New FCP X, new MacBook Pro's, no other new hardware

[Boyd Ostroff]

Just watched Apple's event today. In spite of all the rumors, the only hardware annoucement was the new MacBook Pro line. New 13 and 15" models with the expected "touch bar" plus a stripped down 13" version with no touchbar and only two ports. The low end model had been rumored to be a new MacBook Air, but it's labelled a MacBook Pro. Evidently Apple will continue selling the existing 13" MacBook Air but they have removed the 11" MacBook Air from their site.

No new iMacs, no new Mac Pro and no new Mac Mini. Lots of disappointed people on the Mac forums right now, ;)

The new version of FCP supports the touchbar on the new MacBook Pro, plus other updates. Final*Cut*Pro*X - Apple

[William Hohauser]

I heard that there are hardware availability issues for the iMac and that the MacPro would only receive a very modest speed bump since new chip technology isn't quite ready for an overhaul of the line. The available MacPro is very robust for most editors.

Meanwhile the new FCPX looks very promising with the new audio track organizing tools. That's a very big deal. Also the touch bar if you are in the market for a new editing laptop. The new GUI layout I'll reserve judgement on until I am brave enough to update to it.

What I would like to see is a stand-alone Mac keyboard with the touch bar. That would be very useful for editing with the new FCPX in a MacPro.

[Ryan Douthit]

There's no reason the new MacBook Pros can't support 64gb of ram since they use the Skylake architecture. The maximum of 16gb from the factory isn't enough and I'm reconsidering upgrading my MacBook Pro Retina (Late 2013 model) this year because of the paltry ram options.

[John Nantz]

Originally Posted by William Hohauser

What I would like to see is a stand-alone Mac keyboard with the touch bar. That would be very useful for editing with the new FCPX in a MacPro.

Good idea! I like that. You'd think that'd be an easy way to get the bar withot having to upgrade the computer. Ooops .... not so fast.

Installed the Motion 5.3 update and will test drive that but with Final Cut I'll wait to see if others have update problems because I've got too many projects open at the moment.

The lighter MBP would be nice but I'll hang on to my 2012 mid MBP because the hard drive and battery is easily user replaceable. A touch bar for my MP would be nice, though.

Wonder how the new applications will work with multi-screen?

[Ronald Jackson]

Is or will there be an adaptor between USB-C and USB 3.0? Like others I have external drives which are USB 3.0. Hard to find such info amid all the marketing style hype. "Games" I ask you!


Ron

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by William Hohauser

What I would like to see is a stand-alone Mac keyboard with the touch bar.

At Apple's prices, it would probably cost as much as a laptop. ;)

I was pretty underwhelmed by the presentation, but I'm not in the market for a laptop. I would be interested in an upgraded Mini, and now I'm wondering if that will ever come? The 2014 Mini upgrade was a huge disappointment, they eliminated the quad core models, made the base model even slower than the 2012 and soldered the RAM on the board.

I'm using a 2012 base model Mini with legacy FCP at the moment, but it also runs FCPX ok. It originally cost me $500 and I was able to upgrade to 16gb for $65.The base 2014 Mini with 16gb is $800 and it's significantly slower (geekbench 6773 for the 2012 vs 5923 for the 2014).

I just wish there was something less expensive than a Mac Pro that had decent performance and didn't have a built-in screen.

[William Hohauser]

Originally Posted by Ronald Jackson

Is or will there be an adaptor between USB-C and USB 3.0? Like others I have external drives which are USB 3.0. Hard to find such info amid all the marketing style hype. "Games" I ask you!


Ron

USB-C to USB Adapter - Apple

[William Hohauser]

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

At Apple's prices, it would probably cost as much as a laptop. ;)

I was pretty underwhelmed by the presentation, but I'm not in the market for a laptop. I would be interested in an upgraded Mini, and now I'm wondering if that will ever come? The 2014 Mini upgrade was a huge disappointment, they eliminated the quad core models, made the base model even slower than the 2012 and soldered the RAM on the board.

I'm using a 2012 base model Mini with legacy FCP at the moment, but it also runs FCPX ok. It originally cost me $500 and I was able to upgrade to 16gb for $65.The base 2014 Mini with 16gb is $800 and it's significantly slower (geekbench 6773 for the 2012 vs 5923 for the 2014).

I just wish there was something less expensive than a Mac Pro that had decent performance and didn't have a built-in screen.

Probably $150 dollars at least for a touch strip keyboard, but if it ever exists, it would be worth it. I already have a programmable keypad for editing with FCPX and it's something I would never work without with the MacPro.

I am editing at home today with the new FCPX on my 17" laptop and I can see how the touch strip would be a great addition. The other updates to the MacBookPro I don't know. FCPX is working great and ran through a multicam edit with no problem.

The video card is much more important for FCPX than the amount of RAM. With 16Gbs on my MacPro I rarely have any memory issues. However I never edit with 4K camera files so that might explain that. That said it seems that when the video card is not as robust as you might find in a MacPro, 5K iMac or high end MacBook Pro, FCPX will use the RAM more.

I am curious if the newer MacMini has a better video card for FCPX. The older MacMini models squeaked FCPX by but were never the ideal hardware for intensive editing. Not to push it, but there are plenty of used 2009 MacPros out there for under $1000. It runs FCPX great if the right video card is installed, that might run you another $400 for a used one.

[William Hohauser]

Originally Posted by John Nantz

Good idea! I like that. You'd think that'd be an easy way to get the bar withot having to upgrade the computer. Ooops .... not so fast.

Installed the Motion 5.3 update and will test drive that but with Final Cut I'll wait to see if others have update problems because I've got too many projects open at the moment.

The lighter MBP would be nice but I'll hang on to my 2012 mid MBP because the hard drive and battery is easily user replaceable. A touch bar for my MP would be nice, though.

Wonder how the new applications will work with multi-screen?

I updated earlier today and edited a multicam concert on my laptop, not my MacPro (like you I have too many projects there). The laptop is set-up with a second monitor. FCPX did not remember my previous set-up for two monitors but it was really easy to return to my old set-up. The monitor controls are easier now.

The GUI is 60% the same. The lower right window options have changed, Only effects and transitions are available there now. The music/photos and titles/generators sidebar is now available on the upper left with the libraries browser. I am not sure how I like that but it make sense in that all the clip libraries are in the same area now. The running timeline timecode now follows the viewer window around instead of being fused to the upper bar of the timeline window. The timeline window bar now has the project length and selected clip length. The inspector is slightly rearranged with compositing at the top of the video tab instead of the bottom, that's good. I didn't use the new audio roles with this project.

The program ran smooth and rendered out fast. Faster than before? I felt so but wasn't paying close attention. I have another multicam concert to cut now so we'll see if any unexpected problems occur.

[John Nantz]

Last year I put a SSD drive in the old MacBook White that I maintain for the old legacy applications and files. Even with it maxed out with 2 GB of memory (wow!) that old machine really screams! Very impressive. Runs way faster, not to mention better battery life (still has the old 2006 battery).

The one I really like, though, is the MBP 2012 (mid) as it comes with i7, USB 3.0, and is the last model that one can modify. A good choice would be one with the Intel 1536 MB plus the GeForce graphics then changing out the HD to a SSD and upping the memory to 16GB. In our area there have been decent used ones in the low $600 range up to, say, $800 for a minty one with box. It seems they have been holding their value pretty good. Got one that was ‘mint’ with box and cost $900 two years ago.

On the Apple FCPX communities site there are some reports of people with update problems but considering how many users have probably updated it’s probably not too bad; however, I prefer to just wait and see what the trail blazers encounter and their solutions.

An article recently said IBM has a lot of Mac computers because they are about a third of the cost to maintain.

The new GUI appears very suitable for running a second screen so that will give me some incentive to clear some desk space and give it a try, especially with the longer timeline. It’d be interesting to find out how others set their’s up.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Has anyone tried the new MacBook Pro? Curious to know if it handles the 4K files well in FCPx.

[William Hohauser]

And here is your answer:

https://larryjordan.com/articles/is-...m_medium=email

[Nate Haustein]

I thought I typed this already last week, must have hit delete. Using the computer so far I haven't been terribly impressed compared to a 2013 iMac i7. I edited a 30 minute travel documentary using primarily Sony 4K UHD footage in XAVC-L transcoded to ProRes. The computer was adequate in doing the job, but it didn't feel any faster than the other desktop computers my office I use daily. It's a (very) nice laptop but the actual performance gains in what I do were a little below expectations. The "dongle life" is also a little annoying sometimes. I found the screen to be quite off color wise. It was very green and very warm compared to every other device I viewed. It's powerful, but also very expensive. That's my non-scientific opinion.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

I could never understand the desire to edit on a laptop. If your job requires you to fly to different locations then I could see a use.

I also find it annoying how far behind Apple is on the hardware. When you charge premium prices you should deliver cutting edge technology and performance to match. It's almost as if they're intentionally trying to drive away professionals.

In my estimation Apple prefers to sell portable devices that people dispose of every year or two aka iPhones. I wouldn't be surprised if they abandoned the desktop if you can even consider the failed trash can one and just do iMacs and laptops. I'll really be in a quandary when my 2009 MacPro dies because there isn't anything suitable to upgrade to.

Apple truely designs some innovative products but not long after you get comfortable they abandon them.

[Les Wilson]

My wife (webmaster & photography) has had hers for a week. Lots of positives about the touchbar but Apple apps only ones that seem to be taking advantage. Integration of TouchID is well liked. Performance gains are more about SSD than anything else. Disgusted with dongle hell.

For me, the removal of Magsafe connector is a major step backward from one of the most distinctive Apple Macbook advantages ... maybe ever. Pity.

IMHO, the next Mac Pro will be the sentinel product. Another trashcan and its more of the same. But if it's a next gen cheese grater, that could start a recovery. #makeapplegrateagain

An interesting view of "Pro" in "Prose":

YouTube (Short URL)