Going Hd with Mac and HVX200

R

Ralph nixon

Well-known member
I'm new to this site and I won't go into a whole spiel about my film background but I would love to get your educated opinions about my wife and I's plan which is to make docus, experimental, and dramatic pieces and do the occassional wedding, corporate, and low-budget commercials, and possibly down the road a one location feature.

What we plan to buy is listed below (all in Cdn $):

Hvx200 $6,500
warranty $430
focus firestore hd 100mbs (100 min at 720p) $2,300
extra battery for camera $300
tripod system $1,000
Mac g5 2.3 ghz with upgrades $4,850
20" cinema display $1,000
Apple Care $300
Final Cut Pro Studio $1,500
External Hard Drive $300

$18,480



Is there anything I'm overlooking terribly?
Is there any problem to shoot straight to firestore via firewire with no P2 card?
Is there any problems editing long docu interviews in FCPS if using external hardrive and 2G's of Ram memory?
Are all the features of the camera, other than Hd of course, accesible in standard mini-dv also?

Thank you for your time and expertiise.
 
I would suggest getting the 23" display. It can display the full 1080 resolution, the 20 is only good for 720. However if you're only working with DV that's not an issue.. If you're only using mini dv then you won't have access to variable frame rates though.

You might want to also consider things like a protective case, basic lighting and a mic. Lighting can save your life, even if it's just a small, on camera light and people always underestimate the need for good audio... The built in mic is never any good on any camera.

You'll also want some way to archive the footage you shoot... It will be easier if you are only working on DV but in HD it builds up quickly... You want as much hard drive space as possible (I would suggest 1TB) just for what you're currently working with and another way to store the rest... More external hard drives is an option, burning dvds or getting a data tape drive.

It all starts building up after a while.
 
I would consider the following:

1. As much RAM as you can afford. I have 8gigs in my Dual 2.7. When you buy Final Cut Studio and start to use Motion the extra RAM is important.

2. Fast Video card. ATI x850 or similar. Again the FCP Studio apps will like you for it.

3. Buy another FW800 card for one of the PCI slots and make sure it is the right type of card PCI-X or PCI-E. If it is a dual core G5 then you should get the PCI-e. The reason for this is all the FireWire ports on a Mac make use of the same bus ans share bandwidth. By adding an additional card you insure the drive your video is on does not compete for bandwidth on the other bus.

4. Look at a RAID if you can. Again this is for speed and the number of video tracks you can play at once. I currently have a LaCie 500GB raid and will end up with the G-Technolgy G-Raid Pro. However they have a 500GB model that looks to be pretty nice. The LaCie has also worked well for me.

5. Buy the 23". You will be looking at it so much you will be glad you did. I have the 30" but work bought it so price was not an issue.

6. I would also look at the Cineporter. It acts like a giant P2 drive that will attach to the bottom of the camea. Not out yet but looks very promising. Same price range as the FireStore which is also quite cool.

I think that is it. Be sure you have a dedicated drive for you video and nothing else. All your project related files are fine but be sure to keep a copy of your FCP file on your internal drive.

Also plan a backup strategy.
 
Hi. A couple of things I would suggest:
One spare battery is cutting it too close, especially for weddings. My rule for weddings was one on the camera, one on a charger nearby and one in your pocket. If one battery runs out, you don't want to have to race back to the charger to get the other one, three buys you some breathing room. Also, I don't know what the Firestore runs on, but pack extra power for it as well (and a couple of emergency tapes because if the Firestore fails you can at least get SD footage, which is still much better than a big gaping hole where the kiss scene should have been.) If I sound like an alarmist, its because nowhere else does Murphy's Law apply more aptly than shooting a wedding. Equipment that never fails will explode in your hands just as the wedding march starts.

Also, I didn't notice a field monitor, unless you are planning on using the apple cinema screen, which I wouldn't simply because of the wear and tear factor. I'd use something smaller and cheaper. You need something to show corporate clients in the field, but it should be portable and easily replaced.
 
Consider the Dell 2405FPW 24" HD 1900x1200pixel display...it's a lot closer to the 20" Apple in price than the 23" -- and bigger than both!
 
Ralph -
$4,800 for a G5 2.3 dual w/2GB Ram seems a bit steep, but I don't know what other options you included. You can get a G5 Quad with 4 GB Ram (4x1 as opposed to 8 x 512) for about $4,700 and that includes the optional 500GB hard drive. Also, if you do a LOT of editing w/FCP5 I think you would be a lot happier with the 30" Apple monitor which is a beautiful thing for FCP5. But, it all depends on your budget. Best of Luck...
 
CMessineo said:
What about lights and sound?

Chris
Click to expand...

If you are going to put this system to work you'll need lights and sound. Especially for:

docus, experimental, and dramatic pieces and do the occassional wedding, corporate, and low-budget commercials, and possibly down the road a one location feature.
Click to expand...
 
I have a friend who has a Mac system (as do I), and he is editing JVC HD100 footage. My point is that he bought a 32" monitor and loves it. A fraction of the cost for an Apple product. $899 for a 32" LCD HD capable screen ! Plus, I believe there's a mail-in rebate!:

<http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0227458>

J Patnaude:thumbsup:
 
I think you are going to need more hard drive space than what $300 bucks buys you. I would get at least 2Tb. Remember, you want a dedicated media drive separate from your applications and projects. Raid is ideal but not necessary with DVCProHD.
 
I'll second the Dell 24" instead of the Apple 20". Both are about the same price, but the Dell has MUCH higher resolution and screen real-estate.

Also, I'd spend a bit less on the G5 and more on getting bigger/faster hard disk space. Especially with HD, you'll need the size and speed of a low-cost RAID drive.
 
Ralph nixon said:
I'm new to this site and I won't go into a whole spiel about my film background but I would love to get your educated opinions about my wife and I's plan which is to make docus, experimental, and dramatic pieces and do the occassional wedding, corporate, and low-budget commercials, and possibly down the road a one location feature.

What we plan to buy is listed below (all in Cdn $):

Hvx200 $6,500
warranty $430
focus firestore hd 100mbs (100 min at 720p) $2,300
extra battery for camera $300
tripod system $1,000
Mac g5 2.3 ghz with upgrades $4,850
20" cinema display $1,000
Apple Care $300
Final Cut Pro Studio $1,500
External Hard Drive $300

$18,480



Is there anything I'm overlooking terribly?
Is there any problem to shoot straight to firestore via firewire with no P2 card?
Is there any problems editing long docu interviews in FCPS if using external hardrive and 2G's of Ram memory?
Are all the features of the camera, other than Hd of course, accesible in standard mini-dv also?

Thank you for your time and expertiise.
Click to expand...
What kind of warranty are you getting for that kind of money? That sounds like a lot of money for an extended warranty.
Which tripod system are you looking at? I've been quoting good tripods for the HVX for less money.
Feel free to contact me about our pricing. We're an Apple dealer as well.
 
Raid for the HVX200

Raid for the HVX200

Raid is ideal but not necessary with DVCProHD.
Click to expand...


This is my big question. I'm looking to get a whole system based on the Mac Quad and I was thinking the lack of a raid was the writer's main failing when listing his specifications.

To what extent is raid necessary for DVCPRO HD? And which systems would offer the best possible comfort?

I want to be able to edit as easily as I do now with DV. That's three streams with transparency on one clip, one effect on the second and a transition between two clips.
What kind of raid system could do that in real time for DVCPro HD (or as close as possible to real time). Has anybody yet gotten real in the field experience of DVCPro HD editing?

I think now that people have started to get their cameras we can start to talk about a really crucial aspect of the HVX200 and that is editing DVCPro HD.

So let's get going !!
 
Terence Lehane said:
I want to be able to edit as easily as I do now with DV. That's three streams with transparency on one clip, one effect on the second and a transition between two clips.
What kind of raid system could do that in real time for DVCPro HD (or as close as possible to real time). Has anybody yet gotten real in the field experience of DVCPro HD editing?
Click to expand...

I have. I think you need a minimum 2 HD SATA RAID to get the real-time you want and really smooth scrubbing on the timeline. Having a KONA card or Decklink gets you some extra real-time effects too.

You can get away with single hard drive editing, but you will be much happier with a simple RAID.
 
That sounds interesting Elton.
I read about the Kona card giving DVCPro HD hardware acceleration.
Can you tell us some more specifics about your system, computer, memory, hard drive raid set up. ?
 
Dood, screw the warranty. I just called State Farm insurance. I don't know if they have the same policies in Canada but I was just quoted a full coverage price of $77 per year that would cover the HVX against EVERYTHING under the sun! And it would only be $44 more to cover my entire edit suite as well!!
 
tuface said:
You're gonna spend over 18 grand and "possibly" do a feature??
Click to expand...

Well, if it doesn't work out, he could sell it all on eBay like lots of other people do.

Basically, what you'll want is:

- Fastest processor available, as of 1/26/06, that would be the Quad.

- 4gb of RAM minimum. If you're going this route, I would suggest buying the RAM seperately as 2x 2gb sticks for $3,000 or so since this will keep your options open for future RAM upgrades.

- External RAID of some sort. Depending on how much you want to spend, you could go with a 2x drive or 8x drive array. Granite Digital makes a great series of RAID products for fair pricing.

- If you can afford it, the 30" Apple Cinema Display would be ideal. Other than that, I would recommend the 23" Apple Cinema Display. The Dell is nice, but the more resolution, the better.

- Capture cards are optional, but quite worthy of being called a "must have" for video purposes. The AJA Kona 3 should start shipping next week and there's always the BlackMagic Designs Decklink HD cards to think about, I'm not sure which is the better yet, but those are the best options overall.

- Applecare is a fine warranty, but most likely you won't need it unless you're not very competent with computers (ie. able to take it apart, add things in, reformat, diagnose BIOS issues, ect.) or if you want to be safe for a few years in case the darn thing explodes on ya! :grin: If you were going with a laptop, it's almost a requirement to get a warranty in my book.
 
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