video editing PC - please help

video_editor · #1 (**permalink**) 02-22-2006, 12:16 AM

hi!

I'm buying a new PC this week, with the following specs:

AMD X2 4400+
2x1 Gb of Corsair ram
150 Gb 10,000rpm Raptor hard disk
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT
MSI K8N Diamond nForce4 SLi motherboard

I'll be using it mainly for editing footage from my miniDV SONY
camcorder - I'll be doing some 3d work as well. I make experimental videos that involve a lot of cuts and synchronisation of the scenes with
music, so real-time editing is cruicial for my work (a true time
saver). I want to be able to edit my footage and preview it in
real-time, in DV quality (PAL 720x576), and not having to render it each time I want to check if the editing of the scenes works.

I've been looking for hardware in order to make sure that I'll have
real-time editing. But I am sooo confused after all these weeks of asking people about it, since, so far, I haven't got a clear answer to my question.

Some say that editing cards, such as the 'Pinnacle DV500 DVD' or
the 'Canopus DVX', capture DV footage and allow real-time editing.

Others say that editing cards used to be useful, but today what
matters is the software. So, NLE applications such as Avid or Premiere Pro,
can take advantage of the PC's power
and allow real-time editing (without any editing cards).

so, here's my question:

Could someone please tell me if with my PC, a firewire connection and, say, Premiere Pro, I'll be able to capture DV footage, edit it in real-time,
preview it in real-time, without using any capturing/editing cards?

If I have to buy an editing card, can you suggest me one for up to $500?

many thanks for any help!

grewell912 · #2 (**permalink**) 02-22-2006, 02:54 AM

with that 7800 gt (i suppose you are talking about the 512 meg one) you should be able to work in real-time to near realtime. The x1800 and the 7800 are rivals, and my x1800 keeps up very nice with prem pro 2.0.

Mark W · #3 (**permalink**) 02-22-2006, 01:34 PM

Do you mean you want to preview the video with all the effects on? My 'slow' xp3000 does this fine on vegas most of the time, I am sure your very fast pc will allow this.

video_editor · #4 (**permalink**) 02-23-2006, 01:41 AM

just got my new pc today and tried to capture footage from my SONY camcorder simply using the 'windows movie maker'. I captured and saved the video as DV AVI (PAL 720x576), using a firewire connection, and I managed to preview it (with and without effects) in real-time, without using any additional hardware.

I am going to test the 'Premiere Pro 2 tryout' tomorrow and if the real-time editing and preview are still there, I don't think I'll be needing any capturing/editing cards for the moment.

many thanks for your comments.

video_editor · #5 (**permalink**) 02-25-2006, 07:31 PM

I used the Premier Pro 2 tryout version from adobe's website. With Premiere I can edit and preview the footage (captured as DV AVI) in real-time, without any delays at all, and even with up to 2 filters applied to it.

So at the moment I am quite happy with it, and at the moment I don't need any additional hardware.

miwhel · #6 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006, 08:10 PM

Just interested.

What setting are you using for playback?

Auto
draft
highest

cheers.

Alan Mills · #7 (**permalink**) 03-03-2006, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by video_editor

I am going to test the 'Premiere Pro 2 tryout' tomorrow and if the real-time editing and preview are still there, I don't think I'll be needing any capturing/editing cards for the moment.

You won't need any extra h/w. As long as you have a firewire port on your PC then Premiere Pro will be more than happy to capture from your MiniDV camcorder.

The realtime aspect will depend entirely on your system and it seem you're fine at the moment.

Two things that will necessitate extra purchases though are...

1) If you wish to capture an analogue signal at all; and
2) If you make the transition to High def and use the footage in other apps i.e. After Effects.

As much as PPro2 is capable of editing high def out of the box it's generally accepted that the 'only way to do it' is by using Cineform's Aspect HD product. And based on my own findings using v1.5 this is most definitely true.

Premiere Pro 2 should get installed tonight if I find time to do it. I'm told that Production Studio can take a couple of hours to install so I've been waiting for a free evening.

hound · #8 (**permalink**) 03-07-2006, 09:26 PM

Im lookign to get a newer faster comp... where did you pick yours up? website?

Or like I am planning on doing did you just build it yourself.

Alan Mills · #9 (**permalink**) 03-07-2006, 09:32 PM

I got mine built forme by the vendor. When I had this rig built it had some some hgardware in it that can prove temporamental with other kit so best to have a rig designed around it.

I'm not sure I would do this again though.