• The Mac-Forums Community Guidelines (linked at the top of every forum) are very clear, we respect US law and court precedence when it comes to legality of activity.

    Therefore to clarify:
    • You may not discuss breaking DVD or BluRay encryption, copying, or "ripping" commercial, copy-protected DVDs.
    • This includes DVDs or BluRays you own. Even if you own the DVD or BluRay, it is still technically illegal under the DMCA to break the encryption. While some may argue otherwise, until the law is rewritten or the US Supreme Court strikes it down, we will adhere to the current intent of the law.
    • You may discuss ripping or copying unprotected movies or homemade DVDs.
    • You may discuss ripping or copying tools in the context that they are used for legal purposes as outlined in this post.

Is Imac good enough for video editing??

Joined
Sep 15, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I am currently in the market for a mac to do video editing. I am going to be doing video reviews kind of like cnet style, about 10- 15 minutes in length with kind of a fancy intro and outro title. Is the Imac enough or would I have to go for a mac pro?? Please Advise!!
 
Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Messages
1,056
Reaction score
33
Points
48
Location
Rhinebeck, NY
Your Mac's Specs
20" iMac 2.66 GHz... Running 10.5.7
I am currently in the market for a mac to do video editing. I am going to be doing video reviews kind of like cnet style, about 10- 15 minutes in length with kind of a fancy intro and outro title. Is the Imac enough or would I have to go for a mac pro?? Please Advise!!



It depends. Can you provide us with the specs of what you are looking at?


Also, the only role the computer plays in video/ photo editing is speed and storage, so you would want the highest specs or the specs that meet your needs. You should get something like Final Cut Pro and Photoshop if you will be doing extensive video editing. iMovie won't cut it.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2008
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Your Mac's Specs
PowerBook G4, 1ghz, 40gb HD, 768mb mem, Tiger
I have done some video editing in iMovie on a G4 eMac with great ease.
I produced this video in little time (less than an hour):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXBFjlMYjmY

You would want a machine that has mic input for your voice over work. The G4 towers don't have this. Although you can buy a USB-Mic adapter.

I've got some old DV tapes that I am starting to edit on my 500mhz G4 tower. I don't have any difficulty. System memory is only 256mb. I have a 500gb firewire HD to support my video editing work.

The new iMovie in iLife08 I believe supports multiple video tracks. I have not used Final Cut.
 
OP
A
Joined
Sep 15, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
It depends. Can you provide us with the specs of what you are looking at?


Also, the only role the computer plays in video/ photo editing is speed and storage, so you would want the highest specs or the specs that meet your needs. You should get something like Final Cut Pro and Photoshop if you will be doing extensive video editing. iMovie won't cut it.

Well storage wise I think I will get the external 1 TB HDD, so storage won't be my concern. I am worried about how fast I will be able to edit the videos because I don't want to spend a century on editing a 5 - 10 minute review. People are telling me the downside to the imac is that you can get max 4 Gigs of ram but will I really need more than that for what I am doing? I am not making any full length features. Also, people are saying that Imac's are used primarily for just email and surfing the web. I don't want to invest $4,000 (include 23" screen) if I don't have to. :\
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Messages
3,231
Reaction score
112
Points
63
Location
On the road
Your Mac's Specs
2011 MBP, i7, 16GB RAM, MBP 2.16Ghz Core Duo, 2GB ram, Dual 867Mhz MDD, 1.75GB ram, ATI 9800 Pro vid
People have used much lesser machines to do video editing. The current line of iMacs are very capable editing machines. 4GBs should be more than plenty for your needs.

If you are buying a used iMac, just make sure you don't buy the lower end version that had integrated graphics. You will prefer a machine with a dedicated GPU like the current models.

Most people do not use the potential of their computers, so it is likely the iMacs are used primarily for just email and web surfing. Of course the non-primary uses are as varied as peoples imaginations.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top