Real World Mind Blowing Video Editing Performance on M1 Air

[mkitchen]

So screw benchmarks, I picked up my M1 MacBook Air (16GB / 1 TB) today and I wanted to try out one of the most demanding things I ask my computer to do in Final Cut. I often record multi-cam (2-3 cameras) interviews or musical performances. These are filmed in 4k 10-bit H265 which is currently the most taxing video codec I work with. But the files are so small and manageable compared to transcoding them to Pro-Res that I usually deal with the slow down and dropped frames of H265... but it can be maddening sometimes...

So, I currently have a 3 camera interview with a couple, all filmed in 10-Bit H265 (420). I dropped the Multicam video onto the timeline, set the performance to "Better Quality" (which I have literally never done before), and toggled on the "angles" that shows the live view of all three angles in real time playback alongside the main viewing angle. I was able to play back in real time and actually make cuts. The only time I dropped frames was when I added a dissolve and it played back over the dissolve before it rendered. I paused playback to let it render (2-3 seconds) and then it played back perfectly. All this on battery power.

Absolutely unreal, and I am over the moon.

For the last year, I have debated and almost pulled the trigger on a 16" MBP for like $2200 refurbished... but from what I read... it doesn't exactly love H265 footage either. I can't believe this computer only cost $1600, and is brand new.

I am lucky though because all I use my desktop for is Safari and FCP so I am not worried about any other app support.

Enjoy all!

 

[JohnnyGo]

This SOC is built around image/video processing/CODECs as it evolved from the iPhone SOC that has in its image/camera system one of its main selling points.

The ecosystem and hw/sw control is paying off big dividends for Apple. FCP users will benefit the most.

 

[mkitchen]

This SOC is built around image/video processing/CODECs as it evolved from the iPhone SOC that has in its image/camera system one of its main selling points.

The ecosystem and hw/sw control is paying off big dividends for Apple. FCP users will benefit the most.

Ah, very cool. Makes sense. Finally feels like editing hardware is in sync with camera capture.

 

[jqc]

how hot did your Air get? I tried stabilizing and then exporting some 4K MJPEG footage from my Canon 5D on a MBP M1, super smooth and super fast, but fans did come on.

 

[mkitchen]

how hot did your Air get? I tried stabilizing and then exporting some 4K MJPEG footage from my Canon 5D on a MBP M1, super smooth and super fast, but fans did come on.

The back edge was warm to the touch.

 

[Rasta4i]

Im very close to pulling the trigger just wondering how it will handle some really heavy projects in fcpx

 

[mkitchen]

Im very close to pulling the trigger just wondering how it will handle some really heavy projects in fcpx

Yeah, to be fair, I only tested it out and edited for 5-10 minutes. Not all my plugins can load into M1 FCP yet. I am going to try and edit a social media clip for a client in the next day or so that should give me a handle on how it performs... that would probably be 2-3 hours of working in the 3 cam multicam clip with B-roll clips added as well. We shall see. A very promising start at least.

 

[jharvey71884]

Yeah, to be fair, I only tested it out and edited for 5-10 minutes. Not all my plugins can load into M1 FCP yet. I am going to try and edit a social media clip for a client in the next day or so that should give me a handle on how it performs... that would probably be 2-3 hours of working in the 3 cam multicam clip with B-roll clips added as well. We shall see. A very promising start at least.

Please report back. Work with a lot of 30 to 40 minute multi cam projects. So I want to know if the extra time is hurting you.

 

[mkitchen]

To update, Video Editing is still a dream. To be fair, I haven't had to do the full interview edit, but I grabbed Multicam clips, speed ramps, 4k 60 10bit video in h265. Still set to better quality. Have edited multiple times for 2-4 hour sessions. It is amazing compared to what I came from. I can make an edit like a dissolve or a speed ramp or a color correction and I don't have to wait for it to render before I continue to run playback and edit. This has speeded up my workflow by a ton. Also battery life is great. For editing I am getting 6-8 hours - that's nuts.

 

[hugodrax]

I am also using an M1 for finalcut. Whats crazy is it outperforms my 4000 dollar 2017 imac with a i7 4.2ghz 7700k and AMD 580x.

I can do scrubbing,editing putting on effects and it is smooth as butter.

and this is a 1300 dollar mac mini. It is crazy fast. What benchmarks dont show is the power of all the custom processors. The beauty of this is you can set up a field station with a large monitor, and start ingesting and quickly do rough work on stuff during the day so much faster. I was skeptical during the presentation and only ordered one.

oh and all this and it consumes a fraction of the power of my imac.

It reminds me of Amiga back in the days compared to PCs

 

[jharvey71884]

To update, Video Editing is still a dream. To be fair, I haven't had to do the full interview edit, but I grabbed Multicam clips, speed ramps, 4k 60 10bit video in h265. Still set to better quality. Have edited multiple times for 2-4 hour sessions. It is amazing compared to what I came from. I can make an edit like a dissolve or a speed ramp or a color correction and I don't have to wait for it to render before I continue to run playback and edit. This has speeded up my workflow by a ton. Also battery life is great. For editing I am getting 6-8 hours - that's nuts.

Curious if you have worked on some bigger projects yet? Debating purchasimg tonight. Cyber Monday deal. Want to get the air, but am worried about my projects being a bit bigger.