Equipment Needed for DV Editing, ala PC World
Equipment Needed for DV Editing, ala PC World- special effects and filmmaking
For those of you looking to get into Digital Video, here is a recap of some of what PC World recently recommended for systems intended to edit DV and add FX. This is without mentioning specific brand names (except Intel’s Pentium), just equipment capabilities.
“Newbies” are those wanting to do basic editing of home movies, “Indies” users are independent film makers like us. These are my terms, not theirs.
CPU
Newbie: Pentium MMX 233 Mhz
Indie: P III 500+ Mhz
RAM
Newbie: 64-128Mb (depends on editing software)
Indie: 384–768Mb
CD ROM
Newbie: Any
Indie: CD-RW or DVD-RAM
Capture Card
Newbie: Any IEEE 1394 (FireWire, I.Link)
Indie: IEEE 1394 SCSI for adding dedicated HD
Graphics Card
Newbie: PCI w/8Mb RAM
Indie: AGP w/32Mb RAM + 2nd output for monitor
Hard Drive
Newbie: Ultra DMA/33 10-15Gb free space
Indie: Second dedicated Ultra DMA/66 or a Fast/wide SCSI 25-40Gb
Monitor
Newbie: 17”
Indie: 19-21”
Sound Card
Newbie: Any Sound Blaster
Indie: Card w/advanced MIDI, positional audio, & digital in/out
Backup Tape Drive for archiving
Newbie: None
Indie: 20-40Gb/tape
For software, they debated the relative ease or difficulty versus power of features for: Ulead VideoStudio 4, Studio DC10 (& other Manufacturer ware), MGI Videowave III, Adobe Premiere 5.1 (&RT), and Avid Cinema. I'm betting the favorites around here are Premiere & Avid
One magazine's opinion. 
------------------
Jeff F - Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
Gracias, Jeff. This might come in handy (of course there weren't any prices on this info, but I probably can't afford any of it at the moment, anyways)
WHOA!!!! i have never in my life heard a person state that Avid Cinema would be their favorite...DANG MAN!!! Premiere and Media Studio!
and DANG again! Where does 256 meg ram go in?the processor hard drive vid card stuff i understand but how many people you know with a DVD-RAM and 768 meg RAM... I have never felt so pathetic! I barely passed newbie...but am no where near indie!
Media Studio Pro is indeed mentioned quite often here, moreso than Avid. However, I have seen more than one person here state that Avid is their preference.
And I know what you mean - I am salivating over upgrades to my system, but a bill always seems to pop up right when I want to buy a new component. My curent motherboard will only support 384 Megs of SDRAM, but that will change when I upgrade it.
------------------
Jeff F - Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
Actually lots of people need those type systems, here is what my video box consists of:
piii 866
512MB RAM
30 gig ide hard drive (for system)
u2w lvd atto scsi card
18 gig cheetah 10000rpm lvd drive X2
CDRW
LS120
Elsa Gloria II Video Card
Pinnacle dc1000 w/dv option
Sound blaster live platinum
21 viewsonic monitor
You would not believe the quality difference between it and my old system.
pii400 w dc10+ 256mb etc....
System DOES make a big difference, however I think I had more fun with my old cruddy system! I was less of a perfectionist.
------------------
Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most.
-Ozzy Osborne
(via Hackers)
How does Final Cut Pro rate?
The software was mentioned breifly with regards to being bundled with capture cards in a seperate article describing the various aspects of digital video editing. Final Cut Pro was not mentioned.
------------------
Jeff F - Moderator
Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
Anything mentioned about Draco Casablanca, Kron and other similar editing systems?
Jeff, you mention Ulead software's Video Studio. I have and it is good, but only for capturing. Editing is soo much easier, not to mention soo much better with Premiere. I also have Ulead Software's Video Express. That is a good program for editing and is very cheap, around $80, as compared to the $900 od Premeier. For newbie's, I would say that Ulead software's line of products is the best and most affordable way to go. For those who can afford however, I say go for Premiere and good computers. Then you are top of the line.
------------------
"May the Force be with you."
All times are ET (US)