I am currently running Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After effects 6.0 pro, Adobe Audition 1.5, and Adobe Encore 1.5. On a slow computer: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 1.83GHz 512mb of ram (Premiere won't use more than 250mb of ram even with all other applications closed, and even when I had 1gig of ram)

I am thinking about getting a Power Mac G5 dual 2.0GHz, (would be runing final cut studio) but I'm still a little weary switching from PC to Mac, is it worth the extra money? I have had a lot of hardware conflicts, and my PC crashes more than I'd like it to. I have heard that Macs are easier to use and crash less (if ever). What are your personal experiences with Macs?

I am a former Windows user / Adobe Premiere Pro user and I can tell you.... DON'T WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE!!! Final Cut Pro is such a more advanced editing system in my opinion. No freezing with the Apple, no having to wait for your video to "render" after ingesting it like in Adobe and the speed....WOW. I would recommend getting a Powermac Dual 2.0 or higher and RAM, RAM, and more RAM!! As much as you can afford! I also use DVD Studio Pro which again is far superior to Encore! I do a lot of deposition video for attorneys and I have a Time/Date stamp program that I can only find for the PC. If it wasn't for that one program, I would have chucked the PC out the window for good! I am running Dual 2.0 with 4GB of Ram and have not had any problems at all. You will be able to work with large video files (25GB & higher) with no locking up, freezing or any hesitation whatsoever! Good Luck

Thanks...but I hear the same from Premiere Pro users as well. A well built PC won't lock up or freeze up. I am actually considering the same Mac system you have, just less ram (I can only afford 2gb at the moment). However, w/dual core processors coming soon from Intel it's hard to make a decision. I have been using Premiere for about 1 year now, and that's mainly what I have used since I have only been editing for 1.5 years. Also as far as the time/date stamp goes, I remeber reading somewhere that FCP has a timecode and stamp and possibly a time/date one too. If not then there's probably a plug-in guess you can throw your pc away if you have no use for it now.

Once you get a Mac, you will wonder why you have wasted so much time with PC. I got my first Mac about 5 years ago, and I cannot believe how people still use PCs. I currently have a 17" Imac G5 with 1.5 gigs of ram and I am using Final Cut Studio with no problems. I have never had a system crash and my Mac runs beautifully. You will be very happy if you make the switch.

hmmm....still not sure. You see, here's my dilema, my friend uses a PC and he may be running Avid Xpress Pro soon, and my school may get a PC also.(running Premiere Pro, After Effects, etc. basically the Adobe suite) However, my local tv station uses a mac w/fcp, so I am not sure which one to go with. These days, everday is different, one day I want a PC (especially w/those dual core processors coming soon from Intel) next day I want a Mac..it's tearing me apart.
Do you know if it is possible to integrate Avid Xpress Pro project files between mac and PC? Also, is it possible to edit .avi files on a mac in FCP or Avid? Thanks.

I believe it is sacrilegious to do so, but you know you can run windows on a Mac, right?? Then you could have the best of both worlds.

Yeah, but seroiously, would I be able to run Premiere Pro on Windows and run FCP on OSX? Someone said that might be a bad idea, but they aren't sure really.

i don't know if this helps at all but xpress pro is boxed with both windows and mac versions, so you and your friend could both run xpress pro, you on the mac and him on the pc.

Yes, I know that, but the would I be able to integrate project files betweent mac and pc.

I use both platforms:

PC Pentium 4 3.2GHz, 2GB RAM, 2 Hard Drives, PremierePro 1.51/Aspect HD

DP G5, 2.0GHz/ 4.5GB RAM/ 2 Hard Drives, Tiger Final Cut Studio HD.

Both computers are linked to an ethernet router for fast file exchange.

My work is mainly editing HDV from my HDR-FX1.

I would never give up the MAC or PC. I like to have both. Both OS and NLE Software have advantages and disadvantages.

It highly depends on your workflow and output product. Let me know if you wish to obtain more info.

I am currently debating this very same question. They say once you go mac you never go back. Does anyone know if an imac with the right ram and processing power would be good anough to edit video on? Mostly home videos and the like.

I switched to Mac over 3 years ago and have never looked back. Every time I have to repair a friend's PC problems I just cringe. There's a reason Adobe quit making Premiere for Mac: once Mac users had a taste of Final Cut nobody wanted to touch Premiere again.

The debate will go on forever.
Some people like PC, some like Mac, some like both.
As far as the last question goes, you can use just about any new model Mac for video editing.
I have an Imac and am running Final Cut Pro, Motion, DVD Studio Pro, often at the same time.
My Imac can handle this with no problems at all.
I have used both Mac and Pc for video editing. The PC was faster at certain things, but my Mac is more reliable.
I do not ever have system crashes, program crashes, etc.
All new Imacs come with ILife which is great for 1st time video editing and dvd authoring. It is very easy to use and very capable of quality video.
If you decide to go to Mac, you will be very happy.
If you decide to go PC, you might be very happy as well.
The debate comes down to personal opinion.

You know, I've been editing for a long time, long enough to get past most of the crazy hype that surrounds the Mac and the PC screamfests. The truth is, if you have a properly configured PC running Premiere Pro, it's very stable, and I can't think of anything Premiere Pro won't do that Final Cut will. They are both great pieces of software.

I have run Final Cut on big Macs and Premiere Pro on big PCs and I’ve seen them both lock up and crash, despite what all the advocates may claim otherwise, once in a while. Use your own judgment. Remember that a fancy operating system or a computer with a cool looking case isn’t going to make you a better editor. No computer has a “be more creative” chip in it, despite what some may say.

I agree with you that a better computer won't make you more creative. However, a faster and more stable computer
can allow me to be more creative, and thus looked upon by others as a "better" editor. For example, say I want to play around with shattering a bunch of layers in After Effects, if I can render it very fast/no rendering to preview it, then I can get that "instant gratification" and I will have time to tweak it. Right now, I honestly don't know if I should go mac, or buy a new pc. My PC crashed atleast 20 times on the last video I did in my business (just starting out) and it ended up taking about 35 hours when the same job could have been done in about 7-8 hours with a faster computer. The problem with comparing Macs and PCs is actually being able to try comparable systems. Apple will always have their fastest system where every macs are sold, to show of their computers. And most of these macs are often running final cut pro. But with pcs, I have never found a store with a PC running Premiere Pro, let alone a fairly fast PC. So I don't know if the problems I am experiencing are soly due to my system, or PCs in general.