Any Pro or Hobbyist Video Editors debating the new Pro?

[slowloris615]

I work in video editing. Although Final Cut X has been a disappointment in terms of adoption by the industry so far, I do love the the strong and reliable relationship AVID has with apple products. While they haven't officially come out and have said they will support it, the Avid boards seem confident it will run well. I use a PC for editing now, but avid's tough reliability on windows, even with a quarto, has been an issue for me. When I work on site, even the older mac pros with less power drive Avid very well, with our without a Nitrous.

And Final Cut 7 is always going to stick around since so many people use that, at least until newer HD formats become more prevalent.

I also like the timing of this coming out before the end of the year for us who do write offs.

What is the video professional community on these boards thoughts about the new Pro and what it can do for home editing?

 

[OS6-OSX]

Where to start with Avid?:
1. Even in MC/Symph 7 there is no support for 4k without flex frame. Maybe with MC8 4k will be there and 4k monitors will useful.
2. They always pushed Nvidia and nMP will have AMD
3. Even though MC6 was the first 64bit version, the total amount of ram in the Mac is not used.
4. Like most people in the Avid forum I have tweaked my total system in order to deal with h.264, R3D, AVCHD, Uncompressed 10bit, Alexa, ect.
5. Avid needs to rewrite their engine similar to Adobe’s Mercury engine.
Chasing hardware to compensate for software that needs a rewrite is expensive. Marianna knows what Avid needs to do!

 

[slowloris615]

The Mercury Engine really works wonders. I don't mind using premiere, and feel as a pro you need to be up on all the systems like a carpenter would with different tools...however It never feels right to me. Something always seems missing

Good point though, Avid sways towards Nvidia. I do think they will figure out a way to get it on the pros because they wouldn't want to lose position in the edit system fight if they can change something on their end.

 

[gdeusthewhizkid]

I have final cut 7 and final cut x. I prefer x 7 I know was a great product but it renders way slower than 7. what took me on 7 to render for a half and hour. took less than 5 minutes on x.

I would love to see how x moves on the new mac pro...

 

[jasonvp]

The Mercury Engine really works wonders.

Premiere Pro CC is already multi-GPU aware, and has been since its release earlier this summer. It's been demonstrated (by non-Adobe employees...) that it literally scales linearly with the number of identical GPUs you throw at it, assuming the tasks you're doing are able to be processed by them.

Now, will Adobe's OpenCL implementation work as well as its CUDA implementation? I don't know. They seem to be pretty serious about it though, and have even made it available on the Windows release of Premiere Pro as well. It tells me they see the future of OpenCL, and potentially the end of CUDA.

But given that, Premiere Pro should run pretty well on the new Pro, having access to both of the GPUs. I have to admit, depending on how the D700 option is priced, I might consider it, as opposed to building a Hack. We'll have to see...

 

[echoout]

I really preferred FCP7 but Apple forced my hand and I came back to Premiere after over 10 years. It's not perfect but the integration with the other Adobe tools, and those Adobe tools linking to Cinema 4D is too much to resist.

And as I've said in other threads, the apps I use have so many hardware needs that a decked out Mac Pro is way more useful to me than a nMP.

YMMV. Good luck!

 

[DisMyMac]

Here is a strange reason to buy: because I'm not a professional. It's frustrating to encode on an iMac or mini running at full blaze for 5 hours, only to find out you messed up the settings. And since I'm not inspired to learn editing formally, that means lots of trial and error.

Also I have been good about not buying junk I don't need lately. I may treat myself.

 

[Radiating]

I work in video editing. Although Final Cut X has been a disappointment in terms of adoption by the industry so far, I do love the the strong and reliable relationship AVID has with apple products. While they haven't officially come out and have said they will support it, the Avid boards seem confident it will run well. I use a PC for editing now, but avid's tough reliability on windows, even with a quarto, has been an issue for me. When I work on site, even the older mac pros with less power drive Avid very well, with our without a Nitrous.

And Final Cut 7 is always going to stick around since so many people use that, at least until newer HD formats become more prevalent.

I also like the timing of this coming out before the end of the year for us who do write offs.

What is the video professional community on these boards thoughts about the new Pro and what it can do for home editing?

All current Apple computers are capable of running windows. I think many potential buyers really gloss over this aspect.

I plan to buy the Mac Pro for work and I plan to use it to run windows. It will be a great machine.

 

[JesterJJZ]

I'll be fine with my current 12 Core MP. I wouldn't want to get a first gen system anyway. Unless they bring back a second CPU, my next machine will be a Hackintosh.

 

[brand]

Unless they bring back a second CPU, my next machine will be a Hackintosh.

Where are you gong to get a hackintosh that supports 2 CPUs? You can't really use that as an excuse for going hackintosh if you don't do it on the hackintosh side.

 

[jasonvp]

Where are you gong to get a hackintosh that supports 2 CPUs? You can't really use that as an excuse for going hackintosh if you don't do it on the hackintosh side.

I'm not sure if you've been paying any attention to the monstrous thread that Tutor has started about CPU power, but in it are lots of sub-discussions regarding 2-processor motherboards (primarily from Gigabyte) that seem to work fine with OS X. I think the assumption you're making when you read the phrase "Hackintosh" is that it's going to be an inexpensive Core i7 or i5, single processor build. While the large majority of Hack builders do use those chips, doing Xeon-based dual-processor Hacks isn't out of the question.

 

[wonderspark]

I've updated my 4,1 Mac Pro to a 5,1 and it's still more than capable of keeping up with my needs for another couple years, I expect.

I have FCP X and Adobe CS6, and I very much prefer Adobe running OpenCL and CUDA (depending on which GPU I'm using.)

My business has absolutely no plan to buy the next Mac Pro this time around. Maybe 7,1 or 8,1 depending on what Apple does with it.

 

[td2243]

I'm on the fence as well. Now that the late 2013 iMacs are showing up in the refurbish section, they look better every day. The sad part is that since Apple is taking so long to give us this computer or even info of the full pricing, I have to wait to see how tax season looks.

 

[senseless]

I do FCPX home editing on a 4 year old iMac I7 which works very well. When it finally dies, I would consider a loaded Mini or base Mac Pro, if the Pro drops to $2500.

 

[sunnyj]

i am sticking with my 2009 mac pro for a while. i just upgraded the gpu and will upgrade the cpu's to 2x 6 core processors sometime in 2014. the lack of pcie slots, soldered components, and single cpu is a deal breaker for me. my next workstation after i run my current mac pro in the ground will be either from hp or dell.

 

[Cubemmal]

i am sticking with my 2009 mac pro for a while. i just upgraded the gpu

I have the same and upgraded to a 7950, which has breathed new life into the machine. I will use it as a Windows and gaming machine when I upgrade.

and will upgrade the cpu's to 2x 6 core processors sometime in 2014.

That doesn't interest me. My single quad core is chugging along fine, I could upgrade it but why spend the money? I still have a non TB, non USB3 PCIe2.0, no flash box.

the lack of pcie slots and single cpu is a deal breaker for me. my next workstation after i run my current mac pro in the ground will be either from hp or dell.

I've had it with PCIe slots and the MP. I've bought several cards for that computer that just caused me grief (USB3 in particular). But to each his own.

 

[td2243]

When it finally dies, I would consider a loaded Mini or base Mac Pro, if the Pro drops to $2500.

Has Apple ever dropped the price on an item? I can't remember if they have to my knowledge. If they are available by the end of December, then I figure refurbs should be available around March/April.

 

[snapdragonx]

Has Apple ever dropped the price on an item? I can't remember if they have to my knowledge. If they are available by the end of December, then I figure refurbs should be available around March/April.

It happens. I think they dropped the latest Macbook Airs by $100

 

[VirtualRain]

Has Apple ever dropped the price on an item? I can't remember if they have to my knowledge. If they are available by the end of December, then I figure refurbs should be available around March/April.

They have lowered prices on products, but they've also increased them. For example, the first couple generations of MBA were around $1800 compared to the more recent models which are closer to $1200. On the other hand, the 2009 Mac Pro was a few hundred dollars more than similarly equipped 2008 models and we all know the current price situation on the nMP.

 

[MattDSLR]

I just got new 12 core 5.1 no need for those nMP minis.
will wait for 2 years and make my decision than.
Probably will go with iMacs in two or 3 years when they upgrade the displays to 4k on them

 

[deconstruct60]

Has Apple ever dropped the price on an item? I can't remember if they have to my knowledge.

On a specific iteration generally not. Do products vary over time over genrations? That is relatively regular for some limited subset on each generation. Not on all, but products do move over extended period of times.

Part of the is components. Part of that is reordering of the product line up. (e.g., holes open has something canceled, Macbook. gaps close as iMac driibbles out of $1-2K price zone, bumping Mac Pro higher. )

If they are available by the end of December, then I figure refurbs should be available around March/April.

Depends upon whether there is an initial demand bubble and how long it last. If Apple doesn't enough brand new items to give away for lemons they will probably use refurbs to fill that hole as anything that fills the gap will be leveraged.

If supply is equal to demand then refurbs will more likley bubble out to the open resale market.

They have lowered prices on products, but they've also increased them. For example, the first couple generations of MBA

I'm not sure original posts is talking about generations. Cost of component parts change over generations. If is far easier to compose a MBA air now that Intel CPUs are aligned with that direction. Likewise, SSDs are far more mainstream now.

It happens. I think they dropped the latest Macbook Airs by $100

Not across the board. The 11" one is still $999. The 13" one fell $100. That seems as much to keep a gap away from the rMBP that moved down to $1,299. The upper MBA 13" overlaps with the entry rMBP 13" now. If they had left the 13" entry at 1,199 the upper MBA 13" would be over the rMBP 13". Far better screen, Iris graphics, and CPU for $100 less and less than a pound difference.... not going to do much for MBA 13" sales.

Apple will move prices so that products don't collide more than necessary.

That Mac Pro is gapped so far above the iMac they have some room but I wouldn't count on it, unless sales were really bad. There isn't going to be some "component" change to use to push a config variation.

The closest to an "opps that is wrong price" is something like last Feb re-tweak of the MBP.

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/1...ricing-drops-pricing-on-high-end-macbook-air/

The partly a speed bump because the MBP refresh in 2013 was going to slide 4 months into October ( from the previous June for a couple of years). However, story here analysts pegged Apple as being suprised the MBP 13" was selling well and the rMBP 13" not as much. Apple narrowed the gap.

Even with a speed bump adjustment there is a component change as the cover context.

 

[deconstruct60]

I work in video editing.
....
...
What is the video professional community on these boards thoughts about the new Pro and what it can do for home editing?

The new Mac Pro design should fit in with Avid ISIS (shared media storage) set ups. In shops where the majority of data is held on shared (external) storage, the lack of SATA bulk storage drives has much less impact.

Home editing if set-up up as a "one-man-band" , "everything in one box" set-up then it doesn't fit as well. Likewise, single person non-home editing contexts and the media support "group of one" buried in some organizations.

These are actually somewhat coupled.

And Final Cut 7 is always going to stick around since so many people use that, at least until newer HD formats become more prevalent.

..

Although Final Cut X has been a disappointment in terms of adoption by the industry so far,

The adoption of FCPX was always coupled to dealing with forward looking problems. That isn't going to win the prize in short term popularity contests but over time everyone will be moving into the futurre no matter how hard they want to snapshot time and just leverage what they already know.

The Mac Pro moving to point it has processors that support AVX and any OpenCL offload they can do should do wonders for FCPX throughput on a range of tasks.

 

[senseless]

Has Apple ever dropped the price on an item? I can't remember if they have to my knowledge. If they are available by the end of December, then I figure refurbs should be available around March/April.

When a model changes, it's not unusual to see the old model discounted by Microcenter or other sellers.

 

[jasonvp]

The Mac Pro moving to point it has processors that support AVX and any OpenCL offload they can do should do wonders for FCPX throughput on a range of tasks.

As I've written before: that little tidbit of technical info can't be overstated enough. AVX does juice up FCPX's performance quite a bit.

I just wish Adobe would take a hint from Apple and start down that path with Premiere Pro.

 

[maflynn]

I would love to get the nMP, yes its over-kill for my humble needs, but it looks awesome

With that said, I do not have the money for such extravagant purchases so I'll live viciously through those who do buy them