Apple's G4 1GHz PowerBook - Review

Post, Feb, 2003 by Danny Gonzalez

As a special effects editor in R/GA's (R Greenberg & Assoc.) "realtime" suites and Flame suite for almost nine years, I have used every type of computer on the market. Last year, myself and two other R/GA alumni -- Brendan Werner and Jeremy Lasky -- launched the digital studio Perception, where we use desktop G4 Macs to create high-end visual effects, design and editorial pieces for broadcast networks, advertising and music videos. And while the power of Apple's desktop machines are obvious, there were times when testing Apple's I 5-inch G4 Titanium I GHz PowerBook I actually thought I was using a desktop machine.

I relished the opportunity to compare tests from our G4 PowerBook 667MHz/I GHz RAM/ComboDrive with Apple's new PowerBook G4 I GHz/512 RAM/SuperDrive.

Some of upgrades that struck me immediately were the SuperDrive; the ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 card; and, Megawide Display with 1280 x 854 pixel resolution.

One issue that I found in our older PowerBook was the heat of the battery, I noticed a major difference in the I GHz PowerBook. This might not seem like a big deal but for someone who commutes everyday and does a lot of work on his lap, it is (the hair on my right leg is only now growing back).

Another great feature is obviously the SuperDrive. A major plus. No longer do you need to go back to the office to make a copy of the project for the client. The SuperDrive allows you to burn a DVD on the spot and leave a "rough" version for clients to view. I believe in giving the client the ultimate experience, and having a PowerBook makes that experience more interactive by enabling the user to go where the client is, giving them more control.

One of the things I always look for in hardware or software reviews is how well it works in a "real-life" environment. I hate demos where everything is set-up with well-shot footage and it all works perfectly. In the real world not everything is perfect. How the product works when your client is anxiously awaiting the finished project, while you and your tools are working under the gun, is the ultimate test.

With that in mind, I decided to give it a real-world test. At Perception we use our PowerBook on location for quick edits and composites, or to show clients works in progress if they cannot make it to our studio.

RUNNING FINAL CUT PRO

I took the new PowerBook on location while we shot background elements for a new HBO project we're creating. After shooting footage with the digital camera, we fed clips into Final Cut Pro (via FireWire) to see roughly how they would look with other layers that would be composited.

FCP renders were faster on the I GHz PowerBook as well as using FCP overall, adding after market plug-ins for additional effects were quick renders as well. Using FCP on location was a key process in the decision making in how we shot backgrounds and how the overall spot was going to look.

Using After Effects we created layers upon layers of mattes, which would reveal different footage at different times in the spot. FCP let us figure out the exact timings we needed so we could go back to the After Effects comps and build the reveals to the correct time. To my surprise, I saw no dramatic increases in the performance of After Effects between both PowerBooks. This might be because of the RAM differences. Starting up the program was faster along with maneuverability within the program, but when it came to rendering out a QuickTime of the same composition the speed difference was minimal.

RUNNING DISCREET SOFTWARE

We used Discreet Combustion 2.0 to stabilize a couple of shots to keep them in the center of our reveals. The PowerBook again worked well. Being an Inferno artist, I am familiar with Discreet products, and with Combustion I loved being able to do work on the PowerBook, finishing in Flame or Inferno if necessary.

The other Discreet product used was Cleaner 6. When having to batch process multiple versions of the commercials I noticed an increase in the speed of the I GHz PowerBook.

This product proved to be an essential part of the production process. The HBO project had many multiple versions that clients around the US needed to view and approve before making a master. We would compress the "rough" spots into QuickTime files and upload to our server for viewing. The client loved the fact that we could send them a link to the spot and reply via email with changes. I think the instant gratification was key in keeping the client happy and played a huge role in completing a final version quickly. Also worth noting is that I never felt a speed dip or pause while using After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop at the same time. This is something I do notice at times in our 667 MHz PowerBook.

This is a faster machine with a great deal of reliability. I have used PC laptops with stronger GHz in the past, but they shy in comparison in the speed department.

CONCLUSION

I used the I GHz PowerBook for about a month and put it to some serious "real-world" use. I even set up larger renders and tacked on multiple layers just to try and make it crawl or choke, but it just kept cookin'.