Editing rigs: Mac or PC?

D-Day

D-Day

Member
Okay, I've used the search button. I tried many keywords, and scrolled through many pages of results, but often just ran into irrelevant threads in the software sections. Mac and PC are too short for vB to search. I did use the search button, so don't kill me.

Also, hopefully I have the right forum. Most of the editing forums are for software, but no hardware like computers themselves. I looked around for the most appropriate place. Hopefully this will do, being it's concerning editing DVX100A footage.

That said, the question stands. What is better for editing: Mac or PC?

Since I just got my DVX100A, I won't be able to get a dedicated or upgraded rig for quite some time, but I'd like to know what to be on the lookout for. On a budget, what is better? A stock Mac, or a beefed up PC? What would be cheaper/easier?

Obviously the easiest way is to buy the biggest and bestest. But when you can't throw money at a problem, you have to compromise. In your experience, what has worked for you efficiently?

I'd also like to know what people use here already. Even if they don't have suggestions, I'd like to know the specs of their computers for editing and how well it works, to give me an idea of what to look for.

Thanks.
 
I'm on a Powermac G5 dual 2.0 with 1.5gigs of RAM, 1tb hard drive (plus externals), Final Cut Studio 2, and two 21inch monitors. I do plan on upgrading to a MacPro sometime in the near future, but I've never run into ANY problems with my setup in the three years I've been a pro freelance editor using it. I haven't worked with a lot of HD (but I will, and I'll probably upgrade at that time), but my machine will edit HD on par as is (just not as efficient as I'd prefer)

I have a feeling you're going to get numerous mixed results on this one, but I also have a feeling that, in the end, the best answer you'll find is "it depends on which works best FOR YOU".

Are you a mac guy or PC guy right now? Are you planning on possibly working as an editor at any point? any need for a knowledge of industry standards of post production?

All good starting questions, and many more, to ask yourself first. I'll think of more, but it's 2:30am and must force myself to sleep tonight.

-brown

And for the record... untill I start seeing PC workstation's in numerous Professional Post House's, I still say Apple is the industry standard on the rise. AVID? yes, but the numbers are showing more and more making the switch.
 
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I use a PC, but I'm more than willing to learn to use a Mac soley for editing purposes. It's more of a hobby/personal thing right now, so having the best professional equipment to render and edit quickly isn't as important right now. So it's mainly for just myself right now, with no plans of doing work for others. Less pressure that way, until I get experience.
 
I'm in the same boat as D-Day. Although I don't even own a DVX, let alone a camcorder (I use a FujiFilm Fine-Pix to shoot really really bad quality 'video'). When I DO own a DVX, I'll be using a PC for editing. If I do start getting work around town I might get a Mac for dedicated video/audio editing.
 
I'd certainly agree with rcbrown -- if you're on one or the other right now, stay with what you're on.

As for a general matter of what's better for editing, it's ALL about processor speed and RAM, with (much) more of an emphasis on processor speed. Get as much of both as you can. 4 GHz of processing speed is still 4 GHz whether you're on a PC or a Mac, and similarly, 2 GB of RAM is . . . well, you get the picture.

For most NLEs, the graphics card is pretty much meaningless -- though for 2D and 3D effects apps it can be important.
 
I'm on a Mac (MacPro Quad [2] 2.66 chips and 3gb RAM - soon 7!) and I run FCS 1 and love it. I am proficient on both platforms, but definitely choose the Mac. One thing to think about is configuration time/driver issues and just the plain-old farting around you'll do on a Windows based machine. I know because I have done it which was one of the reasons I went with a Mac 4 years ago. Mac's definitely aren't perfect, but you will spend considerably less time getting them to work exactly like you want.

In terms of software, if you decide to go the Avid route, you can do that with either a Mac or Windows machine. If you like Final Cut Studio, that will be Mac only. If you want Sony's Vegas - that will be Windows only. Look through all the different online product demos for each and get a feel for what you like. They all pretty much do the same thing (edit, color correction, compositing etc.) but you might prefer the layouts and workflows of one over the other.

As for Graphics cards, a good GC will definitely come in handy with FCS, since OS X (and FCS) offloads a lot of graphics tasks to the graphics card and better card does make a difference. Like others have said here get as much RAM as you can.

For me, the Final Cut workflow is great. I can capture/edit in Final Cut, then I use Motion for any intro sequences and DVD menus, Soundtrack for the audio sweetening/mixing and then output via Compressor to prep for DVD. The new version of Final Cut Studio also uses some technology from Shake called Optical Flow that lets you do very good looking under/over cranking effects. It's a much better method than Frame Blending for slow motion effects. There are some things I would like to see improved upon in FCS, like being able to combine audio tracks in Soundtrack so I can apply effects and unwanted sound removal across multiple edits easier. It would also be nice to have a more "sensible" round-trip method, so you can send certain parts of your Final Cut timeline to other programs without needing to re-import alternate tracks.

These aren't deal-breakers for me, but definitely ask people what editing programs they use, why they like them and what they would like to see improved. This should give you a good picture of which way you would like to go.
 
I use both Macs and PCs for doing my visual effects/animation work, but for editing I am strictly Mac and Final Cut Studio.

I cut my first feature film on a Mac mini, which costs $600, cheap for a Mac. It's not ideal but as you say, when you don't have the money you have to sacrifice. I have since moved up to a 20" iMac and it has more than enough power for editing SD video. You can get one of those for the not-unreasonable price of $1200.

For FCS, if you are a student, you can get it for $700 (I think) and it is fully functional so it's a great way to get started.
 
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