Pro video editor with hands-on time praises new MacBook Pro for Touch Bar & speed

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware
A video editor who obtained early access to Apple's new Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro has posted a blog entry claiming the laptop is well-suited to video editing, while dismissing complaints about its ports forcing people to use adapters.




The new 15-inch model is "buttery smooth" when cutting 5K ProRes footage in Apple's Final Cut Pro X, Trim Editing's Thomas Grove Carter said in a Huffington Post article retweeted by Apple marketing head Phil Schiller. Carter commented that he's been using his system at work for the past week, though it's not clear how he obtained the machine, since the first online orders are only now preparing to ship.

The Pro is said to run faster than Windows laptops with superior components, and in fact be powerful enough to support twin 5K displays, possibly making it good enough to use as a full-time editing tool -- not just away from a desk.

On the Touch Bar, Carter suggested that "your cold heart will soften," since it provides direct access to contextual commands that can make keyboard shortcuts redundant. "It works, it's faster and it's more productive," he said.

He adopted a more defensive tone with the computer's ports, suggesting that for him the need for USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 adapters "might be an annoyance for six months" before he's "in the future again." The editor mentioned that he's already been using USB-C-based Samsung T3 SSDs as external drives, and that the Pro actually let him stop using USB-A adapters.

Many professionals are still using USB-A and Thunderbolt 2 peripherals, leaving them no choice but to buy adapters if they also want the new Pro. The computer is also missing an SD card slot, and even a native HDMI port, potentially demanding even more adapters.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    ...and of course one must use Sierra...
  • Reply 2 of 40
    So someone who received a product from a company (possibly for free) before the product is even shipping is spouting high praise. Isn't that par for the course...business as usual...you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours? I'm sure the new MBP is a great machine, but I'll take this particular review with a grain of salt.
    edited November 2016 bloggerblogRoger_Fingasbdkennedy1002h2pbaconstangpropod
  • Reply 3 of 40
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    larz2112 said:
    So someone who received a product from a company (possibly for free) before the product is even shipping is spouting high praise. Isn't that par for the course...business as usual...you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours? I'm sure the new MBP is a great machine, but I'll take this particular review with a grain of salt.
    Fair point, definitely. 

    However... I can imagine that this could turn out to be legit, especially for the 15" model. To the extent that SSD speed is an important bottleneck, these new MBPs are extremely powerful. To the extent that the CPU is a bottleneck, they're meh. The GPU is more complicated -- overall, there are better GPUs out there from Nvidia, but if Apple is able to really exploit these AMD GPUs with OpenCL or Metal, then Apple's software advantages might offset the hardware disadvantages of using AMD. 

    So I think this review could potentially hold up for others. we will just have to wait and see. 
    bdkennedy1002tmaypropod
  • Reply 4 of 40
    I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. Carrying adapters is a pain in the arse, I already carry around an HDMI for the iPad Pro and have one lost already, they're $50 each. The fact that I also have to carry two sets of headphones, a Lightening for my iPhone and a standard for my laptop is yet another head scratcher.

    I wish Apple had aligned their ports ahead of time. I'm not sure wether to buy or hold out. Will the new iPhone 8 sport a USB C or will the next MacBook Pro sport a Lightening?
    h2pbaconstangpropod
  • Reply 5 of 40
    I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. Carrying adapters is a pain in the arse, I already carry around an HDMI for the iPad Pro and have one lost already, they're $50 each. The fact that I also have to carry two sets of headphones, a Lightening for my iPhone and a standard for my laptop is yet another head scratcher.

    I wish Apple had aligned their ports ahead of time. I'm not sure wether to buy or hold out. Will the new iPhone 8 sport a USB C or will the next MacBook Pro sport a Lightening?
    You don't need 2 sets of headphones. If you got the iPhone 7, you'd know you have a lighting to 3.5mm converter WITH the phone for free.

    as for port b!tching.. well, when you buy premium, expect NEW technology.. not old tech..

    Funny really. They don't update the Mac Pro; people b!tch.. they update the MacBook Pro with latest.. people b!tch.. I'll bring some cheese for that whine..

    I think people whine just for attention these days.. Me, I'm all in on USB-C and not looking back. I'm updating most of my cabling now. Fact is, many external USB devices, you can get replacement USB-C cables so you don't need dongles.. This is especially true of USB storage and display cables.

    for those saying they want to stay in the past.. fine.. stay there.. no one is saying you have to buy it.. /talk to the hand
    edited November 2016 mwhitepaxmancapasicummagman1979londorAppleZuluchiasmiffy31macguijony0
  • Reply 6 of 40
    stevehsteveh Posts: 480member
    I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. Carrying adapters is a pain in the arse, I already carry around an HDMI for the iPad Pro and have one lost already, they're $50 each. The fact that I also have to carry two sets of headphones, a Lightening for my iPhone and a standard for my laptop is yet another head scratcher.
    Quit carrying one of the headphones; your iPhone already has an adapter for the old 3.5mm plug. 
    magman1979lmagoojony0pulseimageswatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 40
    qwweraqwwera Posts: 281member
    There is video where the base model using final cut pro, exports 4k video in a 1/4 of the time as a Windows machine using premier. Same thing for transferring files. 
    I think we're starting to see the same things on the Mac as we see in the iOS-Andoid model; That higher specs don't equal better performance. That it's the seamless software/hardware optimized environment that trumps off the shelf devices created in separate bubbles and strung together instead of designed as one.
    capasicummagman1979londorAppleZuluchiasmiffy31stevehjony0h2pwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 40
    Heaven forbid someone post facts after actually using the product...this is the type of feedback I am looking for.
    mwhitecapasicummagman1979londorericthehalfbeechiastevehjony0h2pwlym
  • Reply 9 of 40
    qwwera said:
    There is video where the base model using final cut pro, exports 4k video in a 1/4 of the time as a Windows machine using premier. Same thing for transferring files. 
    I think we're starting to see the same things on the Mac as we see in the iOS-Andoid model; That higher specs don't equal better performance. That it's the seamless software/hardware optimized environment that trumps off the shelf devices created in separate bubbles and strung together instead of designed as one.
    Some of us have known that for years. Thank goodness Apple is brave enough to focus on what the actual user experience is with its products. Some professional sports teams have the best player in the game and yet the team doesn't win championships...you can have the best specs and not deliver the desired end result.
    mwhitecapasicummagman1979roundaboutnowlondordementuschikanstevehjony0h2pwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 40
    mtbnutmtbnut Posts: 199member
    But he'll need more than 16GB RAM in order to be a real pro. (This is according to armchair "pros" that have been whining about the inability to exceed 16GB RAM before they've actually put their hands on a machine.)
    edited November 2016 capasicumbdkennedy1002londorericthehalfbeewelshdogsmiffy31stevehjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 40
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    "A video editor thinks...."

    Whatever.
  • Reply 12 of 40
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    I liked this article up until the last paragraph where the writer destroyed everything the video editor said by bringing up their own issues with adapters. Also, if you're going to use someone else's information on a product you should include all of it, especially his last paragraph.

    "A ‘Professional’ should be defined by the work they deliver and the value they bring, not their gear. Use the new MacBook Pro, don’t use the new MacBook Pro. Your audience don’t care. You just have to keep making great work however you can. For me, I love it and I think most people will do too... once they actually touch it." reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/thomas-grove-carter/one-professionals-look-at_b_12894856.html?1478795028& ;
    roundaboutnowchiamacguijony0
  • Reply 13 of 40
    Editing 5K footage? At what bit rate? We aren't talking about uncompressed video here, I can guarantee that. I can edit 5K on allot of edit suites too so long as it's not over 100 mb/s. An editor for an online magazine like HufPo is barely an editor IMO. He outputs to 1920 most likely and his whole workflow is light duty at best. 

    So if we want to really talk about 5K editing processing raw (which is where you'll see all of the benefit of / where you'll have to go to master anyway, so why not cut it in 2K and save the storage space?) you'll need a TB3 box (+$500) and something like a red rocket to work with the raw footage ($1,000) and external drives and or another drive chassis to handle the TB's of footage you'll have ($500-$1,500). The super fast internal drive at 1TB will be more
    or less useless for editing since your sysytem, formatting and apps will have already taken up 1/4 of the drive. Scratch disk space will take up another 1/4 to 1/2. That doesn't leave room for much room for actual footage especially at 5K. 

    That begs the question of where where does the workstation fit in. 

    I would definitely take this with a grain of salt. I'm sure the MBP is a decent rig but I hate it when "pro's" exaggerate or don't fill in all of the details of what they  actual workflow is like. It only demonstrates a misunderstanding about the profession in general. 

    I would have prefered to hear "it does this well and this well, but I found short comings here and there" and then it might be more believable and it would have opened up an honest discussion about how future Mac updates could be better tuned to heavier duty needs. 
    avon b7hmm
  • Reply 14 of 40
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. Carrying adapters is a pain in the arse, I already carry around an HDMI for the iPad Pro and have one lost already, they're $50 each. The fact that I also have to carry two sets of headphones, a Lightening for my iPhone and a standard for my laptop is yet another head scratcher.

    I wish Apple had aligned their ports ahead of time. I'm not sure wether to buy or hold out. Will the new iPhone 8 sport a USB C or will the next MacBook Pro sport a Lightening?
    You are making this more complicated than it needs to be. 
    macguijony0pulseimageswatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 40
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    adrayven said:
    I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. Carrying adapters is a pain in the arse, I already carry around an HDMI for the iPad Pro and have one lost already, they're $50 each. The fact that I also have to carry two sets of headphones, a Lightening for my iPhone and a standard for my laptop is yet another head scratcher.

    I wish Apple had aligned their ports ahead of time. I'm not sure wether to buy or hold out. Will the new iPhone 8 sport a USB C or will the next MacBook Pro sport a Lightening?
    You don't need 2 sets of headphones. If you got the iPhone 7, you'd know you have a lighting to 3.5mm converter WITH the phone for free.

    as for port b!tching.. well, when you buy premium, expect NEW technology.. not old tech..

    Funny really. They don't update the Mac Pro; people b!tch.. they update the MacBook Pro with latest.. people b!tch.. I'll bring some cheese for that whine..

    I think people whine just for attention these days.. Me, I'm all in on USB-C and not looking back. I'm updating most of my cabling now. Fact is, many external USB devices, you can get replacement USB-C cables so you don't need dongles.. This is especially true of USB storage and display cables.

    for those saying they want to stay in the past.. fine.. stay there.. no one is saying you have to buy it.. /talk to the hand
    Didn't  someone here say,  "They want Apple to innovate but they don't want them to change anything."
    roundaboutnowchiamacguijony0anomewlymwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 40
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. 
    It sticks out so you can't just leave it in without risking the card or the slot unless you bought a specialty SD card.  At $150 for 256GB max it's questionable value vs an external SSD.  Many, like the transcend I used to have, don't sleep well or drain your battery.  I use a 512GB SSD ($123) in a slim USB3 case with $20 enclosure.

    You should also carry a VGA adapter as I've been to conferences without HDMI.  So an extra HDMI adapter is not a big deal.
    I wish Apple had aligned their ports ahead of time. I'm not sure wether to buy or hold out. Will the new iPhone 8 sport a USB C or will the next MacBook Pro sport a Lightening?

    Neither.  A usb-c to lighting cable is all you need.  They already exist because of the MacBook.


    edited November 2016 jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 40
    Anyone can buy a shill.  This isn't journalism, it's just a dressed up retweet from some guy who likes his free demo laptop.  When these things are in regular use, then we'll see legitimate reviews.
  • Reply 18 of 40
    nht said:
    I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. 
    It sticks out so you can't just leave it in without risking the card or the slot unless you bought a specialty SD card.

    It does not stick out, it sits flush with your laptop
  • Reply 19 of 40
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    mtbnut said:
    But he'll need more than 16GB RAM in order to be a real pro. (This is according to armchair "pros" that have been whining about the inability to exceed 16GB RAM before they've actually put their hands on a machine.)
    Here is a link Gruber posted on Daring Fireball. On this blog, a guy describes launching a brutal fussilade of apps including VMs and Adobe RAM suckers.  I don't know what MBP he used, but I don't think it was even the new one.  All done with 16 GB RAM and he had no problems.  With the new MBPs it would be even less of an issue since they have more modern components and subsystems.

    https://www.zdziarski.com/blog/?p=6355

    jony0wlymwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 40
    devopsChicagodevopsChicago Posts: 3unconfirmed, member
    to leave the same comment i left 4 years ago about the then-released MBP: now if we could just get video performance that isn't on par with windows laptops from 4 years ago......
    blastdoor said:
    larz2112 said:
    So someone who received a product from a company (possibly for free) before the product is even shipping is spouting high praise. Isn't that par for the course...business as usual...you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours? I'm sure the new MBP is a great machine, but I'll take this particular review with a grain of salt.
    Fair point, definitely. 

    However... I can imagine that this could turn out to be legit, especially for the 15" model. To the extent that SSD speed is an important bottleneck, these new MBPs are extremely powerful. To the extent that the CPU is a bottleneck, they're meh. The GPU is more complicated -- overall, there are better GPUs out there from Nvidia, but if Apple is able to really exploit these AMD GPUs with OpenCL or Metal, then Apple's software advantages might offset the hardware disadvantages of using AMD. 

    So I think this review could potentially hold up for others. we will just have to wait and see. 
    this is a start, but grossly understated. the GPU is literally on par with windows laptops 4 years old. i love bsd, i love OSX, i love mac hardware, but seriously -- they ALWAYS do this with GPUs. I don't know why they insist on going so freaking cheap on GPU.
    propod
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