Upgrading software and hardware from SD to HD

[Richard Gabb]

I have moved from SD using a Canon XM2 to HD using a Sony V1 and am planning to upgrade from Adobe 6.5 to Premiere Pro. I can also upgrade my Dell Dimension 8400 by adding another 2 Gig of Ram and changing the Graphics card to a Radeon x1950 pro 512Mb. The alternative is to buy a 'dedicated to editing' Dell XPS 420 with a 2 Quad-Core processor (2.4GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB cache)

Questions : Is it worth the extra money for the latest faster chip, will Premiere Pro run happily with Vista, and accept both SD and HD clips on the same time-line?

[Dave Watterson]

Hi Richard

Welcome to the forum.

I cannot answer the specific points you raise - but can offer a two words on upgrading: think twice.

Yes, you can breathe new life into a computer with extra memory etc but ...

• a) hard discs die - with an average life of a bit over 5 years.
  b) electronic chips deteriorate with age and heat.
  c) condensors and many other electronic bits ditto.
  d) businesses usually write-off computers over 4 years.

If you buy a new machine you get all those parts in their starting condition with their full lives ahead of them. If you start with a machine that is a couple of years old they may have a relatively short life left in their fully functional state.

Now I know many computers last 6, 7 or more years and continue to perform well ... but if your main hobby depends on the machine and requires the best performance you can get ...

Look at the difference in price between worthwhile upgrades in chips and discs and the price of a new machine. Weigh that difference against the nagging frustration of an underperforming system or the disaster of a computer dying in mid project.

If budgets are tight by all means look at DIY upgrades but otherwise I'd recommend getting a new computer every 3 or 4 years.

[Besides the way Windows works means the longer you use your machine the more likely it is to get cluttered with software which "checks for upgrades", "scans your system" and so on all using up resources.]

Dave (in a post-Christmas spending mood) W.

[Richard Gabb]

Dave, Just about the most sensible answer I've heard so far!! Thank you so much. My present Dell is over 3 years old so all you say is most pertinent. There seem to be limited options for customising the latest top-end Dell such as a second hard drive for dedicated editing but a friend with his own computer firm has a Technician who can build to any specification I want AND not have the inbuilt interfering systems which come as standard from Dell. Only snag is I can spread the cost for nothing over 12 months with Dell.

Thanks again and this is the first time I've used any such forum. Most impressed.

Happy New Year and although in Cheshire for 40 years we came from Glos and not far from you.

Richard

[Ray Williamson]

Just a thought --
Don`t many systems record and edit directly in MPEG-4?
So the files are in fact a lot smaller than you think, and can be smaller than regular SD .avi files?
This is the case with Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus and 11 Plus, and others no doubt offer the option.

[Richard Gabb]

Thanks again. In the end I've decided on a friend custom building a new dedicated desktop which will have XP loaded rather than Vista and will be free of any other mandatory stuff loaded by Dell which might interfere with editing.
The CPU will be an Intel Core Duo E6850 3.00 Ghz, the Graphics Card a Sapphire Radeon X1950 pro 512mb AGP, memory 4gb PC2 800 mhz DDS2, with 2 x 320gb Hitachi SATA2 16mb cache disk drives

[Ray Williamson]

How sensible to dump Vista!
I have got lumbered with it after my old system crashed and found my old programs which ran perfectly on XP (some dating from days of Windows 95) would not work.
Stick to XP. Vista gives no end of trouble -- it assumes you are permanently on a fast broadband connection and wants to update itself all the time.
The first update was no good and knocked out the soundcard so I had to do a clean reinstall, and disable any updates.
Also, switching off without closing Windows Mail first corrupts the message which is open.
If this happens to be in the Outbox, it means that messages can no longer be sent, ever.
Solution: a clean reinstall!
And my HP All-in-One printer will work, but not with character recognition!
Steer clear!

[Ray Williamson]

Don`t forget to save the hard drive from your old machine. You can connect it to your new one via a USB enclosure (plug n play) and have access to all your old files.
If you use it for video work run the drive with the cover off. It tends to overheat otherwise!

[billyfromConsett]

I wouldn't recommend ANY Dell computer - many are virtually un-upgradable. The rig your mate's building sounds pretty good.

I too have stuck with WinXP, I just don't like the look of vista, and the way it keeps stopping you doing things in it.

[stingman]

My son had a Laptop Dell, and when he left his computer unattended for two minutes at collage, some bugger changed his Bios Password, so when he rebooted, he could not EVER get into it. Dell could not help or any of our local computer shops or any local computer bod I know. It must have been bad because I could not even mend it !

So Never will I EVER buy a Dell or any other Branded computer. I will alway build my own. That way, when it goes wrong, you know YOUR computer inside out.

I hope your new Dell isn`t branded too much. I hope you enjoy it.

[Dave Watterson]

Since Jan and I have been using Dell computers very happily for ages - replacing them every 3 years or so. I want to put the other side of the argument. We have used Dell machines for our business and home use for over a decade. We tend to buy them in pairs (his and hers). We had one mechanical problem with a disc drive and an engineer replaced it, reloaded the operating system etc very quickly.

Dell's support system makes it easy to identify which drivers and other patches you need to update as time rolls along. Each machine they make has a unique number. When you check against that number their system knows exactly what was in the computer when they built it.

Like most computer manufacturers they do load the system with trial and "lite" versions of software. They get paid to do so and that helps keep the cost of the machines lower. It does not take long to clear out any you do not want.

Building your own computer can be fascinating - and you certainly do have a better idea of what is in it and how it works - but you seldom actually save money that way. Big companies can buy parts cheaper than we can as individuals.

When NLE editing first became practical I advised strongly against building your own machine for editing. In those days video editing was right on the margins of what was possible for the hardware of the time. Now that processors are much more powerful and fast, memory is cheaper and discs offer enormous storage I do not have such reservations.

The main issue for an editing machine is to turn off/remove the scores of "services" which Windows offers. These low-level programs can be helpful for specific tasks but actually interfere with editing. You also need to turn off all those programs which pop onto the web automatically to check for software updates. In short getting a machine optimised for editing means really understanding the low level working of your computer. You also want to stop any networking software and anti-virus software which regularly interrupt processing. (Obviously turn them on as required for updates and adding programs etc, then turn them off again.)

Jan and I have bought two editing computers over the years. These were not from Dell. Both came from specialist companies who supplied them optimised for the task.

The problem with a changed BIOS password could, of course, happen to any brand of computer. One friend of ours who is a technician in a university found an intriguing trick. A student set the video display on a computer to just one pixel in size. The system appeared not to be working but it was ... you just couldn't see any sign of it. NEVER leave a computer unprotected in an environment where others might work such mischief.

Dave

[Richard Gabb]

Thanks again Ray, Billy and Ian. I'm very much an ageing ignoramus regarding computing and editing at more than the basic level. I have made a few birdwatching/wildlife DVD's from around the world that have been well received. I'm just determined to press on with getting the best results I can and some of my recent South Africa stuff in HD is very rewarding. (V. rare Wild Dog the highlight which I know the Beeb have had difficulty with). Hence the burning desire to get on with the editing.

Dave, I've forwarded your reply to my friend with his own software co. and I'm pretty sure his technician understands the need for best options re. HD editing. At least he is round the corner and we have one foreign biding trip per year so he is as interested in the results.

I'm so impressed with everyone's kind help

[ned c]

I have been using Macs for editing for about 12 years now starting with EditDV and then when it began to die off moving over to Final Cut Pro. I would recommend that anyone changing/upgrading should consider a current Mac for editing. Macs come with iMovie and iDVD as standard and for a small investment ($199 here) Final Cut Express 4 offers almost everything FCP offers at a greatly reduced price. In my view it is the most underrated edit software around, amazingly powerful and relatively easy to use. The Intel iMac with 3GB RAM has enough power to edit HDV comfortably.

We use cheap PCs for our office work, one Gateway (4 years old) one Dell (new) and a Gateway Laptop (3 years old), all with Windows XP, so far no problems. Dell are still offering Windows XP as an alternative to Vista. I have Vegas Studio Platrinum on one of the PCs as a standby.

ned c

[billyfromConsett]

I can definitely build a powerful computer, with great graphics, fast memory and a quick cpu for less than the likes of PC world charge - though the savings now are much smaller than they used to be.

I've tried working on Dells. A friend at the video club wanted a bigger hard disk and a firewire card in hers. In the dell, there wasn't room for another hard disk and the case was to thin to put a firewire card in- I had to take a saw to the pci firewire card. But hey ho, they are very reliable machines.

Most people will never want to upgrade a computer - they'll just buy a new one. When you've got kids who want to play the latest games every few months, you've got to explore all solutions.