Mac Book Pro and FCP at DVinfo.net

Jonathan Ames · July 10th, 2006, 09:39 PM

We're thinking of adding another mobile editing system to 2nd Unit and, having been a PC person for so long, I don't know much about Macs. Can anyone tell me if the new Mac Book Pro 17" with 2G RAM will run FCP in HD/HDV well? And can you give me your opinions on performance and best configurations?

William Hohauser · July 10th, 2006, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan Ames

We're thinking of adding another mobile editing system to 2nd Unit and, having been a PC person for so long, I don't know much about Macs. Can anyone tell me if the new Mac Book Pro 17" with 2G RAM will run FCP in HD/HDV well? And can you give me your opinions on performance and best configurations?

How about yes? Performance? That's a question depending on your needs.
24p in HDV is a workable chore at the moment but 30p and 60i are easy. DVCProHD someone else will have to answer but I am using a MacBook Pro 15" with a second monitor and 2g Ram and it's working great with HDV. Realtime color correction too.

Unfortunately Express card eSATA options haven't arrived yet. I would recommend upgrading the graphics card memory to 512mb.

Keith Ward · July 11th, 2006, 05:02 AM

Jonathan,

I asked a similar question recently, and received answers from several folks who use a MacBook Pro/FCP with good results. Be aware, however, that the workaround to get 720/24p footage into FCP is, shall we say, draining. It took my editors (very experienced) several days to find a decent workaround to conform the footage so we could edit in FCP. One thing I'm going to do is load Windows XP Pro on it, and have both FCP and PP 2.0 on hand. The PP 2.0 solution, with Cineform, is about 1,000 times easier.

Jeff Sayre · July 11th, 2006, 08:06 AM

Jonathan:

I was out last night so I did not see your email until this morning. I sent you an email in response. I assume your email was regarding the question you posted in this thread.

Either way, I'll give you call at 8 PST/11 EST.

Jonathan Ames · July 12th, 2006, 11:12 AM

Thanks, Jeff. Got your message and it really helped. We were shooting until the wee hours. I'm looking forward to the Pro Book as Paolo is tutoring me on it right now. It really is the Mercedes of the computer world.

July 10th, 2006, 09:39 PM	#1
Jonathan Ames 2nd Unit TV Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 509	Mac Book Pro and FCP We're thinking of adding another mobile editing system to 2nd Unit and, having been a PC person for so long, I don't know much about Macs. Can anyone tell me if the new Mac Book Pro 17" with 2G RAM will run FCP in HD/HDV well? And can you give me your opinions on performance and best configurations?

July 11th, 2006, 08:06 AM	#4
Jeff Sayre Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 301	Jonathan: I was out last night so I did not see your email until this morning. I sent you an email in response. I assume your email was regarding the question you posted in this thread. Either way, I'll give you call at 8 PST/11 EST. __________________ www.SayreMedia.com Last edited by Jeff Sayre; July 11th, 2006 at 09:11 AM.

July 11th, 2006, 05:02 AM	#3
Keith Ward Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Westminster MD Posts: 44	Jonathan, I asked a similar question recently, and received answers from several folks who use a MacBook Pro/FCP with good results. Be aware, however, that the workaround to get 720/24p footage into FCP is, shall we say, draining. It took my editors (very experienced) several days to find a decent workaround to conform the footage so we could edit in FCP. One thing I'm going to do is load Windows XP Pro on it, and have both FCP and PP 2.0 on hand. The PP 2.0 solution, with Cineform, is about 1,000 times easier.

July 12th, 2006, 11:12 AM	#5
Jonathan Ames 2nd Unit TV Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 509	Thanks, Jeff. Got your message and it really helped. We were shooting until the wee hours. I'm looking forward to the Pro Book as Paolo is tutoring me on it right now. It really is the Mercedes of the computer world.