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Non-Linear Editing on the PC
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Old July 12th, 2002, 01:40 AM   #1
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A potential convert to Mac needs help

Dear all,

For several months now I have been considering to "convert" from PC to Mac, because of some serious video editing with which I plan to get involved. Many people have advised me that Macs are much better in video editing than PCs.

Hence, I have been observing and a little bit testing the Dual 1Ghz PowerMac. I have been impressed with the machine so far. I also plan to get a 23" cinema display as well as FCP and DVD Studio Pro in addition to Mac Office.

However, before doing any purchase I want to be sure that I am doing the right thing. That is why I have a few questions for PC owners as I did for Mac owners.

1. If you, as a PC owner, were up to purchase a new computer for non-linear video editing, would you consider a Mac rather than a PC?

2. Which Mac/PC and which software would you get for yourself (Value of about $8,500 total)?

Most important question:

3. Generally speaking, form your own experience, what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages of a PC in comparison with a Mac in regard to non-linear video editing.

In advance, thanks a lot for your time and answer.

With best regards,
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Old July 13th, 2002, 12:20 AM   #2
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If you use the search function you will find quite a number of posts answering your questions.

I'll give you a quick run down of my experiennce with PC NLE work.

DO - get someone who know what they are doing to build a PC NLE for you.
DON'T - Try to do it your self without lots of research and a good deal of knowlege of IRQs and hardware addressing.
DON'T - go to the pimply kid at the local department store and let him sell you the biggest fastest thing he has on the shelf, it's most likely for gaming and not for video editing.

I've been using a Pinnicle DV500 based system for a couple of years and while it works very well it does take a lot of work to keep it running at it's best, sometimes at all.

I'm jumping the fence very soon to a G4 system but am currently torn between FCP3 and the new Xpress DV 3.5 Tool wise these are both excellent apps but the fact that XDV 3.5 come with both Mac and PC in the same box means that I'm not limited to one platform.
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Old July 13th, 2002, 09:04 AM   #3
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In addition to Adrian's fine advice, here's my take on it...

<< 1. If you, as a PC owner, were up to purchase a new computer for non-linear video editing, would you consider a Mac rather than a PC? >>

I would stick with another PC. Go with what you know. It would take some time to learn the Mac OS and how it works (for instance, there's no right-click on a Mac mouse). In this day and age, a well-built PC running Windows 2000 or XP is just as stable and no more prone to crash as any Mac. With another PC, assuming it's well built and properly configured, you're up and running out of the box. All you have to learn is the editing interface, not an entirely new platform and its operating system.

<< 2. Which Mac/PC and which software would you get for yourself (Value of about $8,500 total)? >>

For much less than that amount, you can have a screamin' dual-CPU system on Windows 2000 with a Canopus DVStorm card (full real-time editing and real-time output, no rendering at all), with a DVD burner and about twelve or fifteen hours of video storage capacity for around $6,500.

<< 3. Generally speaking, form your own experience, what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages of a PC in comparison with a Mac in regard to non-linear video editing. >>

With a PC and a good editing card like the Canopus DVStorm, you have something the Mac can't do, which is full real-time performance... color correction, multiple filters, multiple title overlays, output to DV... all without rendering. You have a choice of two included editing interfaces, Canopus StormEdit and Adobe Premiere, for simple editing and complex editing.

The only trick to PC-based editing is in properly configuring the system. These days, a well-built PC with Windows 2000 is just as stable, robust and reliable as any Mac. By well-built, I mean one that's been assembled by an authorized systems integrator such as DVLine, ProMax, AlienWare or any number of quality PC editing vendors. The cost of having it built for you is generally no more than $200 to $500 more than doing it yourself, usually with a guarantee and lifetime tech support. I really don't reccomend building it yourself because the worst aspect of PC-based editing is the sensitivity of certain components interacting with each other, i.e. compatibility. PC's can be a bear to set up from from scratch, vs. a Mac which works right out of the box.

On the Mac side, iMovie is free and easy to learn. Final Cut Pro is an elegant but complex interface with a learning curve. Don't think I'm knocking the Mac; I'm not. Macs are awesome. But they are for Mac people. Certain folks fare better with Macs; others with PC's. And again, I want to strongly emphasize that the concept of a Mac being somehow "superior" to a PC is a myth. It is not. PC's and Macs each have their strong points and weak points; each have their advantages and disadvantages. Some people are better off with a Mac over a PC. It's very much a Fender vs. Gibson, Ford vs. Chevy, Canon vs. Sony type of argument.

Final Cut Pro is a superb editing application and you can't get it on a PC. However, Final Cut Pro 3 still isn't realtime. But then again, realtime performance is not that big of a deal to a lot of people. And on the other hand, you don't need Final Cut Pro to produce outstanding video (no editing application will do that for you... it comes from within you).

It basically comes done to usability. How suited are these different platforms and editing applications to your personal needs and taste. The best way to find out is try before you buy. Get your hands on a live Final Cut Pro demo, an actual Canopus DVStorm demo. Sit down and use these tools, try them out before you commit. Best way to do this is to get yourself to the trade shows. One trip to a decent video trade show, even down at the VideoMaker Expo level, and the expense of going will pay for itself by getting you in the driver's seat before you spend that kind of money on such a big purchase.

Whether it's Avid Xpress DV or Vegas Video or Final Cut, the one which feels "right" when you sit down to use it, is the right one for you. By all means, try before you buy. Hope this helps,
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Old July 13th, 2002, 03:12 PM   #4
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Actually in Mac OS X there is a right click and scroll wheel. If that doesn't make you want to buy 1,000 Macs right there then I don't know what will. :) Right click will also work in OS 9, provided that you have a mouse driver that permits it.
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Old July 13th, 2002, 04:38 PM   #5
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Real Time on PC vs. Mac

Adrian, Chris, Joe,

Thank you very much, guys, for your opinions and time invested in writing your answers to my post.

:-) Well, Joe, I do not know about 1000 Macs, but right click can be helpful with the people who are used to PCs. Thanks for the info.

Chris and Adrian made me think. PCs seem to be much cheaper, but I do not personally know anybody who could help me set up my own editing PC. On the other side, Mac comes as already set up and I like that fact. And I love that 23" cinema display. It has the resolution of a Rembrant's painting. J (I sound like a commercial.) Thanks Chris for mentioning the names of those three companies. I checked their web sites and plan to do some more research as to PCs.

At the meantime I have experimented with the iMovie and Final Cut Pro at my university. iMovie is very simple to work with and I successfully edited my first 3.5 min movie. It was fun. FCP, of course, requires much more knowledge.

Rendering of this short movie on a 433Mhz Mac (SO 9) was fairly fast. Transfer from and to my XL-1s was smooth. I was able to preview transitions and clips on iMovie, while working on my project. Well, now I am not sure what you, Chris, mean when saying that there is “NO REAL TIME" on Macs. Forgive my ignorance, please. But, I would highly appreciate if you can explain the very concept and term "REAL TIME EDITING" in the video editing terminology.

Maybe the university computer on which I worked had one of those RTMac cards. More about that card:

<<Matrox RTMAC-INT Video Card
$599.00
A Matrox RTMac in your Apple Power Mac G4 lets you work with three layers of video and graphics in real time, and instantly create more broadcast-quality effects than you could with just software alone. On RTMac, push, swap, split and other slide transitions happen in real time.>>>

Source:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/91/wo/7zUCD1ag57mjSeZjb83/0.3.0.3.30.77.1.1

Any thoughts about this card?

Again, thanks a lot guys,
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Old July 13th, 2002, 11:10 PM   #6
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I didn't realize that you cross-posted this in the Mac forum as well... we need to be careful about not splitting up the same discussion across multiple boards, so I'm going to lock this one from further replies. We can pick up the same thread over in the Mac forum. Thanks,
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