HD100 computer shopping advice requested... at DVinfo.net

Mekhael Trepanier · June 9th, 2007, 01:40 AM

hello gang.
well ive noe got my HD100 all up and running and i must say its been a real treat to get to use
the time has come to buy a new computer, my current PC is just not cutting it at all any more.
this might be a very vague question.
if you were going to get a new computer tomorow ???

1- mac or PC ' can i go wrong either way ? '
2 - how much of ram hard drive and so on is needed ?
3 - as far as an editing program goes, what would you choose "i guess this goes hand in hand with the mac or pc question. "
4 - is having two monitors really that much better ?
5 - do i need HD monitors or will any LCD monitor do it.

i am trying to get myself the most properly equiped to maximize the use of my camera. i have a little editing experience, but in all honesty im going to just call my self new.

if anyones got a second to help me out that would be great.

please keep in mind i am using a JVC HD 100 most of my shooting will be 720 /24 the project is a low budget full length feature. and like many people just trying to get the best results with what i can get my hands on

thanks in advance to any suggestions / help

Steve Benner · June 9th, 2007, 05:28 AM

I would go with Final Cut Studio 2 on a Mac. People have had capture problems with Final Cut Pro, but I haven't as of yet. I also now use a DR-HD100 Firestore which capture the HDV stream right into FCP's Quicktime File that can be edited right after a quick import. Awesome stuff. The Firestore works with other NLE's as well. Final Cut Studio also comes with DVD Studio Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color( new additon, and is an AMAZING color corrector/enhancer), Compressor, Cinema Tools, and LiveType. These programs together can do more than a $60,000 Avid Symphony system. I love them.

Either way, DO NOT get Avid Xpress or Avid Media Composer. Both do not, nor will not, work with the JVC HD100 720/24P HDV anytime soon, if ever.

Avid Liquid on the PC side is great for the HD100, but I do not like the interface. It is a good value though for the money.

Premiere and Vegas both support it, and if I had to take a PC NLE, I would chose Premiere since it is very similar to Final Cut.

If you give us a buget, we can help better. Either way, I would rather get a Firestore and a cheaper computer and not worry about capture. Just me though, many people do not mind it.

As far as HD Space, that depends on the size of the project. I would imagine at least a 500 GB drive. At least 2 gigs of RAM (3-4 best, but not necessary).

Two monitors is nice, but not needed.

Liam Hall · June 9th, 2007, 05:37 AM

Another vote for Final Cut Studio. It's a no brainer for me.

Just ask yourself iF you'd want to drive a Ferrari or a Trabant, when the Ferrari is cheaper!

Stephen L. Noe · June 9th, 2007, 08:43 AM

On the PC side, I'd go for Avid Liquid Chrome Xe. Absolutely flawless HDV workflow for both HDV1 & HDV2 end to end (ProHD, XDCamHD, Canon's F formats, etc).

Mekhael Trepanier · June 9th, 2007, 11:17 AM

thanks for the responses.

the mac route has been at the top of my choice for a while now just wanted to get a couple peoples last inputs.
final cut studio sounds like the best choice to go with it...
thank you for clearing up that part...

NEXT QUESTION...

what would now be a smarter choice. to invest in a mini dv player for the JVC HD 100. "looks like a mini vcr" or go with a firestore set up. buying both is not going to happen. tapeless operation would be nice. but im not against tapes.
does a firestore make for uploading files to a computer really easy.?
or is having a DV deck to capture all one in the same.?

- and just to go back to the monitor question.
are HD monitors really something i need to be looking into?? or will any LCD monitor do the job.

** as for budget im planning to buy the computer in monthly payments so a bit here and there wont make tones of difference. but for argument sake lets say 5 grand as a cap. the capture deck or the new idea firestore are budgeted for seperatly. **

thanks in advance again

MEKHAEL

Steve Benner · June 9th, 2007, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mekhael Trepanier

thanks for the responses.

the mac route has been at the top of my choice for a while now just wanted to get a couple peoples last inputs.
final cut studio sounds like the best choice to go with it...
thank you for clearing up that part...

NEXT QUESTION...

what would now be a smarter choice. to invest in a mini dv player for the JVC HD 100. "looks like a mini vcr" or go with a firestore set up. buying both is not going to happen. tapeless operation would be nice. but im not against tapes.
does a firestore make for uploading files to a computer really easy.?
or is having a DV deck to capture all one in the same.?

- and just to go back to the monitor question.
are HD monitors really something i need to be looking into?? or will any LCD monitor do the job.

** as for budget im planning to buy the computer in monthly payments so a bit here and there wont make tones of difference. but for argument sake lets say 5 grand as a cap. the capture deck or the new idea firestore are budgeted for seperatly. **

thanks in advance again

MEKHAEL

As I said, if you use FCP (or other NLE's as well), it is as simple as dropping the files into the editor and cutting. Do capture time at all. I love it, and wouldn't go back from the DR-HD100 after using it. If you plan to be doing an offline to online and want to re-cature, then the Deck might be better. The only deck it seems that works well is the BR-HD50, and that costs a lot more than the firestores. There really is no reason not to edit HDV I natively on the new Mac systems since they are more than fast enough. Just make sure in the sequence settings to set the rendering to Pro Ress, not HDV.

Alex Humphrey · April 17th, 2008, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Benner

Just make sure in the sequence settings to set the rendering to Pro Ress, not HDV.

hmmm you like pro-res? Any specific gains if downconverting HDV 24p to DVD anaorphic 24p?

Oh, and another vote for Final Cut (Studio) with a firestore pro (HD100DTE) is the one. any Firestore Pro will capture off the camera in quicktime (important for Apple software), but the JVC specific one gives information back to the camera about how many minutes left available on the HDD etc.

There was an issue with segmented clips on the Apple capturing of JVC's HDV, though I think that has been resolved as of this week, however there NEVER was an issue with the Firestore drives.

Giuseppe Pugliese · April 17th, 2008, 09:50 PM

On the PC side if life, Vegas Pro 8 is the most easy way to work with the hd100 footage, its so simple, just capture and edit, nothing to it, its all completely native. It fully supports the hd100 footage 100%.

It runs very fast as well.

The PC to buy would be a quad core Pentium with at least 2 gigs of ram, 3 its much better and 4 the best.

This does all work with Vista, although I hate vista, it sure as hell wont make me want to go mac any time soon. Its very smooth and runs well. I did multi-cam edits on the system and worked well.

Make sure you get a ton of hard drive space, some kind of raid system.

On the mac side, I would say that for the money you would spend for the same system on a pc you would literally be able to afford only half a mac pro. The mac side is MUCH more expensive. I've edited for mtv on a FCP system as well as a Premiere/Vegas system, and I have to say the PC system had much less problems doing what i needed to do.

If you have the money ( $4,000) for the mac pro tower, extra ram, raid system, and FCP 2 suit, then sure do that. But for $1,700 you could get a quad core pc, fill it with ram, 3x 500Gig drives and buy Vegas and be set and have extra money in your pocket for other things.

A budget would really help tell you what is the best way to go....

Then again you could spend $4,000 on a PC system that would make you cry in complete joy. Its up to what you like. Processor power is key. Then ram.

As far as monitors, you NEED 2 if you are doing any real editing. Believe me it changes your work flow completely, and makes things much faster. I would very much use one LCD and one CRT at the least. Make sure both monitors have the resolution of at least 1280x800 so you can see your work pixel for pixel.

June 9th, 2007, 01:40 AM	#1
Mekhael Trepanier Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 144	HD100 computer shopping advice requested... hello gang. well ive noe got my HD100 all up and running and i must say its been a real treat to get to use the time has come to buy a new computer, my current PC is just not cutting it at all any more. this might be a very vague question. if you were going to get a new computer tomorow ??? 1- mac or PC ' can i go wrong either way ? ' 2 - how much of ram hard drive and so on is needed ? 3 - as far as an editing program goes, what would you choose "i guess this goes hand in hand with the mac or pc question. " 4 - is having two monitors really that much better ? 5 - do i need HD monitors or will any LCD monitor do it. i am trying to get myself the most properly equiped to maximize the use of my camera. i have a little editing experience, but in all honesty im going to just call my self new. if anyones got a second to help me out that would be great. please keep in mind i am using a JVC HD 100 most of my shooting will be 720 /24 the project is a low budget full length feature. and like many people just trying to get the best results with what i can get my hands on thanks in advance to any suggestions / help

June 9th, 2007, 05:37 AM	#3
Liam Hall Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London, England Posts: 969	Another vote for Final Cut Studio. It's a no brainer for me. Just ask yourself iF you'd want to drive a Ferrari or a Trabant, when the Ferrari is cheaper! __________________ Writer-Director-DOP www.liamhall.net

June 9th, 2007, 08:43 AM	#4
Stephen L. Noe Trustee Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,214	On the PC side, I'd go for Avid Liquid Chrome Xe. Absolutely flawless HDV workflow for both HDV1 & HDV2 end to end (ProHD, XDCamHD, Canon's F formats, etc). __________________ Advanced Avid Liquid Training found Here

June 9th, 2007, 05:28 AM	#2
Steve Benner Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: United States Posts: 590	I would go with Final Cut Studio 2 on a Mac. People have had capture problems with Final Cut Pro, but I haven't as of yet. I also now use a DR-HD100 Firestore which capture the HDV stream right into FCP's Quicktime File that can be edited right after a quick import. Awesome stuff. The Firestore works with other NLE's as well. Final Cut Studio also comes with DVD Studio Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color( new additon, and is an AMAZING color corrector/enhancer), Compressor, Cinema Tools, and LiveType. These programs together can do more than a $60,000 Avid Symphony system. I love them. Either way, DO NOT get Avid Xpress or Avid Media Composer. Both do not, nor will not, work with the JVC HD100 720/24P HDV anytime soon, if ever. Avid Liquid on the PC side is great for the HD100, but I do not like the interface. It is a good value though for the money. Premiere and Vegas both support it, and if I had to take a PC NLE, I would chose Premiere since it is very similar to Final Cut. If you give us a buget, we can help better. Either way, I would rather get a Firestore and a cheaper computer and not worry about capture. Just me though, many people do not mind it. As far as HD Space, that depends on the size of the project. I would imagine at least a 500 GB drive. At least 2 gigs of RAM (3-4 best, but not necessary). Two monitors is nice, but not needed.

June 9th, 2007, 11:17 AM	#5
Mekhael Trepanier Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 144	thanks for the responses. the mac route has been at the top of my choice for a while now just wanted to get a couple peoples last inputs. final cut studio sounds like the best choice to go with it... thank you for clearing up that part... NEXT QUESTION... what would now be a smarter choice. to invest in a mini dv player for the JVC HD 100. "looks like a mini vcr" or go with a firestore set up. buying both is not going to happen. tapeless operation would be nice. but im not against tapes. does a firestore make for uploading files to a computer really easy.? or is having a DV deck to capture all one in the same.? - and just to go back to the monitor question. are HD monitors really something i need to be looking into?? or will any LCD monitor do the job. as for budget im planning to buy the computer in monthly payments so a bit here and there wont make tones of difference. but for argument sake lets say 5 grand as a cap. the capture deck or the new idea firestore are budgeted for seperatly. thanks in advance again MEKHAEL

April 17th, 2008, 09:50 PM	#8
Giuseppe Pugliese Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 392	On the PC side if life, Vegas Pro 8 is the most easy way to work with the hd100 footage, its so simple, just capture and edit, nothing to it, its all completely native. It fully supports the hd100 footage 100%. It runs very fast as well. The PC to buy would be a quad core Pentium with at least 2 gigs of ram, 3 its much better and 4 the best. This does all work with Vista, although I hate vista, it sure as hell wont make me want to go mac any time soon. Its very smooth and runs well. I did multi-cam edits on the system and worked well. Make sure you get a ton of hard drive space, some kind of raid system. On the mac side, I would say that for the money you would spend for the same system on a pc you would literally be able to afford only half a mac pro. The mac side is MUCH more expensive. I've edited for mtv on a FCP system as well as a Premiere/Vegas system, and I have to say the PC system had much less problems doing what i needed to do. If you have the money ( $4,000) for the mac pro tower, extra ram, raid system, and FCP 2 suit, then sure do that. But for $1,700 you could get a quad core pc, fill it with ram, 3x 500Gig drives and buy Vegas and be set and have extra money in your pocket for other things. A budget would really help tell you what is the best way to go.... Then again you could spend $4,000 on a PC system that would make you cry in complete joy. Its up to what you like. Processor power is key. Then ram. As far as monitors, you NEED 2 if you are doing any real editing. Believe me it changes your work flow completely, and makes things much faster. I would very much use one LCD and one CRT at the least. Make sure both monitors have the resolution of at least 1280x800 so you can see your work pixel for pixel.