I'm buying a laptop for learning After Effects and Final Cut Pro. It
is important that this laptop can handle effects rendering and FCP
because I hope to use it to create motion graphics and as an offline
editor for broadcast production. That said, I am looking for a good
value and don't want to break the bank. On the cheap end I picked an
Ibook with 640MB RAM and 933MHZ G4. On the expensive side, I chose
the Powerbook with 1GB RAM and 1GHz G4. I plan buy something in
between. Any thoughts before I go to the Mac Store?

In article <43950632.0401251848.273129cd@posting.google.com >,
sswiller******.com (Steve) wrote:

> I'm buying a laptop for learning After Effects and Final Cut Pro. It
> is important that this laptop can handle effects rendering and FCP
> because I hope to use it to create motion graphics and as an offline
> editor for broadcast production. That said, I am looking for a good
> value and don't want to break the bank. On the cheap end I picked an
> Ibook with 640MB RAM and 933MHZ G4. On the expensive side, I chose
> the Powerbook with 1GB RAM and 1GHz G4. I plan buy something in
> between. Any thoughts before I go to the Mac Store?

Don't know if you've gone to the store yet, but video apps like these
gobble CPU, RAM, and drive space. The PowerBook is more made for video
editing, with s-video out and dual display as well as more oomph. That
said, unless you really NEED a laptop, they're not the most
cost-efficient choices. The Power Mac line will render substantially
faster. You'll be able to avoid cludgy external firewire drives. If you
plan to make money doing video, then the faster machine only makes
sense. I currently do hobby video with a 1 GHz iMac and an older TiBook.
I'll be moving to a G5 when I get more serious about selling video
services, because I'd be hard-pressed to make a decent wage with my
present slow equipment.

However, if you just need something to learn on for now, go with the
cheaper PowerBook, and you can use it later to keep track of your
invoices after you get your G5 pumping out video to happy clients.
Good luck.

Just wanted to add that I agree with Kent. Unless you really need a
laptop, consider getting a desktop machine. You'll get more of
everything you need (RAM, disk space) and also, you'll be able to use
all the keys!!! For example, in After Effects, the number pad 8 key is
very useful for adding marks to a track to synchronise with sound. I
don't think it's even possible to use that function on a powerbook
(certainly doesn't work with my old G3 powerbook).

If you do need a laptop, I think you'll find the iBook especially
frustrating for video work.

just a random thought...
v

In article <kentc-0E2444.22080128012004@nr-ott01.bellnexxia.net>, Kent
Clarke <kentc@dot.org> wrote:

> In article <43950632.0401251848.273129cd@posting.google.com >,
> sswiller******.com (Steve) wrote:
>
> > I'm buying a laptop for learning After Effects and Final Cut Pro. It
> > is important that this laptop can handle effects rendering and FCP
> > because I hope to use it to create motion graphics and as an offline
> > editor for broadcast production. That said, I am looking for a good
> > value and don't want to break the bank. On the cheap end I picked an
> > Ibook with 640MB RAM and 933MHZ G4. On the expensive side, I chose
> > the Powerbook with 1GB RAM and 1GHz G4. I plan buy something in
> > between. Any thoughts before I go to the Mac Store?
>
> Don't know if you've gone to the store yet, but video apps like these
> gobble CPU, RAM, and drive space. The PowerBook is more made for video
> editing, with s-video out and dual display as well as more oomph. That
> said, unless you really NEED a laptop, they're not the most
> cost-efficient choices. The Power Mac line will render substantially
> faster. You'll be able to avoid cludgy external firewire drives. If you
> plan to make money doing video, then the faster machine only makes
> sense. I currently do hobby video with a 1 GHz iMac and an older TiBook.
> I'll be moving to a G5 when I get more serious about selling video
> services, because I'd be hard-pressed to make a decent wage with my
> present slow equipment.
>
> However, if you just need something to learn on for now, go with the
> cheaper PowerBook, and you can use it later to keep track of your
> invoices after you get your G5 pumping out video to happy clients.
> Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I ended up going with the powerbook g4 with
768mb ram and 15" moniter. After Effects works very well except when
I import very large media files (7-8 minute mpegs). I also got a
200GB Lacie for media storage. That said, buying this laptop was a
major investment. Apart from the hardware, there's peripherals,
customer support, and a good laptop case. I don't think an ibook
would have given me the power I need for a compositing system that's
wort anything.

Vlad Cohen <vladco@btinternet.com> wrote in message news:<060220041903288433%vladco@btinternet.com>...
> Just wanted to add that I agree with Kent. Unless you really need a
> laptop, consider getting a desktop machine. You'll get more of
> everything you need (RAM, disk space) and also, you'll be able to use
> all the keys!!! For example, in After Effects, the number pad 8 key is
> very useful for adding marks to a track to synchronise with sound. I
> don't think it's even possible to use that function on a powerbook
> (certainly doesn't work with my old G3 powerbook).
>
> If you do need a laptop, I think you'll find the iBook especially
> frustrating for video work.
>
> just a random thought...
> v
>
> In article <kentc-0E2444.22080128012004@nr-ott01.bellnexxia.net>, Kent
> Clarke <kentc@dot.org> wrote:
>
> > In article <43950632.0401251848.273129cd@posting.google.com >,
> > sswiller******.com (Steve) wrote:
> >
> > > I'm buying a laptop for learning After Effects and Final Cut Pro. It
> > > is important that this laptop can handle effects rendering and FCP
> > > because I hope to use it to create motion graphics and as an offline
> > > editor for broadcast production. That said, I am looking for a good
> > > value and don't want to break the bank. On the cheap end I picked an
> > > Ibook with 640MB RAM and 933MHZ G4. On the expensive side, I chose
> > > the Powerbook with 1GB RAM and 1GHz G4. I plan buy something in
> > > between. Any thoughts before I go to the Mac Store?
> >
> > Don't know if you've gone to the store yet, but video apps like these
> > gobble CPU, RAM, and drive space. The PowerBook is more made for video
> > editing, with s-video out and dual display as well as more oomph. That
> > said, unless you really NEED a laptop, they're not the most
> > cost-efficient choices. The Power Mac line will render substantially
> > faster. You'll be able to avoid cludgy external firewire drives. If you
> > plan to make money doing video, then the faster machine only makes
> > sense. I currently do hobby video with a 1 GHz iMac and an older TiBook.
> > I'll be moving to a G5 when I get more serious about selling video
> > services, because I'd be hard-pressed to make a decent wage with my
> > present slow equipment.
> >
> > However, if you just need something to learn on for now, go with the
> > cheaper PowerBook, and you can use it later to keep track of your
> > invoices after you get your G5 pumping out video to happy clients.
> > Good luck.