I appologize for this probably basic question, but here goes.

I have an AMD Athalon FX 53 CPU with 2 Gigs of RAM and a system and two storage discs(RAID0) with Premiere Pro 1.5 installed as well as Encore 2.0

I am going to buy a Cannon HV20 to record HD footage. I was wondering what the best (not necessarily the cheapest) way to up grade my computer to capture, edit and output both to standard DVD's as well as HD files to play on a Playstation 3?

I am thinking upgrading to some CS3 package that includes Premiere Pro, Encore, AFter effects, and Photoshop, but also I'll need some Cineform product.

1. What would be the best Cineform product?

2. Do you think it is possible to turn out acceptable end results with this computer?

Sorry if this is rambling, but thanks in advance for any help.

John Rich

I recommend Adobe Production Premium, but at a minimum, you need Premiere Pro CS3 which now comes with Encore - so you can write to Blu-Ray if you have a writer.

Aspect HD should be sufficient unless you really need 10 bit processing in which case you need Prospect HD.

Your PC will work, assuming you have the time to wait. Aspect HD makes it easier though.

If you Premiere Pro 1.5.1 (not just 1.5) you can use Aspect HD. The 1.5.0 version of Premiere has limitations that can make HDV work frustrating. Otherwise your computer is modern enough to capture and edit with Aspect HD.

Steven and David,

I really appreciate your quick answers and hope to put them to use soon.

I had one other question regarding the new version of After effects(CS3, I believe).

Can the AVI files generated by Aspect HD and edited in Premiere Pro be imported and used in After Effects and does AE in someway render to the same AVI files generated by Aspect HD (sorry two questions) ?

Thanks again,
John

Yes and Yes.

It is nice to be able to answer questions that way.

The functionality in AE is one of the reasons I am so fond of Cineform. In fact, just tonight I exported to a Cineform HD AVI and used it in After Effects CS3 to export a variety of different formats, including the one I submitted for the UWOL Challenge here on DVInfo.

Steven,

Thanks again. Right after I posted the above question, I read these two threads about the problems with importing into After Effects.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=98146
and
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=93686.

I wasn't sure whether one has to go through the repair process mentioned including the registry changes to get CS3 AE to allow importing of the Cineform AVI generated by Aspect HD?

I really want to work with this stuff, but I really do not think that I am facile or confident enough with Windows XP to pull that off unless there were some really specific instructions.

Do you think that this might be fixed in the near future at least enough for a less than professional computer person, like me, to work with?
Thanks again.
John
.

John,

It really isn't that tough.

I would be happy to NetMeeting with you to watch over your shoulder as you took the necessary steps the first time.

I am sure that Cineform and Adobe will eventually iron it out, but don't hold your breath. Adobe really needs to be more open with 3rd party vendors.

Email me off forum (preferably from my web site) and we can set up a time to get you squared away if you wish. I have free long distance on my phone line, so send along a phone number and I can talk and walk you though this quite easily.