Rack Mounting Video Editing Equipment

We are planning on rack mounting all of our video editing equipment in our 3 or 4 new video editing suites this Spring. I like the security, cooling and professional look of rack mounted equipment. Most of the equipment we are going to be using is rack-mountable but the actual computer is the biggest issue.

I could buy a rack-mountable Apple Xserve but it doesn't come with a graphics card or a SuperDrive or Digital Audio Toslink ports. You can add a PCI graphics card as a built-to-order option but not AGP and you need a AGP graphics card for Final Cut Pro. Apple's recently introduced Mac Mini has a small form factor and an enticing price that make it a possibility for using with in new video editing suites. They could be rack mounted but they lack gigabit ethernet and expandabillity. If we go with an Apple PowerMac G5 it has everything we need for a video editing station but it is not rack-mountable.

I have found Marathon Computer's interesting solution to rack mounting the G5 horizontally that may work. This solution fixes the problem of the PowerMac's height of 20.1 inches (rack width is only 19 inches) by chopping off it's handles with a hacksaw! I have some unanswered questions about the G5 and horizontal mounting. Will the SuperDrive (DVD Burner) work on it's side and is cooling effected by the orientation of the computers chassis? Another solution is to mount the PowerMac vertically with the Marathon G5 Rackmount and use the extra space with the with a G5 Sidekick or I could use Redco Audio's solution.

I liked the idea of rack mounting all the components including the NTSC monitor but have found that having it rack mounted makes it difficult to view while seated. Therefore in the new suites we will get furniture that accommodates both a computer and NTSC monitor.

September 2004

September 2005?