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Video Editing
- Thread starter Mojak
- Start date
You basically need a Computer with a fast processor and a very large amount of hard drive space.
Pentium 4 is recommended
40GB hard drive should be the minimum
Greater then 128MB of RAM. Especially if using Windows 2000.
A Fast CD Writer.
An MPEG decoder Card. (I may need to get back to you on that one)
You should have a decent Video Card, but it probably won’t make much difference.
This is not the complete list. But you should get the picture -----------------
MK
Everybody should use AntiVirus! Are you protected now?
Pentium 4 is recommended
40GB hard drive should be the minimum
Greater then 128MB of RAM. Especially if using Windows 2000.
A Fast CD Writer.
An MPEG decoder Card. (I may need to get back to you on that one)
You should have a decent Video Card, but it probably won’t make much difference.
This is not the complete list. But you should get the picture -----------------
MK
Everybody should use AntiVirus! Are you protected now?
Guest_imported
New member
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
i do viddeo-editing by myself too, and first i used a quite good pc. (amd 1.4ghz, lots of ram and nice motherboard / firewirecard / graphiccard and so on).
but probably that setup is fast in rendering and exporting, it also works fine to preview fx and dissolves, but my projects growed and needed a rally save and reliable computer to work. so i bought a g4 powermac, wich is absolutely the best thing if you want to do serious video-editing. (and it's not much more expensive than a upperclass-pc...)
but probably that setup is fast in rendering and exporting, it also works fine to preview fx and dissolves, but my projects growed and needed a rally save and reliable computer to work. so i bought a g4 powermac, wich is absolutely the best thing if you want to do serious video-editing. (and it's not much more expensive than a upperclass-pc...)
- Thread starter
- #5
scottyjohn
Technical User
Are you going down the Digital route or are you staying in S-VHS. We ended up staying with S-VHS as this keeps the cost down and the quality is still quite good.
We used a Pentium III 900 with 128mb of RAM and Pinnacle systems Studio DC10+ capture card. We captured and exported with the cards bundled software and then edited with Adobe Premier. We had a Voodoo 3 graphics card at the time so you can see that It wasnt a very high spec machine, still did the job though!
John
We used a Pentium III 900 with 128mb of RAM and Pinnacle systems Studio DC10+ capture card. We captured and exported with the cards bundled software and then edited with Adobe Premier. We had a Voodoo 3 graphics card at the time so you can see that It wasnt a very high spec machine, still did the job though!
John
Proshooter
Technical User
You've got a few options, you can by a ready-to-go system which is preconfigured with everything you need (most expensive). Or you can modify an off the shelf system by adding a video capture card (like the Matrox RT2500 or Pinnicle) and perhaps some big fast drives. Or you can build a system from the ground up. The last option is the least expensive, but adds the headache of installations, configurations and troubleshooting. Plus as you are finding out now, figuring out what components to get.
I recommend starting out by defining your goal. I am building a system to feed in video from multiple sources (miniDV and SVHS), editing using Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop, sound editing with another program (yet to be determined) and outputing as MPeg2 to a DVD-RW and/or video tape and/or streaming video.
I start with determining the motherboard and any special add-in cards (like the RT2500) then choose a processor compatable with the board and memory (remember you can buy a processor a step or two below the cutting edge (most expensive) and upgrade later). Same with memory, 512mb now is probably fine, go up to 2Gb when the prices fall and you are up and running at a profit.
Next you'll need to look at hard drives which should be at the very least big 7200rpm ATAs and ideally a RAID of 10,000rpm Cheetahs or similar. You will need a suitable video card, monitor, CD drive, floppie, keybord, etc. And of course, don't forget to select a case which will provide adequate space, power and cooling.
Then all you need is a ton of softwaer and enough material to edit something worth all of this trouble. Good Luck!
John
I recommend starting out by defining your goal. I am building a system to feed in video from multiple sources (miniDV and SVHS), editing using Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop, sound editing with another program (yet to be determined) and outputing as MPeg2 to a DVD-RW and/or video tape and/or streaming video.
I start with determining the motherboard and any special add-in cards (like the RT2500) then choose a processor compatable with the board and memory (remember you can buy a processor a step or two below the cutting edge (most expensive) and upgrade later). Same with memory, 512mb now is probably fine, go up to 2Gb when the prices fall and you are up and running at a profit.
Next you'll need to look at hard drives which should be at the very least big 7200rpm ATAs and ideally a RAID of 10,000rpm Cheetahs or similar. You will need a suitable video card, monitor, CD drive, floppie, keybord, etc. And of course, don't forget to select a case which will provide adequate space, power and cooling.
Then all you need is a ton of softwaer and enough material to edit something worth all of this trouble. Good Luck!
John
- Thread starter
- #8
scottyjohn
Technical User
If you go to the Pinnacle website at and choose the video card you want from the drop down on the left, it gives you a full list of compatability on motherboards Graphics cards etc.
I had a simple Liteon cd-rom, Voodoo 3 Graphics Card, and 128 mb Ram and Pentium III 900.
I am at the moment helping my mates son set up a machine for video editing and he ahs a machine with the following spec which seems to be working really well! The specs are
onboard intel 3d Graphics
128mb Ram
633MHZ pentium 3
15GB Hard disk for OS
10GB Hard Disk for capture
Pinnacle Studio DC10 Plus Card
On Board sound
Win XP Pro
Not sure what the motherboard is but it seems to be runnin sweet.
The new studio software with the pinnacle card seems to be a vast improvement on the one I used with a lot better options for saving to .avi, .mpg, realvideo
Hope this helps
Cheers
John
I had a simple Liteon cd-rom, Voodoo 3 Graphics Card, and 128 mb Ram and Pentium III 900.
I am at the moment helping my mates son set up a machine for video editing and he ahs a machine with the following spec which seems to be working really well! The specs are
onboard intel 3d Graphics
128mb Ram
633MHZ pentium 3
15GB Hard disk for OS
10GB Hard Disk for capture
Pinnacle Studio DC10 Plus Card
On Board sound
Win XP Pro
Not sure what the motherboard is but it seems to be runnin sweet.
The new studio software with the pinnacle card seems to be a vast improvement on the one I used with a lot better options for saving to .avi, .mpg, realvideo
Hope this helps
Cheers
John
evildoughboi
Technical User
well i dun prefer pentium 4 *dats juss me wit facts i heard bout p4* so stick wit amd its much cheaper. u sud do ur homework on video cards since some has copyprotections against video input *inputing from a vcr dats playin a copyrighted video* such as my ati all in wonder radeon 32mb. depends on if u have a camcorder, dv dingys *dunno much bout those.* juss shop around and see wuhs out there. and if ur interested get a dvd player too. can rip movies from it and put it on a cd *not readable on dvd players, etc, cuz in comp format, quality pretty good, sound, only 2 channels, highly compromised if u a music phanatic *cant spell dat well* oh yea go to and go to downloads. check out the progs they have there. they have alot, sud be adequate for most people. g'd luck
Guest_imported
New member
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
I use a dv500+ on a asus bx board w/p3 600 and it works well. You will get a way better rig - go with a 'rock solid' intel setup: might be nice to wait for the intel mobo that supports ddr ram. Avoid AMD and cutting edge technology!
Other tips:
-lots of ram
-maxtor 40gig ata133 drive rocks
-norton ghost (or drive image) allows easy + quick reinstalling of 'clean' os config when troubleshooting or upgrading cap card drivers
-stick w/dv format
-use the user forums
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