Vegas operating system: HELP!!

L

LODAA

Member
Hi all!!! Think
I decided to go with Vegas as my editing software. Now the next question for all you wonderful Vegas users. What computer system?

Is there a web site that has Vegas editing systems available?

How is Dell? (As long as that kid doesn't show up to my house)

Any recommendations would be most welcome!! ???
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

What's up?
I have made the same choice. Vegas. I'm going to DVLINE to get my system. They have a great rep (Ken Bell). Systems come with VV4 and audio software. They build them right. Website DVLINE.com. Good luck, we start this adventure together.
Dave
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

Thanks, I'm going there now!!!!

I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of eachother on this forum. I got my film degree in 1994 so it's like I'm startinog all over again.
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

Hey LODAA - welcome to the forum! the great thing about Vegas is that it will work fine with almost any "modern" PC. It's system requirements are quite low. I built my own system about 8 months ago. I bought a Shuttle XPC bare bones system and put in a P-4 2.4Ghz processor, 512 DDR 333mhz RAM, a DVD-ROM drive, two Western Digital 120 GB hard drives and an ATI Radeon 7500 card with 64MB DDR. I also have two 80GB external firewire drives and just bought the TDK 440N external multi-format DVD burner. My OS is Win XP home. These specs are pretty tame today (8 months is a long time in computer land) but I also only spent $1,350 for the whole system plus $399 for a 17" LCD. The point is, you can buy or build any recent system and Vegas will do the job. One thing I would recommend is to get a video card with TV out (like the Radeons). I extend my display to both the LCD and TV in the display properties window, and then take the Vegas preview window and put it on the TV. The colors, etc. are much trurer on a TV or CRT than most LCD's.

Key points for all video editing systems (not just Vegas): 1) fast processor (but you'll find you'll save significant amounts by buying one or two notches below the current fastest processor esp. on Intel chips); 2) RAM - 1GB is now common and clock speeds are up to 400 Mhz DDR; 3) Hard Drives - first, you always want at least two. Place your OS and program software on one and use the other one for capturing/ rendering video. DV takes up approx. 12 1/2 GB per hour so a 120 GB HD can hold about 9 hours of video. Seems like a lot but even with 400 GB total I'm still looking for more space. 4) video card - 3D acceleration is not that important for video editing. Spend $150 on a card which supports dual displays and the aforementioned TV-out; 5) firewire/usb 2.0 ports - you'll need firewire (1394) for most mini-DV cameras. Try and get a computer that has one front mounted for easy access. 6) DVD burner - no reason not to get one these days. I love my TDK; SONY multiformat drives are highly rated; Pioneer even has a new multiformat drive (-R/RW/+R/RW) but beware of long - I mean long - disk closes/verifications. Finally, don't forget the monitor. Again, LCD's (at least 17") are a great way to go but you'll appreciate TV-out as well if you get it.

Feel free to post any other questions. And enjoy VEGAS!

PS - get Vegas + DVDA so you can author your own DVD's. I didn't get DVDA and am regretting it now!
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

hey what do you think the minimum processor I can get away with Vegas is? I would rather spend the extra on memory than speed, Is that right? would a 1.8ghz AMD XP be fast enough?
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

I use AMD 1.4 ghz machines at the moment for Vegas.  As much as I like AMD (where would prices and performance be today without their competition ?) I don't know if that is the way you want to go today.

My next system will be a P4 with the 800mhz bus and hyperthreading.  That will have enough "legs" to carry you for a while, the benchmarks for things like MP2 encoding etc. consistently show the P4 to be doing better.

The faster processors will get you more real time effects, but so will more memory. Fast hard disks help also. Let's face it, the whole system is stressed when using any NLE.

However, if you can save a pile of money with the AMD, go for it.  If you only save a hundred or two, I'm not sure I can justify it.

Again, I like my AMD systems alot, and at the time I built them, I saved roughly $800 each over what it would have cost me for an equivalent Intel system (about two years ago).  They both run very nicely, so I am having a very difficult time justifying a new system...

Best regards,
ScreechingHalt Productions
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

For 24Peter:
Talk to the Vegas people, they are very reasonable folks, maybe what they would let you do is return your existing package plus some cash for the Vegas Plus DVD package.

I have dealt with them in the past (before the Sony purchase) and they were quite flexible. This, of course, may have changed now.

Best regards,
ScreechingHalt Productions
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

Yes - I'm considering doing that (talking to SoFo directly). But I have been poking around DVD authoring packages and I really like NeoDVD 5.0 from MedioStream (http://www.mediostream.com/). The most appealing thing is their MPEG 2 encoder was rated by PC World as 2X as fast as the nearest competitor and 4-5X faster than many popular packages. I find in burning DVD's, encoding is the major bottleneck. Plus for $49, it's cheap - real cheap - and has a nice little authoring package.
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

Just a caution: Speed is not everything. Not all Mpeg encoders produce the same quality. Test first.

Best regards,
ScreechingHalt Productions
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

Yes, I'm aware of that. They have a 30-day money back guarantee. Thanks.
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

My update - the NeoDVD encoder is indeed quick. But Screeching was right. The quality sucks. Even at the "best" setting it was pretty poor. Now I've got to get my money back and I'll be happy...
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

I'm using Vesas 4 on a Pentium 2 400MHZ, 128 Megs, 1-40 gig and 2-20 gigs setup as a raid. I've never had any problems. No dropped frames. It takes longer for renders. But this is the lowest I think you can go with Vegas 4.
 
Re: Vegas operating system: HELP!!

wow jeff.. good to know vegas still operates down there. 128megs though? I'm impressed :) Thanks for sharing that info.
 
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