Netbook for editing?

[David W. Richardson]

I have an older version of Premiere -- version 6.0. Not Pro. No AfterEffects. Just Premiere 6.0.

There are times when I'd like to be able to take my editing with me. All of my project stuff is stored on an external USB drive.

I've been looking at these new Netbooks -- specifically the Acer Aspire One.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9093474&type=product&id=1218028074501

I know it would do better with more memory, etc. But I have edited with Premiere 6.0 on a desktop PC that had a 1.8 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM. And it ran Windows ME. A bit slow, but it worked.

So is there any reason why I can't do the same with this Netbook and an external hard drive? Any thoughts?

[Steve2012]

Theres no firewire port on that machine you linkd to & the HD rpm is 5400 (I read somewhere that 5400rpm Hard drives suck for editing).

Try to up you expense limit & get one for about 750.00 & you should be ok.

That one your looking at will give you headaches (you'll want at leat 2.2 ghz)



Steve

[David W. Richardson]

I should have been more clear. I would do the capturing on my main editing PC. The captured footage, along with the Premiere project file, would be stored on an external USB drive. I would connect that USB drive to the Netbook for editing purposes.

I don't believe the 5400 rpm hard drive is a problem, since that would only be the program drive. From what I've read -- and also based on my own experience -- a 5400 rpm drive is fine for that. It's the drive with the captured video on it that needs to be 7200 rpm, which the USB drive is.

I've edited on a 1.8 GHz PC before, using this same version of Premiere. So I believe that wouldn't be a problem.

Understand, this isn't intended to be my main editing platform. I already have a PC for that. This is simply to allow me to do some editing when I'm on the road somewhere, continuing to work on projects that I've had in process for awhile.

Thanks for the response!

[MasterP]

I wouldn't recommend it - you'll be throwing money at a half-assed solution that'll bring you more hassle down the line.

8.9" of screen is going to be painful to edit with - even on premiere
The atom CPU isn't as fast as you think it'll be - remember that it also has to process some graphics too.

You can edit on a 5400rpm drive, adding a 7200rpm one over USB isn't going to be an improvement - the USB speed will limit read/write speeds



I picked up a second-hand 15" P4 tablet-notebook with a 120GB HDD, 2GB RAM and an integrated nVidia graphics chip for about the same price as that - it not only lets me edit in premiere (CS3), I can even do onlining work in after effects as well as photoshop, illustrator as well as onlocation - and it's a tablet PC too (office apps, surfing the web, movies, games)
I mainly work on my workstation, but when I'm not at home - this puppy's worth it's weight in gold... and it fits in my camera bag too :)

Might be worth trawling Craigslist and eBay?

[David W. Richardson]

It's not a matter of cost. It's a matter of size. The Netbooks are just so darned small and light! I've got a Toshiba laptop that I could use for mobile editing, but it's heavy and large to be hauling around. I'm looking for a small, lighweight, more inconspicuous solution.

I do know that the 8.9" screen will be a challenge. Just trying to think outside the box here.

I use nothing but USB 2.0 external drives to capture to on my editing PC, and they've always worked flawlessly. I don't know why this would be any different.

MasterP, you make a good point about the CPU. Have to give that some thought.

I guess if it wasn't sufficient, I could always find another use for the Netbook.

[qazwsx]

i've seen somewhere the atom n270 used in most netbooks is comparable to a pentium 3.

there could be a netbook version of the atom 330 (dual core diamondville) coming out. also later next year the pineview/lincroft dual cores with hyper threading should be ready.

[MasterP]

Once the dual core atom models hit shelves, it'll be more of a viable option for sure
(and I hear ya on the inconspicuous factor - they're pretty damn dinky)