Avid / Pinnacle discussions from 2005

[Andres Bant]

I was very unhappy with my 15" powerbooks performance with editing... I generally work bigger projects, and once I get to a certain point it takes so much loading to make the slightest change.

The 15" stats were: 1.25 GHz, 256 MB ram and 80 GB hard drive

I'm now moving to a 12" powerbook for the convenience of space, and the stats are: 1.5 GHz processor, 1.5GB ram 80 GB hard drive

My question is should this be much better for editing? The processor is higher, and the Ram is over 5 times faster. Will this be ideal for editing with Avid?

[Greg Boston]

It's a general rule of thumb among NLE software that increasing ram helps increase performance. The more 'ram render' preview you can do, the less time it takes for you to be able to view it. So, max out the ram as much as possible.

-gb-

[Richard Alvarez]

Go to:

http://www.avid.com/products/xpressprohd/specs.asp for a list of specs and which notebooks are supported. In Part -

Macintosh
For all systems listed below, the following minimum specifications are required:
Max OS X 10.4.2 on single or dual processor G4 or G5 systems. Earlier Mac operating systems are no longer being tested or qualified.
1 GB minimum system memory for Avid Xpress Pro or Avid Xpress Pro used with Avid Mojo
A graphics adapter supported by Apple
Apple native FireWire, included with all qualified systems
40 GB or larger internal IDE boot drive
CD or DVD-ROM drive
QuickTime 7.0.1. QuickTime 6.x is not supported with Tiger.
The system requirements for Avid Xpress Pro will vary, based on whether the software is used with Avid Mojo, and whether external storage or Avid Unity LANshare EX connectivity is required. The table below lists the qualified systems for each scenario. Also see “Important Notes” for more information

[Boyd Ostroff]

Well 256MB RAM is really inadequate for everything on a powerbook, and certainly not enough for video editing, but that can be easily upgraded. However, with reasonable amounts of memory I don't think you'll notice any speed increase from a 25mhz faster CPU. I don't think the internal drive matters a lot - you shouldn't be putting your video there anyway - get a fast firewire drive for that. We have a couple 12" powerbooks at work and they are nice little machines for everyday things, but I would never want to use one to edit video. For one thing, the screen doesn't have high enough resolution (1024x768). It also lacks the PC card slot which means you can't have two independent firewire busses (a firewire PC card costs about $30).

I have no experience with Avid, but have edited with FCP while travelling using my 15" Powerbook G4/1ghz with 1.25GB RAM. It worked fine, but there were certainly performance trade-offs. The problem is that the gap between Apple's desktops and laptop computers has gotten huge. If you buy a laptop you're essentially settling for 3 or 4 year old technology. This is the main reason Apple is switching to Intel, since IBM failed to provide a G5 or dual processor laptop chip. Hopefully we'll see the gap start to close within the next two years.

In the meantime, the Powerbooks are very nice computers but they don't represent a good value if you're running demanding software like video applications. As long as you can accept the tradeoff and pay the premium price that a laptop commands this is fine. But unless you absolutely must have portability they don't make a lot of sense IMO.

If you really want to stick with a laptop I suggest you pop a 1gb chip into your open memory slot on your 15" powerbook. The 12" won't be any faster, you'll lose money on the trade, and I don't think you'll be happy with the smaller screen. Is it really worth it to save a couple inches of space?

[Marcus Farrar]

Greetings

I am having problems exporting my video in Avid to MPEG2. I look through all the settings but do not see an export for MPEG2. Any other Avid Express Mac users have this problem. I use Avid Express 3 on Max OS 10.2?

I know I can export a mov. file and use quicktime to convert to MPEG2 but is there a way to get it right out of Express? We use DVD Studio Pro to make our DVD's but now I am have problems getting the MPEG2 files.

Any help welcome.

[Richard Alvarez]

Marcus,

I don't use a mac, and I cut with XpressPro, not XpressDV so I'm not 100% sure about this, but the interface should be the same as on the pc.

You don't export as mpeg2. You export your QT reference file to your compression software. You should have gotten a copy of Sorenson Squeeze (unless you have the educational version?) If not, then you will need some compression software. Export your QT file or QT reference file, compress to whatever you want, Mpg2, Flash, WMV... whatever, and you are good to go.

(In the avid menu, click on the sequence in the bin, click on 'send to' and the compression system you use should come up. Remember to mark the sequence on the timeline with an in and out at the beginning and end. And indicate which or all of the tracks to export)

[Marcus Farrar]

I am going to try this, thanks. For you there is no way to export MPEG2 file directly from Avid.

I also use FCP and I just export the MPEG2 file and then I am ready to put it in DVD Studio Pro for a final DVD. It seems like an extra step to do it the way you are explaining. If it is the only way I guess thats it.

thanks again
Marcus

[Richard Alvarez]

Marcus,

Yes, for me the 'extra step' is pushing the 'send to' button. At that point, the qt file is sent to Sorenson, which automatically opens with the file in place. I then set the compression settings I desire (or leave at default) and press "Squeeze". Sorenson then compresses the file and I have the results ready to import into ReelDVD or any other authoring software.

[Steven Jonze]

Does Avid free or vegas 6 have Deinterlace Blend?

[Richard Alvarez]

Avid Free does not. It's really stripped down. Just the basic interface and some transistions.

[Nazir Kutub]

Does anyone know how to configure the Avid Mojo? I've attached it properly and Xpress Pro detects it - but the effects aren't real-time. If I add an effect to the timeline, it's as if there was no mojo at all.

Anyone can help?

[Richard Alvarez]

I don't have a Mojo... (Please, no Austin Powers jokes) So I can't tell you how to configure it. But the avid forum is the place to start. www.avid.com

[Nazir Kutub]

That's the problem - Avid's site or forum have not really offered much. And the manual is just atrocious.....

I'm using Xpress Pro 5.1.7.... I've connected it as directed..... it captures fine..... just that rendering is not in real time.....

Anyone?

[Mark Grant]

Avid just released version 5.2 of Xpress Pro HD with HDV support: I haven't tried it yet as I'm still downloading, but it's available on the Avid web site.

[Cody Dulock]

sounds simple enough, but how do you add more than one effect to a single clip in avid NLE? i'm using avid express pro hd.

this has been making me go crazy! thanks in advanced for any info.