Limitations
I knew this post would come up sometime, I didn’t know when. But I think it’s now the right time. For the first time since purchasing my Mac I am starting to feel the limitations on the hardware, ever since venturing into the video space.
Just to put it into context here are a few things to bear in mind:
I’m running on a Santa Rosa 2.2GHz MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM.
I am recording my video at 1080i with a Canon HV30
I am using Final Cut Express to edit the footage.
The main problem is not the performance in editing and putting the clips together to reach one final piece, but instead the time it takes once I’ve put together the story - for it to render and export the footage. I find myself having to wait over an hour while I wait for a five minute video to render.
Admittedly, it was a 720p high definition. But really, this is the sort of quality I am aiming at. I want good content that looks good. I want people to be able to download this content and play it on their big screen TVs. As I’ve said before about this podcast I have decided not to take the half hearted approach and gone for the best equipment that I can afford .
To put it bluntly: I don’t put up with crap so by should other people?
After not even having my Mac for a year I am already contemplating the next computer I will be purchasing (though it may not be what you expect). The problem with the Mac is that it as soon as it shows you all these amazing things you can do with it; it’s obsoleting itself while trying to show you the best it can do.
NB: I’m not to sure if my last sentence made sense. Please leave a comment if you don’t understand it, it will just take a very long comment to explain it any better 
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. You can also contact me. Thanks for visiting!
Hey Jonathan,
I have almost the same computer as you. I too am starting to feel the limitations. One of the biggest bottlenecks is the 5400rpm drive. For example, if Time Machine is backing up, video won’t play in FCE. And I’m not even working in HD.
I’ve found render times within working in Final Cut to be acceptable, and only have to wait 30 seconds before I can view something rendered. I haven’t actually exported anything from Final Cut yet. I’ll let you know when I do.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:32 pmSo what are you gonna do, get a Windows XP machine in hope that it will render HD video quicker than a MacBook Pro? I think for your production needs you’re probably going to have to buy out ILM’s render farm.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:32 pmCouldn’t you sell a MacBook Pro and get a higher-specced brand new iMac (2.4GHz, 7200rpm Hard Drive), for almost no extra cost?
March 29th, 2008 at 12:38 pmJohn:
I’ll be talking about my plans in the near future
Steve:
I would love to do that, but the nature of how I work wouldn’t allow it. I go to a boarding school. Take my computer to lessons and all in all like the ability to take my computer everywhere I go.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:43 pm