Joseph 15

[joseph_15]

i am a videographer.im looking for a good PC so that i can use it as for editing.my video cam is a sony hdr fx1.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

Hi Joseph!
Even though i dont know much about viddeo graphing but it would be wise to state your budget.That way the members would know how much we are dealing with.

 

[diellur]

Joseph, here's the link to the sticky on asking advice for a new-build system...we need a bit more to go on than just your intended usage.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/288241-13-faqs-build-advice-buyer-guides-troubleshooting

 

[Wisecracker]

That's a great cam. Wish I had one. But time and technology have really passed it by.

The first thing you need is a copy of XP -- 64-bit would be nice but is not really a big requirement because of other hardware and software limitations.

You are essentially recording 1440x1080 mpg2 video, and stereo (maybe Dolby is possible) uncompressed PCM audio, to digital tape. No worries as this is quality stuff, especially if you don't record over used tape.

The other thing I think will really help you is a dedicated fire-wire card. On-board fire-wire should work, too, but might be susceptible to a hiccup from time-to-time as it would be more of a shared resource.

Not sure what your ultimate plans are but I would avoid any conversion or compression of your files. The advantage you have is in the quality of the recordings - you start screwing around converting and compressing that, and you lose that original quality (and might as well purchase a newer HD cam with formats that would be easier with which to work).

Here's the deal with XP: The real-time capture feature of older model Sony cams will not work with Vista or Windows 7. This is a big deal. If there is a work-around for this I'd love to hear it because I have several older Sony DV tape cams.

With real-time capture over fire-wire, you will be 'digitalizing' your scenes to your computer as you record them to tape. This is a real time saver as you don't have the additional step of transferring your tape to your computer. Just be certain that your 'real-time' capture project format is consistent with your camera's output -- 1440x1080 mpg2 with the proper frame, resolution, audio and bit rates. Carrying this over to your output after editing should be a real plus, too, in saving time and headaches.

Sony in the past has been big on MainConcept mpg decoders in software but I'm not really certain how the FX1 handles that. MainConcept has favored AMD processors but I don't believe it matters much in the big scheme of things whether your computer hardware is AMD or Intel -- your work flow and process is more important in the 'big picture'.

The max spec for fire-wire cables is 15ft so that gives you reasonable workable room in most scenes for real-time capture. Some folks claim longer cables work but I've never wanted to be the test case for that. When you go 'portable' with your FX1 when you are done you will just have to manually transfer your tape to the computer (and once again, for your FX1 I highly suspect that only XP will work with the Sony external video capture application)

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey