Another option for the PC crowd...

[Jeff Kilgroe]

The Leitch (formerly DPS) VelocityHD supports Op-Atom MXF workflow and DVCPRO (25/50/HD100) and fully supports the Varicam and its frame rates so the HVX200 should just work. I'm an idiot that I completely overlooked these guys as an option as I've owned DPS products in the past. Always solid-performing hardware and software, but they still have an old-style approach to a lot of things that I'm not sure I care for today. This involves proprietary RAID controllers tied to the edit cards and whatnot, but this isn't entirely necessary. I had to dump my older DPS Reality when I migrated most of my newer systems to AMD as their products wouldn't work in AMD systems. Apparently there is still some AMD issues and Leitch doesn't support AMD officially, but some users are having success.

Cost wise, the VelocityHD is rather expensive, but I'm going to see if I can find a local dealer with one that I can play with. It would be cheaper than buying into a Mac+FCS+AJA solution, but not much. If I must build a new Intel workstation for the VelocityHD, then the Mac would be cheaper.

Arrrgh! More decisions...

[Steven Thomas]

Jeff, isn't that like $10K or more?


Is it possible to get just the software without the hardware (breakout box ect.)?

If so, how much?

thxs, Steve

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I'm trying to get current pricing from someone. I have an older price sheet showing a VelocityHD v7 (they're currently on v9.1) and it's about $5500 for the board, software and breakout cable. Turn-key systems at that time started around $11K. And this all seems very broadcaster oriented with little third-party support -- worse than with Edius, although their software is more capable in terms of actual editing features.

In the end, this is probably going to be more expensive than a switch to Mac. Actually, a Mac solution including FCS can be had for less than the cost of the VelocityHD hardware if the buyer restrains himself and doesn't go for the top of the line dual or quad power Mac.

[Steven Thomas]

I hear ya..

I've been PC guy forever, but do respect the MAC, especially in the audio/video field.

After having said that, my pockets are not as deep lately. With the HVX200 expense and other goodies, well, you know the rest.

But, If I were to get into the MAC, without buying MAC's top end, what's the best deal that will offer these requirements:


1. Dual video. One for edit, the other for playback only. (I will use to Dell 2405 monitors)

2. Enough CPU and IO speed to preview at full resolution and frame rate without crapping out.

thxs, Steve

[Andrae Palmer]

Originally Posted by Steven Thomas

I hear ya..

I've been PC guy forever, but do respect the MAC, especially in the audio/video field.

After having said that, my pockets are not as deep lately. With the HVX200 expense and other goodies, well, you know the rest.

But, If I were to get into the MAC, without buying MAC's top end, what's the best deal that will offer these requirements:


1. Dual video. One for edit, the other for playback only. (I will use to Dell 2405 monitors)

2. Enough CPU and IO speed to preview at full resolution and frame rate without crapping out.

thxs, Steve

Any Dual 2GHz or higher Power Mac G5 with PCI-X or PCI-e ports.

[Rob McCardle]

Hi Steven,

fcp specs

Will you be using Motion ? - then you'll need to max the RAM, to the point you can afford and you'll want the 7800 gcard as well.

Have a dig around over at Barefeats - a great Mac resource.

oh and it's Mac BTW not MAC. Picky, picky, picky - I know ...

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I concur with the other opinions, but all is not lost for the budget conscious...

Keep in mind that a lot of people have already worked with Kaku's clips (and those from others) on G4 powerbooks with success. So, for a budget desktop, a Mac Mini or a G5 iMac would work. Neither allow connection of a secondary monitor though and the Mac Mini or G4 powerbook won't work for HD DVD authoring when that becomes available in the near future.

But if you're going to be serious about this, then I would recommend a Power Mac - as suggested already. You can also save a small bit of money by adding RAM and HDDs on your own vs. purchasing with the system.

Definitely get the 7800GT video option (too bad they don't have a 7800GTX, weird...).

RAM - pile it on! 2GB minimum, 4GB is great, 8GB would be bliss, 16GB is impractically expensive at this point. Avoid using 512MB modules.

HDD - I recommend 2x250GB or 2x500GB. If you don't have an external back-up solution via tape or something you trust, then run a RAID-1 mirror for redundancy. But if you trust your back-ups or your luck, run RAID-0 for full capacity and performance.

It's expensive... Surprisingly, it's not much more expensive than building a nice PC out of top of the line parts. The G5 Quad will spank nearly any PC out there in terms of performance (except for Quad 2.4GHz Opteron or better for the most part).

And just like in the PC world... Mac software is still waiting for multiprocessor/multi-core optimizations to catch up with hardware. A lot of the pro apps are currently designed to take advantage of two processors, few can actually scale well to exploit the Quad. But I would recommend the Quad if you can swing it -- just that much more future-proof. Especially if you're going to run Shake or any 3D apps. I figure that if I buy the Quad and I move to something else for editing, even in the next 6~8 months, it's still a really nice computer and a wonderful addition to my render farm.

I'm going to wait and see what shakes loose at MacWorld... Won't have my HVX200 by then anyway.