Quick 1 megapixel DV hardware n00b question at DVinfo.net

Bryan Roberts · December 17th, 2002, 05:17 PM

Hey. Well I am an old school vid student who is used to editing with a linear reel to reel and video toaster effects. I took a 4 year haitus from video for college but am now going to have a film minor in the next year and hope to go to film school in the next 2 years. ANYWAYS, I am purchasing a sony 1 megapixel DV camcorder and am planning on buying a P4 2.4 gigahertz, with 256 meg RDram and 120 gig hard drive and was curious if this was enough processor and harware strength to easily edit uncompressed DV from my sony camcorder on Adobe Premiere 6.5 which I've been fooling around with the past few months? Please don't suggest that I go MAC because I need the compatibility of a pc for all the software I already have not to mention, I'm just negatively biased towards macs in general :) Thanks for input! -Bryan

-Also, is it possible to hook up a second computer monitor to just view the preview project from Adobe premiere as I edit? Is this a matter of just getting a special video card or more of having to have the right program to go along with a special vid card? Thanks again!

Chris Hurd · December 17th, 2002, 05:45 PM

Hi Bryan,

DV isn't uncompressed -- an important thing to understand. It is compressed at a 5:1 ratio in the camera. As long as you're moving the video to your PC over a FireWire connection, you won't have to worry about any further compression.

Your system is more than adequate for editing DV, but you'll need a second hard drive dedicated to video editing/storage only. Be sure it spins at 5400rpm at least. Another 120gb drive should give you more than nine hours of DV capacity.

It's always best to monitor your DV with an NTSC video monitor, not another computer monitor. For that, you'll need a video card with analog video output. Hope this helps,

December 17th, 2002, 07:18 PM

Hey Bryan,
Sounds like you've got a good base of knowledge to get started. I personally would suggest going for at least 512 MB of RAM, even a gig if you can afford it. Other than that, it looks like you're making a good purchase decision (I, personally, would go with a Mac for video, but I can see your need/desire for a PC).
Good luck!

Robert Knecht Schmidt · December 17th, 2002, 07:22 PM

I second that on the 512 MB RAM. 256 is a little low these days. Also, it never hurts to have more hard drive space, so 120 GB hard drive should suffice for now, make sure your computer has another drive bay to add another drive down the road.

As for your dual monitor setup, you just need a video card that supports two monitors (and has lots of Video RAM). All new versions of Windows support dual monitors. While you're at it, make sure your new video card can record from a TV or cable line-in that turns your computer into a TiVo-like hard drive recorder, and say goodbye to your clumsy VCR and those big, expensive, low-resolution analog VHS tapes.

Welcome to the digital revolution!

Bryan Roberts · December 18th, 2002, 06:54 PM

Sounds great, I'll go for either 512 or 1 gb or memory, and I plan to use my old 30 gig hd as another HD on my new computer to house all my programs and then use the 120 gig just for mp3's and dv. I checked out what vid card I need to get for dual monitor setup (it has 128 megs of vid memory). Thanks so much for the input! I can't wait to get all of this going in mid-january and start shooting and editing again!

December 17th, 2002, 05:17 PM	#1
Bryan Roberts Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 436	Quick 1 megapixel DV hardware n00b question Hey. Well I am an old school vid student who is used to editing with a linear reel to reel and video toaster effects. I took a 4 year haitus from video for college but am now going to have a film minor in the next year and hope to go to film school in the next 2 years. ANYWAYS, I am purchasing a sony 1 megapixel DV camcorder and am planning on buying a P4 2.4 gigahertz, with 256 meg RDram and 120 gig hard drive and was curious if this was enough processor and harware strength to easily edit uncompressed DV from my sony camcorder on Adobe Premiere 6.5 which I've been fooling around with the past few months? Please don't suggest that I go MAC because I need the compatibility of a pc for all the software I already have not to mention, I'm just negatively biased towards macs in general :) Thanks for input! -Bryan -Also, is it possible to hook up a second computer monitor to just view the preview project from Adobe premiere as I edit? Is this a matter of just getting a special video card or more of having to have the right program to go along with a special vid card? Thanks again!

December 17th, 2002, 05:45 PM	#2
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Hi Bryan, DV isn't uncompressed -- an important thing to understand. It is compressed at a 5:1 ratio in the camera. As long as you're moving the video to your PC over a FireWire connection, you won't have to worry about any further compression. Your system is more than adequate for editing DV, but you'll need a second hard drive dedicated to video editing/storage only. Be sure it spins at 5400rpm at least. Another 120gb drive should give you more than nine hours of DV capacity. It's always best to monitor your DV with an NTSC video monitor, not another computer monitor. For that, you'll need a video card with analog video output. Hope this helps, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

December 17th, 2002, 07:22 PM	#4
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	I second that on the 512 MB RAM. 256 is a little low these days. Also, it never hurts to have more hard drive space, so 120 GB hard drive should suffice for now, make sure your computer has another drive bay to add another drive down the road. As for your dual monitor setup, you just need a video card that supports two monitors (and has lots of Video RAM). All new versions of Windows support dual monitors. While you're at it, make sure your new video card can record from a TV or cable line-in that turns your computer into a TiVo-like hard drive recorder, and say goodbye to your clumsy VCR and those big, expensive, low-resolution analog VHS tapes. Welcome to the digital revolution! __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 17th, 2002, 07:18 PM	#3
doctorxex Posts: n/a	Hey Bryan, Sounds like you've got a good base of knowledge to get started. I personally would suggest going for at least 512 MB of RAM, even a gig if you can afford it. Other than that, it looks like you're making a good purchase decision (I, personally, would go with a Mac for video, but I can see your need/desire for a PC). Good luck!

December 18th, 2002, 06:54 PM	#5
Bryan Roberts Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 436	Sounds great, I'll go for either 512 or 1 gb or memory, and I plan to use my old 30 gig hd as another HD on my new computer to house all my programs and then use the 120 gig just for mp3's and dv. I checked out what vid card I need to get for dual monitor setup (it has 128 megs of vid memory). Thanks so much for the input! I can't wait to get all of this going in mid-january and start shooting and editing again!