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View Full Version : Need help: Post Production solution for 1080p.



ethereal
01-17-2008, 03:56 PM
Firstly, i'm sorry if i've actually posted on the wrong part of the forum, its just that i'm on a time crunch, and so far searching every minute or so for an answer hasn't yielded any results... i apologize in advance if there's a thread addressing this already that i've overlooked.

So, the short version is that i'm about to buy the HVX, and a sizable amount of work has to be done in 1080p. What i'm having a hard time understanding is what sort of editing system need be used to work with 1080p. I was pretty confident that a new mac pro with 4 gigs of memory and the nVidia 8800 GT would suffice, at least for now, because all it has to be used for is to edit and spit out HD stock footage, but i was hoping that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to upgrade it into a decent post rig for my own purposes. (Joining film school this year, and have a line up of documentaries and all to do which could benefit by being shot in 1080p)

other turnkey systems, or even just video cards, decent ones at least, seem to start around $ 4000...

am i missing something? because either a) my idea of what a mac is capable of is way off, or b) the other systems are a bit of an overkill for this camera, or c) both; at this point, buying an editing system will be expensive, because it will be under utilized, pretty much because the HVX's features out perform what cameras in this range can do, but not the cameras those post production systems were designed for. i.e. the 1080p is a mixed blessing: the quality if offers comes cheap, but the hardware needed to handle it is fairly expensive...

whatever the answer, i have a feeling i'm gonna feel like a moron at the end of this...

anyway, i'm on a time crunch, like i said, and i need a reply soon, because i was hoping to pick up the camera from B&H while i'm still in the states over the next few days, and go back with a Mac Pro if need be. Currently i have a PC with 4 gigs of RAM, the 768mb nVidia 8800 GTX, with an 2.8gHz Intel Quad Core 6600 (i think that's the number on the chip, but i'm not sure)...

... how about it? any takers?

David Jimerson
01-17-2008, 04:27 PM
Your current machine is just fine. There's no need to drop a pile of coin on a new one . . .unless you just want to anyway. But if you're considering because you think you have to, you don't.

The current editing apps which have the best integration with P2 are Edius Broadcast and Premiere Pro CS3, both of which your machine is more than adequate to run.

ethereal
01-17-2008, 05:38 PM
Your current machine is just fine. There's no need to drop a pile of coin on a new one . . .unless you just want to anyway. But if you're considering because you think you have to, you don't.

The current editing apps which have the best integration with P2 are Edius Broadcast and Premiere Pro CS3, both of which your machine is more than adequate to run.

speedy reply my man. appreciate it.

that's a relief... actually i need to pick up another pc or Mac anyway. but that definitely takes the pressure off. I have something lined up, not big, but something that i need the 1080p footage for. the current pc i have is going to stay with me and I expect to be using it for a bunch of things, and until i am able to use the Mac and Final Cut Studio to such a capacity that I am able to apply it effectively, i expect to be working entirely on my PC. As i understand it, trying to integrate a Windows PC and Mac system while working on a project is a bit of a hassle, one that i don't need right now...

either way i have to buy another pc, or mac, whatever the case may be, but this time i'm trying to do it with some amount of... umm... forethought? yea. well choosing a Mac is a plus for me, since i have to work with a contact in the industry here, who's also running a Mac, and sending 1080p footage, (which i suppose i'l have to put into an external hard drive and courier back and forth) would work a whole lot better if i'm using something that not only he's using, but is pretty much industry standard.

long term, it seems to be a good option... just wondering if there are better ones instead of the Mac...

ProfessorU
01-18-2008, 01:42 AM
You can get a PC laptop to dump footage from P2 cards, starting around $300. It seems like PCs are the cheaper and more reliable at least for dumping. Mac fanboys will defend their platform forever, but I'm happy with PC workflow from beginning to end on this cam.

If you're using both, I have one word for you: fat32.