Help: iMac + T1i video

[erock901]

Hi All. I have a T1i and have always had problems editing the 720p video on my PC (2Ghz duo/4Gb RAM) with Adobe Premier Elements. The playback of each clip was so choppy that I didn’t know where to set transitions, audio, etc. I know I can probably just get a newer/faster PC but, I think it’s time to give Apple a shot. So I’m looking at a new iMac with these specs: 3.06Ghz duo core, 8GB RAM, 1TB HD, ATI HD video card with 512MB. I’d like to step up to the quad core but the duo core is at the very, very top of my budget. I guess I’ll be using iMovie to edit the clips. Sorry, I’m not a computer guy so I’m not sure what other specs I need to list for your reference.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of set up and the .mov files from the T1i? If so, do you think it’ll be easier to edit video clips on this system? Will I have to convert the .mov file to something else before being able to edit? Obviously, this new iMac will be more powerful/faster than my current PC so I should see an improvement. But, will the playback of the clips during editing still be choppy?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Right Cranium Imaging]

I believe your choppyness comes from formatting, not from the performance of your PC. As a Mac person, I would strongly suggest the iMac, but for other reasons. If you do decide to go with the iMac there is a program called MPEG Streamclip that is a free download that will convert your files into an editable format. You with the set up you are talking about you should see excellent performance in your editing and rendering. On a side note, iMovie is quite limited in what file formats you can edit in and what you can do. Final Cut Express is a much better tool, but is still limited as it will not accept H.264. Final Cut Pro is the way to go if possible, but is $999 Start with iMovie and work your way up.

[basroil]

iMac won't help, as stated above. Re-encoding to a better working format will. Your current computer should work perfectly with just 720p video, may still be laggy even after re-encoding for 1080p.

If you need a new computer, stick to windows, you can get an i7 system for less than the price of a 20" iMac (core 2 duo, just faster clock speed than your current computer), and an i7 system will be able to encode 1080p video in real time (or very high quality 720p in real time)

Another option is to get a GPU decoder, but it's not worth the price when you can just re-encode.

[erock901]

thanks for the input!

@cranium-are you saying i should use MPEG Streamclip to convert my .mov files from the T1i to something else even if i get the new iMac? i was under the impression that the iMac could handle the .mov file.

@barisol-when you say re-encode, does that mean converting the .mov file to something else for the PC? if so, which file type and app do you use to do that?

thanks again for the help. when i got the T1i, i had all these grand dreams to make HD videos. i wish i were more computer savvy to actually make those dreams come true :(

[davidfig]

When you bring T1i video into iMovie it will transcode it to start with. This makes it easier to edit and view (people do complain about this step sometimes, but I think apple is trying to preserve image quality). Then you can edit and output.

Assuming that premiere has a setting for this, maybe you can have it transcode the video to an internal format.

I would recommend that you get a trail version of Sony Vegas before you consider moving to Mac if you are happy otherwise (and this coming from a Mac User).

One more recommendation....... www.cinema5d.com

[basroil]

thanks for the input!

@cranium-are you saying i should use MPEG Streamclip to convert my .mov files from the T1i to something else even if i get the new iMac? i was under the impression that the iMac could handle the .mov file.

@barisol-when you say re-encode, does that mean converting the .mov file to something else for the PC? if so, which file type and app do you use to do that?

thanks again for the help. when i got the T1i, i had all these grand dreams to make HD videos. i wish i were more computer savvy to actually make those dreams come true :(

For windows, you can use megui to recode video into a better, more compatible format. even if you stay with h264, re-encoding should help. There are hundreds of other free and fee programs that will do the same, but megui is very powerful if properly used. For OSX, streamclip is just another re-encoding program.

Both both, you can even use premiere to reencode, just take your video file, put it into a new sequence, then export it without doing anything to it. Then just re-import the new file. Not the fastest or highest quality (for a given size), but good enough.

[Right Cranium Imaging]

Both both, you can even use premiere to reencode, just take your video file, put it into a new sequence, then export it without doing anything to it. Then just re-import the new file. Not the fastest or highest quality (for a given size), but good enough.

You dont even have to put it in the sequence first, you can take it straight from your CF Card.

[erock901]

i tried using premier to convert the .mov file and it worked great. but, it obviously adds more time to the editing process. and i couldn't find a setting in premier to automatically transcode the video when imported. at least i have a workaround now until i decide on that new iMac.

thanks again for all the help and info!

[davidfig]

i tried using premier to convert the .mov file and it worked great. but, it obviously adds more time to the editing process. and i couldn't find a setting in premier to automatically transcode the video when imported. at least i have a workaround now until i decide on that new iMac.

thanks again for all the help and info!

Remember that iMovie will transcode (recode) and that takes time. I'm not seeing how the mac will make this better. Except that its easier to use and intuitively powerful.

[basroil]

i tried using premier to convert the .mov file and it worked great. but, it obviously adds more time to the editing process. and i couldn't find a setting in premier to automatically transcode the video when imported. at least i have a workaround now until i decide on that new iMac.

thanks again for all the help and info!

Remember that iMovie will transcode (recode) and that takes time. I'm not seeing how the mac will make this better. Except that its easier to use and intuitively powerful.

Yes, recoding is a fact of life with SLR video (unless you want to pay extra for a GPU decoder). The only way around this is to get a faster machine. My laptop does 720p video at about half, real time, my i7 desktop does it at more than twice real time with better motion estimation. If you go with a mac, don't settle for less than the i7 860 version of the 27" (starts at $2199). If you don't get mac, you can get an i7 computer for under $1k, you can get a really good one with dual 24" IPS monitors (or single 30") for the same price as the 27" iMac.

And I personally find it much easier to use windows for everything, but that's a personal choice. Both OSes are stable and powerful, just a matter of programs available and what you like. Since this would be just for photo/video/word processing, adobe and microsoft make OSX versions as well as Windows versions of the programs you would need.

[RWatkins]

I thought Premiere Pro transcoded the file when imported to use in editing.


I use PP3 on OS X, and I thought this was the point of the 'conforming' process.

[basroil]

I thought Premiere Pro transcoded the file when imported to use in editing.


I use PP3 on OS X, and I thought this was the point of the 'conforming' process.

no, premiere pro only checks the file to make sure it's compatible and has no errors that would cause issues.

and even that can be circumvented by using an avisynth or other frameserver file instead

[erock901]

hi all. i just wanted to follow up on this post. i hate when people ask questions, then other people take the time to answer, but the op doesn't say what they ended up doing.

i ended up getting a 21.5"/3.33Ghz/8GB RAM imac. about 15 mins after i unpacked it, i plugged in my SD card with about an 1 hr of 720p video files. imac recognized it and started importing the clips. it took about 25 mins for all the files to load. after that, i was off and editing in imovie. finished the project, including burning a 15 min dvd, in about an hour and a half.

so far, i'm pleased with the performance of the imac. i didn't have to reformat, reencode, transcode, decode or whatever. i just plugged it in and started editing. it just seems easier to use for the non-computer savvy person like myself. granted, the price tag was a hard pill to swallow. but finishing that first project in about 2hrs kept me from having buyers remorse.

thanks again for all your help and info. btw, iphoto handles canon raw files easily. they open almost instantly.

[Scout7id]

Good for you, I'm glad you found a solution. I'm sure it will serve your needs for a quite a while, making the money up front more than worth it.