About to embark on the purchase of another computer, preferably laptop variety for the main purpose of editing video footage. I have access to both Apple and Windows machines which are around 4 years old and are definitely struggling to cope with the internal resources required in editing the footage. 4K Video sometimes won't even load despite having the right codecs or it just splutters throughout. Any suggestions as to which way to go and suggested spec's gratefully received!
Many thanks

Phil

mostly depends on which video suite you intent to use. If you intend to use adobe premier than you can get slightly better hardware for less going with a pc. However if you are a fan of final cut pro you'd obviously have to stick with a mac. Beyond that I can't make individual suggestions as I'm not sure what you prefer software wise

dorn.michael10@ Posted at 2015-8-7 15:11
mostly depends on which video suite you intent to use. If you intend to use adobe premier than you c ...

Many thanks for the reply, more than likely Adobe based me thinks.

pandppurchase@g Posted at 2015-8-7 15:39
Many thanks for the reply, more than likely Adobe based me thinks.

A Retina Mac Book Pro with FCPx eats 4k footage for breakfast!   No transcoding, just drop it in and start editing.   I would go down that road if I were you.

I am currently using a Mac Book Pro :

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch)
2.9GHz  intel core i5
8GB internal memory

Had no problems with this model and I am using Final Cut Pro, or I should say learning to use Final Cut Pro.

The only issue I am currently having is that when I render files from within Final Cut Pro  and use the "Share" function to convert to say m4v it seems to have a bug in it that shows up when viewed on an iPad (causes pixelation on some frames).  I now just render at full quality as guided by Jim Hare then convert that mov file using Compressor to get it down to m4v format, which seems to work for me.  Other than that, I would just add that it is sometimes frustrating working on a small screen, although it still produces the end result.

I did have a problem with my previous Mac Book purchased in 2011, but Apple kindly replaced it free of charge 4  years after purchase, now thats customer service !!

You may also wish to consider what purpose and extent of editing you will be undertaking.  For example if you intend to undertake aerial work collating geospatial data for creation of land contours, point clouds, 3D modelling etc. then you will ned a PC as the software associated for these such as Agisoft and Pix4D currently only work with PC's and there is a min. requirement of 16GB of RAM for the software to render the images etc.

As a past user of PC's I would also add it is down to your personal preference of what operating system you prefer.  After I switched to my first Mac Book it took me about a year to become familiar with it, and personally find when I have to use my sons PC  or try and fix something on it, its a pain in the butt.  Whereas the Mac is simple and there is always help technical and customer support in the Apple shops if you need it.

Your choice, just depends on what software you wish to use.  I just prefer Macs now.

GB44 Posted at 2015-8-7 17:27
I am currently using a Mac Book Pro :

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch)

Many thanks for taking the time to answer my question, Mac is my choice and even more so now.
Buying the thing, that's the next task, almost expensive as the Inspire, hey ho.
Regards

Phil

jimhare Posted at 2015-8-7 15:46
A Retina Mac Book Pro with FCPx eats 4k footage for breakfast!   No transcoding, just drop it in a ...

Jim

Many thanks, seems to be a common thread, now to break the news to the wife :-)

the one with the fastest cpu, gpu and most ram you can afford.

pandppurchase@g Posted at 2015-8-8 03:03
Jim

Many thanks, seems to be a common thread, now to break the news to the wife :-)

Tell her it's for a good and worthy cause!   

I have and blamed you:@

Sorry I'm in one of those moods

jimhare Posted at 2015-8-8 17:36
Tell her it's for a good and worthy cause!

Purchase completed, Mac Book Pro 15 inch Retina, just stunning performance, many thanks

GB44 Posted at 2015-8-7 17:27
I am currently using a Mac Book Pro :

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch)

Purchase completed, Mac Book Pro 15 inch Retina, just stunning performance, many thanks

PCTInspire Posted at 2015-8-23 03:25
Purchase completed, Mac Book Pro 15 inch Retina, just stunning performance, many thanks

Nice,   

When I switched over to Mac in 2011 it took me almost a full year to get used to the new system.  I just love my Mac and hate it when my kids computers crash and have to try and fix it, check for viruses etc.

I am sure it will do just fine with editing your Inspire videos via Final Cut Pro.

Enjoy...

jimhare Posted at 2015-8-7 15:46
A Retina Mac Book Pro with FCPx eats 4k footage for breakfast!   No transcoding, just drop it in a ...

It doesn't drop frames at all while editing and playback? I thought that they weren't capable of 4K.

pandppurchase@g Posted at 2015-8-9 01:32
I have and blamed you

Ha ha!  I can take the heat!

tpallai Posted at 2015-8-23 09:33
It doesn't drop frames at all while editing and playback? I thought that they weren't capable of 4 ...

Depends on the footage, whether you've added effects, whether you are viewing full quality or better performance, and so on.   

Basically it is very convenient to edit the raw footage, which doesn't mean it plays every frame.   You can also tell it to make proxies and wait a few minutes while it does before editing if it's not acceptable.

But for me it's just fine and does a great job!