Buying a Mac

[ghost_lingering]

Hey, so. I'm buying a new computer, and I'd like to get a Mac that would be decent for vidding. I'm tentatively thinking a 15" powerbook, but I've never owned a Mac before, and I don't know what the hardware essentials are for video editing, so I'd like a bit of guidance. So, uh. What should I get? Or, rather, what system would you get, and what would you consider absolutely nessisary in terms of specifications?

Also, if anyone knows of any good technical guides that are Mac specific, I'd love if you could link them--most of the information that I've found has been for pcs, which has been wonderful...until now.

Thanks much!

Comments

[ghost_lingering]

Thanks! There is a retail store near where I go to college, so that's probably a good idea, to go there before I order whatever I decide to order.

I've used FCP in classes, but never for vidding, so my goal is to eventually buy it--I'm just focusing on getting a computer first.

Anyway, thank you! I'll keep your suggestions in mind.

[angstie.livejournal.com]

Hi,

You may also like to have a look at the forums on Afterdawn.com. There are some Mac vidding forums there that may have some good info for you.

As a Mac owner, I generally find that its not much different from using a pc - just diffrerent software. (Of course, I've never done vidding so far, so I could be talking crap...)

Ang

[ghost_lingering]

I'm just poking around afterdawn.com right now and it's exactly the type of thing I was looking for! Thank you!

The few times I've used a mac, I'm mostly just used Final Cut Pro, so I don't actually know how different macs are from pcs. I suspect that I'll get the hang of it though. I eventually figured out Windows, and OSX can't be any harder than that!

Thanks for your help!

[sineala.livejournal.com]

I have one of the 12" Powerbooks (the model before the most recent model), and it worked fine for vidding for me. Well, until the hard drive died. Which I hear is a common laptop problem.

I'd recommend as much RAM and hard drive space as you can afford. I think all Apple's current machines have spiffy enough processors to run FCP/FCE if that's what you want to do, though you should probably check with someone who knows -- I'm (mostly, grr arg) satisfied with iMovie, except for the part where you apparently cannot ever lock clips to the timeline.

If you're vidding from DVD, you want at least a DVD-ROM. DVD burners are nice too, if you think you'll want to put vids on disk.

I'd actually really recommend an external (Firewire-based) hard drive if you're getting a laptop, or just a second hard-drive if you want a desktop. Because vidding is hard on your hard drive. (I got one and my laptop's hard drive *still* died, so.)

You could ask mac_vidding_101 too -- I think this is ontopic for them.

[ghost_lingering]

I do have an external harddrive but now you really have me worried about harddrives dying. Well, that'll go on my list of questions to ask tech people before I buy...

And thanks for the link to mac_vidding_101--it really looks helpful.

Thanks for your suggestions and help!

[sineala.livejournal.com]

Oh, and ripping on a Mac is pretty easy. Rip with MacTheRipper, and you've got your VOB file. How you clip from then on depends on your personal preferences, but if you're using iMovie you want to convert to DV. (I dunno about FCP.) Some people convert the whole thing to DV and clip in QuickTime Pro. I prefer MPEGStreamclip, because it lets me clip from the VOB file and only converts what I've got selected, which I prefer.

[ghost_lingering]

Thanks! Nice to know that most things will work.

[ryty.livejournal.com]

I have an iMac G5 with Final Cut Pro (love it) I was pretty frustrated at first because I couldn't find the programs I needed for ripping. But you can use MacTheRipper and ffmpegx for your ripping needs.

[ghost_lingering]

I was wondering how one rips on a mac, so this is great! Thank you.