4K Video on a Mac - what are you using?

Lofty Visions · Aug 18, 2015

Hi folks

I pick up my Inspire 1 at the weekend (coming from a P2V+) and would like to know what monitor Mac users are using to work with 4K?

I have had a look at Apple's website and they have a few approved monitors (for big $$) but I've also read that some TVs will work too.

I have a late 2013 MBP 15inch Retina (16GBRam/1TB SSD) so I don't need to buy a 5K iMac if I can get a decent monitor.

Best newish monitor I could find for the price is this:
https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=29708

Would love to hear your views.

Thanks
John

Mazz · Aug 18, 2015

I have a 5K mac desktop I picked up early this year and I am very happy with it. I am usually on my macbook, otherwise, but it bogs down when I edit video in 4k.

Kilrah · Aug 18, 2015

Try editing some footage with your mac before you get a monitor. Your 2013 machine will probably struggle and change the priorities.

Luis Morales · Aug 18, 2015

i am running late 2014 MBP 16GB/Nvidia/512SSD

FCPX runs fine. at 2k it runs perfect, davinci resolve is a no go on 4k realtime its totally gone and too laggy to use, for a smooth 4k editing you will need to render proxies of all your media witch requires lengthy initial transcoding. but after that your fine.

i do all my editing at 4k but my final versions are always full hd or 2k

Lofty Visions · Aug 18, 2015

Yeah I'm thinking I might shoot in 4k but edit in 1080 even though my MBP has a discreet graphics card. From what I've read it seems working with 4k is a bit of a hassle

Kilrah · Aug 18, 2015

It's not a hassle BUT needs latest generation gear. Just try and you'll know soon enough. BTW you get the performance hit even if you edit for a 1080 output, the bulk of the job is decoding the source video.

locklin · Aug 18, 2015

You can create "proxies" in FCP so you can work flawlessly with 4K videos in an iMac 21.5" 2012 as mine...

DodgeP · Aug 18, 2015

I'm using an early 2011 MBP (Didn't realize how old it was until I just checked because it just works!) but I've done a few upgrades, 16GB of RAM, 500GB SSD HD and that's it. I can play 4k files but I can't edit them. I create Proxy files 600 x ??? and edit via Premiere Pro. Replacing the proxy with the full res files once I'm ready to render.

Lofty Visions · Aug 19, 2015

Thanks guys. I think i'll wait and see how my MBP handles it first. It'd just be nice to work on a bigger screen that can actually view 4k natively.

Mazz, may I ask what specs your 5k iMac has in terms of CPU, HDD and ram please? Thanks

Luis Morales · Aug 19, 2015

the real difference is made by the graphics card, cpu and memory has not changed a lot in the last 4 years.

FCPX and davinci uses graphics card to process realtime. you can always connect an external monitor to your MBP. i have 2 ultra wide LG screens (no 4k but they do 2k very well)

Luis Morales · Aug 19, 2015

the real difference is made by the graphics card, cpu and memory has not changed a lot in the last 4 years.

FCPX and davinci uses graphics card to process realtime. you can always connect an external monitor to your MBP. i have 2 ultra wide LG screens (no 4k but they do 2k very well)

Lofty Visions · Aug 19, 2015

I've got the Nvidia GT750M in my MBP and according to this thread, a late 2013 rMBP can run 4k monitors at 60hz:

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/dell-p2715q-and-p2415q-4k-ips-displays.1816805/

The Dell looks to be a steal

amkorp · Aug 19, 2015

Running (playback) and editing are two completely different beasts. You'll find that there aren't many mobile video cards that can handle 4k editing. Things really start to go downhill when you add effects and start to colour grade the video (since you'll most likely be shooting in log).

Lofty Visions · Aug 19, 2015

I thought I'd try it out so I downloaded a sample 4k video file and chucked it into FCPX with a few transitions and effects. Worked a treat but had to turn the fans up a bit. No other issues. Pretty chuffed to be honest

Mazz · Aug 19, 2015

Lofty Visions said:
Mazz, may I ask what specs your 5k iMac has in terms of CPU, HDD and ram please? Thanks

Lofty Visions · Aug 20, 2015

Thanks Mazz, nice! Well it seems I had nothing to worry about. Here's my rMBP plugged into a 40inch Philips 4k monitor running perfectly. That's a FCPX project from start to finish, a Logic Pro project and two Chrome windows all on one screen. I prefer the max retina setting however for text size.

Thor Skjaldberg · Aug 22, 2015

Lofty Visions said:
Hi folks

I pick up my Inspire 1 at the weekend (coming from a P2V+) and would like to know what monitor Mac users are using to work with 4K?

I have had a look at Apple's website and they have a few approved monitors (for big $$) but I've also read that some TVs will work too.

I have a late 2013 MBP 15inch Retina (16GBRam/1TB SSD) so I don't need to buy a 5K iMac if I can get a decent monitor.

Best newish monitor I could find for the price is this:
https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=29708

Would love to hear your views.

Thanks
John

550 Productions · Aug 22, 2015

The Inspire records in a nasty, highly compressed codec. Decoding it for playback and editing steals a lot of horsepower from your machine.

I typically transcode to ProRes(LT) before the edit. It adds a step up front, but makes editing, FX, grading, etc. so much smoother.

Black Sky · Aug 22, 2015

The New Mac Pro "trash can" 8core 64 ram, 1tb cash, With 8tb of external hard drives. Using an "apple cinema 30 to edit.
Using Final Cut 10 ,It renders fast.
I have a 4k Samsung 55 curved to watch it on in the living room.
Love the inspire! want another.....want to build a waterproof version.

Picturemaker · Aug 22, 2015

We edit in 4K all the time using FCPX via Black Magic Studio which feeds a 4K LG monitor. The wonderful thing with FCPX is it creates HD Proxies for you to work in on import if required. That way you can scroll around the timeline effortlessly for the bulk of your edit work in proxy mode - then view the 4k filed for preview and export at the click of a mouse button!