

We used to talk about needing one gigabyte of storage space for five minutes of video. You will use up whatever space you have, I can guarantee it! Get more storage!

One number you will want as high as possible is storage capacity. So, think about doubling or tripling the RAM to get the best performance from a system built to edit.Ī single CPU processor chip, no matter how high its rating, will generally not be as good as a computer with multiple processors ”“ the advantages of Quad Core processing for video editing are pretty big, no matter the clock speed rating number. Some systems come with two or four GB of RAM ”“ but consider that, at the minimum, even the operating system may need that much. Don’t worry about a computer’s peak transfer rate ”“ a sexy number in some cases, but for video, look for a good sustained throughput. Video storage drives generally need 7200 RPM. For example, a hard drive rated at a minimum spin speed of 5400 rpm is probably too slow for your needs. One approach to computer hardware specs is to ignore the maximum ratings, and watch carefully the minimum. There is a lot of heat built up during many of the horsepower-intensive digital video editing processes ”“ you don’t want a meltdown ”“ for yourself, or your PC! Hardware
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Knowing that there are very capable and very confident folks out there, and some great home-made editing systems as well, you should again make your own best assessment here.Īs many who have built their own editing system will advise, keep cool! That means not only having patience and long fuse, but also plenty of space and good fans for the PC interior. Buy or Build?Īs Doug originally wrote, “The extra money you spend in getting a turnkey system is well worth the extra time it takes to build and debug your own.” You are the one who will have to work out potential computer bugs and system incompatibilities, so assess your tech comfort level carefully. The less expensive a system is, the more time it will take to get running the way it’s supposed to (and the more add-ons you may have to get later on).

You can get going quicker on them, and they have the horsepower to do the job at hand faster, getting your final product ”˜out the door’ in less time. In general, too, more expensive systems run faster. If time is money, and for many small business operators, that is the case, spending a little more up front may save you time, frustration and money down the line. The more pre-configured a video editing system is, the more expensive it will be. Canopus, Matrox, Pinnacle, Digital Rapids, Aja and Blackmagic are among the many capture card makers out there. At the other side of the scale are really high-end cards that can cost thousands.
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The hardware needed, in this case, is some sort of DV or FireWire capture card that brings video into the computer, and the software, like iMovie, which is usually included with a new purchase.Īnd while there are now PC makers, VARs and integrators who will pre-install a DV capture card or build an entire turnkey system for you, some Windows PC users will find they have to add their own (in my case, it was a card and software bundle from Canopus) DV capture card to the system, one that’s compatible with the computer, with the editing software being used, and with your needs and abilities.Įven at the beginner level, there are an amazing number of choices out there – capture cards used to get video from your camera to your computer can be found starting at $30. Mac users getting into video will find it pretty easy to get started ”“ most of what they need is built right into their computer. Square OneĪnother question to ask is how computer literate or tech savvy are you? The answer will steer you one way or the other. Some editing systems are complete hardware and software packages making them dedicated editing appliances, such as those from MacroSystems, like the Kron or Casablanca, or even the NewTek Toaster system. Software is a dedicated program for editing video, much like a program for word processing. The hardware is a computer and accessories such as extra storage drives and maybe a ”˜capture card’. Your choice will be some combination of hardware and software.
