot for the hmc150.)

Or should I get the NEW
Apple Macbook Pro 3.06GHz 17" model?

  • 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
  • 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
  • SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  • MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Antiglare Widescreen Display
(I would be giving up the SD card reader, but I'd be getting a slightly more powerful system.) Do you think any of the computers I suggested can handle native AVCHD? Someone on YouTube said that you'd have to edit with a quad core system at least...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3NKhKSZ7og
 
It would be fine for editing in final cut as it transcodes into pro res. The files eat disk space though.
 
I have to say that even my 8-core 2.26 GHz Nehalem MacPro can't handle much more than straight cuts with PH 720/60 footage.

Editing to me involves, FX, titling, grading and multiple layers.

macsales.com now sells a buspowered 750 GB FW800 buspowered drive. Convert to pro res, and have a true, and pleasant editing experience.
 
i edit on a 2.16 c2d macbook pro using final cut, but i have ppro cs4 and i've tried doing some quick edit stuff with native avchd and it wasn't very fun. for me, i find it quicker to transcode to proress and then edit. but that also depends on how much footage you have to edit.
 
Michael: either one of those systems would work just fine for FCP & AVCHD, i have a 17" MBP 2.4Ghz and it works great with FCP 6.0.5 or FCP 7 (i used both with it)... Having an external card reader is not a big problem, They're cheap and widely available (but having a built in one would be nice)... Good Luck!
 
Thanks for all the fast replies! I have a 3.8 quad core computer that I've been using to edit with in Sony Vegas 9.0 Pro but I'm selling that and going all MAC. I really want to learn how to edit in Final Cut Pro, (as all the major studios are using FCP and not Vegas as much...)

If I did get a MacBook Pro... What type of external BluRay burner and external HDD would you recommend for the fastest transfer rate? Thanks for all the help so far, I really appreciate all the help. I'm just getting started with FCP and would love any suggestions...
 
Firewire 800 drives work great, but you could also use USB2. If you have the money get a drobo (good for backup and to work from it)... as far as blu-ray, i think there are some good specials on LG burners! and they work good!
 
How much does mobility matter? I look at the price of the 17" macbook pro then look at what you can get for almost the same or maybe just a bit more if you go with a mac pro (8 core), not to mention the ability to expand on your system on all fronts, and storage... which is going to be a huge factor when dealing with AVCHD, as most tend to transcode their footage...
 
Firewire 800 drives work great, but you could also use USB2. If you have the money get a drobo (good for backup and to work from it)... as far as blu-ray, i think there are some good specials on LG burners! and they work good!

If you are transcoding to pro res, USB2 isn't going to pass muster.

Data transfers aren't comparable to FW800.

Drobo -- if works for some, that's great, but I would stay away from this type of drive system for editing.

BU, ok.
 
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