Buying a new computer so we can get QLab 5

[Sara Hueser]

Hi everyone!

I need help buying a new Mac computer so my theatre can run QLab 5. 

Right now we are running a 2013 iMac with QLab 4 on it. It has done an amazing job for us over the past 9 years. But we are looking for an upgrade.

In the past, we ran 2 projectors with QLab on the iMac with no problem. In the future we looking to add up to 4 for some shows. And of course, adding QLab 5.

Qlab's website is suggesting a Mac Studio with an M1 chip. However, as a small theatre, we don't have a large budget and looking to save where we can while getting a new computer that will last us 7-10 years. 

Any recommendations?

[Chris Ashworth]

Hi Sara,

I’d strongly recommend avoiding an Intel computer at this point; the performance benefit from Apple Silicon (particularly as regards to video performance) is a generational shift — if you want the computer to last another 10 years, an Intel machine absolutely will not do that at this point, but an Apple Silicon machine may do the job.

To give a sense of how big the change is for video that we get from Metal and Apple Silicon, we had to change our video performance testing methodology entirely when we started testing the new Metal engine on Apple Silicon; at first we thought we might be testing wrong, because we had gone so far beyond the limits we had come to expect from OpenGL and Intel.

Beyond that, I think there’s some flexibility in computer choice, but do note that some Apple Silicon machines are limited in the number of external displays they will support. 

If there’s any way at all to pull together funds for the base Mac Studio, I do really think that is your best best — they are truly remarkable machines that will perform extremely well for, I suspect, a long time.

Best,

C

[Sam Kusnetz]

Hi Sara

To expand a bit on what Chris said…

Macs which use the M1 Max or M1 Ultra processor are the only ones which will natively support five displays total (one for your operator plus the four projectors you’re planning to use.) A Mac Studio with an M1 Max processor is therefore the simplest answer for you. The cheapest model is certainly enough, and that costs $1999. I know that’s a lot, but the truth is that having a five-output video system is pretty much guaranteed to be expensive.

You could save money on the Mac by buying a Mac Mini with an M1 processor, the smaller storage option (256 GB), and higher RAM option (16 GB). This Mac costs $899, and support two displays on its own. Then, you’d need to add additional hardware to support the third, fourth, and fifth display.

The most affordable additional hardware is three Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Monitor 3Gs. They cost $125 each, connect to your Mac using Thunderbolt 3, and each supports one video output at 1920 x 1080 / 60 Hz. The trouble is your Mac Mini has only two Thunderbolt ports, so you physically cannot connect three of them. You’ll need a Thunderbolt hub to add ports. Sonnet Technologies is my preferred brand here, and their Thunderbolt Hob costs $199. Three UltraStudio Monitors plus the Dock brings you to $575, so your total cost is about $1475, a savings of $526 over buying the Mac Studio.

Using Blackmagic devices for video output from QLab comes at a small cost in processing power, but in our tests with Apple Silicon based Macs, this cost is really quite negligible. The only important thing you need to watch for is timing differences between Blackmagic outputs and native macOS outputs. If you have two projectors which need to appear as though they are a single output, you want them both to be native outputs or both Blackmagic outputs; don’t mix and match.

If your projectors accept SDI inputs, you could alternately use an AJA HA5-4K which appears to your Mac as a single 4K screen, connected via HDMI, but which slices up its input into four 1920x1080 quadrants and sends each of those quadrants out of a separate SDI connector. This costs $759, which is a savings of $341 over buying the Mac Studio. You save less money, but you get a simpler setup. It does require using SDI cabling, though, or adapting the SDI outputs to whatever you need which is added complexity and added cost.

It’s up to you to decide whether these more complex setup are worth the savings. My opinion is that it’s not worth it, because the savings are pretty small in the grand scheme of things and because all those adapters are just more places that something can get unplugged or break. On the other hand, you could buy the Mini now and run single-projector shows for a while, then slowly add capability over time.

Ultimately, the main points I want to make are:

• A Mac Studio, even the base model, outperforms every Intel Mac ever made. All Apple Silicon-based Macs outperform most Intel Macs, and the dollar-to-performance ratio for Apple Silicon Macs is hugely, dramatically better than it ever was for Intel Macs.
• Multi-output video basically cannot be done on the cheap. The old triangle applies… good-fast-cheap; you can pick any two but not all three.

Good luck!
Sam

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Sam Kusnetz (he/him) | Figure 53

s...@figure53.com