Video editing for macbook

Don't buy a MacBook for video editing. Buy a MacBook Pro, and that's all you'll need... as long as your source can send firewire (as do most consumer Video Cameras these days) then you've got a video editing machine and DVD burner right out of the box. iMovie HD is a great start, but if you are looking for more powerful software, there are many options out there.

The reason I recommend not going with a basic MacBook for video editing, is because it doesn't have a dedicated video card. It shares resources with the CPU, which slows everything down. The MB Pro has a dedicated Video Card.

Its really not that bad 😉

If you cant afford a Pro then stick with the Macbook, just make sure you upgrade the RAM to 2GB it will help.

The downside is that iMovie doesnt go as quick as it should on any Intel based Mac. Sure its a little faster than on a G5, but not much. I think its down to the dual platform coding.

There's a big difference between requirements depending on what kind of video editing we're talking about.

If you're a hobbyist/amateur and only plan on using miniDV (possibly HDV) on iMovie or Final Cut Express, a MacBook would probably do a decent job. For anything more professional, get a MacBook Pro.

If your camcorder has a firewire port, it's probably all set to capture video on a Mac, no extra hardware needed (well, aside from the firewire cable). If you're using a hard drive or dvd cam which uses USB, things get a little trickier, and you'll want to learn how to trancode mpeg2 to Quicktime DV using something like MPEG Streamclip.

As far as MacBook specs go, definately go for the higher end. 2GBs of RAM would be preferred. And a DVD burner would obviously be a no-brainer.

I think the whole 128mb v/ 64 mb shared thing is a little ridiculous. if you are doing omething professional you are not going to be using a laptop. unless it is **** but u can shot that on any format. So lets eliminate **** for this conversation. I fyou are just a recreational editor get a macbook. If you are working on Spielbergs nect film get a desktop maybe 3 of them.

the video card doesn't have that much to do with editing video, so ignore that.
i have, and use, final cut pro on my CD macbook - with 2 gigs of ram - and it works fine for simple edits. the fans only ramp up when i am using compressor to create qt files.

i am actually quite happy with the performance. (editing DV footage)
here is a video i just finished on my macbook:
http://www.bobscottnyc.com/seagirt.mov

that said, if i have a big edit i would do it from my desktop, but for smaller projects, the macbook handles DV editing just fine.

you absolutely need an external drive. this is rule one when it comes to editing video. you keep your editing app on your primary drive, and capture your footage to a secondary drive (weather it be another internal or a external) I capture all of my footage to my OWC Mercury Elite Aluminum Pro (250 gig)
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/

hope this helps

Depending on what you are trying to do, a macbook is pretty good for video editing. I edit tons of stuff, but Im not exactly a pro. I make music videos a lot and that requires basic stuff. Cutting, Effects, Media, music etc. As long as you have a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire cable, you can hook up your video camera to it, and import using iMovie.

Hi heavencole,

I use my macbook for my editing machine as replacement for my eMac 1.25 Ghz.

I use iMovie - iDVD for about 4 hours daily, with expanded or mirror the screen to external Samsung 19" Widescreen.

And I occasionally run Final Cut Express 3.5 to get more pro look on my project. And intel GMA 950 (Built in GPU) is supported.

The intel GMA will dinamically shared up to 224 mb of ram and I recommend you upgrade your memory to max (matched 2 GB).

In my opinion, macbook will serve you well within your budget not to mention that you are newbie on this.

Also now there is bundled (Save $200) for Final Cut Express nowadays (I don't know if that apply in Philippine).

Also I recommend to invest an external HD for your project.

But if you are aiming for professional performance and software (Final Cut Pro), and you have the budget for it, go with iMac or MacBook Pro.

And there is no capture card for it, just choose camcorder with firewire / iLink port and you good to go.

Good Luck.

But if you

The MacBook suits me perfect, and I shoot and edit with HDV, semi-professtionally.

Honestly, I wish I would've gone with the MBP for a better video card. But it actually works quite well.

As for an external drive, YES!!

Video editing requires lots and losts of disk space. I have 3 external's for my Mac Pro that are large in space. But for my MacBook I use a 160GB OWC drive that's firewire and is bus powered. Meaning that I don't need a power souce, it derives the power from the MacBook's Firewire port. Works well. Especially when you're working on a project while on a plain.

-benny

Well said R. Berardi. I wish this video card situation would get squelched once and for all. Video editing (non linear 2-D video editing) has very little to do with the GPU of a computer and much to do with the CPU and in this case the MacBook compares favorably.

My MacBook edits/renders/playsback video so much better than my iMac G5 (with a much better video card) it isn't funny. And that iMac G5 ran circles around my PowerMac G4 which had a supposed superior to the MacBook video card.

i have, and use, final cut pro on my CD macbook...

For the sake of the original poster, it should be noted that Apple doesn't support running Final Cut Pro on a MacBook. (That's not to say it doesn't work, just that Apple won't help you with it if there's a problem.) iMovie and Final Cut Express are supported, though. I use Final Cut Express on my MacBook without any issues.

-Doug

Video editing is no problem with 2 GBs. You can even run Photoshop decently with 2 GBs. I do video editing with iMovie all the time.

good point Doug.