Apple for professional video?

Apple has not been updating its Mac Pro for quite some time, in fact as a result of articles like this one, the rumor is starting to spread (and it is just a rumor like everything around Apple) that Apple is considering discontinuing them.

In fact all the latest moves point in that direction: improvement of MacBook Pro and Imac (including a FAT one designed for “pros”) and development of Thunderbolt as an external connection with PCI speed and the possibility of concatenating devices, ideal for non-expandable computers.

On the other hand the recent actions with the software also point to the fact that Apple is targeting more intermediate users than they were used to (discontinuation of FCP7 for FCP X, discontinuation of Color, before Shake, etc.) It is logical: professionals give little and ask for a lot, we spend money on a machine, yes, but we want it to last us years to amortize it more (it is not a gadget, it is a working tool) and we constantly demand new software (especially) and hardware updates to adapt to the changing professional market governed by brands and proprietary formats.

However those who use the iphone, ipod, ipad, etc (me among them) are happy to spend their money on each new toy (and as they are not as expensive as a 12 cores as who more or less can afford it) and do not give for sack asking for updates. What’s more, they applaud and shout every time they add some s (lowercase) to the iphone. The usual: it’s better for EVERYONE to have a 100 (or in Apple’s case 150) product than for four freaks to have 1000 computers and keep asking for stuff. Sony already realized that some time ago with the home TVs (which give more money than the HDCAM SR) but Sony is going for a bigger fish, much bigger, what? “We are 35mm” is their new slogan, which speaks only.

But Apple doesn’t seem to care about that anymore. They’re not going to develop cameras (or yes, you never know) and they don’t seem to be interested in Hollywood editing (they already beat Avid to the punch some time ago) so now once again we professionals who live on the ground and pay the bills with what we earn with postpro are wondering what to do.

I would like to know your opinion about it, I see it now like this: A Z800 from HP gives more performance all things being equal than a Mac Pro (I’m not saying it, it is said by colleagues who test and sell both every day) Therefore on the subject of hardware there are options in PC. As for the operating system there is no doubt that in general Mac OS is more stable than Windows (although it also crashes, no one should be fooled) but it is also more closed and there is also the linux option (although it is true that for very few applications).

And speaking of applications, until recently there were a few that only ran on Mac but now… what mid-high end software runs only on Mac? Smoke (runs on linux too but much more expensive), Compressor (yes, but there are a thousand other options on PC), FCPX (well, better not to talk about it) DaVinci Resolve is coming out with a widows version in the new year. Adobe, Avid, Iridas (when it existed), Scratch, mpeg stream clip…they all run on both platforms.

In addition PC facilitates a possible Linux installation (if we have to use any software like Mistika or Baselight that needs it).

So, is it worth it today, even if they continue with the development of the MacPro, to buy a Mac for video post-production, instead of a PC that gives more performance and features for the same price? Time will tell…