Graphics Card for Video Editing 2

[Jeff1994]

Now that I've gotten my PC back up and running (see thread602-843396), I am looking to upgrade the graphics card. I'm not a gamer, but I will be doing lots of video editing in the near future. (baby on the way!) Any reccomendations out there for a card geared towards video editing? I'm not on a DreamWorks budget, but I want to get a decent card. I have a DV camera, so analog inputs aren't a neccessity, but they would be nice so I can convert my old VHS tapes at some point.

Jeff C.
A+, Net+, MCP, MCSA

If all else fails, read the directions.

 

[paparazi]

Jeff1994
Look for a ViVo edition (video in, video out) of a graphics card in your price bracket.
Personal favourate is the Leadtek A350 TDH My ViVo (FX5900 )or If DX9 isn't too important the older but still very powerful geforce 4 4200Ti Leadtek A280 LE TD My ViVo.
Perhaps a Radeon 9800SE All in Wonder (one that is soft modable to re-enable all the internal pipelines that are usually disabled (Hercules 3D Prophet)
Martin

Start by questioning and soon you will be anwering.
So please take but remember to return and give when you can.

 

[cdogg]

It depends on the type of effects you're looking to apply and how much you're willing to spend. For basic effects (fading, cutting/pasting, audio editing) like in home videos, the video card won't make much difference to you. It's speed is irrevelant. In such cases, all you should really focus on is getting a firewire port installed and making sure you have plenty of hard drive space.

If you plan on doing a lot of editing and want professional results and/or time-saving options, then you'll want a decent Matrox card that can apply effects in realtime (like the x.10 or x.100)

But until we know what you plan on doing, there's not a whole lot to recommend.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[CreamCake]

I've thought about E-baying and older matrox g450 TV for some home captures. If you can find one with the editing sw included, it's supposedly pretty good quality analog capture.
A firewire add-on card and the right SW and away you go!

I'm using Adobe Premiere 6.5 for editing, and it's a bit of a learning curve, but unless you feel like using Final Cut pro on a mac, I think it's the most pwerful Windows editing sw for pro-sumers.

 

[rad89]

The radeon 9800 is a good selections for Top line. I feel that ATI makes great graphics, Even a 128mb 7500 radeon would do the trick and inexpensive.

But like previously said You should get yourself Firewire Much faster and more efficent when capuring the Video. The most important thing is the capture (Frame rate, performance, DPI) for the quality. The less frames dropped the better. (ram will help with this.)

Rick Dean
CNET
rad89@rogers.com

 

[dakota81]

Take some advice, don't buy ATI or nVidia products for video recording. nVidia's vivo cards are definately sub-par quality with very poor software programs available for recording (unless you're willing to spend even more money); and at best nVidia's drivers are riddled with Macrovision which will render your vhs recordings unwatchable (white bar across 2/3 of the screen).

ATI's products are no good either. Had a TV Wonder PCI (full version, not the VE version) and the reception was fuzzy with horizontal lines across the screen. Tried out a 9000 all-in-wonder and after a week the sound kept fading in and out as well as the video brightness kept pulsating. Traded it for another 9000 aiw & that is still blurry at best.

For what's good, Hauppauge makes excellent PVR cards with high quality recordings, just that their software is kinda confusing at first. There are some other companies who make cards out of the same chip the Hauppauge cards use, though I can't think of them right now.

For the DV camera, pretty much any standard firewire port will get you the video no problem (assuming the DV camera has a firewire port built-in). One the video is on the computer all you need is a good software program to do the editing, not a fancy graphics card.

 

[cdogg]

Actually, I second the Hauppauge recommendation for DVR (Digital Video Recording). I've only heard good things about them in both Linux and Windows environments.

Dakota also reinforces my original point - editing video that is already on your hard drive does not require a fancy video card. If your DV camera/camcorder has a firewire output, then there's is no need to invest in capture card to transfer its video.

If, however you plan on spending a lot of time editing, you might want to consider buying a Matrox x.10 or x.100 which is a hefty investment ($600-$1000) but can save you days or weeks of rendering time on many advanced effects.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[Jeff1994]

Thanks for the info - I do already have a FireWire port, so that is the route I'll probably go. BTW, has anyone used the Plextor ConvertX for converting VHS to DVD?

Jeff C.
A+, Net+, MCP, MCSA

If all else fails, read the directions.