Comments

Coursedesign wrote on 2/24/2008, 7:37 PM
Maybe like me he prefers a real, full keyboard, instead of a toy one that ,mac book pro comes with.

Well, that makes three of us preferring a real full keyboard for daily use, even though the difference is not huge: the keyboard on my 15.4" MBP is 9 3/4" wide, while a typical Compaq full size keyboard I have on another machine here is 11 1/4" wide.

So even the smallest MBP's built-in keyboard is only about 13% narrower than a full size ditto, and the feel is at least equal to that on my very good Compaq notebook, with the added advantage of being lit from the inside when needed for typing in the dark.

When in the office, I use a very large external Logitech Wave keyboard. When on the road, the laws of physics indicate that the built-in keyboard couldn't be much bigger on a 15.4" notebook, even if you reboot to Windows :O).

The 15.4" screen size doesn't matter to me for daily work, as when I'm at the office it's hooked up to one of my Westinghouse 24" LCDs anyway.

I could of course upgrade to a 17" MacBook Pro to get a full size keyboard, but then I'd have something much less portable.

>>>There is so much misinformation when it comes to Mac vs. Windows computers. <<<

I think you have proven otherwise just in this post, and there is plenty more elsewhere from other people who are trying to politicize their product choices. Psychologically it's a case of "My dad is stronger than your dad!" and it exists on both sides.

>>>>It really is important to get your information about each from actual experienced users<<<

Apple has a vastly better track record when it comes to having working firewire interfaces than any PC maker. To a large extent this is because Microsoft screwed up the Windows firewire code so many times and for so long (far longer than six months!), and there was nothing the PC manufacturers could do about it.

RME is infamous for having the #1 pickiest audio hardware on the planet. Many PCs have had problems with RME cards for a long time. Regardless of which model of PC or Mac you have, you really need to get a "pre-authorization" of the hardware and software from RME first.

RME has an ExpressCard option now that gives the lowest latencies of all interfaces. With that, you don't have to worry about Windows Firewire 800 problems, as long as you have a very late model Windows notebook (or any MacBook Pro).

The firewire chip sets used in MBPs and PC notebooks are all about the same (didn't you suggest in another thread that MBPs were just rebadged PC notebooks anyway?) as there isn't that much too choose from, and from what I can find there are a lot of happy MBP users of RME, Presonus, and Echo interfaces.

Apple has been classically slow to admit hardware problems, and that is something to watch out for. Treat any new Mac with a completely new architecture as you would treat a new version of Windows such as Vista: wait for other people to confirm that all is OK with your apps, add-on hardware, and drivers.

Motion < AE < Fusion

Sigh. Which is better: a 750cc sports motorcycle, a Prius, or a Ferrari?

Clearly the Ferrari can do some things better than the other two, and you know what they are.

In real-life urban street and freeway traffic, the Prius is in practice nearly as fast as the Ferrari for many tasks, and it beats the Ferrari when it comes to load capacity by a wide margin.

The motorcycle isn't as fast as the Ferrari and has less load capacity than either of the other two, but it can just fly through clogs where the four-wheelers have to wait for traffic to clear.

I don't think Enzo Ferrari would be embarrassed to see his cars mentioned together with motorcycles, and I hope the Digital Fusion guys see that there is a complementary place for them next to Motion.

I also hope DF rethinks their pricing model, because separating out the DFX low-end version as 8-bit only makes it alone at a time when every other manufacturer's tool is now high bit in all versions. Asking customers to pay $5,000 to go above 8-bit, when a $99.00 Vegas upgrade handles 32-bit video, and Motion does 32 bit since a long time (with GPU assistance of course), while After Effects has gone from having it be optional to being standard, well, perhaps you should consider putting some more tools in your toolbox.

For certain projects, a pro can do in Motion in minutes what would take hours to do in Fusion, and likewise any experienced pro should take AE over Fusion for creating motion graphics, and Fusion over AE for heavy duty compositing (although some very recent AE plug-ins have reduced the gap by quite a bit). They are just different tools!

auggybendoggy wrote on 2/24/2008, 8:01 PM
>>>I just hate to part with $2k when I could upgrade cams from HV20 to something more professional. Then again, my Gateway 6825 has Vista and I want to blow it off but cant find the audio drivers for XP. Thats why I have this dilemma.

Couldnt you just purchase like an M-audio fast track ultra and install xp drivers for that and run audio through the external audio interface?

I run my audio through my audiophile 2496 (pci) but usb 2.0 is all the same.

This would simply mean that you would have to run the external piece for all your audio so there would be no onbard audio if you can't get the audio drive for XP.

Aug
Cheno wrote on 2/24/2008, 8:59 PM
Patrick,

In looking at the specs of your laptop. Unless you're ready to plunk down more for a much faster quad core or something, I'm not sure you really need to spend the money. Auggy is right, I'd look at external audio options. Anything to get away from Vista ;) Granted I don't do much HDV editing on my laptop, it's only a Core Duo and runs really nicely for me.

I still love the HV20 but if you feel you need to put your money into a camera, I'd look at the XHA1 for the manual control. Can't beat it for the price, either.

Guess the option for me is, am I doing more shooting or more editing??? I do more post work than shooting so I tend to rent cams when I need them - I've got a couple of Canon HDV cams but anything else, I just rent. I have more post days during the months so it works. Just weigh the options.

cheno
deusx wrote on 2/24/2008, 9:41 PM
>>>>>>There is so much misinformation when it comes to Mac vs. Windows computers. <<<
Definitelly, and it all comes from the Mac side.

>>I think you have proven otherwise just in this post, and there is plenty more elsewhere from other people who are trying to politicize their product choices. Psychologically it's a case of "My dad is stronger than your dad!" and it exists on both sides.<<

Wrong again, it has nothing to do with mine is bigger than yours..

All of the misinformation comes from the Mac side and it's easy to explain why.

If you want OSX you have only one choice, and that is Apple.

On the windows side, if something doesn't work hardware wise, you just move on to the next piece of hardware that works
This is something apple fanboys don't seem to get. Because all of the misinformation they spread ( OSX is more stable, for pro audio macs are the best, yada, yada, yada ) is nonsense.

It may be true with some windows macines, but there are plenty of others that have ZERO problems, where windows never crashes and everything works perfectly . ( as was the case with firewire issues you mentioned, there were plenty of options available that were not affected at all, that's a classic case of misinformation from the mac side, if firewire and RME are so problematic, why does it work on every single laptop and desktop I tried in the last 3-4 years, and tried about 6 -7 so far ).


On the apple side, something doesn't work, and you're screwed until apple fixes it, and this can range from a week to never.


Your car analogy, also doesn't quite work for me either.

It's more like this:

Fusion = Mercedes
AE = Lexus without a wheel
Motion = Chevy without a wheel and a faulty transmission
Coursedesign wrote on 2/24/2008, 11:18 PM
All of the misinformation comes from the Mac side and it's easy to explain why.

But if you want Windows, you have many choices, and those are, um, Microsoft all of them... :O)

There is a very large number of professional audio users on OS X, as well as on Windows. They are making money, so their equipment is working.

Sounds like my own experience: both my Windows (XP) and my OS X machines are equally solid, because I keep them that way. I avoid stupid stuff on either platform.

You can go to Microsoft's Knowledge base and read about their firewire problems. Quite serious, and they sure took their time to fix those problems (years in some cases, just like with their packaged application products). Customers were totally screwed while waiting for those fixes.

I'm glad you see that it is possible to contribute to a lot of major Hollywood movies with a wheel-less Lexus, and now you know that a lot of major network broadcast motion graphics are made with a wheel-less Chevy with a faulty transmission.

No need for fancy Mercedes gear there apparently. Or is it that Mercedes transfered Chrysler's QA engineers to Germany? Because MB's build quality has dropped precariously. I have owned 2 Mercedes cars, but wouldn't buy them again until the quality has recovered.

DGates wrote on 2/25/2008, 1:33 AM
It's easier if you just disregard anything deusx says.

He's like the whiny little brat in the sandbox that wants everyone to play with his toys. When they don't, he trashes the other toys they do want to play with.
deusx wrote on 2/25/2008, 3:24 AM
>>>It's easier if you just disregard anything deusx says.

It's always easier to disregard than to think and come back with a real argument. Don't blame your mental deficiencies and lack of humor on me.

Take your own advice and ignore, or come back with something original instead of the same old kid in a sandbox crap. Especially when using it to defend the original kid in a sandbox, Apple.

Back on topic:

>>>But if you want Windows, you have many choices, and those are, um, Microsoft all of them... :O)<<<

Hardware???

I never had any firewire problems on windows, and that is precisely the reason. You just do some research and buy hardware that will work, and it did work with all versions of XP, so obviously it's a different situation.

On a mac you can't do that. You are stuck with whatever apple offers you.

And then there is software ( but we've already been through this ) that's windows only, much more options than on the other side.

Broadcast graphics = gutter of the graphics world, that just proves my point. Movies or good tv shows will not use motion for anything.
That's fox news realm. Cheap, template, preset based, all look the same graphics.
Tinle wrote on 2/25/2008, 5:59 AM
"I never had any firewire problems on windows"

I sure did - Windows notebooks do not provide power to firewire devices. Effectively rendering field equipment to indoor use only for products such as the Presonus Firebox,

Macs provide the power via the firewire cable that enables truly remote operation