Will my computer work for video editing?

[mcflytrap]

Ok, here's what I got:

-Pentium 4 1.6 Ghz
-20 GB hard drive
-80 GB second hard drive
-512 MB ram
-CD-RW
-nVIDIA GeForce 2 Video card (64 MB)
-SB Live 5.1 sound card (to be replaced)
-Video capture card to be determined...(DV200 looks like the first choice, but I may spring for something better)
-Windows ME

Sound like a start?

-mcfly-

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[crimsonson]

Skip Windows ME - that was a half ass OS by Microsoft. Use either W98SE, W2K or WXP.

Check Ebay for a used Raptor DV, Raptor RT, Matrox 2500, etc.

DV 200, DV300 are junk IMHO.

DV 500 was slight improvement.

Vegas Video 3 is also quite good according to reviews and recent converts from Premiere.

For DV editing soundcard is not important since it does not play role in sound quality. However, if you do use it for other sound editing (SONAR, Pro Tools, Nuendo, etc)- then it is important. If you are going to stay within your NLE for DV sound editing it does not matter.

good luck and keep us informed
my setup:

1.4 Ghz Athlon
ECS K75SA MoBo
W2K SP2
512 Ram (PC2100)
Adaptec 2940 SCSI controller (to open up IDE for video drives)
4 Gig SCSI OS/Program drive
9.1 SCSI "utlity" drive (personal files, paging files, temp, etc)
60 GB, 65 GB and 20 GB video drives (all IDE and swappable cases)
DVD/CD-RW (all in one drive)
Hercules Theater XP soundcard (for the SPDIF and useful break out box)
Boston Acoustics BA790 digital speakers
Radeon VE dual display
2 19" monitors


Avid Xpress DV 2 (I use Composer at work)
SONAR sound editing
After Effects
Cleaner 5
Photoshop


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[mcflytrap]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Courier, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by crimsonson:
Skip Windows ME - that was a half ass OS by Microsoft. Use either W98SE, W2K or WXP.

Check Ebay for a used Raptor DV, Raptor RT, Matrox 2500, etc.

DV 200, DV300 are junk IMHO.

DV 500 was slight improvement.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was considering DV200 strictly because it was inexpensive and it had stop motion capture. I've been told the other DV series from Pinnacle did not have this. I will definately check into that Raptor card. Also, the sound card is important to me because I'm planning on doing direct-to-computer music recording.

Thanks for all your help,
-mcfly-

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[mattias]

ok, here's my current editing setup:

imac dv se (500mhz g3, 256 meg ram, 30 gig drive)
40 gig external hd
final cut pro 1.2 (yeah, got it cheap, can't afford the upgrade)
dv deck (a cheap camera actually)
vhs deck
14" tv monitor

open box. put weird looking thing on desk. plug stuff in. edit. not a single crash or even a frame dropped for two years. total cost was less than $4,000 and i've made around $15,000 with it so far. most of the time i've used it for my own projects and low budget deferred payment stuff, but that's been worth a lot too.

/matt

[crimsonson]

dumb me.

Raptor DOES NOT SUPPORT stop motion capture. SO forget that card if you are planning to use system for Workprinter.

DV200 is fine. Just make sure there are no issues with yuor current setup.

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[MovieStuff]

For what it's worth, I was told by a friend that has the Matrox RT2000 that the it originally had stop motion capture when first introduced a couple of years ago. Then after they issued drivers to fix the inevitable "bugs" inherent in a new product, the stop motion capture function mysteriously dissapeared. Matrox never addressed that issue and the current version of the Matrox RT2500 still does not support stop motion.

-HOWEVER-

A WorkPrinter client that has the RT2500 scrounged around and found some freeware off the internet (can you believe it?) that will restore the stop motion capture capability of the RT2000 and RT2500 but only for the SVHS input, which is a decent way to capture footage, actually.

I have a copy of the freeware and it is tiny, like only 120k. I'll email it to anyone that wants it. Just contact me at

[email protected]

So, the Matrox system would be a viable alternative for you, if you want to also use the WorkPrinter for capture.

Roger

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Roger Evans
MovieStuff
http://www.afterimagephoto.tv/moviestuff.html