Best laptop for video editing?

$1000 is very tight. I do know of the new Dell Inspirons which have a 7200rpm hard drive. But the Inspirons are more of a portable desktop, rather than a notebook.

 

That's a tough one. Often the video cards on laptops are not sufficient for editing and you get a ton of pixelization. Why must you use a laptop? They heat up very quickly and unless you are plugged into the wall, editing will drain the battery quickly. Also, for you to see the finished product while you edit, you need to be hooked up to a video monitor... that's why a laptop doesn't make sense to me...

Here is my editing setup:

Hardware:

1. Sony VIAO PCV-RX550 1.5Ghz tower
2. 19inch sony monitor
3. 27inch sony television
4. Xtasy 9200 256mb 8x AGP video card

Software:

Vegas Video 4.0
Cool Edit Pro 2.0 (for advanced audio edits/denoising/dehissing)
Adobe Premier (have it but haven't used it)
Adobe After Effects (have it but haven't used it)

Hope that helps.

Nick

 

I just recently edited a video from a past drive in SoCal.

I used a Apple 12" PowerBook G4. I love apple, they already even have a program called iMovie which is very easy and quick to use, it is what I used. So if you are interested in a Macintosh, I highly suggest it, but you won't find a newer one for $1000.

If you want to see the work that I did on my movie, it should get posted up in the So Cal section within a few days.

-David

 

Apple ti-book hands down.

 

APPLE (period) G4 if you can swing it but I am using a I book and it is great as long as you don' t over cook... getting new 17 G4 in a month....

NO OTHER option (IMHO)

 

it's the titanium powerbook you mentioned, sorry 'bout that. out of the box it by far outperforms pcs for on the fly editing video and audio. same old story about the multitasking ability, process designation and speed... apple is the way to go.

 

17inch Apple Powerbook


DrS

 

I have a 12" G4, got Final Cut Express (the full version of Final Cut is real pro software)... just bought a digital video camera though and haven't even used it yet. But I'm a Mac user and highly recommend them (after growing up on PC).

 

The new G5 tower is the best out there. But for a $1000 laptop, definetly get a pc. I grew up on Mac and have switched to PC because of the market. Mac's are great machines, but until they get more marketshare I am sticking with PC.

 

Well, it's closer to $5k than $1k, but Apple's 17" (or 15") Powerbook G4s rule this arena.

I'm typing this on an older 15" Titanium model (the new/current ones are actually aluminum. Faster guts though.) iMovie is actually quite good, and Final Cut Pro runs well too. Don't do anything above DV on it however. (eg, uncompressed D1.)

I have a $0.25mil Silicon Graphics based PIRANHA system in my office (soon to be in my home office) for 2k film and HD work. Tower macs are a good bridge between these two classes of machine.

 

Take it from someone that has spent literally $$$$$$$$$$ on computer gear over the last thirty years...

Apple Computer Powerbook G4

I've owned dozens of the Titanium Powerbook G4's, and now the aluminum models that are known as the 17",15", and 12"

All have firewire ports to link to your other gear (video cameras, decks, etc)

Final Cut Pro 4 for professional work, or iMovie for simplicity in editing the home movies.

The Powerbook G5 is rumored to be coming within the next 6 months...

 

The PC laptop may cost less to buy but down the road will cost you more in lost time due to troubleshooting, viruses, etc. The powerbook costs a lot more but is by far the best laptop for the job. I am still using a 4 year old Pismo Powerbook and have used it for basic DV work. Almost trouble free. I love the powerbook. IT JUST WORKS!!

 

Listen to DJS, he is a wise man...

 

$1000 is tough. Go with a used Apple Powerbook. You won't be sorry.

 

If you go used, a Pismo model is great (G3, but almost as fast for most work as the Titanium G4s, has firewire, takes a gig-o-ram, etc.) Can be had for $~800. For $1k you MIGHT be able to pick up a very-1st-gen G4.