Building HD work station around the HVX

N

nomorechecks

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I'm currently building an HD work station based around my HVX200 (repeating the title I guess...) I've read on many sites what it is I'd NEED if I were going to make an HD computer... but for some reason I think I've been reading the wrong sites. Is a Blackmagic HD Decklink TRULY necessary for the HVX200 (for some reason I think it's not). Before I go off and do something stupid like waste a thousand dollars on something I do not really need (I've been working min. wage jobs for the money to build this machine so I want to spend wisely), I'd like to know what you guys think would make a good HD computer based around this beautiful camera.

I'm planning on making a couple of short films and short documentaries, etc and perhaps down the line make a feature film I can actually present in a theater setting.

Any help would be great!
 
You need to monitor your HD. Now, how you do that depends upon you platform, your needs and your budget. Intensity or Intesity Pro is great to monitor to HDMI television. I use Matrox MXO. If you also require SDI capture capabilities, then you need an SDI card. If you wish the highest possible quality of monitoring, you need a card with SDI out to dedicated SDI monitor (and I still prefer CRTs to LCDs but then I'm just a cranky old man).

But .... rant coming... I can't say it strongly enough. You cannot accurately monitor video through your computer monitor.

Now, if you are talking films, documentaries, etc.... the very minimal configuration I would have would be some form of device to output to SDI monitor.

Best starting point, IMHO, is the Panasonic LH1700. It is both a very decent LCD and can be taken in the field for monitoring from the HVX. Double duty and there is currently a $250 rebate on it.

Ned Soltz
 
But I also feel SDI isn't for me. I'm not too interested in top of the line equipment, simply enough to have a good final product I can show in a theater. Like everyone else, I have aspirations to send my work to local and perhaps national festivals. My needs fit that of the "guerilla filmmaker" I suppose.
 
I am about to build a similar machine but a Mac, mine will cost about 15K and I am not doing film output but HD. Film output is 2k, 2048x1556 resolution and requires some serious hardware. You will output the 2k cineons to a drive for delivery to a film out house.

Brian
 
While we're at it, I'd appreciate some answers to my original question, which restated is: What do I need in an HD video editing computer (PC) to be able to make and output a feature length film to show in a theater setting via digital projection?
 
Build yourself a PC with a

Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 Processor
A Motherboard with a SATA2 RAID Controller and at least 1066Mhz FSB (cause the cPU is 1066) I like the Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6 Motherboard.

if you go 64-bit, get 8GB of RAM, 32-bit, 3GB RAM (that board supports DDR3-1333)

A PCI Express Graphics card with the NVIDIA Quadro NVS440 chipset (can handle 1080p Digital, and 2048 x 1536 Analalog).

2 off 22" (or 24") wide LCD Monitors.

1 off 250GB SATA2 for your operating system

Get extra Western Digital SATAII drives, say 500GB each, let's say 4.

If you only have 2 extra drives:

If you want performance set them up as RAID-0, if you want redundancy set it up as RAID-1

If you have 3 or 4 extra drives set it up as RAID-5, best of both worlds.
or even RAID-0+1

Blue Ray, or HD-DVD Writer of choice.

At least a 600W PSU and a case to handle all this.

If you have a HD plasma or HD Projector that is calibrated, you can go out with the http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/

Thanks,
derrick
 
Calibrated Monitor - Help

Calibrated Monitor - Help

I've been working on my system for a while now, but have been holding off on purchasing a card and production monitor... mostly due to price. The Blackmagic Intensity looks like a sweet solution at pricepoint... while SDI would be much better, the Intensity's HDMI connection would at least allow me proper monitoring.

Do you guys have any suggestions for an inexpensive calibrated LCD or plasma? The Panasonic HD production monitor's a sweet, but awfully pricey for us right now...
 
There are people cutting HVX footage on less. Question that really matters is: How much do you want to spend?
 
Having just reviewed Intensity Pro for print, I can really speak about it with a tremendous degree of enthusiasm. It does the job very nicely for very little money. Calibration does remain the issue. My suggestion is just a reasonably decent quality LCD or Plasma set. Then, using a combination of the TV's controls plus a wratten blue filter, try to calibrate as closely as you can do the bars. It is not a high end solution. But it is one which will be a very adequate starting point.

Ned
 
Hey Ned, according to Blackmagic's website, the Intensity supports 1080i 59.94 and 720p 59.94 (NTSC)... what happens if you're editing 1080p for example?

Do you guys have any specific suggestions for monitors?

JM
 
Definitely a quad core is the way to go. What do you want to edit with? Check the requirements for the software you want to use... to get a starting point.
 
Intensity won't support progressive capture. I have played progressive footage through it with no problem. Working in with the HVX, you won't be using the Intensity to acquire anyway. You would use it as a display option, and it should work fine.

While I monitor through my Matrox MXO and really prefer the MXO, I am sad that I have to pack up my review Intensity Pro and send it back this week. It is a very useful accessory.

Ned
 
I disagree with Derrick as his post is a bit too specific. The STEPS are:

1) Find yourself a good, really geeky friend that has actually built computers before. (Run down to CompUSA and find someone who works in the backroom. Challenge his manhood by daring him to build you a monster computer.)

2) Choose your NLE software. Different software packages have vastly different requirements, so go to the website of the software you want to use and download the minimum requirements.

3) Design your workflow. There are several gotcha's when working with 24P (like there is no such thing as 1080 24P in DVCProHD, that's a biggie), so you will have to figure out all the steps from the camera to finished 24P 'reels' and design any additions into your system. Your workflow should also support offsite backups of some kind.

4) Have your geek friend design your system.

Your system should be quiet, as it will be at your knee for hours at a time. Go for the new, lower wattage CPUs.

DO NOT USE motherboard based RAID!!! It is not a hardware solution and is not dependable. Insist on a SATA RAID solution from Adaptec, it will cost more but it save your a$$ in case of a drive failure. Raid 5 or 6 would be the best way to go, but you will take a 1 drive 'hit' in storage space for RAID 5 and a 2 drive 'hit' for RAID 6. You will not need this when you are just doing shorts, but plan for it and get yourself a big enough, quiet computer case that can handle a lot of drives. (I love my Antec P180b). While you are just doing shorts, get a pair of external drives and backup your content / rotate them to a friend's house (eSATA or Firewire).

I have an entire workflow for Avid that uses DVRack and 2 computers: a capture computer and the NLE computer. I'll do a writeup on it soon and probably post a link to it in the Avid NLE forum.

Also, you do not need a pair of monitors. A single 24" monitor from Dell or Gateway wll be fine. The Gamma on a computer monitor is nothing like what you would see on a TV or if you got it printed to film, so test your workflow before you start spending production dollars. For example, my video card has component output, so jacking to a quality TV is no problem. My Westinghouse 47" TV also has DVI input, so I can do color correction at home (to a certain extent anyway). I also produced a clip from my film and sent it out to be printed (DVFilm.com), but I have not had the time to view it yet.

Bob
 
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Bob, you got my production model almost on the nose. :) The only thing I would disagree with is that a second monitor is worth the investment, especially if you're going to use after effects or something similar. Plus the monitors will be worth more than the computer in eight years.
 
My NLE is actually unsupported for Avid, which is what I run but I did my research and verified that the components I selected would actually work.

I have a top of the line AMD dual core AM2 CPU (unsupported) that I chose for power consumption and 64 bit processing. I do not do 64 bit now, but who knows what this CPU will be doing 5 years from now. I do not believe that any popular NLE software is multi threaded, so going beyond a dual core CPU seems to be a bit of a waste of money, and actually counter productive if you are giving up clock speed. My ASUS motherboard is maxed out at 4GB, and my memory clock speed is slightly pushed. I have a Ninja CPU cooler that I ducted to the case fans, and I put an aftermarket cooling fan on the GPU to quiet it down as well. I love the Western Digital SE16 500 GB drives, they are big and quiet and I have no problems with them. I also have a SATA drive bay, that is a chassis with a swing out door that I can load / unload plane old SATD drives whenever I want. (I treat drives like tape, my original footage gets loaded into the NLE and offsited).

I have a much less powerful system for capturing (video and audio), so a few think you would expect to find on my NLE are actually not there.

These are just a feew of the components that are on my system. Depending on what you run and what you do with it you system will differ.

Bob
 
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