Macbook for home video (laptop, Sony, drive, camera)

[titaniummd]

I am looking at getting the following 13.3" Macbook with Final Cut Express (unless there are other suggestions):

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive

I have a digital camera that makes video in 720p in a .MOV format.

I have AVIs in VGA of my daughter when she was younger and wanted to archive it into a DVD.

My questions are below:
Will the laptop be more than adequate to do video encoding and rendering? OR do I have to resort to a Macbook Pro?

Will Final Cut Express be adequate for what I am doing? Does it handle AVI and .MOV formats?

[Bull Winkus]

Best to read the requirements for Final Cut Express 4.0

System Requirements
• A Mac computer with a 1.25GHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo, Intel Core Duo 2, or Intel Xeon processor
- For AVCHD: A Mac computer with an Intel processor
• 1GB of RAM or more
• An AGP or PCI Express graphics card compatible with Quartz Extreme; or an Intel GMA integrated graphics processor in a MacBook or Mac mini computer
- Some FxPlug filters are not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors.
• A display with 1024-by-768 resolution or higher
• A DVD drive for installation
• Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later
• QuickTime 7.2 or later
• 500MB of disk space to install Final Cut Express and LiveType
• Additional 500MB to install LiveType content

My recommendation is to upgrade to the MacBook Pro UNLESS this is just for an initial amount of work with video, after which you intend this computer for general use with not that much video. The reason being, the MacBook uses the integrated Intel graphics processor. The RAM is shared with the main processor on the same bus with other processing communications. That's a pretty busy highway to be sharing it with video functions, though it is a workable solution on a tight budget.

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by Bull Winkus

Best to read the requirements for Final Cut Express 4.0

System Requirements
• A Mac computer with a 1.25GHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo, Intel Core Duo 2, or Intel Xeon processor
- For AVCHD: A Mac computer with an Intel processor
• 1GB of RAM or more
• An AGP or PCI Express graphics card compatible with Quartz Extreme; or an Intel GMA integrated graphics processor in a MacBook or Mac mini computer
- Some FxPlug filters are not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors.
• A display with 1024-by-768 resolution or higher
• A DVD drive for installation
• Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later
• QuickTime 7.2 or later
• 500MB of disk space to install Final Cut Express and LiveType
• Additional 500MB to install LiveType content

My recommendation is to upgrade to the MacBook Pro UNLESS this is just for an initial amount of work with video, after which you intend this computer for general use with not that much video. The reason being, the MacBook uses the integrated Intel graphics processor. The RAM is shared with the main processor on the same bus with other processing communications. That's a pretty busy highway to be sharing it with video functions, though it is a workable solution on a tight budget.

No tight budget issues. I just wanted a smaller laptop to carry. I find the Macbook Ayr underpowered and 15" widescreens are not something I like to lug around with me everywhere.

I have considered the Panasonic Toughbook but it is also underpowered. The Sony VAIO series looks flashy but flimsy and I don't like Windows anymore.

I use my computer for research, searching the net, presenting lectures but I would like a notebook to be able to do some home video. I figure that I would set up the video and let the computer do rendering overnight (as I did with a Pentium 3 in the mid to late 90s).

[Bull Winkus]

I don't think you'll be disappointed, then. It looks like your expectations are in touch with the reality of it. Given what you've stated here, I'd probably do the same thing.

Good luck.