Apple execs excited about M1 Max MacBook Pro video editing capabilities

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited October 2021
The M1 Max is a game-changing chip for video editing and graphics-heavy workflows, Apple executives have said in a podcast about the new MacBook Pro models, with the top-end chip capable of some video production feats that some Mac Pro variants cannot match.




Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro include some hefty processing capabilities, in the form of the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. In an interview, Pro Mac Product Line Manager Shruti Haldea along with Luke Tristram spoke about the chips, and the various benefits introduced with the new notebooks.

For the M1 Max, Haldea says it has a "pretty game-changing" memory bandwidth of 400GB/s along with the configurable 64 gigabytes of unified memory, according to the "Same Brain" podcast. The level is such that, while you can do 8K video playback on an M1 MacBook Pro and can do 4K video editing on a MacBook Air, there's more that can be done at the higher-end of the product spectrum.

"One thing that is true about this architecture is that it delivers extraordinary performance, and so there are cases in which the M1 Max chip outdoes what Mac Pro can do," Haldea offers.

"One example of that is, thanks to the ProRes accelerators that are built into the Media Engine, M1 Max has two of those engines for hardware-accelerated encode and decode, so as a result, you can run seven streams of 8K ProRes in Final Cut Pro on a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max. That's more streams than on a 28-core Mac Pro with an Afterburner Card, so you're literally out-doing a workstation."





While the number of streams is important, Tristram adds that it's the speed of exports that's another benefit to video editors. "You're just going to be able to get your projects rendered and exported so much faster. It is one of those times where you just, I think especially some who loves video, you just take a deep breath, it's just so exciting."

The lengthy interview also covers areas including editing in Final Cut Pro, the cooling capabilities of the notebook under load, the new ports, and battery life.

It also goes into the reasoning behind the inclusion of the notch. While the notch visibly cuts into the desktop at the top, Apple doesn't feel it's an issue, because of the change to the display's sizing.

"What we've done is we have actually made the display taller," said Haldea. After increasing the screen size to 16.2 inches from 16, the active area on the diagonal for the section below the notch is still 16 inches.

"We just grew the display up from there and put the menu bar up there," she explains. "We just kind of moved it up and out of the way."

Furthermore, while in full-screen mode, Haldea adds that users still have a 16:10 window to play with.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    Gosh, pseudo-colloquial marketing babbling 🥱🤮
    williamlondoniHy
  • Reply 2 of 13
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    edited October 2021 spherich2p
  • Reply 3 of 13
    approx said:
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    It appears you are a professional, so no doubt you’re used to having a lot of specialist equipment - it’s unlikely you are going to find all you need in a consumer product without having some extra gear, even if it has the label Pro or Max - so sad!

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 13
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    approx said:
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    Did you ever consider questioning the logic behind creating a proprietary data storage format in an era where there are so many high speed data storage and transfer options?  Instead of just questioning why Apple doesn't support it?
    williamlondonfoadSolomon_GrundyAniMilld_2plastico23watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 13
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,544member
    approx said:
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    I hear you.  An awful lot of professional tools have not been ported to Apple Silicon yet. 

    However, in general, I’ve found that professionally used systems are ideally kept about one year behind, to let the software work out its kinks. 

    So, we’re still within limits, I suppose. 

    I’ve some plugins that didn’t see Upgrades for three years, before finally adding support for the very latest systems… I guess the team rotates between projects and only gets around to updating when it’s that plug-in‘s maintenance turn.
    approxiHywatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 13
    I’ve heard ZERO on music app capabilities. I guess there’s no limit to what you can do? ;)
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 13
    Fred257 said:
    I’ve heard ZERO on music app capabilities. I guess there’s no limit to what you can do? ;)
    They covered that with the M1 reveal. Considering the main advantage of there chips over the original M1 is the GPU and coprocessors, it sure makes sense to focus on that. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 13
    KTRKTR Posts: 279member
    approx said:
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    Strange, no one makes software to import/export
  • Reply 9 of 13
    auxio said:
    approx said:
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    Did you ever consider questioning the logic behind creating a proprietary data storage format in an era where there are so many high speed data storage and transfer options?  Instead of just questioning why Apple doesn't support it?
    Apple is not the problem. The problem is Sony. We have no choice. We have to use the standard broadcast cameras. These cameras using Sony’s proprietary storage. 
    iHyauxiowatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 13
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    So now I'm really curious about what they have planned (and when) for the Apple Silicon version of Mac Pro. Since they have shown that built-in RAM and GPUs can provide a lot of power in the M series, what will the big iron have? Multiple M chips? A new Mega M chip? Will it still use discreet RAM and allow GPU cards? Will there be some sort of new high speed interface for both to communicate with the CPU? New bus technology?
    Getting my digital popcorn ready.
    argonautwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 13
    Mac Pro Mini…Mac Mini Pro…that’s what’s next. I definitely foresee the need for scientific and simulation based studies where a machine with additional pcie slots is important. But with the advances of the M1 MAX GPU, and the forever-war with Nvidia, we’ll never see them supposed. For M1 to beyond 64GB would require stacked RAM to maintain their speed, but perhaps the next iteration will offer multiple M1’s - 4~8 would be insane. Make them Systems on a Daughter-Card so we can begin with a master case, then jam in more card CPU combos as needed…a path to upgradeability.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 13
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    approx said:
    auxio said:
    approx said:
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    Did you ever consider questioning the logic behind creating a proprietary data storage format in an era where there are so many high speed data storage and transfer options?  Instead of just questioning why Apple doesn't support it?
    Apple is not the problem. The problem is Sony. We have no choice. We have to use the standard broadcast cameras. These cameras using Sony’s proprietary storage. 
    I definitely sympathize with your situation.  But it sounds like pushing Sony to update their drivers would be the best route.  If they choose to create a proprietary storage system, then they should damn well commit the resources to supporting it with drivers on every platform.
    approxFlytrapwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 13
    approx said:
    Yes that’s great. But it is still not possible to import Video from Sony SXS Cards. SXS Cards are used in Sony and Arri Broadcast and Cinema cameras

    We are waiting since one year to get a updated device driver for SXS Cards. 

    Without this updated driver, the super fast M1 MacBook Pro is useless for our job. Ingesting Footage is impossible. 

    So sad!


    Yes... that is sad... but maybe Sony has a Vaio product that might be better last supporting Sony memory cards
    watto_cobra
Sign In or Register to comment.