ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXMinimum system requirements for editing HD - and where to buy
11 years, 6 months ago - Steve Micalef
Hi shooters. A couple of simple questions, so I'll cut to the chase!
1. What's the minimum system requirements for editing 1420 HD footage from a DSLR?
2. Where can I buy such a system (second hand) cheaply and quickly?
Mainly I need to know no.1 so I can quickly eliminate gumtree / ebay posts.
With no.2, I'm interested to hear people's experiences, good and bad, of buying second hand systems from e.g. gumtree or ebay, and if there are any other vendors / sources people have found useful.
The reason I need cheap & quick is because I had a system stolen recently leaving some projects unfinished. I don't have time to faff about or to raise proper cash. I can kit myself out properly when this emergency is over!
FYI it needs to be Final Cut Pro on a mac but also interested to hear about Premier on both mac and PC.
Thanks!
Only members can post or respond to topics. LOGIN
Not a member of SP? JOIN or FIND OUT MORE
11 years, 6 months ago - Dan Selakovich
Does it matter where the 2nd hand system comes from? Personally, I stopped buying used electronics years ago. I. AM. CURSED!
I would add Lightworks to your list if you are checking out other systems. They used to be Avid's competition back in the day, and I loved Lightworks. I freakin' loved it (but I used to edit on actual film, so maybe that's why). It was designed by editors and not engineers. In the last few years, they came back after making their software open source. The basic system is free (it's full fledged, it just doesn't have all the codecs of FCP or Avid), but even the "professional" versions are super cheap. Right now, it's only for PC systems (or using bootcamp on a Mac), but should have a Mac version soon.
You can check it out here:
http://www.lwks.com
Sorry to hear about your troubles. That sucks.
Response from 11 years, 6 months ago - Dan Selakovich SHOW
11 years, 6 months ago - Peter Ward
There is no magical "minimum system requirements" spec; at the very least you'd have to specify the exact version of the editing software you plan to use in addition to the specific codecs your footage is in (knowing the codecs is more important than the resolution, btw).
Saying that, almost any *new* computer you can buy can edit HD video--it's more a question of *how well* do you want it to run. I have an Asus X202e netbook that successfully runs Premiere CS6.5 editing ProRes and AVCHD and Sony Vegas Pro12 editing AVCHD. I don't recommend a netbook, but you could use one in a pinch.
Saying that, the two specs to really look for as a baseline are at least a quad core CPU and a dedicated graphics card with OpenCL support. A GPU will drive up the cost, but more and more editing software benefits from parallel processing--increasingly OpenCL is the most popular API, though some applications still lean toward CUDA, which only Nvidia-based cards support.
Response from 11 years, 6 months ago - Peter Ward SHOW
11 years, 6 months ago - Deva Palmier
I agree with Matt. I would buy a MacBook Pro from eBay - after much research. If possible I would try to get a Mac that could take a thunderbolt cable, so that I could attach a thunderbolt hard drive. Then I would cut with Final Cut Pro, working with Apple pro res LT files for the edit and upgrade the files to Apple Pro res 422 (HQ) for the final output.
Good Luck.
Response from 11 years, 6 months ago - Deva Palmier SHOW
11 years, 6 months ago - Matt Jamie
I've bought two MacBook Pro systems and a Mac Pro desktop from eBay. My suggestion is to buy from an eBay store or company selling several units and/or make sure you get genuine images of the product (ask the seller to take a specific photo if needed). Also check the box contents before signing for delivery. I ordered one once and I got sent a laptop box full of old catalogues and no computer. Nice. Hideous as that is you are totally covered by paypal - I got my money back and ordered from someone else on eBay - making sure I made more enquiries!
Response from 11 years, 6 months ago - Matt Jamie SHOW