video editing: Mac or PC?
- Thread starter mmvalli
- Start date
Well I've never had the pleasure of using a mac, I would love to, but all I have is windows and linux and windows is FAR superior for video editing than linux is. Sony Vegas is a great program for windows and it's cheap as well. But you know with windows you will always have the annoying viruses and the annoying virus protection scans to prevent the viruses and the constant problems. With vista whenever I open a program it asks my permission first like it's baby sitting me or something, very annoying. I say go with mac but honestly I've never used it so i can't say for sure.
I use mac, but I have at least 1 friend I know who can do amazing things on a pc, so I don't think that it matters a whole lot. The one thing I will say is that if you are going to do any local production company/wedding type things is that in my experience everyone looking to hire for freelance editing wants you to have/use final cut. I'm not sure that actually matters much... if you're the "expert" you can probably explain w/e to clients. But keep in mind final cut is the name most people are familiar with.
The good news is you have been hearing and reading
incorrect information. Neither is better. Though some
editors prefer one over the other.
Now I don't know the actually statistics on which
platform is used more, but I do know that both platforms
are excellent for video editing. So no need to jump on
any bandwagon. If you currently own a PC you have
an excellent machine for video editing. And you have
several software choices.
If you do not currently own a computer and prefer to
use Final Cut then you will need a Mac. But neither is
better
incorrect information. Neither is better. Though some
editors prefer one over the other.
Now I don't know the actually statistics on which
platform is used more, but I do know that both platforms
are excellent for video editing. So no need to jump on
any bandwagon. If you currently own a PC you have
an excellent machine for video editing. And you have
several software choices.
If you do not currently own a computer and prefer to
use Final Cut then you will need a Mac. But neither is
better
Go to newegg.com and/or tigerdirect.com and you can build yourself a PC identical to a Mac of your preferred specs for about 1/3 the price, or build yourself a PC the same price as that Mac, but about twice as powerful.
Both platforms have great options for software, though Final Cut is exclusive to Mac, the Adobe Creative Suite and Avid are right on par with it anyway and are available on both Mac and PC.
If you go with PC, get Windows 7, it's great. You could get Vista and qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it's released on the 22nd (you should be able to upgrade install it over Vista and keep all your stuff, that's what I did with the Release Candidate, which has been great).
You'll have yourself a wicked fast, stable system, happy hunting!
Both platforms have great options for software, though Final Cut is exclusive to Mac, the Adobe Creative Suite and Avid are right on par with it anyway and are available on both Mac and PC.
If you go with PC, get Windows 7, it's great. You could get Vista and qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it's released on the 22nd (you should be able to upgrade install it over Vista and keep all your stuff, that's what I did with the Release Candidate, which has been great).
You'll have yourself a wicked fast, stable system, happy hunting!
It depends on your end goal.
If you are editing your own work, it doesn't matter. Go with the platform (Mac/PC) that you are most familiar with, or that you can afford and then pick-up the software that runs on the platform.
If you are trying to gain experience to get hired by a post-production house, or a small full-service company that does it's own post then go with Final Cut. Despite the fact that neither is superior, there is a perception of superiority on the Mac side, and since historically design/creative pros have been Mac users the trend has continued in editing. I rarely see jobs in post looking for Adobe.
Your mileage may vary. But in N. Cal it seems that FCP reigns supreme at Ad houses, small production houses, and Post freelancers.
If you are editing your own work, it doesn't matter. Go with the platform (Mac/PC) that you are most familiar with, or that you can afford and then pick-up the software that runs on the platform.
If you are trying to gain experience to get hired by a post-production house, or a small full-service company that does it's own post then go with Final Cut. Despite the fact that neither is superior, there is a perception of superiority on the Mac side, and since historically design/creative pros have been Mac users the trend has continued in editing. I rarely see jobs in post looking for Adobe.
Your mileage may vary. But in N. Cal it seems that FCP reigns supreme at Ad houses, small production houses, and Post freelancers.
I'm about to switch from Windows to Mac, but I wouldn't say that Mac is better per se. It may be more stable and crashes less often than Windows and not need as much virus protection, but Windows is still more widely-used.
If you go Mac I recommend that you buy the Final Cut Studio package. It's $1,000, but you get Final Cut Pro, Motion, Color, DVD Studio, Soundtrack Pro and Compressor included with it. It does take up over 42GBs of HDD space, but that's to be expected. You also need at least a display resolution of 1680x1050, otherwise everything will be all smushed and won't work properly.
Whatever you get, be sure to make it ready for editing video. RAM, Hard drive and processor speed are all very important factors.
If you go Mac I recommend that you buy the Final Cut Studio package. It's $1,000, but you get Final Cut Pro, Motion, Color, DVD Studio, Soundtrack Pro and Compressor included with it. It does take up over 42GBs of HDD space, but that's to be expected. You also need at least a display resolution of 1680x1050, otherwise everything will be all smushed and won't work properly.
Whatever you get, be sure to make it ready for editing video. RAM, Hard drive and processor speed are all very important factors.
Personally, I would say Mac. I don't think either one is going to make you a better editor or render anything faster, but here are my reasons for choosing Mac:
- Can work with all Adobe products AND Final Cut Studio
- Seems to be ubiquitous with the mid -to- high level editing companies/organizations/institutions that I've come into contact with.
- I really like Final Cut Studio more than Adobe Creative suite for video postproduction. It could easily just be me, but I've found Final Cut to be more stable, intuitive, and faster than Premiere, plus a heck of a lot more powerful. Shake/Final Cut Pro vs After Effects/Premiere Pro will never be a competition in my mind.
- You get all the power of UNIX. This might not matter to you if all you're looking at doing is basic editing, but I use the command line every single day to help me out, mostly with media organization, but just earlier today I wrote a command line utility to help me out with a visual effects shot I was doing.
When I started film school, I was among two of thirty people in my class that used a Mac. By the end of the first year, 20 of them were Mac users, and by the end of the third year, every single one had switched.
Do with that what you will.
-edit-
What kind of video you're editing and in what format will define your hardware requirements. I would say don't use USB at all, even for SD footage. Firewire will get you through SD (even ProRes uncompressed) and things like HDV. For uncompressed/HDCAM footage and 2k/4k RED, you're going to need a separate, dedicated SATA drive from your boot drive. This necessitates a tower over a laptop/iMac setup, but most towers can support 4-6 internal SATA drives.... plus, they're cheap ($100 for 1 TB).
RAM's another consideration. You're not going to get away with less than 2 gigs. I have 6 and I still run into issues when working with VFX/realtime filters on uncompressed HD and RED 4k. Things to keep in mind.
- Can work with all Adobe products AND Final Cut Studio
- Seems to be ubiquitous with the mid -to- high level editing companies/organizations/institutions that I've come into contact with.
- I really like Final Cut Studio more than Adobe Creative suite for video postproduction. It could easily just be me, but I've found Final Cut to be more stable, intuitive, and faster than Premiere, plus a heck of a lot more powerful. Shake/Final Cut Pro vs After Effects/Premiere Pro will never be a competition in my mind.
- You get all the power of UNIX. This might not matter to you if all you're looking at doing is basic editing, but I use the command line every single day to help me out, mostly with media organization, but just earlier today I wrote a command line utility to help me out with a visual effects shot I was doing.
When I started film school, I was among two of thirty people in my class that used a Mac. By the end of the first year, 20 of them were Mac users, and by the end of the third year, every single one had switched.
Do with that what you will.
-edit-
What kind of video you're editing and in what format will define your hardware requirements. I would say don't use USB at all, even for SD footage. Firewire will get you through SD (even ProRes uncompressed) and things like HDV. For uncompressed/HDCAM footage and 2k/4k RED, you're going to need a separate, dedicated SATA drive from your boot drive. This necessitates a tower over a laptop/iMac setup, but most towers can support 4-6 internal SATA drives.... plus, they're cheap ($100 for 1 TB).
RAM's another consideration. You're not going to get away with less than 2 gigs. I have 6 and I still run into issues when working with VFX/realtime filters on uncompressed HD and RED 4k. Things to keep in mind.
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