I don't know how many PC users there are here but I am married to Macs for many other reasons, but have been moving into HD video workflows and my older iMacs weren't able to really handle the i/o and processing bottlenecks. I was leaning toward a Mac Pro but the lack of Thunderbolt in buying a new $5+K machine + monitor was too much so I went iMac with hopes that in a year to so TB devices will be there to give me the super fast i/o that TB offers. But my question now is about MPE and previewing work in progress: the iMac doesn't have a GPU that will take advantage of CUDA and MPE, so is there anything I can do to maximize this machine to get the most out of Premiere? I hear that FCPX will be more of a memory hog with background rendering versus a high dependency om GPU. I use every effect there is and have tons of titles and graphics and timelines can have 20+ tracks. Is anyone able to advise if SSDs or ram or anything else I can do that would help? Thanks!
iMac (2011) + CS5 Premiere (or dare I say: FCPX)
- Thread starter olindacat
- Start date
Lucas Adamson
Well-known member
DO NOT GET CS5 - WAIT FOR FCP X.
My simple advice as lifetime mac user, former Avid editor, FCP qualified editor, Premier owner and hater - (crashes a lot, slow, PC feel, buggy). FCP X will smoke all current apps for pro-sumer level IMHO
My simple advice as lifetime mac user, former Avid editor, FCP qualified editor, Premier owner and hater - (crashes a lot, slow, PC feel, buggy). FCP X will smoke all current apps for pro-sumer level IMHO
That is certainly not the norm for for users running a clean install of Windows 7. (Except, of course, for the PC Feel. But that's actually a complement, not a complaint.)
There have been a LOT of FCP converts to PP since CS5 was released, if the number of users stating as much over in the Adobe hosted forums is any indication. And with Adobe's native file handling of most any camera format, 64 bit speed and stability, time saving Dynamic Link integration with industry standard After Effects that even FCP fans use, hardware acceleration of many effects, it's really no wonder so many have been switching.
CS5.5 is even better. FCPX has a LOT of catching up to do.
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Have you even used CS5? It doesn't crash, is not slow, and is not buggy either. Either there's something wrong with your PC or you're talking about an old version of Premiere Pro.
As far as "PC Feel", that's subjective. I hate the "Mac Feel" so to each his own. By the way, how are you enjoying FCP X?
keylight
Veteran
That's kinda mean, no? Sure, hindsight is 20/20.
But who knew Apple would pull the rug out from FCP users like they've just done? Especially after Apple forced a complete takeover of the last Final Cut Pro User Group Supermeet at NAB to announce the new product. I mean, how much more "FCPX is going to revolutionize Professional editing" can you get than that? Apple should be ashamed (but they won't be).
I'm a long time PC/Avid guy and I encourage Mac and PC, FCP and Premiere CS5 users to all give MC5 a try....
Having never played with Avid what are the benefits of switching from PP 5.5?
Many people suspected it, but few actually EXPECTED that this would happen. I feel sorry for the pro guys out there...I really do...Especially the small shops with multiple editing machines.
And to top it all off, FCP 7 is no longer supported and can no longer be purchased.
I've been a hobbyist/semi-pro Premiere editor for the past year so this doesn't affect me, but I feel for the guys who use it to make a living. Apple is truly a worse monster than Microsoft ever was. I'm realyl curious how this is going to pan out over the next 3-6 months.
keylight
Veteran
Avid is very keyboard centric. You can certainly use a keyboard with Premiere, but in MC, if you want to get work done efficiently, learning the keyboard is the way to go. Dragging, dropping, clicking... all doable, but it'll slow you down. Keyboards fit with my style of editing. They have a new feature called the SmartTool, which people who prefer using a mouse will probably fall in love with.
MC is very stable (a few versions back this wasn't the case). Today, I never have crashes. The work flow is a bit different, and it might take some time to get used to the interface, but once you do....
Media management in MC is top notch, and blows away everything else. And with PhraseFind, finding the right clip is pretty easy. And AMA allows you to bring in all kinds of media types, and if you're working with Pro formats, then Avid simply rocks. Mixing and matching various formats is easy to do. If you're using AVCHD footage, then you'll need to transcode (which doesn't take long and is well worth doing).
Depending on what you're cutting, ScriptSync is an incredible tool.
Premiere has a tighter integration with the other Adobe products of course. But Avid has a tighter integration with the film and video industry. You can download a 30 day demo on Avid's site - well worth doing, even if you'll be going the Premiere route, just to see what else is out there.
I've been editing on Avid since 1995 and after stints using FCP and Premiere, I always go back to Avid.
Shooter
Veteran
That was great advice!
"Smokes" so much it crashed and burned on the launch pad.
Lucas Adamson
Well-known member
Hehe - hey I still think it will be good, but I'm sure glad I stayed up reading the initial reactions to it before biting the bullet like I'd planned. I haven't bought FCP-X. I think they will come out with some revisions pretty quickly. If they do bring out a genuinely Pro version, however, what are they gonna call it? Final Cut Studio?
I'm going to have to make-up with CS5 for a while - I use it every day after all!
I'm going to have to make-up with CS5 for a while - I use it every day after all!
I am a long time FCP user and an know Apple fanboy but a little over 2 months ago I downloaded Premier Pro 5 on all my machines - I edit on Macbookpros due to budget constraints. It did appear to more up to date than FCP6/7 and the idea of editing native AVCHD footage was a huge plus. Alas, my machines (2008 / 2009 mbps) have wimpy graphics cards and do not do the CUDA magic and I am now having to transcode to ProRes in FCP then editing with PP!! I think you need a mac with at least a 1gig graphics card for the CUDA magic to work and supposedly it's speeds thinks up quite a bit but not 10x though. I now have PP5.5 so perhaps the update is better. You can build a monster of a PC machine with a true CUDA graphics card and 16gigs of memory for a lot less than a Mac Pro but we all know how that may end up with the different components and drivers with windows 7 etc.
Of course the usual stuff applies, max out your memory to 16 gigs, get a solid state HD inside of her and TRANSCODE to prores !!!! After memory (I hope you have a quad core i7) the solid state HD is gonna give you a real speed boost. And you know you can always do the ProRes Proxy thing or ProRes Lite and then when everything is done just Transcode to ProRes422 HQ! Hell with proxy I bet you could edit an entire project on $900 macbook!
Looks like a lot of Pros hate FCP X due to the lack of some crucial features but I don't think anyone said it was a direct replacement for FCP7 just yet. Remember you can always jump to Premier Pro 5.5 (get the 30 dial trial of all the software at adobe or Avid, works on a mac too) I just came back from a shoot and left my macbook at home and took along an older C2D Lenovo with Premier Pro 5.5 on it. Windoze 7 is a million times better than vista but it's no Snow Leopard and if your inside Premier Pro who really cares. Ok enough of my rambling and good luck with your new iMac.
Of course the usual stuff applies, max out your memory to 16 gigs, get a solid state HD inside of her and TRANSCODE to prores !!!! After memory (I hope you have a quad core i7) the solid state HD is gonna give you a real speed boost. And you know you can always do the ProRes Proxy thing or ProRes Lite and then when everything is done just Transcode to ProRes422 HQ! Hell with proxy I bet you could edit an entire project on $900 macbook!
Looks like a lot of Pros hate FCP X due to the lack of some crucial features but I don't think anyone said it was a direct replacement for FCP7 just yet. Remember you can always jump to Premier Pro 5.5 (get the 30 dial trial of all the software at adobe or Avid, works on a mac too) I just came back from a shoot and left my macbook at home and took along an older C2D Lenovo with Premier Pro 5.5 on it. Windoze 7 is a million times better than vista but it's no Snow Leopard and if your inside Premier Pro who really cares. Ok enough of my rambling and good luck with your new iMac.