Tons of problems with new Macbook Pro

[Dustin]

2 hours ago, Xavier Plágaro Mussard said:

My complain is the premium has been increasing year after year. First it was a 50%. Then Macs costed double. With the new Macbook Pro with options, I feel that you can get the same power at 1/3 the price. Not only, since it wasn't designed for power, it's not even powerful. Apple now offers some power only on 4000€ computers. I think it's a shame. Even a nice Mini Mac with i7 and some GPU power at 1500€ could close the gap.

 

Exactly. I have no issue paying a premium as long as I feel like I'm getting a premium. I get it prices go up, economies change, but just IMO apple just doesn't give you good specs for the money. Putting build quality aside it makes no sense that for under $1500 on a windows laptop I can get at least a UHD screen, 16gigs of ram, SSD drive and the latest i7 processors. Also decent graphics card. I love macs but for me I can't say for certain I will be purchasing one when mine eventually gives out/needs change

[DBounce]

2 hours ago, Dustin said:

Exactly. I have no issue paying a premium as long as I feel like I'm getting a premium. I get it prices go up, economies change, but just IMO apple just doesn't give you good specs for the money. Putting build quality aside it makes no sense that for under $1500 on a windows laptop I can get at least a UHD screen, 16gigs of ram, SSD drive and the latest i7 processors. Also decent graphics card. I love macs but for me I can't say for certain I will be purchasing one when mine eventually gives out/needs change

You need to look beyond hardware specs alone.

[Dustin]

1 hour ago, DBounce said:

You need to look beyond hardware specs alone.

Okay could you give examples? 

[DBounce]

1 hour ago, Dustin said:

Okay could you give examples? 

Software optimization is a biggie. FCPX seems much faster than Adobe Premiere. If you are largely focused on complex special effects... That are beyond what can be achieved in Apple Motion, then the case for Windows may have some merit. Otherwise, not so much. 

People ramble on and on about specs... But what good are great specs if real world performance is worst. In the end all those great great specs will do is consume more power... Leading to reduced battery life. 

 

[Dustin]

54 minutes ago, DBounce said:

Software optimization is a biggie. FCPX seems much faster than Adobe Premiere. If you are largely focused on complex special effects... That are beyond what can be achieved in Apple Motion, then the case for Windows may have some merit. Otherwise, not so much. 

People ramble on and on about specs... But what good are great specs if real world performance is worst. In the end all those great great specs will do is consume more power... Leading to reduced battery life. 

 

Of course and I agree with you. But again right now, I'm not a FCPX guy, I'm in PP. I can't see myself switching anytime soon. And yes I understand higher specs can result in bad battery life but I'm used to this on my MBP anyways.. Also software/hardware optimization that macs have with MAC OS is one thing I would miss. In the recording field..I had a crappy mid range pc laptop that struggled until I switched to a mac. In some instances things on mac "just work".

[Xavier Plagaro Mussard]

16 hours ago, DBounce said:

Software optimization is a biggie. FCPX seems much faster than Adobe Premiere. If you are largely focused on complex special effects... That are beyond what can be achieved in Apple Motion, then the case for Windows may have some merit. Otherwise, not so much. 

People ramble on and on about specs... But what good are great specs if real world performance is worst. In the end all those great great specs will do is consume more power... Leading to reduced battery life. 

 

FCP X doesn't seem, RUNS much faster than any other program. I tried to Macproof myself learning DaVinci, but it makes my Macbook run as a Commodore 64!!!

[dantheman]

6 hours ago, Xavier Plágaro Mussard said:

I tried to Macproof myself learning DaVinci, but it makes my Macbook run as a Commodore 64!!!

Resolve relies heavily on the GPU, it needs a GPU with at least 2Gb of memory for HD or 4GB for 4K footage, if your laptop doesn't meet those minimum requirements then your editing experience will not be as pleasant

[DBounce]

UPS just delivered my new MacBook. I spent the last few hours installing all of my software unto it.... Adobe suite, FCPX, Motion, Office and my IDE. Have not had time to put it through its paces as of yet, but that will happen in the coming days. It came with the latest version of Mac OS pre-installed. 

[Dustin]

49 minutes ago, DBounce said:

UPS just delivered my new MacBook. I spent the last few hours installing all of my software unto it.... Adobe suite, FCPX, Motion, Office and my IDE. Have not had time to put it through its paces as of yet, but that will happen in the coming days. It came with the latest version of Mac OS pre-installed. 

Nice! Yes do keep us posted!

[rndmtsk]

Mine came in last night. 1tb HD, 2.9ghz CPU, 460 GPU

Only bug I've encountered was an annoying thing with the touch bar where the volume slider wouldn't come up. That required a restart to fix. Pretty much confirms my concern about the potential for touch bar to wig out. What happens when escape won't work when you want to force quit? I've defaulted these keys to their standard control strip functions for now anyways, with fn key to pull up app specific commands. These app commands are cool but not exactly revolutionary.

Keyboard takes getting used to but don't think it will bother me after long. Main annoyance is just that escape key. I wish it was a real key. I use it while editing and on top of not being able to feel it anymore, they've slid it inward a bit so it's not where your muscle memory would have you think. The larger trackpad is nice but can present a challenge while typing because my standard resting position for my hands puts my wrists squarely on the trackpad. Seems like they have the finger detection pretty well in tune because I'm not actually ever accidentally moving the cursor with my palms, but it still seems weird resting them on the trackpad while I type.

Other than the one time the volume slider was weird I haven't encountered any big red flags. I was able to get Adobe Suite CS6 installed after jumping through some hoops and everything is running smooth. No problems cutting in Premiere or encoding with Media Encoder so far. None of the crazy haywire graphics thing. Will report back when I have my monitor in and test further with that, as I believe other graphics card issues popped up when driving a monitor. It also required jumping through some hoops in order to instal the ProRes codecs I walk around with because they've locked down changes in the System folder (I think this was true on OS 10.11 too).

I've been hanging onto a 2012 MBP with DVD drive for a while and thin as this is it doesn't feel particularly lighter. This just reaffirms my wish that they'd made it a bit thicker to put beefier battery and graphics under the hood. Also. Like. Card reader. WTF.

All of that said, it's fast, it's quiet (fans, not this effing keyboard), it looks great (space grey all the way), I can see where the universal plug thing will be great one day in like two years (plugging in power from either side is def nice but still maybe not worth the tradeoff of no MagSafe), and I've been able to work with 4K H264 footage natively without any problems.

[tugela]

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 11:09 AM, dahlfors said:

I'm currently waiting for a new 15" mbp to be shipped. Hopefully this glitch is possible to fix with a software fix. It could also be GPU issues due to overheating, and if that's the case this will be much more difficult to fix.

Ya, it does look like an overheating GPU based on the picture.

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 1:40 AM, Xavier Plágaro Mussard said:

Apple hates pro users. It's the only explanation. The new Macbook Pro is a joke. We don't need thinner, we need more power. It's true that FCP X is so well written it compensates a lot. But they should think about power users, every once in a while. 

Form before function is the Apple way dude!

[DBounce]

Many here complain about lack of ports. While I do somewhat agree, there are workaround... For example, using usb-c cables to replace your existing cables does away with the need for dongles. Or simply use a dock. 

Honestly, I don't miss the SD reader that much, as my serious camera uses CFast, not SD. So I was using an adapter anyway.

So far, in my limited use with the new MBP, it's been great. One note... Do not waste money on the Apple USB-c to USB 3.0 adapter... It does not work correctly with devices that require fast data rates. I ordered a new one (different brand) on Amazon. 

I did transfer some 4k files from my 1DXMkII. QuickTime playback was much better than on my PC workstation. I then imported them in FCPX. Playback was smooth as silk. And everything was really fast. I'm really liking the new MBP.

[Don Kotlos]

On 12/29/2016 at 2:42 PM, Dustin said:

 I'm not a FCPX guy, I'm in PP.

And thats the problem right now for many people. If you are an Adobe or a Resolve user you are getting half the performance for double the price compared to a $1500 XPS 15. For example:

Also, by reducing the battery capacity a macbook pro now doesn't give you any better battery performance anymore . Under load it even gets worse...

For that money you are better off getting an XPS 15  AND building a hackintosh (if you want FCPX) that performs even better than the Mac Pro:

Here is an interesting take:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-20/how-apple-alienated-mac-loyalists

I know the mac accounts for 10% of the sales and the "pros" account in the best case 10% of that, but Apple really needs to focus on the "pro" side of the mac once again cause alienating  %80 of the NLE users (without even counting resolve users) is not going to bring more sales. 

 

[kaylee]

i think you guys should kno that my friend who *cough* works at an  a p p l store said that the new mbps are ALL fucked up in ALL kinds of ways

the 13 and 15" touchbar mbps have been returned for not working for every conceivable reason.... and people have bought them, then exchanged them, not once but twice, only to find that they have problems with a THIRD computer

so: caveat emptor

[fuzzynormal]

 

On 12/27/2016 at 2:11 AM, JurijTurnsek said:

PROs should get over themselves. No one hates you, but you are a small market. Most Macbook users use them for menial office work.

As a PRO, you should be able to shop around, not just cry when your brand goes in the other direction.

there are plenty of solutions for video production these days. 

We're not left wanting for solutions. 

It really is an embarrassment of riches.  

[HockeyFan12]

1 hour ago, kaylee said:

i think you guys should kno that my friend who *cough* works at an  a p p l store said that the new mbps are ALL fucked up in ALL kinds of ways

the 13 and 15" touchbar mbps have been returned for not working for every conceivable reason.... and people have bought them, then exchanged them, not once but twice, only to find that they have problems with a THIRD computer

so: caveat emptor

Yikes. Looks like I'm getting Apple Care after all.

[kaylee]

10 minutes ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Looks like I'm getting Apple Care after all.

i would highly recommend buying applecare on any new mac during its first year

[Gabe Strong]

On December 29, 2016 at 6:41 AM, Dustin said:

Exactly. I have no issue paying a premium as long as I feel like I'm getting a premium. I get it prices go up, economies change, but just IMO apple just doesn't give you good specs for the money. Putting build quality aside it makes no sense that for under $1500 on a windows laptop I can get at least a UHD screen, 16gigs of ram, SSD drive and the latest i7 processors. Also decent graphics card. I love macs but for me I can't say for certain I will be purchasing one when mine eventually gives out/needs change

Well, I just got a older rMBP (2013).  It had retina screen, 16 gigs of ram, 512gig SSD drive, i7 quad core 2.8ghz CPU, integrated and discrete GPU (750 2gb).  It was a refurb and I bought it for $800.  I understand you are talking about having the newest CPU and GPU on the market so maybe not an option.  But I needed something for mobile editing (I've got a desktop).  I use FCP X and Motion and I can literally do everything I could do with Premiere Pro and After Effects (I wasn't very good with expressions so maybe that is why) only much faster.  It's faster on my desktop as I have a 980Ti (6GB) GPU in it, but the 2013 rMBP is pretty fast itself.

[jonpais]

20 hours ago, DBounce said:

Many here complain about lack of ports. While I do somewhat agree, there are workaround... For example, using usb-c cables to replace your existing cables does away with the need for dongles. Or simply use a dock. 

Honestly, I don't miss the SD reader that much, as my serious camera uses CFast, not SD. So I was using an adapter anyway.

So far, in my limited use with the new MBP, it's been great. One note... Do not waste money on the Apple USB-c to USB 3.0 adapter... It does not work correctly with devices that require fast data rates. I ordered a new one (different brand) on Amazon. 

I did transfer some 4k files from my 1DXMkII. QuickTime playback was much better than on my PC workstation. I then imported them in FCPX. Playback was smooth as silk. And everything was really fast. I'm really liking the new MBP.

I will need at least 6 different cables, adapters, dongles or a dock and a few less cables, which could be expensive, depending on the brand. I ordered a MBPr one month ago, it should arrive within the next month, but I won't be able to do anything with it if I can't find the connectors I need. The problem is, none of that stuff (except the USB-C to micro USB cable) is even available in Vietnam. And neither the Apple Store, B&H or Amazon will ship genuine Apple peripherals to Vietnam. Oh, and the Authorized Reseller where I ordered my Mac? The only cable they currently carry is the lightning to USB-C. 

[Cinegain]

You can probably do something with Rakuten/Amazon.jp or Tmall/Taobao and an agent (e.g.+a.e.g.).

Wouldn't be opposed to third party solutions of reputable brands either, like Xiaomi: https://world.tmall.com/item/539426234542.htm / https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Mi-Notebook-Air-USB-C-to-HDMI-4k-USB-3-0-Multifunction-Adapter-USB/32776108843.html or Orico: https://oricocompany.aliexpress.com .