My MBP is getting old and I'm starting to do more video work. Looking at an iMac 5k. From what I've read in reviews this one should be okay with editing 4k files but I wanted to ask those of you that have this model for your feedback.
My MBP is getting old and I'm starting to do more video work. Looking at an iMac 5k. From what I've read in reviews this one should be okay with editing 4k files but I wanted to ask those of you that have this model for your feedback.
Editing H264 4k video is very challenging. A big factor is what editing software you'll be using. With FCPX you can use the built-in proxy feature to automatically transcode to lower-res format, which makes editing a lot faster. Then for the final export (if 4k) you simply select "original media" and it imparts all your edits to the original 4k resolution files.
If you don't need to deliver in 4k but simply want the higher resolution for cropping/panning in post, then with FCPX you just import to a 1080p project. This reduces the size of the temp and cache files and makes editing faster. FCPX is smart enough use the underlying 4k content when using a 1080p project. E.g, you can zoom into a 4k frame in a 1080p project and the resolution will not degrade.
Premiere cannot do either of those so you'd have to manually transcode all your files before importing, then if you needed 4k deliverables, manually try to sync up your edits with the original files.
In general you want the fastest possible machine available for H264 4k editing -- mainly from a CPU and GPU standpoint -- but a machine like you listed will probably work OK if you use proxy files or use the 4k media in a 1080p project.
