Multimedia
Aug 21, 05:43 AM
I stopped by the Apple store tonight to play with a Macpro. I'm getting ready to buy and thought I'd get some hands on experience to see how it performed with Finalcut Pro. I was especially interested in how it handles playback of uncompressed footage.
The store had a 2.6 hooked up to a 30"ACD. Everything on the machine was stock. I launched FCP and it appeared with a project already loaded (about 5 seconds). The project was a simple 20-30 second 720x480 NTSC clip of hockey game footage. I selected the clip and copied it to a new layer and threw a blend mode on it AND changed the speed to 85%. Next I copied and made another layer and changed the speed and offset it and changed the transparency to 80%. 3 layers total with the top two manipulated. I hit the render and it finished in about 30 seconds. :)
I know, not very scientific, but I just wanted to get a feel for how fast the Macpro would render manipulated footage. Anyhow, next I changed the output in project settings to "uncompressed" and hit render again. Again, it took less than a minute to render and the CPU usage in console was maxing out at only 42% per core.
Once the render completed, I hit the play button to see how the stock Macpro would handle playback of the uncompressed footage. It played for about 4 seconds then threw an error saying that frames were being dropped during playback. Not good. I was hoping that the Macpro would be able to play uncompressed footage from the timeline without 3rd party acceleration or setting up a raid. The error message suggested turning off RT effects (of which I did, but still had dropped frames) or get a faster drive. There was a couple other things the error suggested, but I can't remember at the moment. I wonder if having the ATI card would have made a difference? Not sure if FCP uses the GPU for playback, but I would think that should make a difference. Ram would probably help too. Anyone know what might be going on? Am I expecting too much out of this machine?
Sorry for sort of getting off topic. I thought this might be an appropriate area to post this; I wasn't feeling up to starting a new thread.That's great info. Would you please tell us:
1. How fast that is compared to what Mac model-speed you are currently using?
2. IE Were you impressed or not so impressed with how fast-slow it rendered?
3. What kind of speed were you expecting?
I'm no expert, but my guess is that the lack of RAM may have been the culprit. Need more independent tests like this from other FCP users. Thanks a lot. :)
The store had a 2.6 hooked up to a 30"ACD. Everything on the machine was stock. I launched FCP and it appeared with a project already loaded (about 5 seconds). The project was a simple 20-30 second 720x480 NTSC clip of hockey game footage. I selected the clip and copied it to a new layer and threw a blend mode on it AND changed the speed to 85%. Next I copied and made another layer and changed the speed and offset it and changed the transparency to 80%. 3 layers total with the top two manipulated. I hit the render and it finished in about 30 seconds. :)
I know, not very scientific, but I just wanted to get a feel for how fast the Macpro would render manipulated footage. Anyhow, next I changed the output in project settings to "uncompressed" and hit render again. Again, it took less than a minute to render and the CPU usage in console was maxing out at only 42% per core.
Once the render completed, I hit the play button to see how the stock Macpro would handle playback of the uncompressed footage. It played for about 4 seconds then threw an error saying that frames were being dropped during playback. Not good. I was hoping that the Macpro would be able to play uncompressed footage from the timeline without 3rd party acceleration or setting up a raid. The error message suggested turning off RT effects (of which I did, but still had dropped frames) or get a faster drive. There was a couple other things the error suggested, but I can't remember at the moment. I wonder if having the ATI card would have made a difference? Not sure if FCP uses the GPU for playback, but I would think that should make a difference. Ram would probably help too. Anyone know what might be going on? Am I expecting too much out of this machine?
Sorry for sort of getting off topic. I thought this might be an appropriate area to post this; I wasn't feeling up to starting a new thread.That's great info. Would you please tell us:
1. How fast that is compared to what Mac model-speed you are currently using?
2. IE Were you impressed or not so impressed with how fast-slow it rendered?
3. What kind of speed were you expecting?
I'm no expert, but my guess is that the lack of RAM may have been the culprit. Need more independent tests like this from other FCP users. Thanks a lot. :)
NebulaClash
Apr 27, 10:19 AM
Maybe that's what you heard.
I heard that the database couldn't be user purged (easily)
The the database kept data from Day one
and that Location services being turned off didn't change the recording of the data.
Apple fans were "more correct". Wow. Ok - if you say so.... and if it helps you sleep at night
I'm talking about the hyperbole, not the sensible discussion that was going on too. You are capable of such discussions, and so am I. We do not represent the majority of the comments in these threads which contained lots of hair-on-fire paranoia. The Apple fans trying to talk such folks down off the roof were right.
I heard that the database couldn't be user purged (easily)
The the database kept data from Day one
and that Location services being turned off didn't change the recording of the data.
Apple fans were "more correct". Wow. Ok - if you say so.... and if it helps you sleep at night
I'm talking about the hyperbole, not the sensible discussion that was going on too. You are capable of such discussions, and so am I. We do not represent the majority of the comments in these threads which contained lots of hair-on-fire paranoia. The Apple fans trying to talk such folks down off the roof were right.
Lone Deranger
Mar 31, 05:30 PM
To put it in Nelson's words:
PBF
Mar 26, 05:52 PM
does anyone else thing launchpad is the worst idea yet?
Maybe not the worst, but definitely the most useless.
Spotlight does a so much better job.
Maybe not the worst, but definitely the most useless.
Spotlight does a so much better job.
GQB
Mar 31, 05:09 PM
Thats not at all what this article is saying. The Android project is still going to be "open source".
'Open Source' to the degree that it serves Google's purposes.
The point is that Apple is derided as 'closed' while Google is erroneously beatified as 'open', when in fact there is little difference between the two (other than the fact that I somewhat trust Apple with private info, while I wouldn't trust Google as far as I could throw them.)
'Open Source' to the degree that it serves Google's purposes.
The point is that Apple is derided as 'closed' while Google is erroneously beatified as 'open', when in fact there is little difference between the two (other than the fact that I somewhat trust Apple with private info, while I wouldn't trust Google as far as I could throw them.)
01civicman
Apr 8, 08:21 AM
Hummm... I would think by them throttling the sales, they get people back into the store over and over again trying to get one. So, take their "hot product" and dish a few out everyday to keep the eager hunters coming back in day after day and hope they buy something else in the mean time.
Also, I can see from the sales incentive standpoint that if you've hit your quota for the day selling 20 ipads in an hour, but have another 40 in stock, hold them for the next day to ensure you have consecutive days of hitting your sales quota making you look better and probably getting other bonuses? I would think they compensate managers based on daily sales and consecutive days of sales above quota.
So... basically, I see BB messing with stock to manipulate their sales and Apple being mad because they are so far behind on keeping up with demand and one of their big partners is holding out and using the iPad as sales bait.
I get your point, but it doesn't work like that. One, selling 20 iPads will not hit budgets (believe me). Two, if there any bonus' to hit, its done quarterly. Again, if you sell 50 iPads in one day, its the exact same as selling 3 over the course of 15 days.
Also, I can see from the sales incentive standpoint that if you've hit your quota for the day selling 20 ipads in an hour, but have another 40 in stock, hold them for the next day to ensure you have consecutive days of hitting your sales quota making you look better and probably getting other bonuses? I would think they compensate managers based on daily sales and consecutive days of sales above quota.
So... basically, I see BB messing with stock to manipulate their sales and Apple being mad because they are so far behind on keeping up with demand and one of their big partners is holding out and using the iPad as sales bait.
I get your point, but it doesn't work like that. One, selling 20 iPads will not hit budgets (believe me). Two, if there any bonus' to hit, its done quarterly. Again, if you sell 50 iPads in one day, its the exact same as selling 3 over the course of 15 days.
ClimbingTheLog
Jul 20, 12:56 PM
Anyone else think this is getting out of hand? Two cores, great improvement. Four cores, ehh it's faster but Joe can't tell. Eight cores, now thats just stupid.
Let me guess it will only come with 512mb of Ram :p (ok it will be at least a GB).
Have you ever owned a machine that hasn't been CPU bound? I know I haven't.
you need to do your math better, extra core = 1.5x - 1.8x speed increase. but still the same power usage as a normal core!
Where do you get these magical free electrons to drive the second core? That's some fancy silicon that uses 0W.
eight cores + Tiger = Octopussy?!?
Even Apple isn't that cool. Alas, I fear "Mac Pro 8x3.2"
How fast do you want mail to go? The main reasons you need good processors is not for browsing, e-mail, text, and such and such. I highly doubt someone who does all these things on a five year old computer will be much slower than someone on a 16 GB RAM top of the line Powermac
Have you ever done a search on a large volume of mail with AppleMail? That can eat my CPU for hours on a large IMAP mailstore on a 1.5 year old Mac. How about using Firefox with a number of useful extensions? CPU pegged for minutes when loading up the day's news stories from my RSS reader, and that's with a 2-year old Mac.
Bring the speed.
Let me guess it will only come with 512mb of Ram :p (ok it will be at least a GB).
Have you ever owned a machine that hasn't been CPU bound? I know I haven't.
you need to do your math better, extra core = 1.5x - 1.8x speed increase. but still the same power usage as a normal core!
Where do you get these magical free electrons to drive the second core? That's some fancy silicon that uses 0W.
eight cores + Tiger = Octopussy?!?
Even Apple isn't that cool. Alas, I fear "Mac Pro 8x3.2"
How fast do you want mail to go? The main reasons you need good processors is not for browsing, e-mail, text, and such and such. I highly doubt someone who does all these things on a five year old computer will be much slower than someone on a 16 GB RAM top of the line Powermac
Have you ever done a search on a large volume of mail with AppleMail? That can eat my CPU for hours on a large IMAP mailstore on a 1.5 year old Mac. How about using Firefox with a number of useful extensions? CPU pegged for minutes when loading up the day's news stories from my RSS reader, and that's with a 2-year old Mac.
Bring the speed.
cait-sith
Aug 11, 12:44 PM
Doesn't Europe have many many carriers in each country? There's no carrier that spans the entire EU, is there?
Who wants to pay 400$ for a phone that will look like an antique 12 months from now? That's a lot of money to pay for the status of having a brand new phone.
Who wants to pay 400$ for a phone that will look like an antique 12 months from now? That's a lot of money to pay for the status of having a brand new phone.
FF_productions
Jul 15, 12:41 AM
Exactly - this is one of the reasons I'm glad Apple is going with a minimum RAM configuration. I'd much rather buy RAM from a reputable 3rd party dealer than have to succumb myself to Apple's significant premiums. Always buy 3rd party, never from Apple. :cool:
Still, it's ridiculous that Apple's Top-Of-The-Line machines don't come STANDARD with 1 gig of ram. I can guarantee they will when they come out next month. If the MacBook Pro's can come with 1 gig of ram standard, the Mac Pro's will too. I cannot wait to see this new Mac Pro, it's new design, it's new everything. I'm getting that countdown widget...
Ok, I just got it
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/developer/wwdc2006countdown.html
Still, it's ridiculous that Apple's Top-Of-The-Line machines don't come STANDARD with 1 gig of ram. I can guarantee they will when they come out next month. If the MacBook Pro's can come with 1 gig of ram standard, the Mac Pro's will too. I cannot wait to see this new Mac Pro, it's new design, it's new everything. I'm getting that countdown widget...
Ok, I just got it
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/developer/wwdc2006countdown.html
happyduck42
Apr 19, 02:08 PM
Alright, I was originally going to take Apple's side on this, since I could clearly see it looks a lot like iOS, but having looked at Samsung's F700, I don' think Apple has any right to sue..
Although the Samsung F700 has very simple icons, Apple clearly has the same placement of icons, even looking at the bottom you find the four dock like icons..
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9559/samsungf700cellular.jpg
I'd say that Apple copied Samsung :P.. Honestly I'm not one to take sides just because I like Apple Products, I just think its wrong to sue since Samsung clearly had this type of UI first.. Apple has no right to sue..
That phone was announced Feb Just after the iPhone. http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_f700-1849.php
"Announced 2007, February. Released December"
Although the Samsung F700 has very simple icons, Apple clearly has the same placement of icons, even looking at the bottom you find the four dock like icons..
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9559/samsungf700cellular.jpg
I'd say that Apple copied Samsung :P.. Honestly I'm not one to take sides just because I like Apple Products, I just think its wrong to sue since Samsung clearly had this type of UI first.. Apple has no right to sue..
That phone was announced Feb Just after the iPhone. http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_f700-1849.php
"Announced 2007, February. Released December"
tortoise
Aug 7, 06:00 PM
I am sooo looking forward to this. The two top items on my OS wishlist was a competent versioning file system built-in and virtual desktops.
If I can get both, I will have damn little to complain about on the user side. I would like a deep and supported Mail.app plug-in API, for the developer side of things.
If I can get both, I will have damn little to complain about on the user side. I would like a deep and supported Mail.app plug-in API, for the developer side of things.
roland.g
Apr 6, 11:19 AM
I LOL'd. I owned iPad 1 for a year, and while it's nice, it's a FAR, FAR cry from the productivity capabilities of the current gen MBA.
Like it or not, iPad is SEVERELY CRIPPLED for content creation (i.e. real work), but excels at content CONSUMPTION. That's factual and completely undebatable. Everyone knows this.
So, no, it's not "something better". It's a more viable choice for entertainment and consumption. That's it.
I didn't say I use it for content creation or production capabilities. Desktop power. Screen real estate. I'll take my iMac with 24" screen over a notebook at 11.6 or 13.3. And my graphics and cpu power over that in an MBA. And when I want something instant on, and quick access, and light and mobile, I've got an iPad 2. Sorry, but read the whole post. I apologize if I'm not one of those people who kids themselves into thinking that a notebook is a viable "real work" machine.
Like it or not, iPad is SEVERELY CRIPPLED for content creation (i.e. real work), but excels at content CONSUMPTION. That's factual and completely undebatable. Everyone knows this.
So, no, it's not "something better". It's a more viable choice for entertainment and consumption. That's it.
I didn't say I use it for content creation or production capabilities. Desktop power. Screen real estate. I'll take my iMac with 24" screen over a notebook at 11.6 or 13.3. And my graphics and cpu power over that in an MBA. And when I want something instant on, and quick access, and light and mobile, I've got an iPad 2. Sorry, but read the whole post. I apologize if I'm not one of those people who kids themselves into thinking that a notebook is a viable "real work" machine.
ghostlyorb
Apr 11, 05:04 PM
I wouldn't mind this being a late graduation present :cool:
Dr.Gargoyle
Aug 11, 02:21 PM
Now in Europe I know it is different and that GSM is the standard.
It is more like 81% of the world market.
It is more like 81% of the world market.
shartypants
Mar 25, 10:51 PM
Look forward to seeing what additional features where added since the last developer release.
4God
Jul 14, 02:35 PM
... and the other one HD-DVD! :eek: ;) :D
Doh! Well, again IMHO, it is my preference to have only one optical drive built in. I could always add an external later.
Doh! Well, again IMHO, it is my preference to have only one optical drive built in. I could always add an external later.
WildCowboy
Sep 18, 11:03 PM
It would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. I've still got another couple of revisions before I'm ready to buy, so I'll be sitting this one out.
My gut feeling is that there won't be any new hardware at Photokina, but a later release of the MeromBooks in time for Christmas is certainly possible.
My gut feeling is that there won't be any new hardware at Photokina, but a later release of the MeromBooks in time for Christmas is certainly possible.
maverick18x
Aug 5, 03:43 PM
I heard a rumour somewhere of an all metallic ipod nano, can anyone else tell me if they have heard anything similar.
The rumor that we'd see new nanos at WWDC was first written about by ThinkSecret. They've recently gone back on their claim and suggestted a Setember timeframe.
Personally, I highly doubt we'll see ANY iPod/iTunes updates here... WWDC is historically a developer/pro event and not a consumer event. Plus, Apple is still clearing inventory by giving away nanos to college students who purchase a Mac (ends October 16th). I feel like any new iPods will get their own special event, in the October to November timeframe.
My Predictions for WWDC
Headliners:
- Leopard Preview (VMware Demo?)
- Mac Pro (Quad-core Xenon?)
- Cinema Display Updates (iSight? +30"?)
- "One More Thing..." (Something Unexpected)
Without much fanfare:
- Core 2 Duo Updates (MacBook Pro? iMac?)
- Xserve Updates (Quad-core Xenon?)
The rumor that we'd see new nanos at WWDC was first written about by ThinkSecret. They've recently gone back on their claim and suggestted a Setember timeframe.
Personally, I highly doubt we'll see ANY iPod/iTunes updates here... WWDC is historically a developer/pro event and not a consumer event. Plus, Apple is still clearing inventory by giving away nanos to college students who purchase a Mac (ends October 16th). I feel like any new iPods will get their own special event, in the October to November timeframe.
My Predictions for WWDC
Headliners:
- Leopard Preview (VMware Demo?)
- Mac Pro (Quad-core Xenon?)
- Cinema Display Updates (iSight? +30"?)
- "One More Thing..." (Something Unexpected)
Without much fanfare:
- Core 2 Duo Updates (MacBook Pro? iMac?)
- Xserve Updates (Quad-core Xenon?)
Piggie
Mar 23, 02:40 AM
When will RIM realize that nothing they can create, have created, or ever will create can be as good as something created by Apple? Some companies: Google, Microsoft, and RIM will just never learn.
Steve Jobs = Genius
It depends how you define "Good" does it not?
For some people an iMac or an iPad would be a useless device, and a PC with a Honeycomb tablet could be the ideal combination for them.
It's all down to what you want something to do.
Steve Jobs = Genius
It depends how you define "Good" does it not?
For some people an iMac or an iPad would be a useless device, and a PC with a Honeycomb tablet could be the ideal combination for them.
It's all down to what you want something to do.
Thunderhawks
Mar 22, 03:31 PM
Blackberry playbook = The IPad 2 killer - you heard it here first.
Look at the specs, their greater or equal to the iPad 2 with the exception of battery life.
Thank you.
Getting in line tomorrow morning 4:30 a.m. with all the other people in front of Best Buy.
Look at the specs, their greater or equal to the iPad 2 with the exception of battery life.
Thank you.
Getting in line tomorrow morning 4:30 a.m. with all the other people in front of Best Buy.
mactree
Apr 25, 04:40 PM
I'm sure they're re-writting their next big unveiling keynote as we speak, since this was probably part of some amazing new feature we would have all stood up and cheered for :apple:
rockthecasbah
Jul 27, 01:35 PM
This means that Apple could easily upgrade the existing Intel-based Macs to the newer processor with no design changes.
Not many people seem to be making too much of a deal about this, but i don't like the sound of that. It's great for upgrading a Mini or iMac, but i really want fresh new designs for the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. If that is the case, Apple may just wait longer for a design change just because they can! It's not like i'd turn one away, but the current designs are tiring... Oh well i'll still be excited if my "fears" are true, but i really want a fresh design.
Am i the only one that seems to think that WWDC is getting clogged up with TOO many things? I mean sure the more Apple products released/updated the better, but this keynote seems to be taking a lot of emphasis off of Leopard previews (according to the rumors) to focus more on new products. iPods galore, Mac Pros, MBPs, Mac Mini (maybe), whatever at this point, i mean where are we really fitting in Leopard other than a quick flash!?!
Not many people seem to be making too much of a deal about this, but i don't like the sound of that. It's great for upgrading a Mini or iMac, but i really want fresh new designs for the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. If that is the case, Apple may just wait longer for a design change just because they can! It's not like i'd turn one away, but the current designs are tiring... Oh well i'll still be excited if my "fears" are true, but i really want a fresh design.
Am i the only one that seems to think that WWDC is getting clogged up with TOO many things? I mean sure the more Apple products released/updated the better, but this keynote seems to be taking a lot of emphasis off of Leopard previews (according to the rumors) to focus more on new products. iPods galore, Mac Pros, MBPs, Mac Mini (maybe), whatever at this point, i mean where are we really fitting in Leopard other than a quick flash!?!
aafuss1
Aug 6, 05:26 PM
I think they'll go UDI instead of HDMI (and save fees). The really interesting question here though is HDCP and what means for all existing hardware including cinema displays...
HDMI is very common-as many brands have it now. Some PC's also use it. UDI is better-but not a lot of devices may have until 2007.
HDMI is very common-as many brands have it now. Some PC's also use it. UDI is better-but not a lot of devices may have until 2007.
macMan228
Mar 26, 08:34 AM
To my knowledge, all these features everyone is complaining about, can be disabled or just worked around, so whats the big deal?
Bring on the Lion, i can handle it :apple:
Bring on the Lion, i can handle it :apple:
