I have been using a Mac and FCP to edit for the past 3 or 4 years. I took to FCP like a fish to water. Never took a class, barely ever have I opened the manual. From what I understand the Mac has about 50% of the market share in the video editing world, mostly due to FCP and now Avid XPress DV, and decreasingly Premier. I have always liked the mac for the inherent stability that comes from one company having designed the hardware, the OS and the NLE.

Still, though I see lots of people who prefer to do their thing on the PC. I am curious what the advantages of editing on the PC are?

[note: I'd rather not start a flame war, I'd really like to know advantages of working on a PC]

Over all, PCs enjoy wider support as a developer's platform than Macs. 9 times out of 10, there exists a Windows software solution for your problem; this number narrows to 5 times out of 10 for any given Mac OS. Much of the best software for Mac comes from Apple itself, and exists only because Apple took the initiative to develop it: the media player, the editing application, the web browser...

Hardware support is also better for PCs--far more manufacturers make PC products than Mac products. Maybe by now some real-time SD video hardware solution like the Canopus Rex/Storm cards exists for Mac, I'm not sure--but certainly there was nothing of the sort available to Mac users for the first four or five years these cards were available for the PC.

Like Alex, I dislike the way the Mac OS tries to hide the underlying system from the user. And there are the perennial Mac annoyances, like the one-button mouse that comes standard and the soft eject that never works, sequestering your disk for minutes when you could have had it back in a flash with a hard eject on a PC. But these are personal preferences and are really shouldn't count against the Mac. To my surprise, I've known some perfectly geeky CS majors who appreciated these features in Macs.

PCs have the advantage that they're highly configurable. You can build your own or buy OEM. Either will be cheaper than a Mac of similar spec, and are more upgradable. That's not to say you can't upgrade a Mac, it's just that your options are more limited.

There are probably a whole host of reasons why people prefer one over another. For many it will be simply what they've always used and have grown accustomed to. But many make a switch, for whatever reason, and never look back. Ken Tanaka of this parish, for example, is a born-again Mac editor.

I have a Mac, but I prefer the PC, simply because I see more options. But then, I'm probably missing out on as much as I gain.

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Knecht Schmidt : Much of the best software for Mac comes from Apple itself, and exists only because Apple took the initiative to develop it -->>>

This position is not helped by Apple freezing out other developers that it considers serious competition. Soon there will only be one way of doing things on a Mac...the Apple way.

It all makes those 1984 ads seem profoundly ironic! ;-)

Hi,

The main reason I choose a PC compared to a Mac is that I like the price for performance. All the computer courses I ever took were on Mac and they did well for the most part. At home I always had a PC. When at school and I tried to do some serious work in After Effects or Photoshop the Mac would never work. Part of that was due to the computers never getting the attention they needed to work for anyone. Stupid lab. Anyways I rather pay my money for a PC and have a lifetime guarantee. I have no need to waste money on a computer that will not give me the same power as a PC. I love Mac but for anything serious I would only buy it when it comes to laptops. Mac laptops are the cream of the crop and that would be the first thing I would get that would ever be a Mac.
One question since I have only used PC for anything big. How do you defrag the Hard Drives on a Mac?
I enjoy OS X way better than any of the other operating systems on a Mac. Also enjoy XP except for the Permissions junk it tries to pull when you change your system enough.
PC= lots of games as well.
HEHE.

Rob:D

Being a hard-core PC guy who's never taken to MacOS, I recently spent a couple of days on an OSX machine with Final Cut Pro 3, editing and completing a 2-minute short, soup to nuts. I enjoyed it, and knowing the backbone of OSX and my user experience with it, I must say I'm pleased with the direction it's taken since dumping the pre-X architecture. I suppose this is because it's essentially a pretty shell on a Unix machine.

Plus I like that fact that OSX almost never crashes, like my Win 2k and XP Pro workstations have never done for years.

If you're smart, you'll learn to be amidextrous. The more flexible you are, the more valuable you are in the marketplace, and the more you will get out of life in general. :)

OSX almost never crashesFWIW, I've had more crashes with OSX than OS9. I guess, as with everything, your mileage may vary.

This is my computer experience to provide a little background:
First computer Apple ][+, then Apple ][GS. Then along the way got into PCs starting with 286s. Had a Mac+ at the same time as I went through a few generations of PCs. In university I learned to use UNIX terminals and more PCs. After university I got into a multimedia program which was all Mac and became a convert again to Mac with my LC475. My first computer-related job was on Macs but my home computer (after I sold my powermac 7200) was a PC from then on. I then worked for a couple years on SGIs (Onyx, Indigos, etc.) (3D) with PowerMacs on the side for 2D.

I am presently entirely PC. Reason is price and customizability and availability of software. I like buying the best out there for a reasonable price and you cannot build a Mac like you can build a PC. I have upgraded internal components many times on my previous two PCs from graphics cards to hard drives to CD-ROMs to DVD to burners. I've added lots of peripherals. A comparable Mac to my PC was always $1000 more than I wanted to spend. The range of software available for the PC for more than just work cannot be beat. I've heard enough about FCP to want to get my hands on it, but not enough so far that I would be willing to shift platforms entirely. I will always want a PC for personal use.

Oh yeah, ONE BUTTON MOUSE. I hate hate hate that. Multiple buttons are USEFUL, okay?

Weird that your OSX would be crash prone. Usually this sort of thing can be blamed on the upgrade path. Something a lot of PC users are used to is, when you upgrade your OS, you completely reformat the drive and start again, for best results. My experience with Mac users is that they never ever do this -- Apple just provides a functional upgrade path. Microsoft does this too, but this just isn't a healthy way to get a new OS.

Also, there's the issue of those first couple of iterations of OSX that were trying to be a bit too backwards-compatible, resulting in diminished performance.

But like you said, your mileage may vary.

I never, ever, upgrade OS. Always a complete format and clean install, as you say.

In fact, I usually uninstall apps before upgrading!

Me and my friend are in business together doing wedding videography. We split the editing work between my machine (PC) and his Dual G-4. Just recently, roughly 1 month into editing our last wedding, his computer crashed and he lost the entire project. The whole Mac being more stable than PC is a myth.
I, on many occasions, saw my friend navigate his computer and have to "force quit" programs that froze. UGH....all that and he paid hundreds more than I did for my PC and mine will eat his for breakfast in any benchmark you throw at it.

Oh and PC guys we have an answer for Mac's new G5, the new AMD Barton 64-bit processors are slated for release soon!

FCP would be nice to work with- as I've never had the pleasure of working with it. I've heard nothing but good things about it- but still yet to de-mystify how it's any better than my Vegas 4.0c. I, also, an not willing to switch platforms to run one program....expecially one so overpriced and proprietary. To each their own I guess.

Here's a similar post I started on 2-pop, albiet specifically comparing Apple's FCP and PC's Vegas 4.0. I was curious as to what the whole rage was about. So far- I'm not quite impressed- with their justification that is. Seems most of the stuff they list Vegas already does. I think most Mac guys don't even know about Vegas and think "Premiere" when they hear PC- wich is obviously a blow out when compared to FCP! Check it out at:
http://www.2-pop.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=fcp4&Number=614315&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=14&fpart=1&vc=1&PHPSESSID=

lol....i wasnt worried that the pc guys would come through on this one. but i think part of the matter is which platform you are used to, or was brought up on.

personally, i was brought up on pcs. imo, as others have stated, there just alot more room for expanability. things arent so propriatary. oh...and theres no right click, but, needless to say, if i had extra money laying around, and didnt have any bills, i would probably pick up a mac with one of those 23 inch cinema displays. i dont know how, or why, but they are so crisp and clear, its unbelievable...

i visited the mac store recently, and one thing i must admit to is i LOVE mac design. I know, it wont improve your editing skills, but i just really like how mac designs thier machines. very very innovative.

although...."its not the vehicle, its the driver"

Familiarity with PCs and price.

I was tempted to get a Mac ONLY to use FCP, but Vegas took care of that.

It's going to be interesting to see what people choose in the near future with all the new and improved offerings on the PC.

John I must concur. Macs are very cleanly designed physically, the way the cases open up (hinging open with the mb attached) is very convenient- even the OS has a very clean minimalistic design.
In the PC world I actually like the semi-hokey look of the Alienware cases. Very wild yet subtle, not very busy looking like some other PC cases.

Michael, speaking of the whole FCP/Vegas thing....they say Premiere Pro is PC's answer to FCP...I digress- Vegas IS! Especially after hearing it doesn't support 24p.

...but the G4 is the end of the line for the &uuml;bercool hinged case design (El Capitan). Disappointingly, the G5 has a lift-out side panel...just like a PC!

I came very close to getting one of the last G4 towers as they dwindle into design history. But then I figured that the money would be better plonked down on a couple of xeons and a new mobo!

Yeah, I think in the end the price thing is the biggest selling factor for those on the fence. If you match dollar for dollar (NOT gigahertz for gigahertz) a PC and a Mac, unless you've got a crappy PC vendor, you'll get a helluva lot more bang for the buck.

Apple in their commercials tends to try to match Gigahertz to Gigahertz. This is foolish. We all know that there IS replacement for displacement, and Ghz just don't matter that much in today's world. It's all about how much overall juice you can get for a certain amount of moolah.

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Knecht Schmidt : Like Alex, I dislike the way the Mac OS tries to hide the underlying system from the user. -->>>

On OSX, the underlying system is BSD Unix. Open up a terminal window, su, and pound away to your heart's content... all the familiar unix tools are there, and quite a lot of other stuff if you install the developers tools CD that comes with the distribution. In fact I find it really remarkable what Apple gives you with a $130 version of Unix, something that Sun, HP and IBM have charged thousands for. Sure, most people would prefer to have this hidden, but it's there and easily accessible.

Right, Boyd--I should have specified, "prior to OSX"...

Whew, I think we should celebrate... I think this is the only Mac/PC discussion on the Internet that didn't turn bad.

Congrats to all involved.

Oh, yeah, I love the Mac industrial design. No doubt about it. The hardware is awesome. But in the end, however nice the box is, it will end up getting buried under my desk junk and despite what nerds say, the sexy box is not going to get you laid.

Hey...you're right Imran. lol...usually a topic of this nature turns into an ugly bashing of eachothers opinions.

I've said it before, and ill say it again, if it werent for the knowledge, maturity and civilization of the people who make up this community, we wouldnt be able to have this discussion.

That's why Im here. To hear fairly un-baised opinions and facts, and learn from them. Everyone here handles posts very perfessionally, and should be proud of that...

Thanks for making this such a great resource to the world...

I'm bi... platform that is. I have a Final Cut workstation, and Premiere/Mac workstation and a PC formerly running Pinnacle Edition. I was very unhappy with Edition. The user interface was clunky, the DV500 card was pretty unstable, and I was able to get much more work done on my Macs. I don't blame any of these issues on the PC platform, and will likely crossgrade my Mac version of Premiere to Premiere Pro to replace the Edition system I just unloaded.

In terms of system stablity, I have more crashes on my Mac than on the PC. Just about every time I use iDVD 3, I get 2 or 3 hard crashes that require a reboot. Final Cut Pro, however, is rock-solid.

Everyone like to tout the 5% market share argument when justifying their anti-Apple bias. There are a couple of things that you need to remember about market share. First, Apple's market share is close to 50% in the creative industries such as video and audio production. Also, no computer manufacturer has a market share of 95%. Apple's market share is pretty good if you compare them to Dell, Gateway or HP.

I have been very disappointed with Apple's business practices over the last few years. They force you to upgrade your hardware every few years by refusing to make their software backwards compatible. Until I spend a substantial amount of money to upgrade software and peripherals, I will be stuck using an old 0S-9 system for my audio recording system. When Apple abandons a technology, they expect their users to drop a ton of money to stay current.

The bottom line is that computers are tools, not religions. As long as you know how to get the most out of your tool, you'll be able to produce anything you can imagine - on either platform.

Rick

Wow Rick, you raised a lot of points there. Most of them I agree with, and those I disagree with are not vehment, just matters of perspective.

So, to put my perspective (FWIW):I was very unhappy with Edition. The user interface was clunky, the DV500 card was pretty unstableThat is a general consensus of those who've used the DV500. I wasn't one. But at least one that did has been priviledged to used the pre-release of Pro. What he now says of the Dv500 is probably best left to your imagination! ;-)In terms of system stablity, I have more crashes on my Mac than on the PC.Amen there, and OSX more than OS9, IMEEveryone like to tout the 5% market share argument when justifying their anti-Apple bias. There are a couple of things that you need to remember about market share. First, Apple's market share is close to 50% in the creative industries such as video and audio production. Also, no computer manufacturer has a market share of 95%. Apple's market share is pretty good if you compare them to Dell, Gateway or HP.Apple's market share is an unknown AFAIK. In the pro market it's competing not only against the PC but also other *nix flavours. Also, bear in mind that Apple is working in a closed market, whereas many PC manufacturers are competing against not only each other, but smaller OEMs, and even home-brews.The bottom line is that computers are tools, not religions. As long as you know how to get the most out of your tool, you'll be able to produce anything you can imagine - on either platform.And AMEN! to that!...Moreover, with the release of the G5 and advent of the P5, we're about to see another "mine's faster than yours" slanging match. What both sides forget is that (a) they're not directly comparable, and (b) if your computer is fast enough and does what you need, then that's probably good enough. After all, this month's speed demon, is next month's also-ran. Who, except for the marketers and pundits, really cares?