HDV Spec for quote...

cappa esquire · #1 (**permalink**) 10-30-2006, 12:36 PM

Hello,
Im about to purchase a new pc system for editing dv and hdv and have a pc specialist who will build it for me, he has asked me to provide him the specs of which i want for my new system so i've come here in hope for some answers. Basically im looking for anyone who can help me generate a list starting from mobo, raid array, amd or intel right down to power supply and cooling so that i have a realistic and effective pc. i will be using vegas 7/after effects and adobe photoshop to do my editing and composition. Im not interested however in having the best of the best just for names sake as i know 6 months down the line it will become standard so what im after is the best route to get a fast system going for around £1000. Also this is a little off topic, but for the time being would you recomend montioring/editing hdv footage on a tft lcd monitor (or standard tv) until finances allow for a hd monitor? Thanks in advanced people.

GTWCMT · #2 (**permalink**) 10-30-2006, 10:49 PM

Go to my website and just rob some of the specifications for editing systems from there. You wont need the physic card if your not doing CGI. (just type users name into google)

Mark W · #3 (**permalink**) 10-30-2006, 10:57 PM

double post

Mark W · #4 (**permalink**) 10-30-2006, 11:01 PM

I have just got a new pc and it edits hdv fine.

This is actually the pc I am using now and was editing some borrowed hdv footage on earlier.

CPU- core duo 2.16 ghz, they get expensive for faster by a great deal.

2 gig of ram.

Some asus mother board, p916, something like that, can check exactly what if you want.

Fast western dig raptor 10,000 rpm for sys drive, highly reccomended

2 big sata drives, 780 gig total.

You DO NOT have to have raid, if you can afford safe raid then that is a good idea if you worry about drive failure.

I personally would be very wary of advice from anyone who sells computers but who does not have extensive first hand expirience of editing.

I am no pc guru but i have edited for years and the one i have is great. Expirience has taught me to be wary of anything flash, you just need a well built, fast (top endish of domestic market), and RELIABLE PC.

I wouldnt bother with the hdv monitor myself - get a few monitors on the pc tho for sure, editing needs lots of desk top, I have 4 at the moment...

cappa esquire · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2006, 11:19 AM

thanks for the info people. Mark im glad you replied as i know you use vegas like me and unlike alot of computer techs you actually have first hand expereince instead of what a computer 'should' perform like. One question tho, what speed are your 2 sata drives? 7200 or 10,000?

i think i will go for a raid 0 aslong as i can afford it. Just out of curiosity, how does vegas handle your footage when applying things like colour correction etc and previewed on an external monitor? is it choppy playback or are you able to get a smooth display? i couldnt imagine being able to monitor everything playing smoothly with effects applied, im so used to having to work around the choppy playback by ram previews etc which i hate. i know this may be asking too much from a system as i know it requires alot of processing power so im half expecting to still have slightly choppy playback. For example i use magic bullet look suite and on my current system (amd 3200 512ddr ram) trying to preview comes to a near stand still and now i know the pc system is well well below what it should be but i still assume it would take a huge jump to get things running smoothly. Any thoughts?

thanks again

Mark W · #6 (**permalink**) 10-31-2006, 01:33 PM

You wont need the improved speed of raid 0 with modern dics, my big satas are 7500 and b mark at 55mbs, same as the 10000 rpm drive, that has just has much faster seek time.

DV is 3.5 mbs, and uncompressed video around 25mb/s (all bytes there, not bits) so there is no need for fast raid unelss you want to edit uncompressed hdv ! ! !

I can write lots more about the perf of vegas on my stystem if u like, what u can realtime and what you cant... gtg now but just ask and I can give more detail later....

cappa esquire · #7 (**permalink**) 10-31-2006, 02:41 PM

thanks very much for the info thats very helpful. Yeh id be real interested to know more about the performance of vegas on your system and also your workflow when editing hdv i.e. do you use an intermediate codec whilst editing etc. thanks