No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?

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BrendanK
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Joined: Sep 1 2003
...don't laugh...currently using a MacPro with FCP 5.1 (NHS budget!!)
 
If we were offered upgrade money, how should we spend it? 
 
No more Mac tower, so which mac? iMac?Macbook? MiniServer (Fusion)?
 
Do we have to jump to FCPX?
 
How do you author DVDs? I don't se DVD SP on Mac Store.
 
Thoughts, comments...
PaulD
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Joined: Aug 31 2002
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
Hi
Apple have said there will be some sort of 'Mac Pro replacement' coming 'later in 2013'.
Here's the exact quote made in 2012 by Tim Cook who now runs Apple:
"Although we didn't have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today's event, don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year."
 
If you are wanting to use FCP X then until a new 'Mac Pro' arrives then an iMac is the best replacement.
But it is perfectly possible to edit on a 15" MacBook Pro. Either can use Thunderbolt external hard drives.
Both will need external Thunderbolt devices (and additional software drivers) to connect to a professional tape deck, although FCP X will capture directly from a DV deck.
 
The Mac Mini, like the 13" MBP and the MacBook Air, will all work but aren't really powerful enough for anything more than basic editing.
 
You need to have a copy of Final Cut Studio to have DVD SP. Its no longer sold. Only Adobe sell an equivalent DVD burning authoring program for Mac at the moment.
Ron Spicer
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Joined: Jul 22 2001
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
PaulD wrote:
 
 . . . .  although FCP X will capture directly from a DV deck.
 
 
Hi Paul -
 
I've still got my Sony DSR11 and using it daily for putting and editing tapes to disks for people amongst other things.   Are you saying that I can import from the DSR11 straight into FCPX and then edit produce as normal?   At the moment I work with it and my MacPro 1.1 - 2006 model.
 
Ron
DAVE M
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Joined: May 17 1999
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
 I was told that the current MacPro has a certain voltage at USB that does not conform to the latest EU directive on electrical risks, so the machine can't be sold here in the EU
 
If Apple are serious about a new model, they need to sell a machine either with a lower voltage at USB (change the machine for world wide would make sense?) or maybe use thunderbolt to remove USB?
PaulD
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Joined: Aug 31 2002
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
Hi Ron
FCP X should capture whole tapes from a DV camera or deck via FireWire, and bring in the change of shot metadata once ingested.
I don't use this, so I'm only really passing on what I've heard.
You cant export from FCP X to DV.
 
Ron Spicer
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Joined: Jul 22 2001
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
PaulD wrote:
Hi Ron
FCP X should capture whole tapes from a DV camera or deck via FireWire, and bring in the change of shot metadata once ingested.
I don't use this, so I'm only really passing on what I've heard.
You cant export from FCP X to DV.
 
 
Hi Paul  -  I sent you a PM as well so I think this is  your response.   Thanks for that.
 
sleepytom
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Joined: Sep 15 2000
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
DAVE M wrote:
 I was told that the current MacPro has a certain voltage at USB that does not conform to the latest EU directive on electrical risks, so the machine can't be sold here in the EU
 
If Apple are serious about a new model, they need to sell a machine either with a lower voltage at USB (change the machine for world wide would make sense?) or maybe use thunderbolt to remove USB?
Who told you this nonsense? (and what were they trying to sell you instead?) 
http://www.jigsaw24.com/macs_pro/store/fcp-category/list <- Jigsaw still have current model Mac Pro's 
Apple store online doesn't list the pro any more most likely because of limited stock and priority for retail stores. (current Mac Pro is end of line and will either be replaced soon or not depending on who you listen to)
 
Personally I'd get an iMac and premiere as the editing software. FCP is dead, FCPX is stupid. You might also consider switching to PC as premiere et al work just as well under windows as under OSX, if your on a limmited budget this is totally the way to go, a perfectly decent editing computer can be built for less than £1000. 
 

You can contact me at http://tombassford.org
People interested in live production might like to check out http://atemuser.com 

PaulD
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Joined: Aug 31 2002
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
Hi
More nonsense. Dave M is correct in the gist of it.
To set the record straight here's a quote from Apple's release to retailers:
 
"As of March 1, 2013, Apple will no longer sell Mac Pro in EU, EU candidate and EFTA countries because these systems are not compliant with Amendment 1 of regulation IEC 60950-1, Second Edition which becomes effective on this date. 
Unfortunately for EU customers, the Mac Pro does not comply with this standard, due to issues with power provided to its I/O ports and the placement of its fan guards. The Pro is the sole Apple product to fall under this ruling.
 
At issue are the large fans within the Mac Pro. Since they are unprotected, it would be possible to touch the fan blades.
The new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system.
 
Apple will take final orders for Mac Pro from resellers up until February 18th for shipment before March 1, 2013.
After that date, resellers can sell existing inventory but Apple will no longer ship Mac Pro in those countries.
Countries outside of the EU are not impacted and Mac Pro will continue to be available in those areas."
 
col lamb
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Joined: Jan 2 2010
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
Forget Mac and Premiere, in fact Adobe is going subscription for all software from 17th June so getting that may not be feasible
 
I would suggest an Asus N56 laptop, i7 quad core CPU, 8Gb RAM, 1Tb hard drive, Blu-ray/DVD combo (DVD only burner) and Windows 8.
 
These are well priced at £830 at PCWorld, which is where I got mine from and it has edited AVCHD HD video great with either CS5.5 Premiere or Edius Neo both of which are installed on the laptop. 
 
The laptop came with its hard drive partitioned into two and whilst only 5400rpm it works great with native format AVCHD HD video files
 
The spec of the Asus does vary considerably and others may seem better value they typically have smaller HD's, i5's, lesser graphics etc
 
As for editing software I would go with Edius Neo by Grass Valley, this is about £160 so you are OK for a £1k budget it includes DVD creation plug-in software so it is integrated into the editing application
 
If you are in the NHS then do check with your IT Dept as often they are tied into a particular supplier/manufacturer, in the NHS Trust where I work part time it is HP kit, and iPads, thats all.

Col Lamb Lancashire UK ASUS P6X58D-E MOBO, 3.3GHz hex core i7 CPU, 12GB RAM, nVidia GTX580 GPU, W7 64bit, 500Gb boot, 1Tb RAID (Mirror) Store, 500Gb RAID (stripped), Edius 6.05, CS 5.5

DAVE M
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Joined: May 17 1999
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
lightworks is free
sleepytom
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Joined: Sep 15 2000
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
No, lightworks isn't free. (if you want to be able to edit common formats) 
 
I don't get the forget the mac and adobe statement Col?  Subscriptions make it cheaper rather than more expensive.
 
suggesting getting a LAPTOP is bizzarre and way more expensive than a much faster desktop would be.
 
If your wanting to stay mac get an iMac or wait and see if they produce a new mac pro. 
 
if you have the time / interest then a hackintosh is a very usable option. I recent built an i7 hackintosh for a friend which runs mountain lion / FCP Studio 3 perfectly and outperforms all but the most expensive mac pro machines. It cost significantly less than £1000. 
 
if you have charitable status then you can buy adobe products via CTXchange for a token fee (something like £100 for the full cs6 masters edition)
 
 

You can contact me at http://tombassford.org
People interested in live production might like to check out http://atemuser.com 

col lamb
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Joined: Jan 2 2010
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
Sleepytom
We are talking about a request from a user in the NHS, that said they have IT groundrules that will overide any advice we give here on this forum
 
Far from bizzare, we are talking about a National Health Service user and as such it is not a question of what he wants it is what the NHS IT Department will allow him to have. 
 
The NHS do not tend to go with leasing software, nor with software that has to connect up to Adobe central to verify and check that the subscription is still valid
 
That is certainly the case in the two NHS Trusts where I have been working as a specialist Contractor and had very close working relationships with the IT Depts.
 
Also if he is in the NHS in a Trust who specialises in clients with learning difficulties than a laptop make even more sense as it is so mobile.
 
Further, he wants to author DVD, so the free Lightworks would work OK, but Edius Neo will do both editing and DVD creation and the current price for it is now £130
 
If Brendan can fill in with more details then better advice can be offered, but as he has not posted anything in this thread since the original 12 days ago, we could be wasting our time offering advice

Col Lamb Lancashire UK ASUS P6X58D-E MOBO, 3.3GHz hex core i7 CPU, 12GB RAM, nVidia GTX580 GPU, W7 64bit, 500Gb boot, 1Tb RAID (Mirror) Store, 500Gb RAID (stripped), Edius 6.05, CS 5.5

sleepytom
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Joined: Sep 15 2000
Re: No Mac Towers so which Mac for editing?
Sorry but your making massive assumptions about his situation, ok admittedly based on your own experience, but the NHS is a huge organisation and different parts of it have different rules for subcontractors. 
 
He specifically asked about the Mac platform so your "get a PC" answer is not really very helpful. You have simply no idea at all about the type of cameras he uses or the kind of projects he does, so you cannot know that the free lightworks is suitable for him. I would suspect he is probably using either XDCam or HDV cameras and as such he'd need to subscribe to the lightworks pro licence to be able to edit these formats. 

Adobe will provide a licensing model that works for large public organisations.  They have to be able to sell photoshop to the public sector! They may well not make the details of this widely available but they will sort it out one way or another perhaps through an organisation such as Ctxchange or http://www.psdiscounts.com/

Having more options laid out in threads should be a good thing no? Even if your 100% correct about his situation then the additional options may be helpful to other people who find this thread. 

You can contact me at http://tombassford.org
People interested in live production might like to check out http://atemuser.com