Blu Ray from a Mac

Hi, I've been searching the forums but didn't find what I was looking for so..

I would like to know what sort of specs are required in a Mac for it to be able to edit and burn HDV to BluRay. I currently have an old G5 which won't even capture HDV at anything other than Glacial speed so would like to know what you guys out there are using as I look towards buying a new MacBook Pro.

I know what most of you will say" get the fastest you can afford" but finances being what they are that might not be possible. I'm not so much looking to be able to pump out BluRays like normal daily dive DVDs but want something that has enough ummpf to get the job done without rendering the computer useless for anything else.

I intend to get the latest version of FCP with DVD Studio Pro but would just like some opinions from anyone doing this already.

And no I'm not interested in a PC.....

Many thanks

Richard

I thought Mac didn't support blue ray. At least not the G5s.component

A MBP should be able to work with either Toast Titanium 10 or Adobe Encore. Encore is more flexible and powerful but more expensive. You'll also have to switch to Adobe as FCS is still lagging on BluRay support in DVD Studio Pro. Compressor has export abilities but is not as complete as DSP.

Toast is your cheapest option with basic menus and encoding. Of course you have to buy a BD burner as well. I suggest you buy a Mac Pro instead for faster workflow. The MBP is probably the worst value now due to the Core2 processor. If you can't wait... get a Macpro which is "better value". If you must have a laptop, well then I guess you don't have a choice.

Thanks for the feedback,

does anyone know if the current MBPs are going to be replaced with anything new soon?

Rumors are that a new MBP should be introduced any day now.

Don't discount the 27" quad core iMac. It is quite the powerhouse, I'm told, but has the obvious drawback of fixed monitor and no internal upgrade bays.

I'd heard the rumours too, but you know rumours. It's good to get some substantiation though.

The imac is of course faster but I need a laptop to take on the liveaboards too...

Looks like I will wait a bit..

Cheers

Richard

I'd heard the rumours too, but you know rumours. It's good to get some substantiation though.

The imac is of course faster but I need a laptop to take on the liveaboards too...

Looks like I will wait a bit..

Cheers

Richard

Based on the Life Cycle looks like the rumors are going to come true soon, or not Maybe Tuesday But it does look like some things are due for some updates, I have been holding off a bit on a new Tower and perhaps an Air myself.

rubbing hands with anticipation!

Be careful with the 27" imac though. Lots and lots of lemons. I think apple has it under control now, but the lemons are going to end up somewhere.

Yeah it's called the refurbished market at AppleStore. Just when you think you're getting a deal, you're getting someone else's crappy lemon.

With the 6 core i7 out, they should have an i7 in the laptop at least 2 cycles ago and they don't.

I may live on a desert island with hardly any internet but i7?

We have 7 mice on treadmills.....

I may live on a desert island with hardly any internet but i7?

Intel's newest, faster processor.

Intel Core i7

Faster than the i3 and the i5.

An i5 or i7 is a big upgrade from the Core 2 duo chips that were top of the line previously. (Not sure if C2D or i3 is faster, may depend on the system)

"Turbo Boost Technology"

Sounds like something out of Knight Rider!

How long till the Macs get them in?

They are in the desktops. It's the laptops that are lagging way behind. i7 design has pushed video crunching up a notch. But Apple won't still hasn't put them in yet, with the i7 mobile chips available right since Q3 09, there's no real excuse other than profit margin.

I wish I made 1/1000000 of Apple's profits last year......