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SSD issue

Is the MacBook M2 Pro capable of editing and rendering a 1080p, 1 hour long video file in iMovie thanks to the base model with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM? Is 256 gb SSD enough?

Posted on Oct 20, 2022 7:40 PM

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Posted on Oct 21, 2022 8:01 AM

Yes!


A one hour long 1080p video file is in the region of 10GB depending on the bit rate chosen to encode.


Of course when you are editing you may be using other clips and you will probably generate render files which will bump the figure up but unless you are doing something crazy you should not get anywhere near to filling your SSD.


Most editors also get an external plug in SSD to supplement the internal SSD.


A 1TB SSD with USB connection will cost well under £100/$100 and will be smaller than a pack (deck) of cards.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 21, 2022 8:01 AM in response to 007ph

Yes!


A one hour long 1080p video file is in the region of 10GB depending on the bit rate chosen to encode.


Of course when you are editing you may be using other clips and you will probably generate render files which will bump the figure up but unless you are doing something crazy you should not get anywhere near to filling your SSD.


Most editors also get an external plug in SSD to supplement the internal SSD.


A 1TB SSD with USB connection will cost well under £100/$100 and will be smaller than a pack (deck) of cards.

Oct 21, 2022 8:14 AM in response to 007ph

265GB should be plenty of room for a 1 hour 1080p video. File size can depend on frame rate, compression rate, and the format one uses. Exporting at the Best Quality (pro res) setting will yield a .mov file that could be as much as 4x larger than the Mp4 file you would get by exporting at the Good Quality setting.


Here's a link to a video space calculator:


https://www.digitalrebellion.com/webapps/videocalc


So for example, using the H.264 1080 codec at 30 frames per second yields a file size of 43.4 GB :



However, if one changes the codec to Pro Res 422 HQ 1080, the file size would be 96.78 GB instead of 43.4 GB. For consumer use it would be unnecessary to use Best Quality (pro res) export setting.


Video files do take up a lot of space. Those who work with videos often store their iMovie libraries on an external drive that is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS, and set the export destination to the external disc. They you do not need to worry about space on the internal drive.


-- Rich

Oct 21, 2022 9:23 AM in response to Rich839

No problem I have often done the same.


One point for 007ph is that the export (share) settings are very misleading.


For normal playback and viewing the export quality should be High and NOT ProRes.


ProRes is for archiving a video that you might want to re-edit later as it gives theoretically better results, though in practice I have never noticed any difference even on close examination.


I'd go so far as saying NEVER use ProRes unless you really know what you are doing.




Oct 21, 2022 7:58 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Here's a 1TB SSD for £72 or approximately $75. It comes with a USB3.0 cable but you will need an adapter for your computer that will cost about £10 more.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT1000X6SSD9-X6-Portable-SSD/dp/B08FSZT2J7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3BG1LSFG9ZPZE&keywords=1TB+SSD+USB&qid=1666364013&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjAzIiwicXNhIjoiMy4xNiIsInFzcCI6IjIuNzMifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=1tb+ssd+usb%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1


You can pay more of course but there is no need to.

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