Logic and Retina MacBook Pro

Will Logic have to be updated to work on the new MacBook Pro with Retina display, i.e., will Logic need to support scaled graphics?

i'd say so

I'm pretty sure that all Apple apps will be updated for the new OS and retina displays - however when that will be is another thing.

 

Clearly, the apps that most benefit and show off the display are graphics apps and games - hence the focus on getting Aperture, Final Cut Pro X and Photoshop apps updated, and some game content. Photo editing should be pretty stunning on that display at those resolutions.

 

It's not quite so important for apps like Logic, which will continue to work they way they always have, until they get updated. I think it will probably be unlikely for Logic to get another minor free update to include retina graphics - it's more likely imo to come with the next major version.

 

Logic doesn't currently include hi res graphics in addition to the regular screen graphics, so it would definitely need to be updated.

I would imagine that, like an older iOS app running on a newer device, when the computer is in HiDPI mode, any application that doesn't natively support high resolution will just be scaled 2x and look slightly blocky. Maybe someone with XCode and Lion can confirm?

 

Personally, if I got a new laptop with super high resolution, I'd try it first at 1x in its native resolution, and if I can still see the text clearly, awesome! 27" monitor size on a small laptop!

any application that doesn't natively support high resolution will just be scaled 2x and look slightly blocky.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's how it will work - however there's no reason it will look blocky, it will just look like it does on a standard resolution display. The scaling down is easy: a square of 4 pixels on the new retina display is exactly the same size as a single pixel on the standard display. So for now, Logic Pro should look exactly the same on a retina display or on a standard display.

 

Here's a picture showing text on the retina dislpay on the left vs the standard display on the right:

 

http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/06/11/new-macbook-first-look-retina-5311_610x407.jpg

 

if I got a new laptop with super high resolution, I'd try it first at 1x in its native resolution, and if I can still see the text clearly, awesome! 27" monitor size on a small laptop!

You would not be able to read any text or properly see the images at 1x the native resolution. 27" displays have a lower resolution than the new retina display (the higher resolution ones give you 2,560x1,440 vs 2,880x1,800 on a 15" retina display). 1x the native resolution of the new retina display would look like this:

 

I've checked the resolutions, regardless of support the retina macbook pro scales the screen up to 1920x1200. It looks amazing

 

Looks like a 27" imac

 

http://i45.tinypic.com/2vv3z7m.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/o87afo.jpg

I'm a little confused!

 

Those pics are from Logic running scaled yes? Which still gives you more screen real estate than a new reg 15"?

 

Can you run it not scaled? If so, just out of curiosity can you upload a pic of how crazy that might look? When running it not scaled and completely shrunk down, would ctrl + two finger swipe zooming be feasible or would it be a blocky mess zoomed in even with smoothing on?

 

-B

No! You can not run the retina screen unscaled by default. (you can always use SwitchResX if you want but it really makes no sense at all, the pixel density is too high!)

You have however different setting for the scaling:

1024 x 640, 1280 x 800, 1440 x 900, 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200.

You can read more about how it works at AnandTech.

Thanks Eric,

 

That clears things up a lot. I was fairly clueless about screen resolutions etc, only really cared enough to always set mine as high as it goes.

 

That 1920 x 1200 looks like a heck-of-a lot more screen real estate than the standard 15-inch. The new macbooks are looking good enough spec-wise to upgrade from my mid-late 2010 15-inch i7.

 

Just looking at the specs for the retina model, it's lacking too much. Bummer, always lusted after more screen real estate on a 15-inch. I'm primarily based off of my laptop for production, and the 17-inch ones were just too big and clunky (might as well "backpack" an iMac around).

 

The 8GB ram limit on the reg 15-inch is a bit frustrating as well... always cutting it fairly "close" with that. Should be solid enough for the next two years tho.

 

-B

The key is basically that you can use any resolution up to 2880x1800 + you get a quite powerful computer, do you need anything else? I don't think so (you can upgrade the RAM up to 16GB during order if you need)

iFish,

 

I was complaining about the 8GB limit on the standard 15-inch. The retina model is out of the question for me as;

 

1.) No firewire port. It doesn't look like there are even thunderbolt enclosures cheaply or widely available to swap out drives from firewire enclosures I have now. My audio interface is firewire. Plus I can't see having two thunderbolt ports and no firewire as being a good thing for me in the next year and a half / two years (typical period of time I keep a computer before upgrading). Nobody is "jumping" that quickly on the thunderbolt train.

 

2.) No superdrive. Not that I care about an optical drive, but I do care about the ability to take that optical drive out and replace it with a second internal drive for my EWQL samples and other things.

 

That display real estate looks killer tho on the retina! I'm really kinda heart-broken!

 

-B

Yep, I see your point, however you have a quite nice macbook at the moment, so you don't need to worry about I still use my 4.1 macbook so it's time to swap for me

Well, I started this thread back in June, and now I've just purchased a Retina MacBook Pro, 2.7 GHz with 16 GB RAM. Everything is great. Logic, despite not being optimized for a retina display, looks great. The one issue I was surprized to discover is that when you are playing a Logic session including DV video (or any other format of video) on the same screen as Logic (not on an external monitor), the video playback stutters, and the session doesn't respond to start and stop commands without some significant delay. I'm guessing this is because Logic is outputting the video on a very hi-rez screen with 4 times the pixels of a normal screen, which is a lot more CPU intensive. I do have the graphics mode on the computer in high mode all the time, so that's not the issue. Does anyone have any thoughts on a possible fix? Dragging the video window to an external monitor solves the problem, but there are times when I'd like to work without the external second display. Thanks.

Using the video on a an external non-retina display will use the devicePixelRatio 1 instead of 2 for the retina.

What happens if you try a resolution of 1440 x 900? Do you see a change?

Thanks Eric. Actually I have been using it at 1440 x 900 (the Best for Retina Display, as Apple puts it).

Thanks Eric. Actually I have been using it at 1440 x 900 (the Best for Retina Display, as Apple puts it).

 

That's a drag.

I think you'll have to wait for a Logic update then and use your external monitor for the moment.

 

I would report this to Apple:

I will do that, thx.