zonino Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Hi Guys, my career movements are currently taking me in the direction of high-end film-based media production, this co-incides with my increasing need to buy a new laptop of sorts, my options as I see it are: P_C L@pt0p - will run Avid software, Mac L@ptop - will run Avid software & Final Cut Pro software, this seems to suggest that I would be better off buying a mac, however are there any other high-end video software packages that I should be considering? also another query I have is packages such as M$ 0ffice, will these run on Macs? intercompatability for running things such as presentations, and budget sheets in excel is something I have to consider, Ladies & Gentleman, your advice please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 also another query I have is packages such as M$ 0ffice, will these run on Macs? intercompatability for running things such as presentations, and budget sheets in excel is something I have to consider,Yes and no. The Mac version of M$ Orifice is rather behind the PeaSea version. The open-source Open0ffice.org is almost as good as M$ 2003 - the spreadsheet program isn't quite as powerful, but that's the only real difference.It happily opens the vast majority of M$ documents as well. However - it's not yet OSX native, and currently requires an X11 windowing system to be installed. An Aqua port is in-progress, but as with all open-source software, it might happen tomorrow, in ten years time, or it might never happen at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonino Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 aah, the lack of spreadsheet power might be an issue (I'm doing a certificate in accounting and developing cunning formulae n stuff) good to know though, ta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 also another query I have is packages such as M$ 0ffice, will these run on Macs? intercompatability for running things such as presentations, and budget sheets in excel is something I have to consider,Yes and no. The Mac version of M$ Orifice is rather behind the PeaSea version. *cough.... Not strictly true, Tomo. The current version of Office for the Mac is a version behind the PC one, but it's far from underpowered, and will do everything that Zonino wants to do. It's better (and newer!) than Office 2003. And there's a new one coming out later this year...and if you really need to, you can run Windows! Anyway, we're drifting off-topic. Zonino, if you are considering buying a mac, the nice people at AppleNova (of whom, I am one..) will be able to help you decide, without the FUD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p.k.roberts Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 H Mac L@ptop - will run Avid software & Final Cut Pro software, As of very recently Avid DV Express Pro was not happy running on an Intel Mac - I'm sure it will be fixed soon, but would be worth checking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 One thing crops up here - compromise. If you want to do high end work, then a laptop, irrespective of cost and power has a number of bid disadvantages. Main things are:lack of ability to have better graphics cards, or other internal add on systems. Screen size - for anything video you really need multiple, big monitorskeyboards - the most useful add-on I have for my video computer is a keyboard with coloured keys for the shortcuts - it really speeds things up. Laptops are fine, but they try to do too much. My audio computer does audio, my video one does video. Neither have word processors, games, internet or other software - AND they are stable. My laptop does have lots on it - audio, video, and loads of oother stuff and is so lethargic that I wouldn't risk running it for any live work. Hanging a couple of big external drives onto it is not reliable. Full screen DV in .avi coming in and going out at the same time is not safe. I'm not a computer expert, and friends who are tell me of the benefits of multiple partitions bla bla but an 80GB drive doesn't go that far with video files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonino Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 unfortunately compromise is going to have to be made, a decent portion of my work is going to be on location so a laptop of sorts is what I'm going to be buying, Live work shouldn't be an issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I just re-read your first post, and I note the words "high-end" and "film-based". Did you really mean that? In which case you probably don't want to make a laptop try and do any of that - you'll need a hardware-based Avid system really, and you can't afford one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw1981 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 since you mentioned portable computer not laptop, how about a rackmount computer with a screen(s) in another rack/flightcase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonino Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 ok, I should clarify my position here, I mean laptop, I said portable computer because at some point I got ranted at for including macbooks as laptops. also, I am aiming & training to get into production management of video-media, primarily in screen dramas at the moment, yes, an Avid hardware system would be great, but as you say, I can't afford one! If I can get a system that will give me some aspect of high-end video software with the option to expand at a later date to a system such as Avid that would be ideal. Basically, I need a system that is going to be the most compatible with the people/industry sector I will be working with/within, hope this clarifys things further Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Right: To me, "high-end, film-based" says: Feature Films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonino Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 maybe later, one step at a time ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 zonino - it doesn't help at all! If you want SD or HD, the demands are the same. You CANNOT do what you want properly on a laptop with built in screen, without carrying bucket loads of additional kit with you. The bare minimum for proper production (which is what I do, being self-employed) is a real monitor - as in video, not computer, and two screens. You will probably go down the Avid/Premiere/FCP route and the differences in wha they do are not huge, but they are there. Quite a few people now run Vegas. For serious tweaking you will also want something lke after effects. Most of these are well thought through softwre that will perform on most well specified computers of almost any kind. The problems are with communication to the outside world - you'll soon run out of usb2 and firewire ports, and adding more to laptops isn't quite so easy. Moving to HD if/when you go there also adds a lot of extra problems. Somebody suggested a transportable system - this, to me is a much better idea. I'm often tempted to try and edit video on the laptop I'm using here - but hauling just the drives around is a pain, and I know through experience the damn things are not strong enough. Hauling a computer monitor, let alone a 'real' monitor around rather wipes out the usefulness of a laptop doesn't it? Most editors require you to have far to many windows open to use a single monitor. The monitor and timeline windows are just too small to see, and re-sizing all the time is not a real option - just drives you mad. You asked for advice - everyone says NO, and you seem to want us to come up with ideas to back up your already made decision? Why ask then? For a bit of non-essential editing, you might get away with it - but you will hate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I just re-read your first post, and I note the words "high-end" and "film-based". Did you really mean that? In which case you probably don't want to make a laptop try and do any of that - you'll need a hardware-based Avid system really, and you can't afford one.... If you are looking at "High End" I would have thought you would have been looking at something like eQ or Smoke rather than Avid or FCP. To me "high-end film-based media production" means DI and when you say Avid I doubt you mean DS Nitris (which does do DI) If you just mean film-based then your options are a lot more open but it is all depends on how you intend to get your media into your NLE. If you are doing film work on location then you probably want something like MC Soft with Mojo to take the video assist and timecode to create a rough location cut. If you are doing film work off site then it will depend what format you want your dailies on. Something like SP is again going to require a mojo if you still insist on a laptop solution. Alternatively you could work with a desktop Avid with DNA or FCP with Kona/etc system and share their digitised media on location. At the end of the day as you are unlikely to do DI without seriously more budget so all you need is an EDL anyway. If you are going for a laptop p.k.roberts is correct H Mac L@ptop - will run Avid software & Final Cut Pro software, As of very recently Avid DV Express Pro was not happy running on an Intel Mac - I'm sure it will be fixed soon, but would be worth checking. Intel Mac Laptop is proving very popular with some training demonstrators as they can use PC Avid over bootcamp, Mac Avid (beta) and Mac FCP on Mac The Mac Avid Beta project has just finished Gold is imminent and the suspicion is the finished product will be released in line with NAB one thing I cannot stress enough is what paulears says... Laptops are fine, but they try to do too much. My audio computer does audio, my video one does video. Neither have word processors, games, internet or other software - AND they are stable. My laptop does have lots on it - audio, video, and loads of oother stuff and is so lethargic that I wouldn't risk running it for any live work. Hanging a couple of big external drives onto it is not reliable. Full screen DV in .avi coming in and going out at the same time is not safe. If you intend to earn any form of income from this work you owe it to yourself and your clients to keep your editing system separate from your admin system. Please do not consider putting any form of wordproccessing / spreadsheet / office application on your editing system and it goes without saying you should never ever connect it to the Internet for email or web browsing. You will find NLE software can be very dependent on system software being constant. Point releases and upgrades to essential components like quicktime can wreck your system. Windows Patches and MacOS point upgrades can be almost as bad. When you embark on a project Particularly a longform feature project you should leave your system alone (in terms of configuration) until the project is finished. Anyway Good luck James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonino Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 unfortunately compromise is going to have to be made, a decent portion of my work is going to be on location so a laptop of sorts is what I'm going to be buying, Live work shouldn't be an issue I am aiming & training to get into production management of video-media, primarily in screen dramas at the moment,when I say production management, I mean production management, rather than post-production management, or editing. HOWEVER, I'd like to have some sort of ability to interact with the industry-standard editing systems should the need arise. Avid/Premiere/FCP route and the differences in wha they do are not huge, but they are there. Quite a few people now run Vegas. For serious tweaking you will also want something lke after effects. Most of these are well thought through softwre that will perform on most well specified computers of almost any kind.thanks, this is the sort of info I was after You asked for advice - everyone says NO, and you seem to want us to come up with ideas to back up your already made decision? Why ask then?Basically, I need a system that is going to be the most compatible with the people/industry sector I will be working with/within, I think that statements shows I haven't made up my mind, other than I need a laptop of sorts Laptops are fine, but they try to do too much. My audio computer does audio, my video one does video. Neither have word processors, games, internet or other software - AND they are stable. My laptop does have lots on it - audio, video, and loads of oother stuff and is so lethargic that I wouldn't risk running it for any live work. Hanging a couple of big external drives onto it is not reliable. Full screen DV in .avi coming in and going out at the same time is not safe. If you intend to earn any form of income from this work you owe it to yourself and your clients to keep your editing system separate from your admin system. Please do not consider putting any form of wordproccessing / spreadsheet / office application on your editing system and it goes without saying you should never ever connect it to the Internet for email or web browsing.the income I intend to earn is from admin-management, rather than editing, if I ever do end up doing lots of editing, it is more than likely I will end up being somewhere like The Basement I am trying to make a choice between Mac L@ptop and P_C L@ptop for what is going to offer me the most compatability with the industry. it doesn't need to be a great fantastic wowee editing system, I won't be doing that, but I'd like to be able to do some sort of editing on it if the need arises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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