Mac Pro Configuration - ATI X1900 - FCP 6 Rumors

hobbes

hobbes

Member
Hey Guys,

Yesterday, I saw this topic, and I would be kinda interested to hear some more chatter about this:http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=67344

The short version: the standard graphics card is not really as amazing as the rest of the mac pro - would it make sense to upgrade to an ATI X1900 for 350?

My (stupid) question: Where does such a powerful card make sense (program-wise)?

Captain Mench said some interesting things about the card and got me curious about final cut pro 6 - any idea when this is supposed to be released? And any more gossip? Looking forward to read more...

Tobias
 
Most software these days is moving towards using the GPU to accelerate real time effects. The GPU is multiple times more powerful than the CPU for these sorts of tasks. You can do a huge amount of processing quickly by using the GPU. I'm sure apple will soon try to take advantage of this as other software has done (Edius anyone?). It seems to be the trend in the industry right now (and it makes sense to do it!).

Definitely do not skimp on the card if you're getting a new Mac!
 
There are no rumors for FCP 6. I would not expect any announcement of it till at least NAB '07. And then you will have to wait a few months for it to even come out.
 
Just got a Mac Pro 2.66 GHz (x4) two days ago, and it is just humming away in the corner, doing the autorotoscoping I needed done. The program I am using is not Universal yet, so Rosetta is taking up some cycles. However, near as I can tell by timing frame rendering it is 50% faster than my Dual 2.7 G5 PPC. Once it's ported over to Universal, it will be on fire, for now, it's just smokin'.
 
Don't want to hijack the thread, but what rotoscoping software are you using? I'd like to some of this with my films.
 
Got it, thanks. Have used Studio Artist before but it never really gave me the look I wanted. I'll have to re-experiment with it.
 
tbanucci said:
Got it, thanks. Have used Studio Artist before but it never really gave me the look I wanted. I'll have to re-experiment with it.
Click to expand...

Hijack in full effect. We are officially turning this thread back around to the airport.

A few caveats about Studio Artist, as it does a few things better than other things. It really shines when you're not trying to make it look "cartoony", as in you're using it for what it's best at, which is natural media emulation, ie oils, watercolors, sketches. This is why I eventually went out and bought all the "learn to paint" books I could find, because it does natural media so well, it even emulates flaws or problems in the media, like the way watercolors need to painted from light to dark for instance. It is a DEEP program, designed by the guy who basically invented audio editing for the computer, John Dalton, so the interface is very "audio" oriented, which is great for me, a former mastering engineer myself.
 
I've been using Studio Artist for YEARS now. I'd never work at an edit bay that didn't have it. If you can take the time to learn it, you'll be able to do things no other software in the world can do. It has no rival at all.

My biggest problem with SA, is trying to NOT use it in a project. LOL!!!!
 
BenB said:
I've been using Studio Artist for YEARS now. I'd never work at an edit bay that didn't have it. If you can take the time to learn it, you'll be able to do things no other software in the world can do. It has no rival at all.

My biggest problem with SA, is trying to NOT use it in a project. LOL!!!!
Click to expand...

My question is, what project CAN'T you use it in? The IP section ALONE makes it more than worth the price of entry.
 
Oh lord, the styles of video I can get out of it, with NONE of the "art" and "painting" stuff it's famous for!

All the Image Operations like the Image Compressor, Equalizer, Hue Shift, Smart Blur, and other enhancment features are KILLER! I use the Smooth Imagea Op instead of any FCP plug-in to get rid of video grain like magic! It's freaking amazing once you get past the pre-conceved notions about it (which are usually inacurate, anyway). You simply can't do this stuff with any other application.

I also did a peice for a client who wanted that cartoon "Waking Life" effect. I blew them away. And every one who sees it says, "I can take every frame into Photoshop and do that too!" No you can't! LOL! I have an open challange, and no one's done it yet.

Don't get me wrong, I love PS, spend hours and hours every week with it. But it's not the same thing as SA. Nothing is like SA. SA, in a nut shell, ROCKS!

Too bad most folks mistakenly pass it by. Then when someone says, "how did you get that look", I just smile.
 
BenB said:
Oh lord, the styles of video I can get out of it, with NONE of the "art" and "painting" stuff it's famous for!

All the Image Operations like the Image Compressor, Equalizer, Hue Shift, Smart Blur, and other enhancment features are KILLER! I use the Smooth Imagea Op instead of any FCP plug-in to get rid of video grain like magic! It's freaking amazing once you get past the pre-conceved notions about it (which are usually inacurate, anyway). You simply can't do this stuff with any other application.

I also did a peice for a client who wanted that cartoon "Waking Life" effect. I blew them away. And every one who sees it says, "I can take every frame into Photoshop and do that too!" No you can't! LOL! I have an open challange, and no one's done it yet.

Don't get me wrong, I love PS, spend hours and hours every week with it. But it's not the same thing as SA. Nothing is like SA. SA, in a nut shell, ROCKS!

Too bad most folks mistakenly pass it by. Then when someone says, "how did you get that look", I just smile.
Click to expand...

Their loss, not ours.
 
Ben-

Saw your SA presentation at WEVA couple years back and have wanted to use it since then to do some stuff. Demoed it for a while, but did not have the best machine for it back then. Will try it again when it goes universal....
 
Don't wait for Universal, you'll be waiting a long time. If you're on an Intel Mac, run it in Rosetta, it's supposed to run really well in Rosetta. It's just a steep learning curve.
 
BenB said:
Don't wait for Universal, you'll be waiting a long time. If you're on an Intel Mac, run it in Rosetta, it's supposed to run really well in Rosetta. It's just a steep learning curve.
Click to expand...

It is running really well in Rosetta. Rosetta only seems to be taking up about 25% or less clock speed of my Mac Pro 2.66x4 when using SA. It did seem like on slower machines, a Macbook Pro or CD iMac, it was taking up to about 50% of the clock speed. Per my experience, your mileage may vary according to your engine's performance.
 
in a vain attempt to hijack this thread back, i talked to one of the guys from digital film tools a few months ago and he said that there working on incorporating gpu support in future versions of their software
 
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