I've just started doing live sound at my local theater company and we might get a new Mac as opposed to using our antiquated Acer notebook any more. For the upcoming show, we need to use QLab to play the sound effects and music. I've used it some on my own MacBook Pro which has a 2.4 GHz Intel Cor 2 Duo and QLab runs really well. The guy in charge of the company is thinking about buying a Mac and I'm just wondering if maybe we could save some money by getting a MacBook Air instead of the Pro. Would QLab still work well on the MacBook Air? Any advice would be great, thanks so much.
3 Answers
Mac Minis are great for Qlab audio, and are also cheaper than a macbook pro or a macbook air. We have several mac minis at my school theatre (Ithaca College) for just this purpose. If you're looking to do video though, make sure you use something with a discreet graphics card (ie. NOT a macbook air or 13" macbook pro).
I would personally not want a macbook air for any creative high bandwidth work. They're cool for a light thing to carry around, but they're underpowered for things like audio and video. Macbook pro would be my answer.
I agree with Dave, the Air would not be a good choice. If you want to stay inexpensive, you should consider a Mac Mini. Lots of theaters and major touring companies use them to run Qlab.
