Is the New Mac Pro Your Next Editing System?

Is it Right for me?

I’ve used a Mac since the SE. I’ve used Final Cut Pro since v1. I used Premiere 2, 3, and 4 before Final Cut Pro was even born. I've cut every video I’ve ever edited on a Mac. But my 5-year-old edit machine has a hard time with LongGOP codecs. Transcoding everything is a waste of time and space. I needed a solution to turn things around faster.

I felt certain that the new Mac Pro, whatever it was, was not going to fit me, so I had been keeping my eye out for a good price on a certain machine. At the end of May, for $800, I bought a Windows 8 machine with Core i7, NVIDIA GTX 660, Blu-ray drive, 8 GB RAM, and 8 USB ports (2 of them USB 3.0). I've already upgraded it to 16 GB of RAM and will be adding an SSD startup disk in addition to the internal HDD, which I'll likely replace later. I can upgrade the GPU later if I need to.

I've already cut several projects with native AVCHD and it was smooth as butter. In and out in just a few hours. I use now Premiere Pro CS6 cloud and look forward to CC. It's a low monthly cost that easily pays for itself. I'm getting work done now and not waiting, which feels good.

Is it Right for you?

Let’s answer this question by describing 4 possible user scenarios:

1. If you wished for a Mac Mini Pro, you already use a lot of external accessories, and you want to dramatically improve the speed of your workflow, then the new Mac Pro is your baby.

FireWire can be had through Thunderbolt adapters. Thunderbolt is daisy-chainable, and there are four Thunderbolt 2 ports on the new Mac Pro. So it will be a bit of a challenge to use it up.

2. If you have the big Mac tower and have filled it up with both HDDs and SSDs, as well as a Blackmagic Design interface card, then you might find the Mac Pro a less-than-perfect fit but could probably make it work. You'll definitely have to spend a bit extra to move those internal drives external, get the card into an expansion box, and so on. But if it's just one machine, it's still doable, but for what may be considerably more cash than just the Mac Pro alone.

If you’re in this camp, see if there are ways to work around the PCI bus issue--maybe an external Thunderbolt device offers similar functionality, without "expansion bay" issues.

3. If you have a large workgroup, you heavily leverage shared storage, and just need better local processing, then the Mac Pro may also be an easy upgrade. If you're using a Mac Pro where a Mac Mini could suffice, ask yourself just why you need the tower, and the answer may provide reasons the next Mac Pro might not be a great solution.

4. Lastly, if you heavily need all that the big Mac Pro tower offers, multiple slots, internal storage, speed, then the new Mac Pro is not for you. Users of the RED Rocket or other heavy GPU leverage will be without a Mac solution until there's a way to do it over a Thunderbolt connection. If you rely heavily on Nvidia CUDA cores, then the new Mac Pro is not for you.

Also, if you’re a mobile studio, and the convenience of cramming all that technology inside one big case solves a lot of issues, then the new Mac Pro is not for you. Many Mobile Digital Imaging Technicians that I know would be unable to go with the Mac Pro for several reasons.

Is It Your Next Editing System?

If scenario #4 describes you, the higher-end Pro users need to start talking to companies that configure Windows machines. It's now clear that Apple's future does not include providing solutions for you. Focus on your core needs, talk to several VARs about what your needs and goals are, and begin to select appropriate hardware.

I know many who have waited years for the "next" Mac Pro. Now that we know what it will be, we can choose our direction accordingly. Choose what's best for the needs of your company and your clients. Base it on the facts available now, not what you hope might materialize in the future. Then, once you’ve made your decision, move on and get back to work.