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scairns · Jun 9, 2005, 09:00 PM

Hi all,

I'm looking to purchase a powerbook, and am torn between the convenience and price of the 12" 1.5GHz with 1.25MB RAM, and the extra video grunt and F/W 800 port of the 15" 1.67GHz with 1.5MB RAM.

When doing any video editing, I'd be desk-bound and connected to a large screen and external firewire storage. So screen real estate and storage capacity are removed from the equation.
Also, my video editing requirements are reletively light, initially using s/w supplied with iLIFE.

When it comes to video editing, how much more important is:
- 9700 Mobile GPU over GoMotion 5200
- 128Mb Video RAM over 64Mb
- FireWire 800 connectivity over F/W 400
- extra .17 GHz CPU speed

Is there anything else I should be taking into consideration?
Has anyone carried out such work on these platforms, and how to they perform?

Thanks in Advance.

NYCFarmboy · Jun 11, 2005, 09:21 AM

Get the 15" just for the better screen. the 12" powerbook shares the same screen as the 12" ibook and is a dog in my opinion.

I have a 12" powerbook and really strongly dislike the poor quality screens Apple uses on them.
mainly: Very dim. Poor viewing angle with a purple/magenta hue from the side. You have to use the 12" dead on center.. it is very unforgiving in terms of view angle.

The 15" Powerbooks have MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH nicer screens. Get thee to an Apple store to compare yourself before buying.

jersey · Jun 11, 2005, 01:05 PM

Get the 15. I have a 15, my girlfriend has a 12. Whenever she edits she uses mine, or hooks hers up to a crt. you just feel cramped on the 12

travisimo · Jun 20, 2005, 11:19 PM

i'm not sure how well you're 15" will do with 1.5mb of ram, i think my cellphone has more ram than that. LOL just kidding.. i have a 17" but i still hook it up to a 19" sony lcd when i work at home, i just have to have that dual screen real estate, the more room you have for menus to float the faster your workflow becomes... so bigger IS better!

jamil5454 · Jun 20, 2005, 11:29 PM

Dual screens would work to your advantage. In that case, get the 15", you won't be disappointed.

scairns · Jun 20, 2005, 11:59 PM

Thank you all for the comments and advice.
Well, since there were no major comments about the relevence of video card speed, and since I have a large CRT, I've gone with the 12" PB w/1.25 GB RAM & SuperDrive option, and spent the "savings" on
- a 500GB external FW drive
- an Airport Express
- Wireless k/b and mouse / MS Office bundle

Admitedly the screen isn't as good as the 15" models, but I just couldn't go past the absolute CONVENIENCE of the 12" form factor, for use about the house.

Thanks again,

Stu.

GWS · Aug 3, 2005, 01:43 PM

I'm also trying to decide between a 12" or 15" Powerbook. An iMac would be fine for my needs, but I really like the idea of portability, mostly around the house but elsewhere as well. The 12" is certainly portable! I've briefly played with both the 12" & 15" at the store and lean towards the 12". But I'm really curious how either Powerbook will perform doing basic video editing and DVD creation, primarily using iMovie & iDVD. I suspect the iMac would really outperform either Powerbook, but by how much really? I guess my question boils down to, for any of you with experience doing occasional video editing & DVD creation, are you happy with the performance of the Powerbook? (FYI, I'm moving from the original iMac G4 15" flatpanel, 800MHz, Superdrive.)

Stu, you decided on the 12"... have you done any video editing on it since you got it? How has it performed? Are you pleased with your purchase in this regard?

Thanks!

ism · 06:57 AM

Originally Posted by GWS

I guess my question boils down to, for any of you with experience doing occasional video editing & DVD creation, are you happy with the performance of the Powerbook? (FYI, I'm moving from the original iMac G4 15" flatpanel, 800MHz, Superdrive.)

Thanks!

I edit on a 12". First using iMovie4, now FCE HD. I find it fine for working on. Sure a bigger screen would be nice, but I really needed the compactness of a 12". For encoding DVDs I typically leave it running over night so I don't really know how long it takes. I guess about 4-6 hours for a 1.5hr long DVD. It's quick enough for me (compared to my previous iMac G3 that would take about 3 days for half an hour of footage or something stupid like that)

The real issue is how far do you expect you editing to go? If you anticipate moving to FCE or FCP then a 15" will really help. You have a faster network card (Gigabit) for transferring files. FW800 for working with external hard drives. A PCMIA card slot so you can add another firewire bus so you can have the camera and hard-drives on separate buses (not an issue with iMovie, but it is with FCE, FCP, etc). You can add far more RAM to a 15" as well.

The graphics card isn't an issue with editing applications at this moment in time. Perhaps if Apple add in some core image filters, etc into FC or iMovie in the future it might become more important. But currently the video card is only important for apps like Motion.

12" 1GHz rev B, 768 Mb RAM I should add

GWS · Aug 4, 2005, 09:45 AM

ism, thank you for your response! This is encouraging. My editing will be pretty basic, primarily just home videos. It's a hobby, not my livelihood, so encoding time isn't a huge issue. I could certainly let it run overnight. I agree, a 12" screen is tough for video editing. I plan to get an LCD display and hook the Powerbook up to it when I'm at my desk. The portability of the 12incher is just so appealing... many times I'd like to be able to take my system to the couch or kitchen table or back patio, etc. It's perfect for that. Sounds like it will be more than adequate for my video editing needs as well.

Thank you again for your response!
Gary

Randman · Aug 4, 2005, 09:53 AM

*cough* 17. *cough*

OogaBooga · Aug 4, 2005, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by Randman

*cough* 17. *cough*

I was waiting for this.

Nessie · Aug 4, 2005, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by NYCFarmboy

I have a 12" powerbook and really strongly dislike the poor quality screens Apple uses on them, mainly: Very dim. Poor viewing angle with a purple/magenta hue from the side. You have to use the 12" dead on center.. it is very unforgiving in terms of view angle.

I have to second this. I have a 12" and wish I'd saved more and got the 15" instead. As it is, I'm seriously considering buying an external monitor so can can get a bigger, brighter screen. I do like the fact of lugging a laptop around that weighs about as much as a book, but for editing video as it is, it's hardly enough. Though I don't miss Windows or my Sony Vaio's fan noise, I do miss the big and bright 15" screen it had.

Jawbone54 · Aug 5, 2005, 02:47 PM

Screen size cannot be underemphasized when video editing is taken into consideration. If you need a laptop for common tasks (internet, mail, chatting, note-taking), get a 12-inch iBook and then get a 20-inch iMac for the video-editing and such. That's if you have a little more money to throw around though.

__^^__ · Aug 6, 2005, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by Nessie

I have to second this. I have a 12" and wish I'd saved more and got the 15" instead. As it is, I'm seriously considering buying an external monitor so can can get a bigger, brighter screen. I do like the fact of lugging a laptop around that weighs about as much as a book, but for editing video as it is, it's hardly enough. Though I don't miss Windows or my Sony Vaio's fan noise, I do miss the big and bright 15" screen it had.

I bought a 15" PB and now I wish I would have bought a 17" PB.