Laptop for HD capture/edit

M

mk23

Member
Hello everyone,

I need a laptop for Capturing and editing Hd footage from an HVX, also if it would work as a field monitor that would be a plus ofcourse, I'm a final cut 5.1 user but am willing to try premiere or any other PC software if I needed to.

I was gonna go ahead and buy a macbook pro, but I'm kinda worried that it wouldnt be able to handle all the heavy HD stuff because of the video card or for any other reason.

I did a couple of searches in this forum and on the net but couldnt really find much info, so your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot
 
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15" PowerBook is ideal for your purposes, until/unless a proven-to-work reader for USB 2 or Express34 comes out. Run FCS 5.1 on that.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the response, I need to get a laptop asap but there are a lot of options and a lot of opinions on which ones would be most suitable, so I'm kinda confused.

If I understand correctly the powerbook your talkin about is an older model Mac, right?

I actually want to buy a new one, but I'm still not sure whether the macbook pro is worth that much or not. (for my purposes)
 
Any recommendations on cheaper but more effective alternatives to a macbook pro are most welcome
 
Honestly I don't think you will find a cheaper and more effective laptop than the MBP. You might find a cheaper one however.
 
The best solution for HVX field work is a PC laptop with a PCMCIA slot, running DV Rack 2.0 HD. Check out the Sony lineup, I got an SZ340 and it works very, very well, and was under $1800. Much less expensive than an MBP, and DV Rack 2.0 HD captures straight to FCP quicktime files for direct import into FCP, and many PC laptops allow for direct slot capture through the PCMCIA slot (many PC laptops include both PCMCIA and ExpressCard). And, frankly, P2 software is more reliable on the PC platform -- the P2 Store just works, the cards never "glitch", etc. You'll have a more reliable experience, with a better range of software to choose from, by going with a PC laptop. Just capture to an external firewire drive and plug that right into your Mac desktop to edit in FCP.
 
Thanks a lot guys, and thanks Barry, I took your advice and went with a PC, I bought an Acer 3275, It was a bit cheaper than your Sony and with around the same specs and features but it was instore (I didn't wanna wait for shipping), now I can buy me another 8 gig p2 instead of waisting all that money on just a macbook pro

At first I didn't see why I needed PCMCIA when I could transfer through firewire, but obviously this way I can keep the camera running and switch p2 cards, which makes me verry happy :)
 
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