Mac or PC

[braddk]

My school is in the process of purchasing a single workstation for

Digital Video. We believe we have decided on the Canon XL1S as

camera, however, we are still deciding on hardware.

<p>

Should we use:<br>

<ol>

<li>Power Mac G4 with Final Cut Pro 3 and Adobe After Effects

<li>PC running Windows of some kind (XP or 2K) with Adobe Premier and

After Effects

<li>PC running Windows of some kind (XP or 2K) with Avid Xpress DV and

After Effects

</ol>

<p>

We are using the digital video for everything from taping lectures to

producing PR and recruitment material. What are your suggestions?

<p>

Personally, I prefer the Mac with Final Cut Pro, but my school is

concerned about supporting the Mac. They fear that if I disappear

suddenly, no one will be able to support the system.

<p>

 

Thanks in advance,

Brad

[carl smith]

Well, I cannot really say what to choose. I've used Mac and PC systems and saw virtually no performance difference. Each did some things a little better than the other, but you're right, supporting it, and knowing the software is what it will boil down to. And if you're the Mac guru and nobody else knows macs and won't be able to take care of one (etc) when you leave then it may not be a wise idea.

 

BTW: I've used dual G4 towers, dual P3 and an Athlon system. All were very fast. And that Canon camera is excellent as well.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Macs are a wee bit more robust in the virus prevention area and more goober proof ; the opinion of a Mac using relative!

[carl smith]

I don't know about the gooberproofness (not been my experience), but I do not know of as many viruses that are after the Macs.

 

Neither one is really easier than the other, but whether it can be supported is critical.

[scott_eaton]

There are no Mac virii because all the hackers are going after Microsoft and have no interest in writing worms and trojans for a platform with such a small corporate market share.

 

Note that Linux was supposed to be worm/virus proof, but as that OS is becoming more popular you're seeing more security problems. Just as I predicted.

 

Unless you have a teacher willing to provide support duties after you leave I see no reason you can't go with XP and a higher end PC. If you were running a professional editing studio and Win95/98 were the only counter option I'd opt for the greater maturity of the Mac video editing workflow, but this isn't the case.

 

Also consider that other students might want to become involved with this and will have a better experience working on a platform that they are familiar with.

[glen_johnson]

I am using your option 2 and I'm fairly happy. My sense is that the order you've presented them is more or less the order that would probably get recommended by most folks who've used all three options. We have your option 1 available at work, but I've never tried it. The folks who use it think its great. My sense is that a lot of imaging professionals would probably pic your option 1.

[braddk]

After reading your suggestions, I still am pulled towards the Mac. Because the only thing the Mac would be doing is Digital Video, and possibly some graphics editing, support does not seem to me as much an issue. <p>

The reason I feel this way is the use of the machine. Whether a Mac or a PC is used, the person is going to have to learn video editing software, which tends to have a bit of a learning curve. Although using a PC may give them an operating system that they are used to, the video editing software on PCs tend to not be as intuitive as Final Cut Pro. Furthermore, the Mac does have an arguably easy interface to learn.<p>

Another bonus I would see to having a Mac is that I could teach someone how to edit video on iMovie, and then the jump to Final Cut Pro (although a large one), would be much easier than if I sat someone down in front of Avid or Premier and gave them free reign.<p>

Finally, the hardware cost does not seem to be that significant of a difference. In fact, when pricing a dual system with similar requirements from a <a href="http://www.dell.com">prominent manufacturer</a>, the price was actually more for the hardware. Of course, this is because the only Intel manufactured processors in Duals are Xeons. I do not think they will allow me to build the computer myself because of warranty reasons. The software for Mac (FCP) is significantly cheaper as well (educational discounts).<p>

Please give me your thoughts on these issues. I'm going to try to convince my boss that a Mac is the answer, however, he does not have final say on the issue. He must be convinced enough to convince other people.

<p>

Again, thanks in advance,<br>

Brad

[scott_eaton]

My thoughts are that you are trying to have the school provide the funds for your own personal computer.

 

The issue of cost/performance isn't very relevant. School systems almost always have supplier contracts that get them very good deals on new PC's (and Mac's in some cases).

 

My biggest issue is if this is going to be the only Mac in a PC based school, and that's a 'no-no' in my eyes. When you leave, it will likely just sit in a corner unless a staff member learns how to use it. I've done IT contract work for large school systems, and in 100% PC environments introducing a Mac is a complete waste of a good piece of hardware. Contrary to Apple's commercials, average people will gravitate towards platforms they know, and virtually all your video requirements can be met just as easily on either platform. That's how anybody signing this check should look at the big picture.

[braddk]

Scott: That makes sense. Although the school isn't funding the computer (grant money), I don't want it to just sit unused because someone is afraid to use it.

[glen_johnson]

Brad, I wouldn't spend any time worrying that your proposed set up would sit unused. Whichever way you go, you'll have many envious colleagues who will be very interested in your rig if you abandon it within three years. If you haven't abandoned it in three years, it will be hopelessly outdated anyway, so it won't matter.

 

On some campuses where they have limited computer support personnel, they don't like any machines they can't maintain by imaging a master. That's the problem here. If you get the mac, you may be the one that has to maintain it.... but on the bright side, these things practically maintain themselves.

 

See if you can try both and pick the one you like the best. Although I have easily gone back and forth between macs and pcs since 1989 when I got my first mac, I know that some folks really have a strong preference for the macs. They seem to be more intuitive for a part of the population. Certainly they seem to dominate the folks who do this stuff for a living but who don't have the money to set up and support something at the next level up.