Mac recomendation?

another thing I love about my MBP is screen size is never an issue, I have a 22" LCD monitor that I connect to it when I do editing and it's awesome, Works great. Although if I could I'd also get a tower, but no money for that. Any Recent mac product you get should work great, most of their computers right now have the right specs you need, just a matter of getting the best deal.
 
Gymnut808 said:
The Mini may be enough, but as of yet there's no way to edit AVCHD natively on the Mac platform so you're relegated to transcoding to a codec of your flavor: AIC, Pro Res, DNxHD, Cineform, etc. Suffice to say they all result in massive file sizes.
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What about CS4, that will edit AVCHD.
 
Strobe Media said:
well i don't want to drop some money and realize that i can't seem to edit any of my footage because i didn't go big enough.
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Why not get a G5, and just use your PC to edit with?

You can get a G5 for low dollars at the moment, and use it for all of your internet surfing. And use your PC to edit exclusively.

I have several G5 Mac's and never have a lick of problems.

I built an 8 core super PC just for editing AVCHD. The same MacPro would have been triple the price!!

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be using a MacPro if I could afford one. But, with things the way they are, and not-to-mention SW developers slighting the Mac, it just made more sense!

Good Luck! Ron
 
zijital said:
I'm guessing that the Mac Mini will handle AVCHD well enough, and overall it will seem like a faster computer.

So in short, probably any new mac will do it.
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No Mac can handle AVCHD natively and RT.

In fact, there are many high PCs that can do that.

So what you are required to do on a Mac is get to a proxy codec. That requires AIC, pro res, NeoScene, or AIC. Or you go to DVCProHD.

That requires an external drive. the Mac Mini has one firewire bus. So, there are tradeoffs here.

And then of course, no assurances on the graphics card -- certainly not for Color and perhaps not for Motion.
 
Although people may disagree, I believe all intel macs with a FW 800 port (needed for prores capable HD) will meet your basic needs for HMC150 editing. Used 24" imacs, MBP's, MP's and all current macs, with the exception of the macbook, meet this requirement. The NEW mac mini should work , and will likely handle the editing as well as a MBP that is a couple years old.

Now i had been debating which mac to upgrade to for the last 2-3 weeks, but I finally decided to purchase a used mac pro 2.66quad ($1700 -- 4GB Ram, 2 250GB HD's). I chose the mac pro because of expandability and the extra processing power with 4 cores. If Money was an issue, I would be comfortable going with the NEW mini...but as someone above had stated, you should always go with the most powerful computer you can afford.

Apple refurb store rarely has MP refurbs for under $2000, but there are some resellers with decent prices and short warranties, such as macofalltrades.com.
 
Why do people keep suggesting that the Mac Mini "should" work when they have have no idea. Has anyone actually used a Mini for editing ? If not it should not be recommended . Mac Pros , Mac Book Pros work . I used to configure editing systems for TV stations and production houses . Don't "assume" anything will work until it's actually been tested and used .

Dave
 
Apple just released new iMacs and mac mini's yesterday. The new mac mini looks like it could be your answer. Its specs are just a tad bit worse than my iMac I got brand new this summer (400MHz slower). Stick 4 gigs of ram in that and you'll be fine, especially if you transcode your footage. They have dedicated video that is now better than my iMac so you won't have a problem running FCP's motion.

I wouldn't go with the 20" iMac because the 20" screen is of fairly low quality. The 24" is much nicer as it is 8-bit and not 6-bit. If you are slightly off angle from the screen, the blacks are awful and the colors are messed up. So unless you can spring for a refurbed 24", I would a new mac mini and invest in a nice LCD screen.
 
Elmy said:
another thing I love about my MBP is screen size is never an issue, I have a 22" LCD monitor that I connect to it when I do editing and it's awesome, Works great. Although if I could I'd also get a tower, but no money for that. Any Recent mac product you get should work great, most of their computers right now have the right specs you need, just a matter of getting the best deal.
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+1

Currently using a MBP unibody (2.53 4/320) with external 23" Apple Cinema & 1TB FW800 drive. Edits AVCHD great in Final Cut Pro and you have the portability if you do need it.
 
I have used both mac mini's and imacs with DV in FCP. Both work. With the upgrades to the NEW mini, prores should not be a problem, and motion will be much more useful. compare it to an early 2007 MBP:

mini
cpu 2.0-2.26
bus 1066mhz
ram up to 4GB
vid card GF9400M 256MB
monitors supports 2
FW FW800

MBP
CPU 2.16-2.33
Bus 667mhz
Ram up to 3gb
Vid Card Rad x1600 128MB
Monitors support 2
FW FW400&800


Will it get hot, maybe...but so does a MBP. Pd17 is right, I cant with 100% certainty say it will work, but if cost was a factor, I personally would have no problem buying (or at least further investigate buying) a NEW Mini for editing footage from a HMC150 in prores.

If you get a 20" imac, remember the older ones do not have a FW800 port.
 
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Ebay, you can get a Mac for a lot cheaper and with a warranty if you look for it. Just make sure you get it from a good seller!
 
I'm also in the market for the a Mac Pro, and am trying to decide whether to purchase the quad or the dual-quad model. I'm currently using a 5-year-old dual 2.0 G5 with 2 gig of RAM, so anything will be an improvement. I'm a FCP user, so I understand that when I purchase the HMC-150 in a few weeks, I'll have to "log and transfer" the footage. Will the process be much faster with the more expensive Mac Pro, and if so, how much faster? Enough to justify the extra $1K cost?

Thanks!
 
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