how good is the G5

[Jean-Francois Lavoie]

I am totally new in the DV world i am actually in the move to change my Old P3 500 to get into DV editing. I dont know if i ill get a G5 or a P4 neither if i ll use FCP or PREMIERE PRO or whatever DV editing program.

I've never tried those programs and i ve never used a Mac either. But I've only heard positive things about Dv editing on a Mac and FCP seems to be a beautiful professional program. I ll maybe do the switch.

Can you tell me about your experience with your new G5 and FCP or anybody who've done the switch from Pc to mac.

Helps will be appreciated...
thanks

[Steve Nunez]

I think you'll find the G5 and Apple's FCP an awesome platform for DV editing....there are countless professionals using this setup....expect excellent results- you should look at apple.com and look at the FCP pages- you'll be impressed.....the only limitations you'll run into would be yourself!

I myself was a PC user initially and became frustrated that the best video cards, OS, dv editing software, firewire card, computer manufacturer etc were all made by different companies and the problems that come with incompatibilities with using different manufacturers products- not to mention the instability and occasional crashes resulting from the "Windows OS"....with the Apple Mac you get a system where the OS, computer, hardware and software are all made by one company, Apple...resulting in a very stable platform and a system that just seems to work perfectly- it's a unix based system which has a history of being stable and reliable and with the new G5 you get the most POWERFUL computer available anywhere RIGHT now!

There will be a ton of pc users who will debate the merits of using a pc instead- but just look at the tons of professionals using FCP and the body of work created using FCP and a Mac- you'll be hard pressed to find a better DV editing platform anywhere at any price- the G5 & FCP4 represents current state of the art dv editing at an affordable price......go to apple.com and look into it- you'll be impressed.

If you're pressed into using a PC instead- you'll likely get good feedback at the pc forum on these boards- there's allot of knowledgeable people here doing excellent work on the pc side that can elaborate on setups good with the pc.

Happy hunting.

[Barry Gilbert]

Jean
I too am very new to this field. I have been doing video editing for only about 18 months but I have been working on the PC since around 1995. I use the PC because it is all I know. I can tell you from my time doing anything with a computer that in my humble opinion, the Mac has the PC beat hands down when it comes to audio/video. If I had my time to start over, I'd work from the other side of the tracks.

Just one mans 2 cents.

[Jean-Philippe Archibald]

Hi Jean-François,

I'm sorry but I cannot help you with your dilemna. I am a PC user ( I do c++ programmation for living, dv shooting as a hobby) and I have never used a mac but I am pretty sure it is a great tool for DV editing.

Nevertheless, I want to wish you welcome on this board, and in the DV world! It's always a pleasure to meet some people from Quebec (especially french speakers!).

Bonne chance dans ton choix de plateforme et laisse-nous savoir ce que tu as choisis et l'avancement de tes expériences!

[Peter Wiley]

I have been working on a Dual 2GHz G5 for the last few weeks, an upgrade from my G4 Single 867MHz.

Apart from some trouble with FCP 4 and Quicktime 6.4 (which seems to have been solved by upgrading to OS 10.3) working on the G5 has been a pleasure.

I have noticed the biggest improvement with After Effects 6.0. I can now use that program creatively without being bogged down by waiting for the computer to catch up with what I am trying to do.

I have had no crashing or kernel panics. In fact, I'm not spending a lot of time waiting for something to break -- and that may be the best reccomendation.

[Jeff Donald]

Jean-Philippe Archibald, please keep your post in English, it is a requirement of the DVI community. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

[Jean-Philippe Archibald]

Sorry Jeff,

I am aware of the requierements of this board, and this is why my comment was formulated mainly in English. Forgive me for the last sentence.

[Glenn Chan]

If you want to go Mac then Final Cut Pro and any G4 or the dual 2mhz G5 makes sense. You're probably going to love the dual 2mhz G5 if you can afford it (it's way more than the $3000 price tag if you take into account things you need).

For a budget editing system I'd go with a Pentium machine with Vegas Video. Get a 2.4mhz+ Pentium with hyperthreading, at least 0.5GB of RAM, dual monitors if possible, and plenty of hard drive space. If you replace your computer every few years then buying for value definitely makes sense.

As for Macs VS. PCs, the PC has definitely become a lot more stable. The Mac side recently had some rushed releases and some very nasty bugs. If you want to judge stability you should look at the program/platform combination you are using.

[Jean-Francois Lavoie]

Thanks for your reply, this forum seems to be outstanding...

It looks like i can't really go wrong with the MAC...

Sadly I cant afford the dual G5 but whatever i was looking for the 1.8 G5 with 1GB of Ram and i would upgrade for the Ati 9600pro.
i have already a Panasonic CRT 19 monitor so il keep my money to buy a flat screen LCD later.

Is the 1.8 G5 still a Super computer for video editing with FCP. I dont wanna see any slow down or bugs.

What are those nasty bugs that you're talking about... i have heard nothing nasty about the new Mac...

[Ignacio Rodriguez]

> Is the 1.8 G5 still a Super computer for video editing
> with FCP. I dont wanna see any slow down or bugs.

Must be. Trust me. I have worked with Premiere on a 233 MHz G3, a 400 MHz G4 and now I have used FCP4 on a 500 MHz dual G4. Being much slower than any G5 based Mac, these Macs have been still great to work on, as long as you don't need much effects. The most basic G5 is very fast piece of hardware, OS X is a luxury operating system and FCP is the unbeatable editing app used now all over the world in very diverse production invironments. You can't go wrong with FCP.

> What are those nasty bugs that you're talking about...
> i have heard nothing nasty about the new Mac...

It often happens that programs are released to the public without being extensively tested. In an area where innovation and performance are so critical, small bugs can mean big trouble under certain conditions. So it is usually wise to wait a bit before jumping into the 'latest thing'. This applies mainly to software and on all platforms. If you go Mac, don't go yet with 'Panther' (the latest version of the Mac OS) and try to have your dealer hand install an NFR version of FCP3 along with the version 4 you will be buying. NFR stands for 'Not For Resale' and it's not piracy. Thus you can use FCP3 if you run into any trouble with FCP4. I doubt you will have any problem. Just stay clear of Panther for a couple of months.

[Glenn Chan]

Sadly I cant afford the dual G5 but whatever i was looking for the 1.8 G5 with 1GB of Ram and i would upgrade for the Ati 9600pro.
i have already a Panasonic CRT 19 monitor so il keep my money to buy a flat screen LCD later.

Is the 1.8 G5 still a Super computer for video editing with FCP. I dont wanna see any slow down or bugs.

The dual1.25 G4 beats out the single processor G5s in some benchmarks. The G5 is going to get faster if the FCP team writes optimizations for the G5 processor. However, they'll probably put these optimizations in FCP5 and you'd have to buy it.

The 1.8mhz G5 is a bit more future-proof with PCI-X slots, more RAM possible, and the 64-bit processor. The biggest thing might be the 64-bit processor. It might turn out that there's a killer app that is only 64-bit. If you plan on upgrading you might as well save some money now and invest it later when you see how 64-bit turns out (if it even does) and get something like a dual 3mhz G5. The G5's storage however costs more than the G4. The dual processor G4s are great value right now so I'd probably get that.

Use the extra money for things like dual monitors.

Remember to get a 2-button scroll wheel mouse, the apple mouse is only good for decoration (it's 1 button).

What are those nasty bugs that you're talking about... i have heard nothing nasty about the new Mac...

Panther causes all data on Firewire drives to be lost in some cases. Check macfixit.com. Quicktime 6.4 also caused some problems with people.

[Glenn Chan]

You can save money on RAM by buying it 3rd party since Apple RAM is close to twice the street price. Make sure it'll work with your Mac though.

[Jeff Donald]

Apple has staked their future on 64 bit processing, so it is the future of Apple computing. FCP will be optimized for the G5 and I doubt it will have a significant cost. But I don't expect the upgrade until Spring or early summer. Macworld SF is in January and will probably introduce new G5 Power Macs at that time. If you can wait until late January or early February so good deals will be had on existing G5's. If you can't wait the 3 or 4 months consider the single processor G5's.

[G. Lee Gordon]

I too am a P.C. user and made the switch to the Powermac G5. The Powermac G5 is the most beautiful machine that I have seen. But, I regret everyday that I made the switch. I would give anything to trade my Mac for a good ole' Alienware Hyper-Threading PC with Vegas+DVD. Now, understand I am not making feature films so Vegas suits all of my needs. Unless you are going to be doind features, FCP and AVID are rediculous. Yes, I know few share my point of view, but, I am just speaking from my expierience with the programs.

If you take the time (and it will take a lot of time) to learn the different workflows of the programs than it really doesn't matter which platform you use. If you just want to have "fun", and enjoy the editing expierience than buy Vegas and stick with a PC. Good luck to ya'. Let me know what you decide.

[Mark Monciardini]

G. Lee,

Could you be more specific to what your experience was with the G5 and why you regret it so much?

I'm asking because I have talked to many "switchers" and they never regret they got into Mac.