bendybones Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 No fans. Good prices. Processor specs seem low. What do we all think of these processor specs for 8 track recording? http://www.apple.com/macbook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 It's definitely interesting. I would think recording 8 tracks of audio would be fine. Even with the theoretical USB-C bottleneck, it's probably still fine. You figure people were rolling that much audio on much older machines, though the FireWire interface probably helped offload a lot of that work. The bits of info I picked up were that the processor isn't a big boost in computing power, but are significantly more power efficient (and therefore run cooler). That's why they use a case without a fan now.... which implies they can't bring a fan back into the mix. I need to replace the computer I use on site for backups and data transfers (when there's no media manager), and I am leaning towards the MacBook Air. It's still really small, and I don't use a computer close to set while we are rolling. Heck, it's rare I even need one these days.... but that's my specific work situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I did 24+ tracks on USB 2 on MUCH slower laptops--8 track shouldn't cause the computer to even break a sweat. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEndian Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Even with the theoretical USB-C bottleneck, it's probably still fine. What bottleneck is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomboom Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 ''no fans'' ; count me in ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Tuzo Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 I'm sure there will be a solution, but it's worth considering that the usbc doubles as the charging port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 What bottleneck is that? from an architectural standpoint, USB communication goes across the motherboard. Firewire can be overseen by the controller. Like transferring the contents of a drive/card to another drive. With USB it all goes across the motherboard. Firewire can keep an eye on it without it bogging down the system. Also, and probably more important to a Metacorder setup, many MacBooks had multiple USB ports that were actually on different chips. Specific MacBook Pros and MacBooks there may be 2 USB ports on one side, but one was known to be faster because of the internals, so that was the port you would plug in an external camera or breakout box. Now everything is one port. Again, it's probably negligible because this computer is a good bit faster. Any possible bottlenecks to us are eliminated by the overall speed bumps. In that way we (sound) are lucky compared to cameras. We're still doing 48/24. Yeah, our track counts go up, but computer speed increases are outpacing our increased needs. Camera data wranglers constantly have to ingest more and more data. knowing those things can really add up over the course of a show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 There's a media breakout adapter available to give you HDMI, USB3, and charging port input. Seems like an odd decision to me, though, to reinvent the power connector again, and not have at least a couple on-board ports and no thunderbolt support at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 "Adapter" for charging, transfer files or anything else etc etc. Apple knows how to make money, really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 If you listen carefully to Tim Cook when he talks about the thinking behind having just the one port (and a headphone jack incidentally) I feel that it is a totally appropriate design for that particular laptop. The new MacBook is only ONE model. The new MacBook is NOT the laptop that any of us would probably choose to perform any of the professional tasks we might use a laptop for at work. Now, if Tim Cook had said that ALL the laptops were going to go this route, I would be very worried. I will probably get the new MacBook but I won't be giving up my MacBook Pro which has all the ports I'll ever need and a minimum of adapters needed. I look at the new MacBook more like it is a 12" iPad that runs full MacOS, a full size keyboard and no touchscreen. This will be a very welcomed addition for many of my personal uses of a laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackHenry Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 The worst issue with that connector is that there is no 'MagSafe' any more. That's saved my laptop from being pulled iff the desk a couple of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirror Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 One of the designers talks; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Jack: the theory is that you get "all day runtime" and don't need to leave it plugged in. I also would miss MagSafe. USB-C is an open standard, which is different for Apple. In theory you will be able to buy 3rd party chargers as well as breakout boxes/squids. It'll be interesting as USB-C becomes more common with other manufacturers. I definitely agree with Jeff that this isn't going to translate to the MacBook Pro line, let alone the desktops. This is for people that rarely use external devices, if ever. I know a lot of people like that. I think it's a weird case of leapfrogging and this is basically the new Air, and the current Air is more the MacBook. The Air name will probably be retired when this MacBook can sell a model for $999 or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEndian Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 It doesn't look like this is going to happen, but I'm actually pretty surprised that they're not building a USB port into the supplied charging cable. Seems like a necessity to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 The dongle has USB A connector on it. $79! I did hear there are MS Windows laptops also shipping now with USB-C, so bring on the 3rd party options! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEndian Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Yes, I think that the ubiquity and flexibility of USB-C will really help device manufacturers both in cost and in meeting performance requirements. Aside from the 10Gbps bandwidth, which really should be enough for anything except for straight bulk data transfer (in which case faster is always better), USB-C has intelligent power negotiation with much higher power modes, and it has intelligent client/server negotiation. I think it's only a matter of time before all-in-one USB controllers are mass produced and every device manufacturer has a cheap solution to all of our performance needs. AND It has a symmetrical plug: frustration eliminated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmfsnd Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'd rather have beefier processing power, even if it means a slight whirr during heavy moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 I like the idea of a MacBook Pro, and of this ultralight device. I think most people know pretty clearly which one they would need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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