Building a system around Avid Xpress

disco_al

disco_al

Member
Hi everyone.

I'm about to buy/build a myself a brand new editing machine, and i've decided that i'm gonna start out using Avid Xpress DV, as it's not too expensive. I'm thinking though that I should build my machine capable of running Avid Xpress Pro (& Pro HD), so that when i can afford to upgrade to it, i'll be able to so without the need to upgrade my PC (or not much). This should also mean that I'll be able to run Avid Xpress DV easily won a system that is capable of running Xpress Pro, and this sounds very appealing to me as I really wanna have a smooth, stable & reliable time when editing. Does this sound like a good or bad idea to anyone?

Does anybody have any prolonged experience of using Xpress DV?
If so, is it good? Is it smooth & reliable? (I used it in college for one project, and it seemed pretty good)
What are the big differences between Xpress DV & Xpress Pro?

Also, what i really need help with, is what new hardware to get inside my new PC. I'll paste in what Avid reccomends (as a minimum) for both Xpress DV and Xpress Pro HD (for those who can't recall offhand!), and if anybody can suggest particular models, names, speeds etc for any of the components , i'd be very happy to hear what you have to say (or write!).

Avid Xpress DV:
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 or 2
933 MHz Pentium III or any Pentium 4 or any Pentium M processor
1 GB system memory (1.5 GB recommended)
A qualified graphics card (as supported by system vendor); Avid recommends the NVIDIA Quadro®4 980 XGL (Windows) or the NVIDIA QuadroFX 1100
An IEEE-1394 (FireWire) port or qualified DV In/Out Card
20 GB or larger internal disk drive
CD or DVD-ROM drive

Avid Xpress Pro HD:
Processors: Dual or Single 2.4 GHz Xeon processor OR Pentium 4 1.6 GHz processor OR Pentium M 1.8 GHz processor (mobile configurations). Note: The boot drive should be IDE, SCSI, or SATA 7200 RPM. Do not use internal SCSI as a boot device if you also plan on adding external SCSI drives (in that case use IDE or SATA).
Operating System: Windows XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2
System Memory: 1.5 GB minimum, 2.0 GB recommended for HD and high stream count SD projects
Open GL graphics cards: NVidia QuadroFX 1400 PCI Express, NVidia QuadroFX 1300 PCI Express, Nvidia QuadroFX 1100 AGP 8X, NVidia QuadroFX 500 AGP 8X or NVidia Quadro4 980 XGL AGP 8X
Note: Although supported, use of the NVIDIA Quadro 4 980 XGL in a dual-monitor configuration may result in performance degradation during tasks such as scratch removal, auto color correction, or general color correction when the safe color warnings are enabled, or using the eyedropper to select colors in Effect Mode. Single monitor systems with an NVIDIA Quadra 4 980 XGL perform properly.
Add-in IEEE-1394 PCI card (required if no built-in 1394). Note: The add-in PCI card must be a universal PCI card with the T.I chip set. Mojo is not supported on notebook systems with PCMCIA cards of any kind. Current qualified /supported cards include:
ADS Pyro PCI 64, part #API-311
SIIG 1394 3-Port PCI i/e, part #NN-400012
Internal disk drive : 40 GB or larger
CD or DVD-ROM drive

I'd really appreciate any help or advice you can give me. I've got a budget of about $1,000 with which to build a system capable of running AT LEAST Avid Xpress DV (and smoothly), and maybe (hopefully) Xpress Pro HD also.
Thanks very much for the help, i really need it!
Regards,
Disco Al
 
hi there, i hope this info helps

i have ran Avid dv 3.5.4 and am now running Avid Xpress Pro 4.6 (no hd, as i do not need it yet). i have absolutely no problems with AXP4.6. it is stable and rocks.
my system is:-
3.06 g processor HT
1gig ram
800FSB gigabyte board
ads pyro card
using onboard sound
Quadro 380XGL 8x AGP graphics card.
40gig hard drive for programs
160gig for storage
windows xp pro SP1

hope i did not miss anything out.

a word of note: avid dv works on windows xp pro SP1, SP2 is not supported,
the HD version supports SP2.

my advice is go with AXP hd, from the beggining. then you can conform your computer from the very start.

if you are going to only be using dv and no need for hd support, then i strong suggest just sticking with AXP 4.6. it is really very stable. i have done serveral long form editing on my system, and it has never crashed on me.
Avid 3.5.4 did crash frequently, but i later found out that it was my pc causing the crash.

you do not need dual processors for 4.6 software only. should you want to invest in mojo, then that is a definate requirement (dual processors)

also there are more functions to the pro version than just the dv version.

it is an excellent programme, and its workflow lets you edit fast with quick accurate cuts.
 
Thanks for the reply! I found it very helpful!

I think that building a Machine capable of Avid Xpress Pro HD or Studio HD is out of my price range right now, so instead i'm going to build a machine specifically for smoothly running Avid Xpress DV, and also some good DVD authoring, burning & disc printing software.

Kumaran: Can you (or anybody else out there) tell me what was causing Avid Xpress DV to crash? Does anybody have any experience of a system where Avid Xpress DV didn't crash? Does anyone know how to avoid problems with Xpress DV (without simply going straight for Xpress Pro, as that's just out of my price range right now)?

Does anybody have any good tips or suggestions for what hardware should go into my new machine? I have looked at Avid's own suggestions, but can anybody give me some names or model numbers for anything i'll need (Motherboards, RAM, System drive, Media drive, Graphics card, Processor, DVD drive/burner), as not being a whizz at PCs means i wanna try and make sure i get the best stuff, without getting ripped off or getting stuff i don't really need.

Also does anybody have any reccomendations for any of the following needs: DVD Authoring software, DVD Burning software, DVD disc printing?
I want my new machine to be able to these things after the editing has been done, and so can anyone tell me if these things will change what should go into my new system?

Finally, if anybody has any knowledge or experience of editing with Avid Xpress DV, and then transferring to DVD, i'd be very grateful to hear their advice, what problems can arise, how to overcome them, and basically how to do it right! (And hopefully without any hassle!)

I really appreciate the help given, i hope to put it all to use this Sunday when i go to buy my new system! (Looking forward to finally getting my own edit machine, while at the same time apprehensive & worried that i'll spend a ton of money and still not get what i need and run into several problems with it all! If you can help me avoid these problems, that would be great!!!)

Thanks a bunch to all who read & reply!
Regards,
disco_al
 
Just something else to consider: I see that you're using a AG-DVC60 camera, which will work just fine with Xpress DV, but if at some point you'd like to go for 24p capabilities, then Xpress DV will not support it. Xpress Pro (and Xpress Pro HD) support 24p.
 
disco_al said:
Kumaran: Can you (or anybody else out there) tell me what was causing Avid Xpress DV to crash? Does anybody have any experience of a system where Avid Xpress DV didn't crash? Does anyone know how to avoid problems with Xpress DV (without simply going straight for Xpress Pro, as that's just out of my price range right now)?
Click to expand...

with regards to Avid dv crashing, it was due to my pc not being properly configured. there is absolutely nothing wrong with version 3.5.4.
many users out there have gotten alot of satisfaction with it, also on pc's supposedly not qualified to run avid., eg amd's.

my advice is get a pc that fully conforms to windows xp pro, with all relevant drivers. the mistake i made at first was just using my pc that prevoiusly had Premiere on it running windows 98. i did not properly calibrate it for xp pro.

a good site to visit, that will give you plenty of help on how to calibrate your pc, especially for Avid is Videoguys.

http://www.videoguys.com/jump.htm

it is really indepth, and has helped me tremendously with my current configuration, running 4.6.

also visit the Avid Dv forums, there is a wealth of hints and tips you can pickup there, and those guys..........and gals are extremely knowledgable.

hope this help, should you require any further info, just ask.

kumaran
 
Thanks very, very much to all 3 who posted (particularly Kumaran), you've all been a great help. I'm going to get my new machine tommorow so will be sure to let you know what i end up getting.
And no, Chelsea F.C. is not a Russian Mob team, we're a London thug team owned by russian mafiosos!!! :-) hehe. I guess you could say they go hand in hand! But we are Premier League Champions for the first time in 50 years, so who really cares!!
Many regards,
disco_al
 
I use an HP x4200 workstation with the following specs:

3.6ghz P4 w/HT
400GB SATA drive
2x250gb Raid SATA (7200RPM)
2GB of RAM
QuadroFX NVS 280
and onboard sound

It runs Avid Xpress Pro very very nicely.
 
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