Need a new computer - i think.. Advice?

SPZ said:
Scratchpatch, that's very, very strange. You're saying your shooting SD, which means DV in the Canon XLH-a1. Your G4, theoretically, could edit multi-cam no problem! There's something wrong with your G4, mate!
Click to expand...
That is odd. I'm using a dual 1gig w/ mirrored doors with 1.75 gigs and have never had that problem with multiclips. Maybe your processor is going bad, but the processor speed isn't the problem. I'm even doing some HDV stuff with little hassle.

I see little difference in the transcoding time between my 1 gig Mac and my 2.0 Macbook. But keep in mind I haven't done any HDV features yet so I'm just speaking based on the clips I bought in and have played around with. I will say if you have the money get a DTE that will change your clips to quicktime files. I want one. It would save you so much time. You should have no problem.

-Nate
 
SPZ said:
Ok, 4 cameras. Never attempted that. What speed is your internal HDD of the Powerbook? Is it 5400 RPM? You're running 4 streams of 25mbit/sec footage at the same time, running from the same HDD...

Have you tried using an external Firewire 800 drive with the footage and see if the project runs better? Try a Lacie Quadra, for example, and see if it works. (yes, terrible reputation, but I've used them for years, and still (knock on wood) had no problems whatsoever.)
Click to expand...

do you have final cut pro? if so, highlight 4 clips in your bin, right click and choose 'make multi-clip' to see what i'm talking about.

i don't know how many rpm is it or where to find that.... and i do have an external harddrive being used as the scratch disk.
 
sorry, but are you guys sure you know what i'm talking about with multi-clip editing? see picture below. those 4 videos on the left are playing simutaneously, and which ever one is selected at the time is also playing in the canvas. i can click on which ever one i want to be displayed. it's running these 4 videos at a time that has been my ONLY problem EVER.

multi.jpg
 
scratchpatchfilms said:
sorry, but are you guys sure you know what i'm talking about with multi-clip editing? see picture below. those 4 videos on the left are playing simutaneously, and which ever one is selected at the time is also playing in the canvas. i can click on which ever one i want to be displayed. it's running these 4 videos at a time that has been my ONLY problem EVER.
Click to expand...
But a highend G4 should be able to handle this in SD shouldn't it. I mean what were people using before the Intel Macs to do this? And I'm pretty sure people were doing it.

-Nate
 
Nathyn said:
But a highend G4 should be able to handle this in SD shouldn't it. I mean what were people using before the Intel Macs to do this? And I'm pretty sure people were doing it.

-Nate
Click to expand...

That's what I think... I'll probably try this later if I have time on my old G4 1.67ghz (don't hold your breath though). Been ages since I did multi-clip. (Yes, Scratchpatch, I work in FCP every day :) )

The speed of your HDD is very important for multi clip projects. Why? Because its not much of the processor working, but the speed the disk reads and writes the files its using: when I say 4 25mbit streams simultaneously, it means your HDD is reading four or more 25mbit per seconds files at the same time and displaying them.

For example, an uncompressed file should not be very processor heavy, but you can't play it mainly due to HDD speed. It does not have the read/write speed to manage such file.
 
i think everythings getting to detailed. if you want to buy a new computer, (which i would recommend) then do it, it will make you happy inside and youll be working more efficiently.

i literally just spent over 4500 on a setup here at my office, and while its over kill to be typing this out on a 30" monitor and i was doing the same work in the same time on my 2.8ghz iMac, im very happy with my upgrade, and life is just generally better :D

btw: theres a million alison parkers on facebook, which is you?
 
yeah, i'm gonna get a new one for sure. i'm really just trying to make sure that i'm looking for the right specifications to do what my current computer is lacking. i think i'll be okay tho.

as for facebook!!! well i am in the Vancouver network and my profile picture is the same as my avatar on here, if that helps!!!
 
5400 Rpm is pushing the limit for multiclips. How about your external drive? Firewire or USB? Notice that USB is SLOWER on G4 and G5 macs than firewire. And make sure the drive is at least 7200 Rpm.

My suggestion? Get a drive with Firewire 800 and that works at 7200 RPM. try transfering your files to it and then edit a multi clip sequence. The HDD drive ends up being an investment that you will not regret since it will serve for backup,

And, If you have the budget, its obvioulsy better to edit in a new, more powerful computer. Just make sure your problem is not due to HDD speed vs CPU performance. An Imac has much fewer connection ports than a Macpro. Actualy, does the Imac has any FIrewire 800 ports?
 
Just three points I'd like to add (general points)

(1) Always use TWO harddrives for rendering (one for the source DV, and one for the target render file) this speeds renders by a big factor

(2) Use the fastest RPM HDD you can get with the fattest bandwidth.

(3) When viewing "multi-clips" (depending on your NLE) use a "preview quality" render option for playback, there is no need to play all the clips at there Full quality, this will have a massive impact on performance.
 
thanks for all the advice guys. i bought a used mac pro tonight. it's got 10.5 GB of ram, Dual 2.3 GHZ powerpc g5 processors , 750GB Hard drive, etc.. it's so awesome.

funny thing is (and you'll already know this if you saw my post in the FCP category), when i hooked up my external hard drive to it, opened my FCP project, and tried multi clipping... DROPPED FRAMES!!! yikes!!

well how could this be? my new computer is a BEAST!! ok, i'm not that tech savvy I guess. I experimented with moving the clips to my hard drive instead of the xternal. then tried multi clipping again. BINGO! no dropped frames!

so, sheesh. i assumes this means the external hard drive was my problem all along!??! my external is 500GB by the way altho i don't know any other stats about it.

Anhar, thank you for the tip on using two hard drives. i dont really know how to set that up tho.. i know how to choose my scratch disk. should this be my hard drive now? it was external before..

anyways i think i'm gonna be up really late playing with my new toy..

:)

desktop.jpg
 
Last edited:
... That wasn't the best purchase you cold go for...That computer is on the way of becoming obsolete... Snow leopard- new OS from Apple- is rumored to drop Power PC support, which means any software that comes after snow leopard can become a problem for you... And that machine can't do Prores HQ edits, and its PCI-X, which is a dead architecture- no more new graphics cards support it.

Well, its better than your G4, no doubt. You should've researched a bit more! The Only G5 I would recommend would be a quad g5 dual 2.5. But you should check for any CPU liquid leaks from those!

Sorry to sound so harsh, but, man, that was a very impulsive decision!
 
Nic Aragon said:
what did ya pay for it if i may ask. thats a LOT of ram
Click to expand...

no kidding! i had just upgraded my powerbook to 2GB ram and now i have 10.5!?!? i probably don't even deserve it ha ha.

i paid $2000. it also came with tons of software which was already installed like the whole cs3 suite and final cut studio among others.
 
SPZ said:
... That wasn't the best purchase you cold go for...That computer is on the way of becoming obsolete... Snow leopard- new OS from Apple- is rumored to drop Power PC support, which means any software that comes after snow leopard can become a problem for you... And that machine can't do Prores HQ edits, and its PCI-X, which is a dead architecture- no more new graphics cards support it.

Well, its better than your G4, no doubt. You should've researched a bit more! The Only G5 I would recommend would be a quad g5 dual 2.5. But you should check for any CPU liquid leaks from those!

Sorry to sound so harsh, but, man, that was a very impulsive decision!
Click to expand...

ya. i am very impulsive. and i don't understand this stuff man!!! gimme a break!!!

anyways i'm happy with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top