imovie and MBA rev.a?

[bloodycape]

I am in search of a new computer and I am thinking about getting a MBA first gen as my friend told me just today that he is selling his perfectly new looking MBA with the x3100 gpu for 550(I can talk him down to 500usd) cause he really want to get the new MBA with SSD as that is a lower price. The model he is selling is the HDD model. I do a lot of moving editing with imovie, and use Photoshop CS3 for some light editing and I wanted to know if this rev of the MBA with the older gpu do a solid job(a little better than the last gen ibook G4 at the least). Thanks.

 

[bloodycape]

any one?

 

[miloquacious]

I am in search of a new computer and I am thinking about getting a MBA first gen as my friend told me just today that he is selling his perfectly new looking MBA with the x3100 gpu for 550(I can talk him down to 500usd) cause he really want to get the new MBA with SSD as that is a lower price. The model he is selling is the HDD model. I do a lot of moving editing with imovie, and use Photoshop CS3 for some light editing and I wanted to know if this rev of the MBA with the older gpu do a solid job(a little better than the last gen ibook G4 at the least). Thanks.

Hi there,

I have rev A and have used it quite often with iMovie to make 5 minute reels, which I embed into ppt for work. First off, I'll say that using iMovie on Air has been great and much better (of course) than the previous Powerbook g4 I was using. It can get sluggish at times like importing movies prior to editing. And when duping movie projects but the biggest complaint for me was simply lack of Firewire.

I've been using miniDV tapes and had to import them on the Powerbook (using Firewire), transfer to external USB drive then plug drive into Air and edit them there. It's a pain and takes way to long but again this isn't due to processing power but just tediousness involved in getting files to the Air.

This is actually the reason I'm forced to abandon my beloved Air. I just need Firewire for iMovie.

Also, I've had to convert my QT movies into WMV and I've noticed that it takes quite a bit longer to do on my Air vs running the exact same file on even a Macbook.

And lastly, with such little space on the Air you will definitely need to store you're movie files on an external drive - but storing them there and editing within Air is pretty painless and easy. You just need to lug it around and know that it'll monopolize the one USB port all the time. (I've gotten pretty good fine tuning the ends of clips using the trackpad.)

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Satori]

I agree. Once you have the video on the machine it is pretty quick. Effects render much faster than my core duo macbook so you should find it much quicker than your g4.

Photoshop runs just fine but takes an age to load.