If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

Hello all,

Before my MacBook Pro failed me earlier this year (it's still in the repair shop after more than three months) I was using Final Cut 7 and had refused to update to X. I just don't like it and the changes that Apple make are either unnecessary and designed to impress the under 12 yr olds or simple too big. My first Mac laptop lasted six years, my current one less than half that. It seems they really are deliberately making them to fail.

So I got a normal office job and am typing this on a Dell which I will have to return when my contract ends next month.

However, I am considering a return to video editing, even if just as a hobby, but I don't have much faith in my Mac working again.

I am considering getting a brand new laptop and investing in the Adobe package.

However, which laptop is currently the best for video editing?

Is it still Mac?

Would you get a Mac again?

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

I have a mac pro and a hackintosh that I use for most of the work I do,
I just like the user interface a lot.
But I tend to use my pc and premiere pro for my video work.
Part of it is that I invested in pc based software and am sort
of locked in, but it has to do with the cuda support and some
other issues that sent me there. I have no problem with working
on both platforms. I'm using windows 7 and my opinion would
probably be different if we were talking about windows 8 which
appears to be a god awful mess.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

Thanks for reminding me Stephen - this is a laptop only hypothesis.

I'm not doing enough video editing to justify an iMac or fixed PC.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

That's a great question and one that I feel has no direct answer. A few years ago one was tied into FCP7 but now I think it's an open field. I'm considering a Windows system as I'm now back on the edit with Avid and have been for a long time. My current system is Apple but if PC can offer me a cheaper and more powerful system I'll head down that path again.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

This is very much about personal preference and there isn't a right answer.

For me, I like being able to make changes to my machine, if I want (and I do every so often).
PCs are also noticeably cheaper for about the same power. That's a big deal for me since I end up buying a new laptop about every two years.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

I have only bad experiences with cheap windows laptops, especially the ones aimed at consumers. If you want a good reliable editing laptop expect to pay at least as much as a macbook pro would cost you, especially if you want to run adobe on it. I don't use my laptop (a lenovo thinkpad) for editing but have better experiences with laptops aimed at businesses.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

On the road, working from a theatre dressing room - I've brought my fairly whizzy rack mount PC and a big monitor, and have my macbook - both have editing software - my mac is not that quick, but the big difference is it is reliable. I started a simple job - two hour long clips, throw them on a timeline, burn a DVD in Encore - it had not finished rendering before I had to go to my hotel - I closed the lid, with the blank DVD inside, got to the hotel plugged it in, open the lid and it carried on, producing the finished DVD without any issues. That's why I like it. The PC would probably have done it in much less time - but, not quite enough before the mains power went off.

Both can have the HD camera plugged in, although the PC has far more ins and outs, and a multichannel audio capability.

I really don't bother about the platform any longer - and, for what it's worth, Windows 8 is just different, and it's not a problem - the machine I usually edit on has the original Windows 8 interface, and once you get used to it, it doesn't impact on using the machine at all - people just seem to hate it because it's different. I simply don't find it a problem at all.

If I smashed the macbook, I'd buy another - if I got the PC in a rack stolen, same thing - like for like. Adobe, my main software seems to not find any problems between platforms. The only thing I do like is the default of .mov files on the mac, rather than the different ones on the PC - where because of the history of my archive, I seem to have loads of different formats.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

If you're not doing much video work, I would get a PC and go with Vegas. Or, get one that can be converted to a Hackintosh, or use a VMware install of OSX.. You'll spend a lot less and have a more versatile machine.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

I agree. There are tons of cool plugins for Vegas and many of them are free.

Re: If you had to start again from scratch - would you buy a Mac?
 

The Late 2011 Macbook Pros are awful and there was recently a class action suit in CA and FL. The graphics chip repeatedly caused the system board to fail after about 12 months. My son in-laws was one and Apple repaired it four times for the same failure. Don;t know if that applies to your model.

I've purchased 25 Macs since 1984 for myself and immediate family. As long as Apple makes them, I will own them. I am MSFT free and I would never switch to a PC. Ever.