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[Tommie Hu$tle]

I need a lot of juice and it's primary purpose is going to be for digital editing of videos. I'm looking at Macs but, I don't know give me a clue.


Thanks

 

[GXAlan]

You give no info about your budget. I'd go with dual processor systems from Boxxtech if you need professional grade stuff (SDI, 10-bit RGB, multichannel digital audio) or a regular PC or Apple if you're just looking MiniDV and HDV processing.

 

[Manics]

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

Let's say my budget is 2000 to 3000 depending on the features.

 

[SickBoy]

If you're looking solely for those purposes, I think a Mac is ideal. You can get a dual processor G5 (1.8GHz) for $2000. There are also models for $2500 (Dual 2GHz) and $3000 (Dual 2.5GHz)

They all come with a DVD burner, but no monitor... they'll also come with all the software you really need: iMovie for editing, iDVD for creating DVDs and GarageBand, which will work for music, depending on what sort of "music editing" you want to do.

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

If you're looking solely for those purposes, I think a Mac is ideal. You can get a dual processor G5 (1.8GHz) for $2000. There are also models for $2500 (Dual 2GHz) and $3000 (Dual 2.5GHz)

They all come with a DVD burner, but no monitor... they'll also come with all the software you really need: iMovie for editing, iDVD for creating DVDs and GarageBand, which will work for music, depending on what sort of "music editing" you want to do.

Can I get all that in a laptop?

 

[SickBoy]

No G5 (a G4 will do, my brother's been editing DV on a 1GHz G4 eMac and getting great results), but yeah, you can get a Powerbook that's got a Superdrive and all that software bundle for roughly the same as the G5. Or you can get the highest-spec iBook, which should come with the same stuff.

Price range is roughly $1800-2800 for the Powerbooks, $1500 for the top-end iBook.

I'm not sure the Powerbooks are great value right now, because the thought seems to be an upgrade is overdue:
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

Also, if you've got a monitor and input devices over there, you could conceivably get the "Mac mini" and hook it up to a monitor out there... that would be pretty cheap (around $500, but you'd want more RAM as well as a Superdrive upgrade if you wanted to burn DVDs)

 

[mrklaw]

If you are looking at DV editing, then choose your platform based on software you'd like to use. Basically any standard PC will be fine for basic capture and editing. Pay more for a faster processor to speed up rendering, and a bigger hard drive for capture - thats about it. Oh, and a DVD burner. Twin monitors or a TV out might be worth looking at depending on which software you use. Real estate is always useful.

3-4 years ago you'd worry about HDD throughput etc, but these days the minimum requirement has long since been surpassed, so no real need to worry.

Its still worthwhile having a separate HDD for capture/edit, purely from a practicality point of view - much easier to back up if you want, and erase/defrag when you are done and ready for your next project.

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

This isn't for me it is for my Dad. He does a lot of video productions (weddings, memorials, retirements, and stuff like that) his work is really good but, he does it more as a hobby right now. I think he could make a decent living on it myself. So I figure I'll give him some seed capital by buying him a computer optomized for video editing. I'm not sure what software he is using now.

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

This is what I got him.

• Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
• 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English

Should I had them to delay the shipping so it gets there in two weeks. I want my folks to bask in the glow of the imac I bought them before I send this puppy.

 

[ckohler]

Wise choice. I have that exact machine (except I have 1.5GB of ram).
The iLife apps should be enough for basic things (even wedding videos and DVDs) but if he needs more powerful video editing, consider getting Final Cut Express.

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

He'll probably want to go with Final Cut, I'll suggest it to him but I think I'm all good as far as setting him on the right path.