Which is best: Wirecast on Mac or PC?

[sunkast]

I'm sure a case can be made for either side. But what do you guys think. Is it better to run Wirecast on a Mac or PC?

[joedemax]

Mac. Wirecast was always a Mac application that was ported to Windows. The Mac version was OpenGL based, however when the port was made to Windows instead DirectX was used, and generally OpenGL is regarded to be superior to DirectX.

Also note if you run Wirecast on Windows with an nVidia graphics card, you'll note all kinds of jaggedness unless you turn off GPU acceleration, which is a no no for doing this..

[cseeman]

There are feature specific reasons to use either one or the other. I find the best thing to do is use a Mac and Bootcamp it to run Windows as well. Boot into the OS that best suits the situation.

Examples of differences for each OS.

Mac
Record to Apple ProRes
Quicktime Filters available (although I only find rare use for them)
Using Desktop Presenter with Mac programs on the same computer
GPU YUV assested encoding always lower CPU load (as Joe notes it can create problems with certain GPUs, most often nVidia on Windows). No notable issues with nVidia on Mac.
All new Macs support Thunderbolt video in devices from Blackmagic, Matrox, AJA. There are a few Windows computers that support this. Notably the better Asus game laptops. iMacs and 15" MBP Retina can use both TB ports at the same time.
Some users have verified that both Thunderbolt and USB3 video in works with Blackmagic 9.7.9 beta drivers (easy to have three HD inputs).
Thunderbolt also allows for easy PCIe to Thunderbolt chassis use. Some have even used Decklink Quad card on MBP Retina and iMac that way.
Using CamTwist as a source.

Windows
Support for Matrox VS4 with ISO recording
Supports many Osprey cards
Using Desktop Presenter with Windows programs on the same computer
Thundercloud Scoreboard support
Some computers support USB3 video in from Blackmagic Video in devices.
Streaming and Recording to WMV
Works with the free ShotKicker and Automate for playlisting and automatic shot switching.
Works with WebcamXP to bring in IP cameras not on the support list.
Works with some EZCap devices for USB2 video in.
Can receive from LiveU Bonded 4G/LTE systems when on Windows Server.
Virtual Camera can send to Adobe FMLE if you prefer to use that encoder. Not compatible on Mac version because FMLE hasn't been updated to support CoreMedia.
Better Webcam drivers on Windows although Telestream has gone a long way to help that on Mac.

There may be more but that's covers most of the differences.

[joedemax]

There are feature specific reasons to use either one or the other. I find the best thing to do is use a Mac and Bootcamp it to run Windows as well. Boot into the OS that best suits the situation.

Examples of differences for each OS.

Mac
Record to Apple ProRes
Quicktime Filters available (although I only find rare use for them)
Using Desktop Presenter with Mac programs on the same computer
GPU YUV assested encoding always lower CPU load (as Joe notes it can create problems with certain GPUs, most often nVidia on Windows). No notable issues with nVidia on Mac.
All new Macs support Thunderbolt video in devices from Blackmagic, Matrox, AJA. There are a few Windows computers that support this. Notably the better Asus game laptops. iMacs and 15" MBP Retina can use both TB ports at the same time.
Some users have verified that both Thunderbolt and USB3 video in works with Blackmagic 9.7.9 beta drivers (easy to have three HD inputs).
Thunderbolt also allows for easy PCIe to Thunderbolt chassis use. Some have even used Decklink Quad card on MBP Retina and iMac that way.
Using CamTwist as a source.

Windows
Support for Matrox VS4 with ISO recording
Supports many Osprey cards
Using Desktop Presenter with Windows programs on the same computer
Thundercloud Scoreboard support
Some computers support USB3 video in from Blackmagic Video in devices.
Streaming and Recording to WMV
Works with the free ShotKicker and Automate for playlisting and automatic shot switching.
Works with WebcamXP to bring in IP cameras not on the support list.
Works with some EZCap devices for USB2 video in.
Can receive from LiveU Bonded 4G/LTE systems when on Windows Server.
Virtual Camera can send to Adobe FMLE if you prefer to use that encoder. Not compatible on Mac version because FMLE hasn't been updated to support CoreMedia.
Better Webcam drivers on Windows although Telestream has gone a long way to help that on Mac.

There may be more but that's covers most of the differences.

We forget a big one..

Applescript - While Windows and Mac versions have other ways to talk Applescript is incredibly easy..

[carinder1]

Mac better on wire cast because u got the korg nano kontorl

[techzentv]

Is there no midi interface for wirecast on the PC? Seems that would be easy to create. The API interface to wirecast on a PC is actually easier than applescript and seems a bit more reliable. Not sure what writing a C# for midi is like on the PC.

[andrewzarian]

Interesting Question. Quicktime is great at handling video and I have heard many people say the video on Wirecast on the mac is better on the mac but we have been using it on windows for switching and I cant tell the difference

[ronknights]

I started with the PC version of Wirecast on a quadcore PC. I had all sorts of performance problems. I switched to the Mac version, and ran it on my 24" iMac. Wirecast worked like a charm, from the get-go!