HDV editing on the move

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dave_or_did

Guest
I've been editing on a desktop PC for a while now and the bigger the projects are the slower it seems to be getting (after the 30 min mark it gets to be a pain in the bum), also I've got myself a HDV camcorder (Sony Z1E) and I doubt its going to like using that properly (so far I've been downconverting or just shooting in DVCAM). Because of this I think its time for a new system to edit on I don't want to get rid of the PC because its fine for my other computer needs. I figure I need a separate system purely for editing that won't get clogged up with junk.

However, I'd really like to get a laptop so I can edit wherever I want and show clients my work in progress etc. But I was wondering which laptops could handle HDV and outperform my PC (few years old P4 1.7gHz, 512 MB RAM, 256MB ATI 9550 graphics card)?

I've been advised many a time that a Mac is the way forward, and I'm quite a Final Cut Pro fan, but is this all talk, would a high end PC-based laptop do the job just as well?

I'm presuming Apple's new MacBook Pro's will be the sensible option for me, but I'm wondering if some earlier (cheaper) models or a powerful PC-based laptop will do the job satisfactorily/?

If anyone has some advice or ideas I'd appreciate it.
 
The outgoing Powerbook models were pretty underpowered for video editing work so that's probably not a good plan.

No-one really knows how well the Macbook Pro will cope with high end video editing as Apple have not yet released the Universal version of Final Cut Studio. It's expected around the end of this month / beginning of next month.

I expect you'll see some reviews cropping up shortly.

There is no doubt that there are PC laptops as powerful as the Macbook Pro, but they are not *that* much cheaper. Your decision is more of a religious one than a practical or financial one in my view :)

I'd give some serious consideration to moving over to OS X for your video work - it's a much more pleasant experience than using Windows.

Steve
 

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