PC vs. MAC? Anyone done the "switch"? « Videomaker Community Forums

BTS
Member

I can't believe I'm even posting this, after more than 10 years as a die-hard PC user, having built the last 4 PCs myself. Lately, I'm using my PC for video-editing, iTunes, and PhotoShop work, besides internet and email, of course. But that's really it. All my PCs have had stability problems, virus issues from time to time, and running Pinnace Studio on my PC is very frustrating at times.

The questions is, is it time for me to switch to a MAC? How does the iMove compare to a hobby editing program like Pinnacle? Will a MAC be as fast as a new Intel or AMD based PC? Are the mini MACs just for dorm-room type work, or are they actually viable computers? Has anyone here gone from a PC to a MAC recently?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Posted 6 years ago #
Video-maniac
Member

BTS,

First of all I donÂ’t want to come off as a MAC basher but 99.999% of the time, there are two sides to every story. I have a very good friend who has his own professional photography business that uses nothing but MACÂ’s. He mentioned way back that when it comes to digital photo and art workÂ… you canÂ’t beat a MAC. Way back then I had to agree with him but in the last few years IÂ’m not sure IÂ’m as inclined to think so anymore. PCÂ’s with Windows have made significant advancements in both digital photo and digital video media software solutions. The net result is that there are arguments for both platforms and in the end I guess it just comes down to user preferences.

I have used PCÂ’s since computers were made available to the general public and I canÂ’t really say that I have had too many abnormal problems. You just need to stay on top of things such as driver updates, hardware upgrades, virus protection and general PC maintenance. Granted because the Windows platform seems to be the favorite of the two OSÂ’s out there, sickoÂ’s who create viruses tend to target them the most. If you take measures against this you shouldnÂ’t have a problem.

Just a quick note about Pinnacle: I built my brother an exact duplicate of a computer that I have two of. He decided to install Pinnacle on his PC because I think he got it bundled with something else and he has nothing but problems with it. I on the other hand use Adobe Premier Pro and I have absolutely NO problems with it whatsoever. Premiere is also way more powerful than Pinnacle too. IÂ’ve read about others on this forum having problems with Pinnacle too. Not everyone but there is a few cases out there. The general consensus was that there were issues with certain versions and the many various PC configurations out there. If youÂ’re thinking about changing to a MAC because youÂ’re frustrated with your PC and Pinnacle, maybe try switching NLEÂ’s? I got my brother to finally do so and he has been happy ever since.

RAM

Posted 6 years ago #
macsrule10
Member

Yes go for the Mac, after you get the new interface learned you will enjoy editing much more(i had it learned in less then a week). the Mac doesnt crash and rarely do you need to restart it no anti-virus software to buy ever. A new mac mini will work just fine for editing however the hard drives are a bit small and if (this is a big if) you dont like os x you can put windows xp sp2 on it and have a fast computer running windows.

Posted 6 years ago #
alohrey
Member

I am getting ready to get a new macbook pro 17" for Final Cut Pro Editing. I am sold more than anything based on the fact that the intel macs can run windows. Therefore I can run both vegas as well as FCP on this machine, and any other programs that I run on a regular basis. I love this concept, and the macbook pro is a powerhouse of a laptop!

later
~Adam L

Posted 6 years ago #
videolab
Member

I was a total pc guy didn't even like macs. That was before the last semester at college. My instructors, myself, and the other instructional assistants did a quick study to see if we should continue to teach a mix of Premiere Pro and Avid on dell pcs or switch to something else. We found out that most of the professional post houses in the Dallas area (as well as everywhere else for that matter) were either using Macs with Final Cut Pro and/or Avid Media Composer/Xpress or SGI systems with Discreet software on it. There were also a couple of places that had a Avid DS system running on a PC as it is PC only. The moral of the story is that in this industry people generally use Macs. Some places use PCs of course but most use macs. My first job was my first experience with macs. I never used FCP before and I would say that it took me about a day to get it down. It works just like premiere. Now I have a mac at home and I hate to use my PCs too buggy. But don't think that the mac wont crash it will. Just not as much. The thing that makes macs better is that they control the hardware and the software. Yes some PCs have that magical mix of the right mother board and the right processor that work well together. In my experience this doesnt happen every time. The one desktop PC that I have left at home does not crash much. At work however I use a 4k dollar Xeon machine that crashes every time you look at it funny. Apple does not have the problem of hardware incompatibility because they make everything the software and hardware.

Posted 6 years ago #
TheAkwardOne
Member

I would have to say i'm a PC guy. yeah they do have some up keep and maintanace but they are much more versital...as far as componants and software go. As far as viruses on macs and the fact that you "don't need" anti-virus is an attractive thing but just remember this... the only reason why macs don't need it is because they are not as popular as pc's so not as many malicious programmers know the ins and outs of a mac like they do a pc. I guesss what i'm saying is the more popular the macs get the more prone to viruses they'll get

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

Pinnacle Studio can make a guy want to go back to a Commodore 64!

Move up to Premiere Pro 2.0, After Effects, Audition, Encore and Photoshop. You'll be happy with them. I am.

While there are some really good programs for the Mac, you don't have them in the depth that you do on the PC. Also, hardware and support is more available and cheaper on the PC.

Stick with Norton Antivirus - keep it updated, keep it actiated and don't go near websites you shouldn't go to. That'll solve your virus problems - unless your ex-wife is a hacker, then all bets are off!

Posted 5 years ago #
tpainter
Member

I have to agree with video-maniac in that PCs have made some great strides to be deemed worthy of a professional machine. However, if I had the ability to get a whole new system, I would love to work with FCP and try out using it on a mac.

I too have heard nothing but bad things about pinnacles latest offerings. As one other alternative, try looking at Sony Vegas. I used to use Adobe Premiere 6.5 and decided to move to Vegas instead of upgrading to the PPro 2. I have honestly have had no problems with Vegas.

Posted 5 years ago #
paco
Member

I use Ulead and Pinnacle and have not got into serious problems with them; but they are not stable. Will move into Adobe Premier and you seem to be expereinced there. Any advise? I know its learning curve is steeper, what has been your experience understanding and then using APremier?
Thanks!

Posted 5 years ago #
videolab
Member

Compusolver, What do you mean programs dont have the depth on the mac as they do on a pc? Every program I have ever used on the mac has had every feature that its windows counterpart had. In some cases even more features as in the case of the latest versions of Avid Xpress and Media Composer and previous versions of After Effects (they finally caught the pc up and added the ability to preview out on a monitor via a fire wire port) Sure the PC has more hardware options because a billion different companies make PCs. Support is easily available on macs and frankly i havent needed any since i made the switch. Also Norton products are notorious for being woefully over bloated and slows your computer down greatly. There are many much better and free antivirus software packages such as AVG that will do just as good of a job, not slow your pc down as much, and not cost you any money. The intel transition is almost complete and the macs are very very fast. Even the small and cheap mac mini is a great editing system. I just got the new core duo mac min and its almost as fast as expensive the Xeon based workstation that i use at work. It runs windows very well too.

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

I apologize for not making myself clear. I meant to say that there isn't the depth of software availability - not that the existing software lacks depth in features.

For instance, there are several solid NLE programs for PC, but I've only heard of one for the Mac. The software tools that are available for the PC, far outnumber those for the Mac and hardware is much, much cheaper.

I've got three solid programs for audio tweaking, more programs for music loops, some for keying (Ultra 2 & After Effects), etc.

In software development, which I still do a bit of, you must have a PC if you're going to develop for the mainstream user.

In a business environment, Microsoft Office rules. You gotta have Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visual Basic, Access and in a corporate environment, perhaps FoxPro.

Posted 5 years ago #
videolab
Member

The mac does have many great software solutions for any need. Avid, FCP, FCPE, iMovie among others for editing. Maya, cinema 4d, kinemac among others for 3d. After effects, Combustion, Shake, boris for compositing and graphics. I could go on forever in this regard. The stigma that software is not available for the mac is something that was true 5-10 years ago not the same today. Yes for the mainstream user a pc is the way to develop just because of market share. In business pcs rule but this is just simply not the case in professional video and film. In the low end PCs are also more prevalent but the pros use Avid and Final Cut to edit, and more and more are moving to final cut.
I was a PC guy until my senior year of college and started looking for internships and realized that in a professional setting its either a Mac running Avid a mac running Final Cut or a SGI system running a Auto desk product (Flint, Flame, Inferno) With the occasional PC running Avid and maybe a Premiere workstation or two. As far as the computers being more expensive the mac mini costs less than a comparable mini pc with a core duo proc. The power macs are workstation class systems and therefore cost more. Look at the dell precision workstations configure one of those with some decent ram and a bit of storage and the cost difference gets alot closer and the top end precision only has dual cores. Configured the same way the Power Mac came in at 4,249.00 and the dell came in at 4,427. There are alot of myths about macs that still perpetuate today but many of them are no longer true. Windows PCs are great too but in this industry it pays to know both well. If you are working for yourself then it doesn't really matter but working in the industry knowing macs and Final Cut is a good idea.

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

Thanks for the Mac education! But isn't the software still relatively pricey compared to PC software? And isn't this due to the fact that the market is simply smaller for Mac than for PC?

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

To prove his point about hardware pricing -

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=213

Posted 5 years ago #
gotomah
Member

I was going to get a brand new Intel core duo Mac being this my first (bought) Mac.
I luckily didnÂ’t get it. Even comparing it with the olÂ’ ibook it seems to go down the hill on quality improvement. As a result I went for a high-end PC that will surely perform at least at the same level and with all the advantage of a PC.
Here I put a couple of links to compare by yourselves:
The Mac:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?family=MacBook
The PC:
http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=61665

I definitely gonna get the PC knowing as well all the software option that are there for it (not only Wondows ;P) Â– I wonÂ’t name them to donÂ’t make this post too long ;P.

Anyway, I still havenÂ’t tried the PC with my own hands, but hopefully it will fulfil the expectations.

Posted 5 years ago #
videolab
Member

Gotomah, I have to ask what is the PC advantage? Is it viruses or the spyware that you like? (Sorry had to take that one)

Posted 5 years ago #
gotomah
Member

i think.. the viruses

Seriuosly now. If I want to do anything that is not prepared on the basic software that apple has in mind for their machines what I'm going to do? Emulate windows? Initiate the adventure of MacLinux or PPCLinux?
Being pragmatical: if i need to do something I don't wander around free of viruses, trojans, spyware, I want to do THAT thing. On the PC it means that you can do it, do it quikly or properly, and then you will still have time to go to the Mac and play some Blizzard games or edit with Cut Pro.

The PC advantage relies on it's "standarised versatility" and low cost of hardware. Aple will need to do a big effort in order to reach this level, which is actually doing by using the Intel processors.

Posted 5 years ago #
videolab
Member

As far as versatility goes the mac wins hands down now that they run intel. I say this because any intel mac can easily boot windows now. Can a dell or HP run OSX? No.
This page should dispell any of the myths that you have heard about the mac.
http://www.apple.com/getamac/

Posted 5 years ago #
gotomah
Member

I've been on that site before, I've said about Intel Processors before, and I really love the idea of [an] Apple back to the Woz and Jobs times, but now if you need daily life productivity without hassles (that is "standard" users doing their bussines) you have to stick to what the user feels comfortable with.
I won't say that I feel happy working under WXP at work, but if it allows me to do it quicker in a certain way, I'll have more free time to spend as I like...(i.e.editing video)

It is true that Mac is better for certain things, but if you really need to use a Mac for whatever reason, you will find your way -wether at college, your girfriend's college or at work if you are in the bussines.

Don't misunderstand me, I don't want a flame war PCvsMac, far from it - I just wanted some realistic opinions, not "branding arguments".

I'll really love being a happy Mac user, but I'll blame the society for not giving me the proper chance.

Don't forget to have Fun!! :D ;-)

Posted 5 years ago #
gieleuh
Member

I did the switch ... From a high-end Sony Vaio laptop to a macbook pro. Also we always had an old iMac (400MHZ) never had any probs with it. Now I'm doing al the stuff I did on my pc. For school I needed invertor and solidworks but those apps arent mac... Then bootcamp came up and now I can run any app for school that needed windows.

You should go to an apple shop and try it out for yourself, really easy use!

goodluck!

Posted 5 years ago #