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The G4: Hype or Reality?
 Filmandvideo.com staff often hears clients and professionals on many occasions express concern and even downright confusion over the MegaHertz gap of Apple hardware and their ability to perform against other competing chip technologies. Well, we thought it would be a good idea to give some insight into why we believe a PowerPC G4 based non-linear video editing systems are the best on the market and why professional video and media producers at all levels in the industry should consider purchasing a G4 video editing system.
Today’s PC’s (Macintosh is a personal computer, too!) have come a long way in performance thanks to faster processor speeds, much improved OS’s and better coded applications. Although the OS and the applications we make use of on a daily basis should be one of the leading factors in our purchasing decisions, these days processor speeds (MegaHertz - MHz) have become one of the primary selling tools to entice consumers and professionals to buy a particular brand of computer. Compaq, Dell, Gateway, and even Apple use this tool to showcase their technologies and persuade professionals to purchase their products. However, any professional who bases their final decision on processor speeds to determine their choice of computer platform would be making a big mistake. Without a clear understanding of processor mechanics, many professionals get sucked into the “Intel Inside” syndrome. With that said, the argument stands as to why the G4 processor is a superior chip for non-linear video editing and graphics work?
If we were to compare a PC with a Pentium processor at any speed to an Apple machine with a PowerPC G4 processor – it would be comparing apples to oranges, forgive the pun. It is true that the PowerPC chip from Motorola presently has a top clock speed of 1GHz compared to Intel’s Pentium 4 which runs up to 2+ GigaHertz (GHz). But just because the Pentium is running over 2 GHz doesn’t mean it is faster or more capable when tackling intensive floating-point tasks. Most people would say, “Heck, the Pentium is twice as fast as the PowerPC! Just look at the MegaHertz level.” This is where the truth becomes distorted without some basic education relating to chip mechanics. Here are a few reasons why the G4 turns circles around traditional x86 processors at any speed. We don’t want to get too technical, so we’ll keep it as straightforward as possible.
Fast by Design:
To begin with, the Intel Pentium and other traditional x86 microprocessors (AMD included) use an older chip design process known as CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) for their product offerings. Conversely, Motorola (manufacturers of the chips used by Apple computers) uses a newer chip design known as RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing). Both designs are excellent technologies but each complete intensive math calculations and instructions differently. This is important because the architecture of the chip makes a big difference in terms of how your OS and applications such as video editing packages perform under the stresses of complex workloads.
Because of their design, RISC chips, especially the G4, process information much more efficiently than CISC processors. This is possible because RISC chips calculate most complex instructions “on the chip” minimizing the number of times the chip must access data stored in memory. These complex instructions are statements delivered to the processor to have it execute them. In contrast, the Pentium class chips still have to access memory to load most instructions, therefore taking more time to complete the same task as the RISC processor. Traditional RISC processors have another advantage in the form of uniform 32-bit instruction lengths. By having a uniform instruction length, it simplifies the instruction-fetching processes allowing an entire instruction to be retrieved once as well as many at the same time as we’ll see in just a moment. The Pentium on the other hand may have varying instruction lengths requiring the chip to retrieve a single instruction several times before completing the same task.
To bring the PowerPC to maximum efficiency, the PowerPC G4 found in every Pro Desktop and the new Titanium G4 PowerBook has what is termed the Velocity Engine or AltiVec™ Technology on the chip. This vector optimization unit allows the RISC processor to load 128-bit chunks of data in one pass instead of 32-bits or even 64-bits making the chip extremely efficient when processing complex instructions used in data-intensive video, voice and graphics applications. Programs such as Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, and Photoshop have been optimized to take full advantage of the G4’s unique vectoring capabilities. The Velocity Engine can perform four (In some cases eight) calculations in the same time it takes a traditional x86 processor to do one! In essence, a single chip 533 MHz G4 is equal in processing power to a 1 GHz Pentium. When combined with Atlivec optimized software a G4 system is a force to be reckoned with. This is extremely good news for video professionals since editing and production work is extremely chip intensive and can make or break a projects schedule. There, that’s not so bad! Makes you feel empowered doesn’t it.
What’s it all Mean?
Now to the bottom line - What benefits will a G4 with Altivec capabilities bring to your video editing and media productions arsenal? Obviously, faster processing power as demonstrated in the preceding information guarantees your time will be spent being more productive while increasing your ROI (Return On Investment) growing your business. After all, you’re in business to make money, right! Using optimized applications like Final Cut Pro as your primary editing application will ensure that you have the most efficient and feature rich editing packages on the market at your disposal. Furthermore, the G4’s power in combination with third-party PCI video acceleration cards such as the Digital VooDoo D1 Desktop 64AV, Aurora Igniter, or a Matrox RTMac makes certain you’ll have the best equipment for those highly complex projects. All this productivity comes at an affordable price to boot that can’t be had with competing editing solutions offered by AVID or other NT based systems. In fact, you’ll save on the average of $70,000 dollars by purchasing a G4 non-linear video editing system over competing non-linear video editing systems. That’s not pocket change! You save time and money, which will make you and your clients happy. With all that the G4 offers professionals in price and performance, you don’t have to be Newton to know where the non-linear video-editing world is now gravitating.
If you’re a serious professional video editor, you need a machine priced to please, capable of doing DV, uncompressed, component, or real-time video, you need a G4 based turnkey system from Filamandvideo.com! We have several G4 packages priced to please and all are available now. Own one for under $9,000 and feel the difference! If you have questions relating to any of our G4 packages or any of our other services please call us at 1.602.212.0616. We’re here to help you get the most from your non-linear video editing systems!
User Community: Have an article idea or interested in writing for filmandvideo.com? Drop us a note at info@filmandvideo.com and tell us what’s on your mind! After all, we’re a community of professionals. We share together, we learn together.
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Drive without a license and get away with it! The Video Raid RTR series gives every video editor a chance to be a speed demon.
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