is there a PC that comes with great software for video editing?

looking for advice from the experts on this group please

LP

On Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:54:30 -0700 (PDT), LP
<L.Perez.Dancer@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know of any particular make or model but the following would
be good to look for (Of course it depends on how much money you want
to spend):

At least two large fast hard disks (not RAID).
Dual or Quad core CPU.
Firewire card or intgrated into the motherboard.
Plently of memory (2G).
Windows XP (NOT Vista!)
Some good software (e.g. Sony Vegas)
You don't need an expensive 3D graphics card IMHO.

If you need to capture analogue video then you'll need a dedicated
capture solution for this.

If you have plenty of money then you could run two monitors with
a suitable graphics card.

The guys at http://www.videoguys.com have some useful info on their
web site (I haven't used them myself though).

M.

On Mar 31, 6:47 am, Mark <i...@getlotsofspamthankstoplus.net> wrote:

Mark has some excellent suggestions, especially about getting (my
personal favourite) Sony Vegas :-)
If you decide to go with something else (especially Premiere or Avid),
be sure to check their site for recommendations.
Some companies will only certify their products to work with certain
brands of motherboards, CPUs, stc.
I had a local shop put together a Q6700 quad core for me a year ago
and I remain very happy with it.
If you can wait until the end of April, Intel is supposed to have a
substantial price drop on this CPU.
Check http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Inte...dule/5510.html
for the details.

Mike

<mkujbida@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1c11f31b-f4ee-4dce-9554-0d90b30e8e8b@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
The problem is that his question was about *software*, not hardware. Both
Windows and Macs come with minimal software for video editing. It will be
rare to find a computer manufacturer that pre-loads any "great software for
video editing".

GaryT

On Mar 31, 9:40 am, "GaryT" <gtemplemanPA...@proaxis.com> wrote:

Which is why both Mark & I recommended Sony Vegas.
However, to get the most out of any video editing software, good
hardware is also required, hence our recommendations for a dual/quad
core.

Mike

"Mark" <i@getlotsofspamthankstoplus.net> wrote in message news:9tf1v3tjdlb69i6hus5lrabd3fvue14q3s@4ax.com...
You will need to load your own, short of buying probably rather
overpriced "pro" packaged video editing computers...

Yes. It may be useful to split up one of them to use part for
backup of "C" drive material if you want, and to use other parts
for specific video tasks - though this latter is also optional...

Dual is quite satisfactory for now, and it doesn't need to be
expensive "bleeding edge"...

Yes, yes, and yes! ;-)

You did not say what format you wanted to edit, and with Vegas,
only the most expensive of the three choices will do everything well
(you may still be able to get it for under $200 by looking around
for deals on Pro 6 and the Pro 8 upgrade). That one is my choice
also (Vegas Pro 8). For my experiences with Ulead, Premiere, and
Vegas, go here -- www.donferrario.com/ruether/hdv-editing.htm.
If you will edit only Mini-DV, Premiere Elements 4 is very nice.
Ulead's 11+ can be a good inexpensive solution for both Mini-DV
and HDV, but it is very limited and sometimes very troublesome...

Yes - if no 3D, no need...

Yes - and many Mini-DV camcorders can take analogue video
in and pass it out as DV through FireWire...

This can be cheap. Good (not "bleeding edge") dual-head cards
are not very expensive, and you can find used (or even new) CRT
monitors dirt cheap - and the extra real estate is well worth having
for editing video. All the editors I mentioned, though, lay out very
well on a single 24" 1920x1200 LCD (under $300 for my Acer),
even when using a 720x540 video preview window...

--
David Ruether
d_ruether@hotmail.com
www.donferrario.com/ruether

On Mar 31, 6:40*am, "GaryT" <gtemplemanPA...@proaxis.com> wrote:
well, I was hoping a PC mfr would have a package deal... oh well

thank you for all the replies... will start my shopping this week and
hope to find a new PC by saturday

also, I forgot to ask about which PC comes with RCA inputs for
inputting VHS directly to the HDD???

LP wrote:

If this computer is primarily for video editing, do yourself a huge
favour and either build it yourself or have a reputable builder make one
for you.
I guarantee that anything you buy off the shelf at any big box store
will NOT be properly set up for efficient video editing.
As Mark mentioned earlier, check out Videoguys, especially their DIY
articles at http://videoguys.com/DIY.html
figure out how much you want to spend and have one properly built for
this purpose.
OTOH, if all you want to do is play around, then get whatever you want -
but prepared for frustrations.
BTW, if you want to capture from an analog source (RCA inputs), do
yourself a favour and buy a Canopus ADVC 110.
Details are at http://canopus.com/products/ADVC110/index.php
Anyone serious about editing is going to want to capture any footage
through a firewire port.
If it's an analog signal (like a VHS deck), you feed it through a device
like the Canopus which converts it from an analog signal to a digital one.
The purists here will say I'm over-simplifying things and they're
correct because video editing is a lot more than just hooking
"something" up to a computer and saying "OK, go to it".

Mike

"LP" wrote ...
Likely no reputable ones except those built specifically to
be video NLE machines.

If you want to capture DV25 (13.7Gb/hour) then something
like the Canopus ADVC boxes (55, 110, 300, etc) would be
my choice. They require a Firewire port to interface to the
computer. But Firewire cards are ~$15 at my neighborhood
shop (if not already built in to the motherboard.)

But you didn't say what you will be doing, so we don't know
whether you need DV or MPEG or ????. And we don't know
if you need video out?

There are also hardware solutions, both plug-in cards, and
external USB or Firewire for capturing to other formats
such as MPEG of various flavors, etc. etc. Maybe better
for your (undefined?) application than DV?????

"LP" <L.Perez.Dancer@gmail.com> wrote in message news:7eb3398d-f80e-49c2-a817-87f1515e8034@u10g2000prn.googlegroups.com...

[....]
also, I forgot to ask about which PC comes with RCA inputs for
inputting VHS directly to the HDD???

None that I know of - but I have a Sony converter box available
that accepts stereo sound in + RCA video + "S" video input and
outputs a FireWire video/sound output that can be accepted by
most computers (or the FireWire card is cheap - around $15).
($175 plus $7 shipping in US, like new.)
--
David Ruether
d_ruether@hotmail.com
www.donferrario.com/ruether

"LP" <L.Perez.Dancer@gmail.com> wrote in message news:7eb3398d-f80e-49c2-a817-87f1515e8034@u10g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
Almost all video editing PCs (and capture cards) have RCA inputs
(composite video, a simple Y-adapter may be required for the audio
input).

If all you'll be doing is VHS transfers, just about any PC (or capture
card) you can find these days is good enough.

On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:32:36 -0700, "Richard Crowley" <rcrowley@xp7rt.net>
wrote:

Unless you have a videocard with S-Video input. Which would require an
adapter then for the composite video signal.

cheers

-martin-
--
Official website "Jonah's Quid" http://www.jonahsquids.co.uk

"Martin Heffels" <goofie@flikken.net> wrote in message
news:s565v39qk18jevqdvd47s5otdt5es3vi7v@4ax.com
Agreed. The usual PC with video inputs relies on the system board audio
interface to capture audio, which means that over the long haul, the
captured audio and video will drift apart.

Virtually all video capture cards with tuners, have this weakness. Only
off-the-air captures will possibly keep the sound and video in synch, if
even that.

A good NLE capture card can cost an appreciable fraction of the PC to put it
into.

Most of the video capture cards I've seen with S-video inputs also have
composite inputs.

On Mar 31, 7:32*pm, "Richard Crowley" <rcrow...@xp7rt.net> wrote:
you didn't say what you will be doing, so we don't know
I'm not sure about "video out"... I'm wanting to edit VOB files ripped
using 'DVD decrypter' and create finished DVDs... but I also want to
edit video from my digital camera which I would rip onto the HDD thru
a firewire.

so perhaps a few more questions are necessary

Does the canopus product keep the video and audio in sync?

is the Sony Vegas product similar to other video editing software like
Ulead, Pinnacle or Cyberlink?

Can the Sony Vegas product edit raw VOB files as well as DV and AVI
(forgive me for being ignorant as to the exact nature of all these
formats)

again, all of you have been so amazingly helpful and I am very
grateful!

LP

"LP" < wrote ...
I've never seen any credible complaints that it did not.
In my perception, the Canopus ADVC boxes still hold
their position at the top of the heap of video A/D conversion
products.

I have not used Vegas myself, but they most likely all have
the same basic functionality. Different UIs, different extra
features, etc.

"VOB" files are actually MPEG and some NLE applications
can edit them directly. A Vegas user will need to answer your
question definitively.

There are also some appliations which are specifically made
for editing MPEG (Womble, VideoReDo, etc.) There are
people in this newsgroup who specialize in MPEG editing
and they can answer this better than I can.

Richard Crowley wrote:
Audio-video sync is one of it's strong points.
I've used a Canopus ADVC-100 at work for the past 4 years and it works
GREAT!!



Yes it will.
This feature was added in version 6 of both Vegas Movie Studio and Vegas.



If all you want to do is straight cuts, then products like Womble and
VideoReDo are better suited to this as they won't recompress the video
like most NLEs will.
Vegas Pro 8 won't recompress but this is an undocumented feature and
does have a few gotchas to worry about.

Mike

On Mar 31, 7:30*pm, Mike Kujbida <kXuXjXfX...@xplornet.com> wrote:
hello,

I went to 'Videoguys' and they have systems built with 'RAID' which
the other posters here advise against... since I do not know what
'RAID' is I'm confused???

LP wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

RAID arrays come in two types. You can set up a RAID, because you
need plenty of read/write bandwidth (example - RAID0). Or you can
use certain RAID array types, for their redundancy features. For example,
on a RAID 5, if one disk fails, you can continue working with the
remaining disks. Redundancy is a way to make your storage systems
"fault tolerant".

RAID is not a replacement for backups. When using your new computer,
you can still do stuff like erasing some file by accident. And a
backup of your user data, on another storage device separate from
the computer, is a way to keep your data secure. By having multiple
copies around, there is less risk of losing something valuable.

So for example, say I shoot a movie. I transfer the movie from the
camera to the computer with Firewire. I immediately copy the file
to my external backup device. Then I start editing my "working" copy
stored on the internal computer disk.

If I make a mistake, and erase the original file, I can connect the
external disk again, and copy over the backup copy I made.

So whether a RAID makes sense, really depends on whether the video
editing needs the bandwidth or not. You may not need much more in
the way of redundancy, if you have enough backup copies around.

For an OS like WinXP, one of the array size constraints, can be at
2 terabytes (2048 gigabytes). That is caused by the sector number
being stored in a 32 bit integer by the OS. There are ways to work around
that limitation. But if you are constructing your own storage array,
it is an item on your checklist - whether you're violating that
limitation or not. If you do it by accident, your file system
can be instantly corrupted, just as the file system hits 2TB full.

As an example, say I purchase four 500GB drives. I've decided to build
a RAID5 (redundant) array. That makes the equivalent of three drives
carrying the data, and one drive carries the XOR (redundant) data.
3 * 500 = 1500, and that is less than the 2048GB limit.

If I was building a RAID0 with four disks, it would deliver four
times the bandwidth of a single hard drive. Capacity would be
4 * 500GB and slightly less than the 2048GB number. But if any one
of the four drives fail, my data is lost. RAID0 is an example of
an array built for speed, but with no redundancy. It is more likely
to fail on you, than a single drive. A RAID0 makes a great
"scratch array", to hold a temporary copy of your movie while
you work on it. But at the end of the day, you should copy
the movie to your backup device. That way, you never lose more
than one day's work.

Paul

"LP" <L.Perez.Dancer@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:bd46f91b-5a1b-4348-939b-bc3443dbf10f@i7g2000prf.googlegroups.com

IOW, you want to edit commercial DVDs.

Which camera?

Their products have an excellent reputation for this.

They are similar and they are different.

One place where video editing software varies tremendously, is in terms of
exactly what kind of file the software actually uses to edit.

The two most common possibilities are DV-AVI, and MPEG.

DV-AVI has historically been the most common and the most compatible with
video cameras.

DVD and HDTV are based on MPEG files. A lot of newer video cameras also
export MPEG files.

First off, all VOB files are not the same, and secondly all AVI files are
not the same. IME VOB files are a superset of a number of at least slightly
different MPEG files. AVI files are just containers, and they can hold an
even larger variety of just about anything.

For example, I have had far better luck editing VOB files made by my DVD
recorders than I have with VOB files from commercial DVDs or MPEG HDTV files
captured off-the-air.

The better video editing programs will import and export a wide variety of
file types, but internally they edit just one kind of file.

There are also transcoding programs like MPEG Screenclip that will convert
files into other formats, in this way expanding the number of different
kinds of files that you can edit.

The problem with importing and exporting is that it can be very CPU and disk
intensive, and take a lot of time.

The upside to an established program that is based on some other file format
is that it may be very stable, easy to use for editing, and have a lot of
useful functions.

"Mike Kujbida" <kXuXjXfXaXm@xplornet.com> wrote in message news:65ih5sF2fl8olU1@mid.individual.net...
In several years of use, I never had a problem with Sony's
DVMC-DA1 converter (FS, like new, $175 + shipping).
It is essentially what Sony put in its camcorders for A->D,
D>A conversion of audio and video, but it permits selection
of 12 or 16 bit sound. Its output is FireWire, which goes
directly to most computers.

Yes - and different shortcomings, especially for editing MPEG...

Vegas Pro 8 handles MPEG very well, and just copies
unchanged parts in the edit instead of recompressing them
(Ulead acts the same way, BUT, see for more about problems
with Ulead - www.donferrario.com/ruether/hdv-editing.htm).

Watch out for what versions do what with what...

You do need to "work" through its MANY preference choices
to make sure that a check box is marked to prevent recompression
of unchanged material on the timeline at output, but the feature is
well documented in its specs and web site description (which is
somewhat confusing, given the great versatility of this program).
I suspect that many are put off by the Sony web site description
of this program - it looks overwhelming and more complicated than
it really is (for basic editing) in practice (but Ulead is likely a
better choice for simple editing with no recompression of
unchanged MPEG parts).
--DR