Mac vs PC in the Digital Recording Realm - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

flaming_potato · 08-03-2009, 12:49 AM

So as I always seem to do with these things I have left it up till the last minute with my essay which is due on Tuesday and I'm hitting a brick wall. I'm currently in an Audio Engineering program and my essay topic is "Mac vs PC in the Digital Recording Realm". I'd say I'm about 65% complete...I'm having problems finding good RELIABLE information out there on the net.

More specifically I'm looking for interviews with professionals who have used both systems and have opinions and or beefs with either format. Or if you have an opinion yourself please post! It seems as though I have googled my self to near-insanity so I figured while it may be a long shot I'd ask the wonderful people here at CP if they could help me out.

Thanks in advance!

PS - Not sure if I should have posted this in the tech forum or not, so mods you can move it if you so desire.

DOK · 08-03-2009, 03:26 AM

Lol, I know a guy that does exactly what your asking, but he'd never post on a forum like this.

Second hand from him, here's what he says. He started his recording career on pc, it worked, it was fine. It started to crap out with too much information, he needed to upgrade. The next logical step was a program that only ran on a Mac, so he bought one. Since then the industry has surged in this area, Mac remains supreme. Recently Pc has come out with software that can possibly go up against the mac software, but time will tell.

Not much use I'm sure. His biggest beef would be the constant rebooting of the pc, and he never ever has to reboot his mac.

Sly · 08-03-2009, 05:35 AM

From what I've heard commonly from people who compare the PC vs. MAC, is that the MAC is better overall for function and daily uses of everything EXCEPT gaming... that's pretty much what seperates the PC and the MAC....

awildermode · 08-03-2009, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flaming_potato

So as I always seem to do with these things I have left it up till the last minute with my essay which is due on Tuesday and I'm hitting a brick wall. I'm currently in an Audio Engineering program and my essay topic is "Mac vs PC in the Digital Recording Realm". I'd say I'm about 65% complete...I'm having problems finding good RELIABLE information out there on the net.

More specifically I'm looking for interviews with professionals who have used both systems and have opinions and or beefs with either format. Or if you have an opinion yourself please post! It seems as though I have googled my self to near-insanity so I figured while it may be a long shot I'd ask the wonderful people here at CP if they could help me out.

Thanks in advance!

PS - Not sure if I should have posted this in the tech forum or not, so mods you can move it if you so desire.

should title the post "Mac vs PC in the Digital Recording Realm", that way you get more of the computer/audio guys to read your post. Also, search tech forum for related topics on Mac vs PC and/or Digital recording.

flaming_potato · 08-03-2009, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awildermode

should title the post "Mac vs PC in the Digital Recording Realm", that way you get more of the computer/audio guys to read your post. Also, search tech forum for related topics on Mac vs PC and/or Digital recording.

Thanks, I will do just that. I was pretty tired last night when I originally posted my cry for help.

Table 5 · 08-03-2009, 12:07 PM

Have you tried avsforum.com? That's the Mother of all sites in the Audio/Visual realm and I'm sure have plenty of people who might be able to help.

Shnabdabber · 08-03-2009, 12:31 PM

How odd that I was listening to Ziltoid the Omniscient when I opened this thread.

I wish I could have some info for you regarding the pros/cons of PC vs MAC, however I record strait into a digital recorder/mixer and finalize tracks there. Sorry. I am considering upgrading my rig and plan on going with MAC. For what its worth.

Good luck! EXTREME CLOSE UP! *sips coffee*

sclitheroe · 08-03-2009, 12:52 PM

In terms of hardware, the Mac and PC have converged quite significantly, there's nothing special about onboard sound on a Mac, and the add-in cards that a proper recording artist/producer would be using are most likely supported on both platforms, if the manufacturer wants to be competitive nowadays.

A big differentiator between the two platforms, for creative types, is definitely going to be how easy it is to support, maintain, and upgrade the software infrastructure. Ignoring the lack of Mac viruses, device driver installation on the Mac is far easier, from an end-user perspective, than on Windows. Software upgrades consist of dragging and dropping the new app on top of the old one. 32/64 bit issues are almost invisible on the Mac - if an app has 64 bit components, they just work. XP 64 bit is a mess, and Vista 64, although hugely improved, lagged in driver support for a long time.

These are all the kinds of issues that begin to make the Mac an attractive platform for creative types to work - they spend less time overall worrying about the underlying platform, which lowers total cost of ownership. This is a significant factor even before you get to the differences in the capabilities of the software.

flaming_potato · 08-03-2009, 12:55 PM

Thanks for all the info guys, I found a bunch of better articles to finish off my essay today.

I'm currently using a PC to do the bulk of my home recording, but since going to school I have very much warmed to the idea of purchasing a Mac for my recording needs. The format has been more stable with Pro Tools than with my PC with almost the same specs. Will probably do just that when I move back to Calgary in the fall and start building my own studio. Now back to searching for the universes ultimate cup of coffee...INDEED!!!

DOK · 08-04-2009, 01:59 AM

Thanks for all the info guys, I found a bunch of better articles to finish off my essay today.

Haha. Sounds like you trashed all our advice and got "better articles". But I don't think that's what you meant! Just thought it was worded funny!

UKflames · 08-04-2009, 08:25 AM

Whoooooo, big can of worms this one, I've seen this arguement/discussion turn nasty on a few forums.If still want a few professional point of views head over to the forums at DV247.com, there are quite a few guys on there that actually own/run professional studios that have been used by some of the top artists, Circle studios in London is one of them.Another good place to try is the forums at KVRAudio.com, it's mainly for music production plug ins but the guys/gals on there are really helpful and would offer up an opinion without being childish (I'm sure you've come across a few idiots in your investigation).Personally I use a PC and always have, so cannot offer up a comparison but suffice to say you can do pretty much anything on either system. It's a bit like the Xbox/PS3 arguement to me, you will get your fanboys of both who wouldn't change to save their mother and those that use one or the other but couldn't care either way as long as they are making music.Good luck with your course and welcome to the never ending world of making music.