Technical overload

[Curves Ahead]

Ok...I've been shooting news now for a bit, thinking about putting together a home NLE system to maybe dabble in some weddings and such on my free time, however I'm stumped by all this new digital stuff on the market these days.

I have a Sony VIAO Pentium 4 (2.66 megahertz), 40GB hard drive, 256RAM.... looking to expand it to 1GB RAM. and a 17" LCD flat panel (not sure if that matters). It has a bunch of firewire ports, USB ports too.

I'd like to look into an Canon XL1s, and install Avid DV express (or the like), but I'm not sure that my computer could support it or that I would even install it correctly...

Anybodies suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks all!

[Icarus112277]

I'm not an expert in home systems but your ideas sound fine for a small scale studio..probably be great for wedding videography.

[Curves Ahead]

Thanks

[TVnewsphotog]

You may want to upgrade the hard drive. Video takes up a lot of hard drive space. I would buy a drive and use it only for media projects, 100 GB drive would be prime. Good Luck!

[oldman]

go for as much hard drive as you can afford.

heck, sams club sells a 200gb wd caviar for 150 bucks.

and the more working memory the better.

if you are really serious and are now wedded to windows....look at the canopus dv storm card.

real time preview and output are real pluses if you hate to wait...and it comes bundled with lots of decent adobe software.

i'm one of those anti apple folks...please no comments from the apple eaters, your points are all valid...i run an hp 3.06 hyperthreading p4 with 2 gb memory, two 200 gb hard drives internal and 2 160gb external...and no accelerator card.

works great for me....

i think with the memory and hard drive you will have fun with the right software.

[PHX Shooter]

hey there,
Your PC is past enough for Avid XPress DV, but you'll need at least 512mb of memory. Check out Avid's site for requirements. The extra HD is a must have, make sure you get a 7200 rpm drive with an 8mb buffer (ex. Maxtor, Western Digital). A number of the PC guys in my area who do weddings and events like the new version of Premiere, so you might want to check that out.
As for the XL1, if you're used to shooting on Pro gear, you might be disappointed, especially with the audio. You should also try one as the handheld shooting position is a bit awkward. Sony VX-2000/PD-150's are nice, shoot well in low light. I've also heard some good reviews on the Panasonic DVX-100.
Good Luck!

[Eric Lian]

Your Sony laptop may not run Avid Xpress DV. Since I don't know the model number, I can't say for sure. If you go to the Avid website, they have a page with recommended desktop and laptop configurations for Avid DV Xpress. More important, they also tell you what won't work with DV Xpress.

http://www.avid.com/products/xpressdv/specs/pc.shtml

If you're looking for a less expensive and more comfortable alternative, a workstation is the way to go. I'm guessing you're not going to be out on the road editing weddings anyway.

I've used a variety of systems and I finally have one that runs perfectly. If you can buy "used" equipment with confidence - do it. I rarely buy new anymore. The resale value sinks faster than the Titanic. Let others buy it new. I'll be there to buy it when they sell it. I learned that the hard way. (Sad story to follow at the end).

I run Avid DV Xpress (used) and Adobe Premiere 6.5 (used) on a Dell 340 Workstation I bought on eBay for 500.00 (a steal). I specifically chose the 340 because it was recommended by Avid to run DV Xpress.

It came with:
Windows XP Pro
2.53GHz Processor
1.5GB RAM,
(2) 120GB Hard Drives spinning at 7200RPM

I added:
$20 Pyro firewire card (used)
(I had a $2500 Canopus DVRex M1 (new) that I bought for my Win 98 system that Canopus wouldn't support on XP. Ba$tard$! I sold that card to another '98 user for $300. I will never buy Canopus again, nor will I ever buy an expensive card again).

I've run this system for the past 16 months with zero issues and work it hard.

I have a Canon XL-1 that I've had since 1998 ($3600 new). Not the "S" model. It's been to the factory once for the recommended service. Other than that it's the best, toughest, and most reliable camera I have ever used. It's been heavily abused and my next camera and camera after that will also be an XL-1. See the "Digital Issues" page on b-roll for the specific abuses and why I like this camera.

I also have a JVC HR-DVS2 DV tape player ($900 new) (also firewire compatible) for playback and capture to the 340. It saves wear and tear on the camera tape heads which really shouldn't be used for jog and shuttle. If you can't afford a separate DV player, then buy a used DV camcorder and use it as the playback deck. I picked up a Canon ZR-10 for $75. Don't use your primary camera.

Other than that I have an Azden 500UDR wireless receiver with a Azden Lav and Sony Mic fed to the XL-1 with a Canon MA-100.

My sad story: Well, I guess the Canopus card was sad story #1. Did I mention how much I hate Canopus for hanging me out to dry?

In 1998 I bought an $1200 Medea High Speed Disk Array. PCI, two platters spinning at 10,000RPM. Also unsupported under XP. A whopping 18GB, which was huge back then. I can't even unload that now for $50. It's sits in perfect condition, boxed, on the floor of my studio, as a totem to my stupidity.

[<Sycophant>]

You computer is a laptop, right?

The RAM is a deffinate. A bigger hard drive is a great idea, but 40GB will hold a fair but of video if need be.

A laptop has some definate pluses for editing (portabilty) but you are generally limited to one monitor - which can be frustrating when using Avid and most other NLEs.

As for camera, I've never liked the XL1 much. The interchangable lenses is cool, but the rest of it I just don't like much. I am more comfortable with the PD150. I'd avoid the VX2000 as it's basically a cut down PD150, but not all that much cheaper.

I have sucessfully run Avid Xpress DV 3.5 on an AMD Duron 1.3GHz system with 256MB of RAM and a 40GB drive - it worked but was fairly sluggish.

Good luck.

[<C St SW>]

Eric is right....avoid the Vaio if you can. Xpress DV may run on it....mine does, but not until well after I purchased it did an Avid rep tell me why they don't like Vaio's. It seems that Sony changes their products so often and so quickly, Avid can't keep up with certifying them to work with Xpress DV. So, Avid will tell you flat out....avoid the Vaio. You're better off with the Dell that they recommend.

[<HeadShot>]

Id consider a wedding a long format. When you think about it, you will be digitzing at least an hour of tape per camera for the ceremony itself. The last wedding I shot in Canada was a three cam shoot(Two XL's and a GL1), and included all the pre and post activities...it was an epic as far as weddings go. Over three days we accumulated 19 hours of tape. We digitzed about six to edit down to a 2 hr final peice. Long story short, Disk space! We have 4 100GB fire wire drives and we were taxing them. Also remember to get fast drives capable of processing video and audio. 7200rpm or faster.

"Sorry I missed that shot, there's rice in my eye"

[Eric Lian]

HeadShot,

It was interesting to read your comments regarding disk space. Do you log your tapes and sequences and create an EDL before digitizing? You'd save a ton of capture time and disk space if you had an outline of the story in advance and then digitize specific sequences to the EDL.

I've created several hour long videos using a single, dedicated, 120MB hard drive and have never come close to even using half of that disk space.

Condensing 6 hours into 2 hours for the final piece means that you digitized 3 hours and 59 minutes you didn't need. The ceremony might last a physical hour, but in reality only 7 minutes including the kiss are of any interest. My personal opinion is the tape should present the highlights. The photographer, if there is one, can capture the traditional stuff. In fact, I have often worked with the photographer to be sure I know what he's capturing so I don't have to overlap.

As a viewer of friends wedding tapes, I get restless after 20 minutes. Everyone else, including the wedding party, always seems to head to the kitchen and bathroom after thirty minutes.

Although I don't do weddings anymore, I understand a two hour tape sounds like a great deal to the family because they think they're getting their money's worth. I would educate the family that it's impossible to sit through a two hour tape and that you could tell a masterful story in thirty to forty minutes (on the high side).

If you're looking for an addition income stream, blooper tapes, if you have bloopers, go over very well.