I consider Larry Jordan to be the best trainer in the professional video production category. With extensive industry connections, his newsletters document the latest innovative products and technologies. His training courses are the best ones I have seen. He has extensive articles on hardware issues, such as the need to refresh disks left in storage for a long time, the best long term storage media, etc. For those considering purchasing a MacBook pro for professional video production, here are his configuration recommendations.
Configure a 2021 M1 MacBook Pro for Video Editing
Posted on October 21, 2021 by Larry
Earlier this week Apple released a major update to their MacBook Pro line of laptops. These new computers feature two new Apple silicon chips: the M1 Pro and M1 Max. Instantly, I started getting questions about how to best configure these laptops for video editing. My thoughts apply whether you use Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve.
NOTE: As of this writing, Avid does not support M1 chips. So if you edit using Media Composer, don’t buy one of these new laptops.
Here are my thoughts.
OVERVIEW
First, these new machines redefine “powerhouse.” In performance, battery life, screen display and portability, they blow the doors off any other laptop in the market. But, compared to the MacBook Air, they are not cheap.
If you have the money, buy the top of the line. But that will set you back more than $6,000, and, in my opinion, even if money were no object, you are spending more than you need to get top-quality performance.
If your budget is really limited, but your need for power is great, even the base model 14″ MacBook Pro can edit video successfully with high-quality. No one watching your videos will be able to tell which system you edited it on.
Spending more money does not buy you greater quality or better effects. It buys you speed. Faster performance saves you time, or, conversely, allows you more time to experiment on the best way to tell your story.
So, assuming you are like most of us where money IS important, here’s how to decide how to configure your new laptop keeping a budget in mind.
COMPUTER SIZE
Apple’s 16″(left) and 14″ MacBook Pro laptops.
MacBook Pros come in two sizes: 14″ and 16″. Both feature the same chips. Both are immensely powerful. Both are totally capable of video editing.
The key on which to buy is to decide which is more important: portability or screen real estate. Final Cut, Premiere or Resolve all feature a complex interface that needs as much room as you can give it. Plus, you still need to see the contents of the video you are editing.
Buying the 14″ laptop provides the maximum of portability, but also means that for serious editing you’ll want to connect at least one external monitor.
With the 16″ laptop the size of the screen means that for many editing tasks you won’t need an external monitor.
Your eyesight may be better than mine, but I have always preferred the larger screen for editing and audio mixing.
Recommendation: 16″ laptop
STORAGE
Like computer size, the decision on how much storage also tends to …….
Source: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/configure-a-2021-m1-macbook-pro-for-video-editing.2319154/