Laptop for video editing

[Anonymous]

Here in three months I am going to getting married, in two months me and my fiancee will start living in a extend a stay for 6 months so that we can save up for an apartment in the spring. I am wanting to continue to do video production and videography but I will not beable to move in my video production gear to the extend a stay. I thought of getting a laptop so that I can continue to do video production and videography until we get into an apartment. Renting for a studio is not an option right now. What laptop is best for doing video editing, Can anybody help me out here?

[jerronsmith]

Are you looking for a Mac or Windows laptop?

[XTR-91]

What is your budget, and what editing software are you planing to use/buy? I’d go with a Mac if you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Macbook or Macbook Pro. Not Air please. Final cut all the way!

[jondresser@att.net]

I am using a MacBookPro 2.2 Ghz dual Intel Processor with a 160 gig hard drive with a DVD superdrive. I’m running Leopard 10.5.6 and have Windows XP Pro/SP2 on board through Bootcamp. I mostly love it. It does a great job with editing video. I only have Premiere Pro 1.5, After Effects 6.5, Adobe Audition Pro 1.5 and Encore Pro 1.5. I have Photoshop 7 and Elements 4 along with Illustrator. I have the software, but darn it, I don’t have the knowledge to use all of it.

I can recommend the MacBookPro. Its been a nice change to the old Dell computer. Also, I purchased iLife09 Family pak and it really works nice. I love Garage Band. I started out in Windows and I’d give anything if it had been Final Cut Studio products. Hind site is always better!

One problem I’ve had with this computer though, I turn it off everynight. After about a year, and more than 48 different software programs, I had to reformatt it the other day. It developed a “slow down” in its operation followed by having to power it off with the on/off button at the end of the day. I finally gave up and reinstalled all the Windows programs onit. Works great now.

Also, there is a cooling problem with air flow over the back of the computer. IT gets really hot back there. So hot in fact, you can’t hold your hand on it very long. I bought a 4″ fan to use on the desk when its running. Problem solved.

Good luck to you. I’d enjoy hearing how you come out.

[Anonymous]

I too use a Macbook Pro with a 2.4 GHz Processor and 4 GB ram. I hardly ever use my on-board hard drive, and instead edit off of a variety of different external hard drives that travel with me from place to place. For editing I use Final Cut Studio, and all together this package seems to be sufficient for everything I need at this point. It depends on what you’re comfortable using though and as mentioned above, the price range.

[composite1]

On the windows side of the house, I’ve used HP’s. Dell’s are supposed to do well, but I’ve never used them. I’ve never had any probs with my HP’s. Do yourself a favor though, just like with the Mac Book Pro’s, if considering an HP laptop get a pro rig. Minimum 4GB, Vista Business (absolutely not ‘Home or Ultimate’) fastest Duo Core at 2.4GHz or better as you can afford and any crossplatform software like Media Composer or Adobe Production Premium CS3 or better. If you want to stay pure windows compatible go with Vegas 9 and if you can sparet the cash, Cinescore or ACID and Soundforge so you can make your own soundtracks.

Whether your going mac or pc, a serious editing laptop is going to run you $2.5k – $3.5k not including software. Whatever you get, make sure your unit meets or exceeds the system requirements of the software you choose. You’re going to need some Adobe products no matter what you get (phoshop, illustrator, flash, afx) so you better factor that stuff in. Apple does have counterparts as does Boris.

If you’re looking to work with others on your projects, you need to consider what will help you ‘play well with others’. Not everyone uses motion or shake or AFX or all mac or all pc. You’ll need to base your choice of laptop with what you are most comfortable with so you can take your new tool, load up your software and get to work.

Be advised: no matter what anyone on these or other forums may say (myself included) there is no gospel on the best gear and software you should get. The only hard and fast rules are; Get what you can afford, Get what you can work with and Get to work.

[birdcat]

If you prefer PC’s (I do) then any Core 2 Duo (or better) with at least 2GB RAM should suffice. Of course. the more powerful and more memory the better.

I have done HD editing and rendering on a Core 2 Duo Dell (1.8GHz) with 2GB RAM with not too much in the way of lag.

[XTR-91]

I’m editing SD video on my 1.66 GHz Duo Core (1 GB RAM) with PowerDirector. I’m actually impressed with the speed and efficiency that was improved withPowerDirector 7. When editing video directly from my computer, the lag is somewhat tolerable. When I edit directly with my camcorder connected USB, the lag sometimes dramatically increases. It seems that when I create a project and use my camcorder as the source, the project starts to change cuts on clips and do wild things when I change the source after copying files to my hardrive.

[Anonymous]

top of the line Alienware from DELL or any ASUS high end gaming laptops…

[Anonymous]

I’d put in a vote for a MacBook Pro. If budget is an issue, you might consider a previous generation. You can often get a powerful machine for much cheaper than a new one.

[Author]

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