Video editing PC user thinking of moving to Mac?

[Matt2012]

Hi all

I've been using PC's with Adobe Premier for video editing for the last 8 years or so and im now thinking of moving to a Mac but have a few questions if you kind folk could answer

Im not sure what Mac i'd need but here is what ill need it to do...

On PC premier i capture movie footage from mini dv Sd and Hd 1080i or import files in hd from cards from the camera. I then cut it up a little with a few transitions and export it in .h264 and wmv/flv and create a few titles for web use only so nothing to intensive.

What type of mac is best for this for upto £1000? Would a mini mac be ok? It must be desktop based and not a notebook.

Ill need some decent drive space (500gb min ideally) and the option of running photoshop as well.

If a mini mac will do the job, would it be faster to encode than an 64 bit i5 pc with 6megs of ram? I have 4 dvi enabled 26" monitors so only need the base unit. I take it these monitors would work ok with macs?

I dont want to make the wrong choice as its a big switch for me.

Sorry for the newbie questions but havent used a mac in years.

 

[ivoruest]

I suggest you get an iMac for the job you want to do. iMacs aren't that expensive for what they offer. I personally find the Mac Mini way below an iMac's capabilities. Especially on graphics and RAM upgrades.

 

[Poki]

I suggest you get an iMac for the job you want to do. iMacs aren't that expensive for what they offer. I personally find the Mac Mini way below an iMac's capabilities. Especially on graphics and RAM upgrades.

That's true - for the current generation (although not for RAM upgrades). Like I said sometimes here the next generation could change this with a Quad-Core i7 (3612qm) and a GT640M.

But as for now - yes, a Mac Mini could probably do everything you want, but a iMac could do it faster with its Quad-Core chip. It's your choice which model you prefer as both are capable of handling it, but I don't know how complex your projects are.

As always, if waiting a few months is an option, it may be best to hold on for the next iMac / Mac Mini update, which is long overdue IMHO.

 

[DrakkenWar]

From the sounds of it?

I would say being that:

A. You already have your monitors, keyboard, mouse, shuttle whatever else you are accustom to.

B. Adding the iMac might limit the options of adding those additional screen back into production use.

I would go with the i7 mini, do your self a favor and go to www.otherworldcomputing.com or www.newegg.com for the ram and MAX it out right away. Other than that I think you will be fine. As a side note? Don't be in a hurry to upgrade to 10.8 (ML). It has really caused me nothing but heartaches since I bit the bullet, I'm either going back to 10.7 or installing linux on my mini. Have not decided which way to go yet..

 

[treatment]

My 2 cents:

An iMac over a Macmini is a no brainer. Of course it's a faster computer.
But you know what?
The original poster said the budget was $1000.
Get a Mac mini, invest the rest in a Matrox Triple-head2go, monitor problem solved.

Might want to double check that the latest Mac OS is in fact truly compatible with Premier. And I say double check, meaning don;t just go to Adobe and Apple's website, check the common video boards like FCPUGLA (and OTHER Final Cut Pro users groups) Those guys are pros, and they know their ****.
At the moment there are a TON of FCP users switching to Premier, so EVERYONE is concerned about OS compatibility at the moment.
I have a MacMini as a second computer, and I use FCP on it. For 80% of the video editors out there who are NOT using Davinci Resolve, Boris Continuum, Nuke and other CPU/Graphics intense programs, you will be quite pleased with how the MacMini performs, especially once the Thunderbolt products become available.
Treatment

 

[Matt2012]

Thanks all and the imac does seem a better bet. Overpriced for my budget but i see Apple are doing a rental scheme for business so i'll call them in the week.

 

[NewbieCanada]

I suggest you get an iMac for the job you want to do. iMacs aren't that expensive for what they offer. I personally find the Mac Mini way below an iMac's capabilities. Especially on graphics and RAM upgrades.

Mac Mini and iMac use the same RAM, and both can use up to 16 GB. Not that I'm recommending the Mini for editing. Rendering tends to be slow

 

[treatment]

Not that I'm recommending the Mini for editing. Rendering tends to be slow

"Slow" is a relative concept.
It might be "screaming fast" compared to the Windows PC he was using previously!

My MBPro is 5 years old now, and it doesn't feel slow to me.
I know for a fact that a new MBPro would make this computer feel like trudging knee-deep through a swamp.

But because I don't have the "speed" that a new computer would offer, I don't miss it!

 

[comatory]

• you should know that Adobe creates its own version of software for Mac OS. even if you bought PC version they won't provide Mac OS version for free, you have to buy a new one
• if you are thinking of just running a bootcamp and running Premiere there, it's possible but I'd recommend you to just get a new PC instead
• I am video editor, my first Mac was Macbook Pro 13", it was very capable machine but I outgrew it, personally I think you have two options that are worth considering: Mac Mini Server with i7 quad OR base 21.5 iMac
• Mac Mini Server is what I might be going for, I don't want to insult you but your video editing needs can be handled even my Macbook Air, so with Mac Mini server you'll have plenty of overhead for future, once you upgrade the RAM it'll be sufficient
• if you can afford few bucks more, base 21.5 iMac is definitely the best value out there for your buck, it already has desktop CPU and HDD, dedicated GPU and you get the whole package, you can re-use one of your best display as preview monitor for video (Premiere allows you to dedicate full screen monitor just for that purpose) and maybe you can sell the others and get external storage instead
• in both cases (Mac mini or iMac) you NEED to up the RAM to at least 8GB, I'd recommend 16GB because the price difference isn't that big

 

[Blackberryroid]

Hi all

I've been using PC's with Adobe Premier for video editing for the last 8 years or so and im now thinking of moving to a Mac but have a few questions if you kind folk could answer

Im not sure what Mac i'd need but here is what ill need it to do...

On PC premier i capture movie footage from mini dv Sd and Hd 1080i or import files in hd from cards from the camera. I then cut it up a little with a few transitions and export it in .h264 and wmv/flv and create a few titles for web use only so nothing to intensive.

What type of mac is best for this for upto £1000? Would a mini mac be ok? It must be desktop based and not a notebook.

Ill need some decent drive space (500gb min ideally) and the option of running photoshop as well.

If a mini mac will do the job, would it be faster to encode than an 64 bit i5 pc with 6megs of ram? I have 4 dvi enabled 26" monitors so only need the base unit. I take it these monitors would work ok with macs?

I dont want to make the wrong choice as its a big switch for me.

Sorry for the newbie questions but havent used a mac in years.

Wait for the next Mac Mini. It's near.

I'm on the World's Fastest MacBook Air and I have a feeling that the Mac Mini will have the same speed.

I'm on Final Cut Pro X, I only used Premiere Pro once so I can't really comment on that. The rendering times are quick, they're okay for a person who doesn't really intensively (with all the harry-potter like effects in AE) edit 20 minute videos and above.

It's great for occasional video editing. It's great. Not bad for an ultrabook.

The new Mac Mini, again, would probably have the same speed.

 

[NewbieCanada]

"Slow" is a relative concept.
It might be "screaming fast" compared to the Windows PC he was using previously!

My MBPro is 5 years old now, and it doesn't feel slow to me.
I know for a fact that a new MBPro would make this computer feel like trudging knee-deep through a swamp.

But because I don't have the "speed" that a new computer would offer, I don't miss it!

True enough. Actually he's coming from an i5 Windows desktop, so a current or next generation Mini should be at least as fast.

 

[Matt2012]

Thanks for everyones input but after spending hours over this weekend researching things, i think im going to be staying with a new pc.

The i7 27" imac looked great and was very tempted... But for that price with the 3.4 proccessor, 16 gb ram it was coming out at over 2k and that was without an ssd 1st drive.

It really is the export/render speed i need and for 1.5k, the pc i can get built is faster and more powerfull.

Should i wait for the new imac...? I'd like to but with no idea of a release date its hard when i need hardware asap

 

[comatory]

Thanks for everyones input but after spending hours over this weekend researching things, i think im going to be staying with a new pc.

The i7 27" imac looked great and was very tempted... But for that price with the 3.4 proccessor, 16 gb ram it was coming out at over 2k and that was without an ssd 1st drive.

It really is the export/render speed i need and for 1.5k, the pc i can get built is faster and more powerfull.

Should i wait for the new imac...? I'd like to but with no idea of a release date its hard when i need hardware asap

If you can,wait till the end of the october,new models might be coming out.

Istill think you should reconsider base iMac,since you have extra monitors I think you can go with that size, 27" iMacs are expensive. You can upgrade the base iMac with 3rd party RAM and SSD and use official repair center to replace them for you (no voiding the warranty).

That is, if you wanna go OS X route,if not just stick to the PCs,it will be cheaper.

You could look into building a Hackintosh too but that wont give you full Apple experience though.