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The_Atheist · May 23, 2006, 05:16 AM

Hey folks. Stumbled across this forum in search of good info, and it looks like this is a good place to ask. I just graduated film school and I'm in the market for a 17" Macbook Pro (7200 rpm HD and 2GB RAM added). For my own purposes, I imagine I'll be working with DV quite a bit, and down the road, I know I want to treat myself to something better. But for now, I'm eyeballing that MBP!

However, I'm curious about one thing. I've seen a lot of posts of people asking if the 17" is an HD display; I already know it's not, so that's not my question. My question is, is the new 17" MBP capable of actually editing in high definition, or will it tend to fall behind? I want to remain as technically capable in the job market as possible to begin with, but I know I can only go so far. I'd want to get a PowerMac eventually, but again, not right now... and tech specs can only tell me so much, so I was hoping someone can help me.

I'm sorry if this has been posted before, but I was in a hurry; I'd rather learn about problems now than after I bought the MBP, and I want to get into the field ASAP. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, guys. Thanks in advance

harrisjamieh · May 23, 2006, 01:10 PM

The MBP will have no problem editing Hi Def footage. It is a very capable machine. From the Apple website:

HD features on FCP require 1GHz or faster single or dual processors (authoring HD DVDs requires a PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo processor)

If HD can be done on a 1 Ghz G4 processor, then it will sure as hell fly on a dual processor Core Duo running at 2.16 Ghz!

Just make sure you get the 2 GB RAM

The_Atheist · May 23, 2006, 07:43 PM

Thanks Harris, that's a BIG help.

I figured the 2 GB RAM would be a given since everything sucks up so much memory these days.

I've read that Apple RAM is really overpriced from some other threads on here, and after putting this thing together, I have to agree. Would you recommend I just order the MBP with the stock RAM and fill it with more RAM later, or is the price difference negligable and I should just order it from Apple?

stevesnj · May 23, 2006, 10:03 PM

I hope you get an HD monitor for your work. It would be essential.

The_Atheist · May 24, 2006, 04:37 AM

I have plans to, but right now I can't afford it. I'm not doing any HD work at the moment, I just want to be HD ready. Oh, but when I do...

harrisjamieh · May 24, 2006, 06:38 AM

You can get 2 x 1GB sticks from approx $200, for decent stuff. I would advise when ordering your 17" MBP, you change the RAM from the standard 1 x 1GB config to the 2 x 512 config, which knocks $100 from the price. Then flog the 2 x 512s on ebay, and buy 2 x 1GB sticks - much cheaper than paying an extra $300 for what is essentially 1 x 1Gb stick

Skypat · Jun 6, 2006, 08:40 AM

Hey

And once you're done with you HD movie, what do you do with it ? You can't burn it, you just can export it to the web. Or transfer it into another format I guess to be viewable.

k_munic · Jun 7, 2006, 04:54 AM

one word: disk space
oops, that's two ...

what I've read so far, HD is really a "space eater" - the Apple apps (iMHD/FC(E)HD) convert into Apple Lossless Codec, which can blow up an hour of HDvideo into 20 - 40GBs... and that is just import....

so, a huge, reliable, ext., firewire connected, MacOsExtended Harddrive is a must...

harrisjamieh · Jun 7, 2006, 05:32 AM

I would actually suggest he didn't get a "huge, reliable ect FW connected drive", as it will not be reliable over the long run. Hard drives fail - a fact of life, so he would be much better off getting a few external drives (maybe metwork attached storage over gigabit for max speed) and making backups of all his stuff, possibly even implementing a RAID setup if the work is very important

The_Atheist · Jun 7, 2006, 11:16 AM

Well, I think that's what he meant by "ext.": short for external. Nonetheless, it is the only solution. Luckily, I planned ahead.

Can't wait for my new toy.