Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

T

thunderMex

Member
I was looking at Alienware Computer packages for editing which by default come with Matrox 2500 bundled with Premiere 6.

Now I see that 24fp output from the DVX100A needs special hardware and editing packages.

What do most Forum users recommend as the preferred package-- computer, editing software, and capture board setup? Alienware packages look very hot, but, they push the Matrox board which is bundled with Premiere 6 and it looks, by your own Forum info, to be incapable of handling 24fps output.

I want to do music video and Independent film production. I can spend maybe $15,000 for the Post Production package to use for editing the DVX100A footage and sound.

I am posting this question here, deliberately, rather than in the other forums dealing with different editing solutions.

And, what about the new MPEG-4 codec Nero is offering? Is there an editing package solution that can output that, too?

Thank you for your best opinions.
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Thanks for taking the time, Steve.

I was looking at this system:
http://www.alienware.com/Configurat...x?SysCode=PC-ROSWELL-4200&SubCode=SKU-EXTREME

Which, on second viewing apparently does not rely on the Matrox RT250. I thought the RT.X100 was an even weaker system?

Adobe Video Collection Professional [+670 or $20/mo.]
Matrox RT.X100 Digital Video Editing System - Recommended
Matrox RT.X10 Digital Video Editing System [-331]
Pinnacle Liquid Edition™ Version 5.5 [-449]


I will be checking out your advice. Any other caveats or advice?
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

..the matrox card wont do any 24p work, but you can use it for any 29.976 ntsc stuff. its nice for that, but you have to use AE or dvfilmaker to convert your clips to 24p to use in premiere.. the new version of ppro is rumored to have 24p capability though. ppro is waaaay better than even premiere 6.5, and i woulndt get anything but the pro version, espescially since you may get 24p in the new update/version
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Matrox Weak? WHAT?!? I have both the Mojo and Matrox systems. Matrox is a very powerful tool. Forget about the 24p thing and look at functionality, realtime outputs and converstions, effects and interface. Matrox makes a good product, and weak wouldn't be the work I'd choose to describe their product.
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Greetings,

Seeing as you mentioned Computer and Software suggestions, I realize your looking at PC specs, I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

I'm really happy with the G5 Set-up with Final Cut Pro 4. 24 frame editing with Cinema Tools, Real-time rendering (It's so much faster than my old G4), Soundtrack Software. Seeing as you have a pretty nice budget for your post-production start-up.

So, your looking at around $7,000 for a Dual 2Gig G5 with a 23 HD Flat Panel display and Final Cut Pro 4.0. I get extra ram through a third party like Ramjet.com though, Apple charges a lot for RAM.

Happy Shopping

Links for Specs.


http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/

http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/stories/

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...JGxxu/1.0.7.1.0.5.5.0.0.0.0.0.0.3.1.1.0?59,39

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...dflEhqEghJGxxu/0.0.7.1.0.5.21.1.2.1.2.0.0.1.0
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Hey, thanks, gentlemen, for your suggestions. I believe Steve Rogers suggested boxxtech earlier to me. However, I need to be led around and talked to slowly in there. I see boxes, but, I need a complete system that incorporates AVID Express Pro with Mojo, or the Blade system. I have bought enough gear in the past to know that it is the things you don't know--some vital widget, some stupid cable, discovering that something needs its own controller, that, yes, it does this, but it doesn't do THAT at all--that's right, the very function you bought it for in ignorance.....you know, the standard drill.

I set up a digital editing system back in 2000 and it nearly killed me. After months of exhaustive research we thought we had covered every damn base there was to be covered and then discovered too late that a spiffy hot motherboard didn't like working with our expensive video card. Nothing that was documented anywhere. Oh, and that a BIOS update might be coming along in "the future" to address "known issues".

Likewise, I don't want to go thorugh the trial and burn situation of choosing parts with software and then trying to mate it all together myself when an experienced techie knows the ins and outs. Besides, I am living in central Mexico and would have to take a trip up to Texas just to ship back parts that weren't working out for me and to receive parts.

Boxxtech shows me boxes with dual Xeons of various GHZ's and Premiere Adobe as the software. The software options do not include Blade or Avid Express Pro.

How far will Boxxtech take customization?

Also, I see a lot of XEONS in various machines. So, evidently they are a nice mix of speed and stability. But, aren't they on the way out?
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Oh, Damn!

Thanks a LOT, Cyberskip. Now you REALLY got me CONFUSED. I followed your links to Apple. Frankly, Apple scares me, fearing it may go belly up one day. BUT, the G-5 specs look awesomely geared for video production! Way beyond what is actually needed for DV editing, actually.

And, I have heard good reports about Final Cut Pro 4.

Lord have mercy, I am actually considering your suggestion...and I am a dedicated PC XP Pro guy.
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Thunder, PCs have good stuff, but for video editing, imaging, Mac has just kicked it into high gear and offers a much more stable product. I'm a PC guy as well, but you can bet I do my main editing on a Mac because I know i want stability. 8)
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Thunder, PCs have good stuff, but for video editing, imaging, Mac has just kicked it into high gear and offers a much more stable product. I'm a PC guy as well, but you can bet I do my main editing on a Mac because I know i want stability.
Click to expand...

I just don't buy it.

Or am I the only person in the world whose PC simply doesn't crash on him?
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

In response to PC crashes: This was a killer system when I set it up 3 years ago, now it seems just average, maybe not even that.  But.... I still make money on it, as I did when I started years ago, and it has NEVER crashed as long as I don't do something stupid, like pull a Firewire HDD out while I'm digitizing or rendering (Knock on Wood). And even then, only AVID crashes and not the machine.

Customers are happy, no problems.  Yes I want to upgrade it soon to get faster renders, but for the type of editing I have been doing, it's been great.  I have an identical machine for After Effects/Photoshop, and another for Internet and Mail.

Athlon XP2000+ Running Windows 2000
Epox 8K3A+ MB with 2 RAID Channels
Very well vented Full tower, separate fans for each drive.
(Very low noise, even with all that. Never had complaints)
1.5GB 333MhZ RAM
Two WD 80GB HDD 8MB Cache on one RAID Channel
Two WD 160GB HDD 8MB Cache on other RAID Channel
3 200GB WD Firewire Drives, 3 200GB Lacie Firewire Drives
FE991 Mitsubishi Monitors
ATI Radeon 8500 Card
DSR-11 Deck
Standard Firewire Card with three inputs

I will prolly get an opteron soon, with a better 8x video card.  I have heard great things about those processors.
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

Just to add another $0.02, I'm a PC guy...but I really love apple, not so much for the hardware but for the functionality and design of FCP.

I've had apple crash on me, so it's not infallable, but it certainly crashes less frequently then any PC I've owned.

I'd reccomend that you make your editing choice based on which software you like the best. Almost all computers made these days handle DV video just fine, and I see a lot of people dumping precious funds into super-amped computer hardware that they'll almost never use to its potential.

Sure it's great having a dual G5 2.0 or a dual xenon system to render with bleeding speed, but do you really need that if you only end up rendering things a couple of times a week?

Also...please don't dump money into a 24" apple HD display...a couple of adapters and two 19" Lacie electron blue monitors gets you just as much screen space at half the price.

Go forth, edit, and prosper
 
Re: Recommended Post-Production Editing Gear

[quote author=PurposeDriven link=board=MesPhotos;num=1079042357;start=0#8 date=03/17/04 at 23:01:49] I do my main editing on a Mac because I know i want stability. 8)[/quote]

i run SpeedRazor (the component version of Blade which is firewire only) on WinXP and it has yet to crash on me since july. before i was on Win NT4 and there it crashed maybe once every month on very big projects (1000+ clips). so i do not know where you apple guys get this "stability thing" from. Win 98 was crap yeah, but who has ever used it professionally?? and whenver i am with my Apple grafx guys there latest gimmicks seem to mess up their machines....lol...therefore i never use the newest stuff.

Apple OS is the better concept and windows is absolute shite, true ( i used AMIGA long and even made two 45 minutes films on an AMIGA when a 2GB disk costed $ 1200), but until Linux is useable i see no reason to leave the XP-platform cos it is stable, affordable and has a huge base of users to get help from when needed. and when even Adobe abandons Apple.....not a good sign...
 
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