Mac book or pro

[jgladish 0]

Curious if anyone is using a regular mac book (upgraded to 2 gig memory) to edit or are the rendering time too long?

[SkydiveMO 0]

Depends what you consider too long. I still use my PowerBook G4 for editing but I just bought the wife a Mac Book (1GB memory). It's blazing next to my PowerBook, I sneak on it from time to time to render video.

That being said, if I had the money I'd replace my PowerBook in a second with a blazing new MacBook Pro 2.6GHz processor 4GB memory. Where's Santa when you need him?

[shogo 0]

After you upload a 60 min tape (takes 60 min), it takes at least 3-7 min to finalize and archive the footage. I have 2GB also. Using iMovie.

[AUSkyguy 0]

I have a Macbook (not pro) with 2.16 GHZ processor and 2 Gig ram and it's blazing fast

-Chris Martin

[Superfletch 1]

I'm using a 17" Macbook Pro 2.4 Ghz. This puppy is pretty fast. Way faster than my G4 533 Mhz Digital Audio.

I am currently using it to edit tandem videos. It's not as fast as using just a mixing board and a DVD burner, but then the videos are much better than that. Basically, 25-30 minutes after I sit down at the computer, I can hand the student his video.

Also, I was at Mullins' place for the Halloween Boogie and I noticed that one of his boys was editing with a Macbook. He didn't quite have as good of a system as I did, so it was taking a little longer, but he was still using it for tandems.

Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher
D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I
Videographer/Photographer

[shogo 0]

I have the new one with 2.2Gh and 2GB memory. Which part is blazing fast to you? The uploading the tape takes 60 min for 60 min footage. It does not take you 3-7 min (I think mine takes more some time) for your iMovie to archive it? Are you using the manual or auto mode? Are you using the sort by date option? This part takes long time, I think.
I think it is pretty fast to anything after that.
Thanks.

[skymedic 0]

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I have the new one with 2.2Gh and 2GB memory.

Me too

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The uploading the tape takes 60 min for 60 min footage. It does not take you 3-7 min (I think mine takes more some time) for your iMovie to archive it?

half that time usually. and 2 mins max to archive

Quote

Are you using the manual or auto mode?

Manual

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Are you using the sort by date option? This part takes long time, I think.

Nope

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....

[DSE 3]

MacBook Pro is my choice.
Funny thing is that Sony Vegas under bootcamp, renders the same .mov file as final cut in about half the time of final cut.
Weird, but much appreciated.

[shogo 0]

The “sort by date” is a pretty neat option. Let’s say a part of my tape has my footages for the entire weekend and I didn’t have time to Firewire other skydiver’s footages at the end of the weekend. I finally get these footages a few weeks later on the same tape, but I have recorded other jumps between these events. Or let’s say I taped over some part of last year’s footage to record this year’s jumps, so jumps recorded on the same tape are not in chronological order.
The iMovie’s “sort by date” option actually sorts all these footages by the date they were captured in the different files by the year. I use regular Sony tapes (premium and excellence), not the ones with memory chips. I thought iMovie is quite smart.
But I don’t have any experience in using other economical video editing software, so perhaps this is not that amazing…

[shogo 0]

So do you have both Vista and Leopard on your MacBook Pro? Or do you have Vegas on some other work station/lap top?
Just curious.

By the way... do Final Cut Pro/Express treat AVCHD differently than Vegas? I am asking a vague question but I do not know enough to compose the right question. A few weeks back FreeFlyDrew started a thread titled "Burning AVCHD to DVD: Any info."
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3028274;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

In this thread I asked him: "Does iMovie import AVCHD, and then changes the format?" He said yes. (He said he is using Final Cut Express 4, so I believe this question does not just apply to the iMovie). What does this mean? Do imovie/final cut change the footage from mpeg4 AVC/H.264 to mpeg2 or some thing else? How do we archive footage form CX7, keeping the original HD, using mac software? Vegas Pro's spec says: Sony AVCHD support read/write. what do they mean? Can you upload AVCHD and archive them on to HDV?

Unrelated to this thread, but do we ever see a semipro AVCHD camcorder? Like say equivalent to FX7/V1. Not s by s.

[DSE 3]

1-I had Vegas installed under Bootcamp. Bootcamp expired, so now waiting for the next iteration of Leopard so I can go back to running Vegas under my Mac. If it wasn't for Motion and DVDStudio Pro, I probably wouldn't use my MacBook at all.

As far as pro/semi-pro AVCHD; Panasonic will shortly begin shipping AVC-Intra, which is their new format. I've seen early vid from these, it sucks as one would expect. What makes AVC function so well is the GOP format, and losing GOP but trying to contain the stream is pretty funky. Kinda like taking a round tire and making it not quite round, it makes for a bumpy ride. So for the moment, the jury is out.
SxS has nothing to do with AVC, not sure how you connected the two. Then again, I just spent half an hour in a conference panel having some idiot explain to me why P2 is a superior video format to HDV. P2 is a storage device, not a video format. In other words, there is a lot of market miscommunication/conception out there.
SxS is the Express card format, and currently the new Sony XDCAM EX uses it, expect to see it on more cams. Extremely fast Xfer, and no worries about dirt, etc in the portholes. but it's just a storage device, AVCHD can be stored on it just as can XDCAM IMX

[shogo 0]

I see! What an idiot I am.
So my question was: would sony produce a semipro camcorder (under 3K) using the memory stick pro duo? and smaller than FX7.
As always, thanks for your quick answer.

[DSE 3]

Quote

I see! What an idiot I am.
So my question was: would sony produce a semipro camcorder (under 3K) using the memory stick pro duo? and smaller than FX7.
As always, thanks for your quick answer.

Mem stick/semi-pro...prolly not. The new Z7, scheduled to ship in March or so, will record to both tape and CF card, and it's a very sweet cam. I can't see any of the broadcast division (ie; semi-pro) cams ever recording to mem stick. CF, yes. Mem stick falls into the category of consumer no matter how you look at it.
V7 is about the same size as FX7, the consumer camcorders are getting smaller, ie; CX7, and for the moment, I can tell you that isn't going to change.
You'll see one marginally new design in about a month, but it's not different enough that it'll matter, IMO.