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Upgrade 1.1 for video?

T

troutweed

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 3, 2010
51
0
Hobart, Australia
These questions have been rattling around in my head for some time.

Just wondering if anyone can enlighten me.

My current system is
Mac Pro 1.1 (2006) 2x3.0Ghz Intel 5160 dual core (4 cores total)
12GB RAM (2x4GB + 4x1GB)
ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB Graphics card
60GB Vertex2 SSD for OS, scratch and Lightroom cache

I haven’t had it long, but realise now I should have done more research before buying (but hey, I was upgrading from a G4!) I use it for Lightroom (mainly), PS and ID (both CS2). I have a Canon 7D and would really like to do some video stuff. Short films of 15 mins max.

So to the questions:

1. I currently use Final Cut Express 3 for video, but can’t figure out why it won’t render transitions etc on the fly. Is it because I need a better graphics card to handle the Full-HD files? Would Final Cut Studio be better?

2. Will my machine run Premiere Pro? Its System Requirements say 64-bit and my machine is, I think, 32 bit. (Clearly, I know little about how that works!). I can get Premiere Pro as part of a CS5.5 Master collection at student price, so that’s appealing if it will run!

3. I figure that to get better video performance (among other improvements) I need to either upgrade this machine or get a newer one. Which will be faster and/or better value? An upgrade to 2x Quad 5365 3.0Ghz processors and 5770 graphics card ($1000 total cost) or buy new a current 3.2GHz quad for about A$2700 after selling this one and adding RAM.

4. If I take the processor upgrade path, will I have to replace my 667MHz RAM with faster stuff to get the most out of it (which will add ~$400 to the cost)?

Thanks in advance...
 
I have a 1.1 and work with HD video on a daily basis. It still works great for what I work with, primarily DVCPROHD and Prores. I convert any AVC/H.264 footage to Prores before editing. Trying to cut that in realtime is a bit sluggish, so your 7D footage might be a bit choppy during editing if you try it natively. It's a bad format to edit with anyway so that doesn't bother me. I'm currently holding out for the Sandybridge, possibly Ivybridge revisions before I upgrade.
 
troutweed said:
1. I currently use Final Cut Express 3 for video, but can’t figure out why it won’t render transitions etc on the fly. Is it because I need a better graphics card to handle the Full-HD files? Would Final Cut Studio be better?
Click to expand...
How do you import the footage into FCE?
Have you tired properly transcoding the DSLR footage using H.264 as codec to a .mov file using Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) as video codec and Uncompressed for the audio via MPEG Streamclip?

2. Will my machine run Premiere Pro? Its System Requirements say 64-bit and my machine is, I think, 32 bit. (Clearly, I know little about how that works!). I can get Premiere Pro as part of a CS5.5 Master collection at student price, so that’s appealing if it will run!
Click to expand...
It is 64-bit: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/stats/mac-pro-quad-2.66-specs.html

3. I figure that to get better video performance (among other improvements) I need to either upgrade this machine or get a newer one. Which will be faster and/or better value? An upgrade to 2x Quad 5365 3.0Ghz processors and 5770 graphics card ($1000 total cost) or buy new a current 3.2GHz quad for about A$2700 after selling this one and adding RAM.
Click to expand...
You will not get better video performance, as FCE and FCP currently don't really take advantage of the GPU (graphics card). A faster Mac will give you lower transcoding times though.

4. If I take the processor upgrade path, will I have to replace my 667MHz RAM with faster stuff to get the most out of it (which will add ~$400 to the cost)?
Click to expand...
Unlikely, as the logic board is the limiting factor for RAM speeds.
 
simsaladimbamba,

"transcoding the DSLR footage using H.264 as codec to a .mov file using Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) as video codec and Uncompressed for the audio via MPEG Streamclip?"

Yep, that's how I was importing, although I've tried heaps of other permutations! Kind of works, but I still get a "Writing video" hold-up every few minutes, for a looong time (5 to 15 minutes)

JesterJJZ,
Which editing program are you using?

Do you think Premiere will be more intuitive to a long-time Adobe user than FCE or FCS?
 
Yes, but I believe the first Intel-native version was CS3, so it will be emulated and you will lose some performance.
 
troutweed said:
simsaladimbamba,

"transcoding the DSLR footage using H.264 as codec to a .mov file using Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) as video codec and Uncompressed for the audio via MPEG Streamclip?"

Yep, that's how I was importing, although I've tried heaps of other permutations! Kind of works, but I still get a "Writing video" hold-up every few minutes, for a looong time (5 to 15 minutes)
Click to expand...
What sequence settings are you using and what exact effects do you apply, that need rendering?
Can you post screenshots of your workflow?


JesterJJZ,
Which editing program are you using?
Click to expand...
That will be Final Cut Pro (ProRes is the FCP codec).

Do you think Premiere will be more intuitive to a long-time Adobe user than FCE or FCS?
Click to expand...
Maybe, but FCE and Premiere are quite alike, more than Avid Media Composer and Premiere/FCE/FCP.
I started with Premiere (1998), because it offered more than Ulead Media Studio. Then I switched to Avid MC in 2002 and never looked back.
I edited some clips in FCP, but Avid MC is much better for my train of thought.

troutweed said:
Oooh, one more Q.

Will CS2 work under 10.6?
Click to expand...
Maybe, it is still a PPC application, and you need Rosetta in 10.6 to run it, thus it will be a bit slower.

Btw, to quote someone, just press the
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button.

To quote several posts, use the
multiquote_off.gif
button (multi-quote).

To edit your posts, use the
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button.

All these buttons are on the bottom right of the posts.

Minor Problems

6. Sequential posts.
Combine your comments into one post rather than making many consecutive posts to a thread within a short period of time.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry for the newbie errors.:eek:

I can't really say which effects etc I'll use because I've really just been stuffing around trying to get things to work and playing with what's possible.

I think I'll try the CS5.5 Master Suite upgrade first (including Premiere), and see if I need better or different hardware after I've used it for a bit.

Thanks for your quick replies.
 
I use primarily FCP, After Effects and Photoshop. CS2 works but was a little clunky and buggy on my machine.
 
I believe the RAW files from a 7D will not work on CS2 as it does not have the proper version of Adobe Camera RAW.
 
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