Which iMac is best for HD video editing?

Hello,

A year and a half ago, I unexpectedly and irreversibly lost access to my computer. The timing could not have been more awful, as it coincided almost exactly with the acquisition of a brand-spanking-new HD camcorder (Up til then, I had been shooting on MiniDV). In the interim between my losing my trusty laptop and getting enough money to buy a new computer, I have been using an old laptop from circa 2005 that is running Linux. Obviously, this 6-year-old is completely incapable of video editing on the scale I am looking for. (The raw footage is AVCHD [.MTS])

I have decided to get myself a Macintosh for my editing needs. A quick look at the Apple store seems to confirm my suspicion that the iMac is the flavor of raincoat (sorry, bad pun) I am looking for. But which one? There are too many options for someone as devoid of Apple knowledge as I am, and my local Apple store seems to be designed for the express purpose of not ever letting me near someone knowledgeable.

I have $1000 to start with, and I am going to be spending as little money as humanly possible over the next several months to add to my 'Mac Fund'.

Please de-befuddle me. (Defuddle?)

The iMac will come with iMovie. You'll need a tool to convert the MTS files to Apple Intermediate Codec so that iMovie can edit them. There are a number of such programs but I personally use the free MPEG Streamclip. I simply load the AVCHD file, then choose "export to quicktime" and select the AIC codec.

iMovie is more powerful and versatile than most people realise, but it does have its limits. You might want to look into buying Final Cut Pro X ($299 I think?) if you need multi-video-track or more sophisticated editing capabilities. There's also Adobe Premiere Elements ($80 I think) and Adobe Premiere Pro (but the latter isn't available without buying a suite, I don't think, so it's terribly pricey) and others as well.

My friend bought the entry level IMac 21.5 and just expanded the ram and he is using Final cut pro with no issues.
for price I bought mine for 1139.

You'll need a tool to convert the MTS files to Apple Intermediate Codec so that iMovie can edit them.

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According to the sticky on .MTS(AVCHD) files, I thought that iMovie imports AVCHD straight from a camcorder, thereby converting it in the process?

You're right MightyG, iMovie11 does recognise (English spelling!) AVCHD, at least according to David Pogue, whom I never doubt even for a moment.

Cheers Mitcherooney

AVCHD is a container that can hold footage of different codecs, at least that's my understanding, so some AVCHD will come into iMovie just fine, but we have plenty of threads here that show pretty conclusively that not all AVCHD is the same and thus it doesn't all automatically come in.

I'm using an iMac 2011 and running final cut pro x.My avchd files from my panasonic tm9oo will not transfer directly to fcpx.I have to use toast titanium which converts to a list of codecs used by apple inc....aic, prores422 and many others.I have been using prores422 although unsure if its much better than aic.
hope this helps Lee

chas_m said:

There's also Adobe Premiere Elements ($80 I think) and Adobe Premiere Pro (but the latter isn't available without buying a suite, I don't think, so it's terribly pricey) and others as well.

Click to expand...

That's not true, you can buy Premiere Pro as a standalone product. You can get a 20% discount on it right now, to boot.

Discount software | Coupon codes and special offers

It costs more than Elements, but Premiere Pro is a fully featured NLE.

Making Flash game

Gentlemen,
My question was not awnsered on the thread it was on, i am trying to create a flash game with digital sprites in a RPG type game how would i go about doing this?
its with the my little pony friendship is magic crew, you know what i mean like the ones in this video,http://youtu.be/fcCz8pxcurQbut made into an rpg game. And i want to make the sprites myself i need advice on how to make it and i want to be able to own it completely and put on my website.
Thank you

You are most certainly not going to get an answer around here by hijacking a completely unrelated question about video editing. It is seen (to put it mildly) as bad netiquette.

May I politely suggest you try the Adobe flash development forums?

In terms of whether your camcorder will work with iMovie (or FCP), you should check Apple's camcorder compatibility list.

For iMovie 11: Apple - iLife '11 Help - iMovie '11 Supported Cameras

Final Cut Pro X: Final Cut Pro X Supported Cameras

Many cameras will work. There are some that won't. Many people don't follow the proper procedure for importing the footage and have problems (usually the biggest problem is people trying to work with the mts files directly without even attempting to import via iMovie or FCPX). If your camera is not supported (or the mode you want to use isn't supported - ie: according to Apples site, FCPX supports the TM900 except for 1080p60 recordings), I did list a few apps that will convert AVCHD structure stored footage to AIC (iMovie) or ProRES (FCP). AVCHD doesn't hold a lot of different codecs (primarily just Mpeg-4/H.264 and MPeg2 (see: AVCHD INFORMATION WEB SITE ), but it supports a variety of video formats (ie: 1080i60, 1080p60, 720p60, etc.) - some combinations from some cameras are not necessarily FCP/iMovie friendly.

In terms of which iMac? Any new iMac will work for you. More CPU power / More RAM / Faster storage will improve the overall editing experience (to give a simple example - at home I have an 8 core Mac Pro which is wonderful to edit on - it's fast, plenty of RAM, great video card, etc.. At work, I have a much older 2 ghz C2D iMac w/ a low end video chipset (I didn't choose the machine they purchased many years ago) - I can still edit footage there, but I spend more time rendering because it won't support as many effects in real time and transcoding takes significantly longer - but I can still edit on the older system.)

Excellent post...^^^ Particularly with regard to the import method. There are also cameras that will work that are not posted as compatible on the Apple page...FWIW...