hello forum type place. ok i have an average cam corder (mv600 canon). so i thought hey ive always wanted to do some movie type stuff and get out all my frustrated creativity. thus my bro gave me an average cpu but im not ungrateful. i then bought a firewire thingy for it which came with ulead vid 7. my excitement at this point was akin to a rebirth of spirit. then......firstly frustration, then anger, then depression. everything is so slow and temperamental. i feel the world would be a better place for my film efforts so in this spirit could you give a simple starter some simple steps as you lot all talk like nasa experts or something! low budget, high enthusiasm i would like anyone to recommend a cpu that could beat me walking round the world on foot. cam corder recommend would be nice too. this is my first post so be gentle learned loads already from looking at this site, thanks a lot, mike

Hi Mike and welcome to the wonderful world of video. A very entertaining first post!

Sadly, I know nothing about the mysterious workings of the insides of the machines, I just use them. However, there are lots and lots of very techi type folk here who will doubtless shower you with lots of answers.

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Hi Mike

(I split your question into its own topc BTW, it will probably get more answers that way )

It's nice to see someone scraping the bottom of the video editing barrel like me. I use a canon Mv600 too. I feel your pain

Anyway - define "low budget" and tell us what system you have already!

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cheers andy and mike for your solidarity in sharing my stupidity you ask wot my system is, well im afraid your still pitching at too high tech level for me, i believe its made of paper mache or something. anyhoo can you give me a rough (or precise would be better) of a decent basic standard of comp ie memory and stuff like that hard drive ram processor etc (impressed?) i love this web site i feel so wanted and with like minds at last! i am also concentrating on funny and sometimes dark humour type scripts so if anyone would like to collaberate with tech expertise that would be a real bonus. also mike thanks for splitting my message (whatever that means) how do i know i have a reply or will iget an e mail? are my questions too long? :P

oh yeah mike, how do u find your mv600? i often get lines and break up on playback but then if i rewind and forward for a while it goes away, otherwise i think its pretty good. any recommends for set up and stuff would be appreciated, oh yeah the battery life sucks. by low budget i was thinking around 300 for the cpu, i have monitor etc, will that get me anything faster than a fly in glue?

If you tell me what you have now, I might be able to work out whether you can salvage any of the bits for use in a new system.

If you're using Windows, right click on the My Computer icon, select properties, and under the "General" tab should be a little bit about your system information. RAM, processor etc.

As for the MV600 - the quality's pretty much what you'd expect on a camera that cheap, but I can't say I've ever had trouble with lines on the display...

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thanks for your patience and sympathy for my wallet, heres the bones then....intel(r) 4 cpu 1400 mhz , 1.38 ghz , 128 mb of ram. is the patient going to die doc?

Meh. I've seen worse

If you've got a small budget, you'll certainly notice a MASSIVE improvement if you upgrade the PC's memory to 512MB. 128MB is nowhere near enough to edit with. The CPU is a little bit slow, but rather than spending just £300, get the RAM upgrade for now to be keeping you going, and save up a bit more money to buy a better PC in the future.

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Redefining the concept of low budget filmmaking
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OH GOOD LORD!!! WHY!?!?! WHY!?!?!?!

I mean, um.... it's not so bad.....

thanks for your replies. mike thats just the job it really helps with the cash and at least i can get started sooner rather than later. perhaps i could look at some stuff you have done and grill you for some practical shooting and editing video, hey i dont even know the difference btween a producer and a director. one thing that i have thought is that no matter wot the equipment is, no matter how its directed, edited, produced whatever, none of it has a point unless the material is any good. so anyway its made me focus again on the thinking and writing, at least that doesnt cost anything either! thanks again