PC or Mac?

[MombasaFlash]

I am eternally grateful that my first computer happened to be a Mac laptop. I was so computer ignorant that I could not comprehend the whole PC or Mac question. I mean, they are both Personal Computers aren't they? Of course it is not the actual hardware (although Macs ARE really nicely made), it is the OS. God how I detest navigating Windows.

Getting into helicopters and now drones has necessitated using Windows programs - CARVEC, PiclocToolz, MKTools. Suppressing involuntary bile, I bought an ASUS netbook specifically to run these three parameter setting programs and to avoid carting the shiny 17" MacBook Pro around muddy fields. But guess what? All three programs suffer from all manner of freezes and weird issues with COM ports and drivers not recognised for the various obligatory USB dongles, requiring all sorts of strange plugging and unplugging procedures either from boot-up or after ... and all three run totally without issue on the iMac or MacBook Pro with Parallels. Regardless of when the dongles are connected. It is standard practice to adjust ALL MKTools parameters on the iMac at home and use the MacBookPro on the field. Occasionally, I will get out the ASUS PC and a short while later the air turns blue and it gets put away again!

As for Mac compatibility with AVCHD, first there is VLC for native viewing of all manner of video formats as Boris mentioned and second, if you are using a Mac then you are using Final Cut in which case the Panasonic P2, Canon .mov and Sony AVCHD video files are read directly from the camera (or card) in the preview window. AVCHD files are only converted to ProRes at the time of import. This does not incur a down-sampling or reduction of full HD.

 

[Emowillcox]

Can an old dog learn new tricks? I went full on mac 10 years ago and haven't looked back. A couple of years ago I got married to a PC user and guess what she is now a converted Mac Luver! I had forgotten about all the viruses, funguses, and things that would lock PCs until we tried to set up my wife with a PC. 10 years ago I was working in Hollywood at a variety of Post Houses and it was pretty much a 50/50 split for PC and Mac computers that were being used for editing. At that time everyone was using AVID software for editing and there were huge problems with the storage system. AVID tech support was expensive and sucked back then and many people were looking for other solutions. Around that time Final Cut Pro came on the scene.
The turning point for me started as I was using a high powered PC machine to do freelance work and the computer locked up several times eventually causing me to lose a project that I had spent 40 hours on. Alot of my freelance projects were corporate jobs that had to be output to DVD. So i'd out put my video file from Avid then have to use another software to do the DVD menu and those weren't always compatible.
Final Cut Pro took off like wild fire in the corporate world because you could buy a MAC and get all the software you needed for editing your video, sound tweaking, graphics, special effects programs, and burn your project off to dvd or file for the web while working from the same computer the whole time.
Macs are great for photography as well and there are lots of great editing software for photo editing.
In the corporate world it was interesting to work because some places I was at had two computers one for us to do our video projects and another one for checking our emails and the web. The tech support department for our pc was pretty big and had 24-7 service, but on the other hand there was no tech support department for our Macs because we never needed it.
Now days I think more companies are using macs for the creative and communication side of business.
Sure PC will do the job for editing photos and video.. and I still have friends in LA editing mostly from PC, but if I was an individual looking to buy a computer for my home office that I could use for editing video and photos then i'd go with a mac.

 

[Stacky]

Ive been working as a commercial photographer for over 20 years now. Before that i was an engineer with Phillips in banking data systems. When i switched to photography I ended up switching to mac as that was becoming the industry standard for my Industry. I think I bought my first mac back in 1994 and one thing that really sticks out is that in all that time and the large number of mac computers I have owned I have never once had any sort of hardware fault. I think from memory thats 12 computers, 2 iPods, an iPad, 2 monitors and an apple tv unit. I still have the first apple laptop I bought, a pb150 and it works as well as the day I bought it apart from the fact its a 33mhz processor....
I now also own a PC because I need one for use with my Hoverfly boards and the Copter Control boards. CC does a mac version of its software now but I haven't made much use of it.

 

[MombasaFlash]

... I now also own a PC because I need one for use with my Hoverfly boards and the Copter Control boards ...

Parallels works fine with these low demand apps.

I will be swapping the ASUS for a MacBook Air as the 17" MBP is a little too cumbersome for the field. And then I will enjoy a little ceremonial PC destruction. Poxy thing.

 

[Bartman]

just a quick update on the outcome of all this.....i found a gentleman with a 6 month old 2011 27" iMac for sale with a lot of photo/video software already installed. it seems he was already ready for an upgrade and the computer is like new so we've struck a deal and I expect to have it by the end of next week. the point was made that since i'm new to a lot of the software I might as well take the opportunity to switch now and learn the software and the mac at the same time to sorta lessen the pain of the PC to mac conversion.
i'm really looking forward to having the means to experiment more with video so this has worked out well.
thanks for the input everyone.
bart

 

[plingboot]

good choice, you'll not be dissapointed.

 

[MombasaFlash]

Definitely.

 

[Droider]

MAC MAC MAC MAC MAC you'll never go back. My business partner was a big pc builder / pc poweruser. U just try and get his macbook pro off him now...

I run bootcamp rather than parallels..I have loads of PC based software for work and the MK and DJI GS but the work horse for everything else is mac.. I guess I am a tad apple blooded as I have been on them since the start... way back in the day (IHATE THAT SAYING)!

Go Mac Bart..

Dave

 

[mbsteed]

Mac here as well - although both platforms do similar things, I would describe the Mac experience as more elegant. You can probably start with iMovie for video editing and if that is insufficient, then you move up to Final Cut Pro. I really can hardly stand working in Windows but you know it isn't the computer that makes the difference in the video that is created but the story teller.

 

[MombasaFlash]

... I would describe the Mac experience as more elegant.

I'd go a LOT further than that. In these days of Liberal fuelled Political Correctness where I cannot even remember what we are now supposed to call a spade, I ought to be lost for words when it comes to aptly describing my Windows/PC experience. However, as it happens I am not.

Putting it at succinctly as possible, and avoiding the bad language filter by camouflaging it with corny Aussie accent, it is, has been, and undoubtedly always will be a Pice Of Schite, Mite (POSM).

FOR EXAMPLE, today the weather is clear so I need to rush out and check these new battery cables, temperatures, balance and all that stuff and I thought I would give the ASSUS notebook another chance.

What udder, bluddee stupidity, mite!

It has taken 90 minutes to get the poxy POSM ASSUS to recognise the stupid poxy USB dongle to allow MKTools to start - even though it agrees with itself about the stupid poxy COM port number in the Device Manager. And then, having eventually found everything after multiple restarts, connecting/disconnecting the dongle and started MKTool, I closed it and reopened it to make sure we were okay and the stupid, poxy POSM could not "open the COM port" even though everything was still where it was seven seconds ago.

In stark contrast, I open the Macbook, fire up Parallels, plug in the dongle and start MKTool. To quote the marketing line, "Macs just work". Even with dirty, clumsy, ugly Windows rubbish.

Naturally, I sincerely hope that this information bulletin has managed to stay within the bounds of PC*.




*Political Correctness / Personal Computer / Pedagogic Crap - please select most appropriate.

 

[Emowillcox]

Bart good choice you will be happy with that machine... I don’t remember the last time I heard of someone tell me how they bought a mac and if they had things to do over they would have gotten a PC ;-) Just for kicks last week I was in the store and I told a guy I wanted to get a PC laptop and asked what it would come with for software... Pretty much a whole bunch of nothing..Computer price was not bad.... but for sure I was gonna need to buy some security software and it would only last so long before I’d have to buy an updated version.
The other day I was talking to my buddy in LA I use to work with who is now the lead editor Desperate House Wives and he told me not too much had changed.. since I left but FCP had taken a big cut in the market out there and alot of Big Post Houses had switched from Avid to FCP, but now alot of the post houses were very disappointed with the latest version of FCP. Basically it had to do with the lack of being able to share footage / shows among multiple computers. Post Houses working on big projects with tight deadlines will have one server with multiple machines. Editors are assigned one segment of a show so multiple editors can be working on the same show. Post Houses using FCP felt like they had been left down and abandoned with this latest FCP release and now several are going back to AVID.
FCP is still a great set up for editing just not preferred at some of the bigger Post Houses. Anyways just thought i’d share that since I got a chance to chat with my buddy.

 

[Nelson223]

Hi friends i am here i just want to say you that i would like to prefer PC because this is a complete operating system for operate the software and all other apps which you cannot open ion MAC because of some other format files and apps so i -prefer to PC for personal home use .........

 

[Dubliners]

I'm building a high end video machine and I'm going to install iOS on it. It will be a bit of work, but 3K versus 7K$ is more appealing. Ill post my results. A friend always says, Linux is for servers, Mac is for graphics, and Windows is for solitaire

 

[Bartman]

i'm on my Mac now for over a year and i still hate it.

old habits die hard, as they say?

 

[jfro]

For 20 + years I've configured, built, installed, and trained on computer systems for prepress, graphics, animation, and video editing. I've designed & installed both MAC and PC systems through the years. When video editing first came to be, we sold 90% of the systems on the MAC. Prior to that, we were mostly PC's doing graphics and animations based on Targa based graphics boards. Most were in the $6,000 to $15,000 price range. Occasionally we'd do a $50,000 to $80,000 system with 1 or 2 computers, more often with MAC's or a mixture of both. Over the last decade the PC has become more of option for all things graphics (always was first for business purposes).

Now, IMO, it's use whatever you want. For some specialties, one may be a bit better than the other and for Multicopters, it seems, it may be a tad easier on PC's, but I'm too new to know that for a fact.

During the last decade, I've personally been primarily using PC workstations. I have a i7 based Mac, but it get's turned on a couple times a month. I sold my last Macbook when I realized I was running Windows 7 (when it was first released) on it the majority of the time under bootcamp. It's pretty simple choice for me as the lower costs and more choices allow me to upgrade to the current high speed processors, graphics cards, and hard drives more often and I save money doing it. If something breaks, and both systems do have failures, parts are easier to get and more competitively priced. Windows 7 was the great equalizer plus the larger pool of software choices.

 

[mbsteed]

I have used Windows and Mac over many years but I always gravitated to Mac - I find the interface more elegant, intuitive and new media is more integrated (e.g. ilife and Final Cut, etc.). All the above comments about lack of software etc. are true but most of us only use our PC with a limited number of applications and if you don't play games 24/7 and you are not into a specific business application then the Mac can do all the other stuff just as well or better. Unfortunately the manufactors' of flight controllers' client software are Windows only for the time being so Bootcamp (Windows emulator) is an option that gives folks the best of both worlds on a Mac.

 

[uahio777]

Hello guys..I use PC at the start and i think PC is the best to compare with the Mac because PC is very easy compare to the Mac.Mac is very complicated i was use the Mac once time but it give me more difficult.

 

[DucktileMedia]

Bart, you are joking right?

I have to say, turning into a huge mac addict and owning every single device they make less the mini and air, I might start taking interest in a hackintosh. The mac pro better have a new release that is competitive with the precision or I'm building my own. No USB3/thunderbolt/option of upgrading processors, only 12 core/64gb max. The mac is a work of art no doubt but its getting to the point where if you plan on upgrading your computer every 3 years it is just too expensive for what you get. And knowing they use the same components the windows machines use makes it more frustrating. I will never go to windows but I might consider building a PC and installing OSX.

 

[MombasaFlash]

Nuthin like a good ole Mac vs PC session. I stand fairly and squarely on the right side of the fence with a computer that does it all and does it all nicely and doesn't send me into fits of frustration every single time I turn it on or look like some 1970's orphan.

Huh? Sorry ... ? ... Oh, which computer? Well a Mac of course!

 

[Droider]

Well since 1986 there has only been one addiction until 2010 and that was MAC. Then came along flaming MR's. Unfortunatley almost everything MR relies on WINDOZ to configure it with the bloody drivers for this drivers for that and this com port and that com port config file that just makes dealling with it all so bloody WINDOZ! WHY cant u just plug something in and use it with out config files port assigning and the never ending bloody warnings beeping and flashing in the bottom right hand corner.

Yes I HAVE to use WINDOZ not just for MR'S but for stupidly simple work tasks.

WHY cant you just plug and play like on a MAC?

Not sure if WDZ8 s better but from experience of getting the Radian, RSCG, WKM, MK, Castle and everything else to work has just been a total pain! (BIG THANKS TO ZAXIS for their expertise in COM ports from stopping me taking up knitting)

MAC every time... bugger the software that just makes life a bit cheaper! In the long run it just cost ten times more in hair treatments!

MO so there!

Dave