Getting a Mac

[uchiha_itachi]

Not sure about the glossy screen question, alot of people have varied opinions on that. I would however strongly recommend a 24" imac. As you said, they are fully HD compatible, (1080p) and they really are spectacular to use. I'm sure that you will get a better performance from it that a macbook pro for your video work/editing.

I suppose it all comes down to whether you need the portability...

[Biscuit]

I dont NEED it but on the other hand i get the feeling once i have tasted it i wont regret it, if you know what i mean? argh too hard! il talk to my lecturer & the guy i have been working with recently see what they say

Some comments on comparing the glossy screen to a matt screen for video editing would be helpful? Will it hinder the final qualtiy of what i edit due to a misconception of what it really looks like? baring in mind what i produce may actually be put onto TV so the smallest detail needs to be taken into account.

[charleski]

Here are some benchmarks comparing rendering speeds of the iMac and MBP. The MBP is 1440x900, but can support up to 2560x1600 on an external screen. Having a multiscreen setup is very useful for video editing (one screen for the media, one for the controls) so you will probably end up plugging your existing screen into the mac anyway.

As far as screen quality goes, this is a point where you can easily blow your budget. Even the best laptop screens have a far more limited gamut than desktop screens, but (as a result of this) don't exhibit the banding seen on many consumer-quality LCDs. The 15" LED MBP screens calibrate well (your department should have a screen calibrator you can borrow) and have reasonably good evenness of illumination, though still exhibit noticeable gamma shifts with changes in viewing angle. I suspect that the iMac screens are similar in this regard. Unfortunately, if you want to be sure you're seeing a perfectly accurate picture, you're talking about a professional screen which won't leave you much change from £1000. The benefit of a MBP is that you could take your computer over to the department and plug it into a pro screen there (if they have one) in order to check the final colour balance.

I would definitely go for a matte screen. It's easier to calibrate, doesn't give hassles with reflections, and I find them easier to keep clean.

[usxhe190]

really depends on if you will really use it for work or for play (i.e. occasionally use)

so i would go for an imac rather than macbook because it would be much easier to work with on a big screen...

[Biscuit]

I think i may go into the Mac store in town and check them out, i may also ask my friend if i can borrow his old g4 powerbook for a while, see how it feels.

[shiato storm]

I'm in the same situation biscuit...laptop for location shooting/editing or wack all my shots on portable hdd (which I have) and edit at home iMac-stylee... I hear though the screen sucks almost all the lights in the room and reflects them back at you, which is less than ideal for photos but other than that its got raves...would love a McPro but for what you get the iMac is much better deal (McPro + screen etc = £loads!)
again, once tasted portable, always want it?

[Biscuit]

Thanks everyone very much for the input!

I have decided to go for the lower end Macbook Pro
2.2Ghz C2D
2gb ddr2 667 ram
7600rpm 160GB HDD (added in the customize)
8600m GT 128mb

and a tech air 3506 Case with some kind of tracking system

Totaled up (with uni discount) @ £1,271.35

I came to this decision because
1. i can take it into uni and do work with with all my class mates who will be working on the pool macs and i can be on my book (hopefully they wont get too jealous)
2. I can do work when im travalling around visiting friends or going home for a few days etc
3. For the amount im spending i could get a b*tching PC; talking DDR3, new monitor, quad core etc (if i used gfx card and hard drives from my current machine) making the advantages of going mac when i already have a decent pc pretty minimal. For the specs you are getting on the macbook pro, its pretty competetive to similarly specced windows laptops AND it now natively supports windows anyway.

Any more opinions welcome although u will have to be quick as i think im ordering tonight

Thanks again

Btw on the refurbs section they have a macbook pro for £1100, Student discount doesnt apply so i would only be savin lik £4 but thats £200 off list price.

[charleski]

Personally, rather than spending the £150 for a 7200rpm 160G internal disk I'd get a 750G external FW800 drive for backups and media storage.

[Biscuit]

bah i ordered it already... il get an external next time i come into somecash. Cheers anyway fella

[shiato storm]

nice one fella, let us know how you get on

[Biscuit]

will do, arrives in about a 9 days or so (hopefully less) so il post and tell you what i think.

[Biscuit]

I love the thing, its great. Being able to stroll into lectures and type up notes rather than scribbling things i will never be able to read again is great.

Having some trouble with networking it up though.

I put a thread here although these suggestions dont seem to help.

Basically the story now is, when the Imac is on the network all the computers can see my MBP, but usually it cant detect it. When i try and change the Netbios name and workgroup in network preferances, they dont save. Any ideas people? if anyone has a decent guide for hooking up a Mac to a windows network it would be greatly apppriciated.

Just to note - no internet access will on this network, it is file transfer and gaming only.

[Guy]

Nice bit of spam + thread revival.