Software and external drives

[Divesherpa]

Hey guys,
I would like to do some editing on my laptop (if possible) Optimally, I could get an external drive for video storage. Any suggestions on how this works? I would like to know what software you guys recommend. I am looking at Pinnacle 9, Ulead Studio 8 and PowerDirector 4.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you guys may have, especially with regards to ease of use and functionality.

Cheers, Jamie

 

[RickSp]

External storage for laptops is relatively easy these days. I have a 120 gig external firewire/usb hard drive that I use with my laptop for editing. On a recent trip I edited the footage that I had shot on morning dives while eating lunch. Easy and kinda fun.

No real installation is required. The drives are hot pluggable. The only problem I have had is that when I chained several componets (plugged the hard drive into the laptop with a firewire cable and then plugged a video camera into the drive) the computer would occassionally not recognize one of the components. I bought a dual firewire port PC card so now I don't daisy chain components and have fewer problems.

Using the firewire port will definately work for most editing. I do not use USB because my laptop's USB ports are all USB1. I have read that USB2 is fast enough for eiting though I haven't tried it personally. USB1 is too slow.

I edit with Vegas and occasionally Premiere. I haven't had great luck with either Ulead or Pinnacle products but then again haven't used either for several years so I can't make any sort of informed comment. Whichever you choose try to find software with decent color correction capabilities. Even with a colored lens filter and either manual or auto white balance, colors change with the amount of water that you are shooting through, so colors that might be fine for a wide shot won't be optimal for a close up and vice versa.

 

[zboss]

I definately recommend a firewire connection... although USB 2.0 has a higher potential throughput, it does not have it's own controller chip which means that the connection process must share resources with the other applications running concurrently on your laptop. Firewire, by contrast uses a seperate controller chip and thus you almost always achieve consistently higher throughput when using multiple application (i.e. editing software). The MANUFACTURER of the firewire ports is also important, the cheap firewire cards you buy are not as fast or reliable as name-brand, top of the line cards like Adaptecs.

Be sure to get a 7200 RPM hard drive, as there are external firewire drives that go as low as 4200 RPM - that's SLLOOOOW

 

[RickSp]

Be sure to get a 7200 RPM hard drive, as there are external firewire drives that go as low as 4200 RPM - that's SLLOOOOW

I think that RPM in hard drives is somewhat overblown. The data transfer rate for most 7200 RPM and 5400 RPM drives is exactly the same, at 4800 MBps. The access time of 7200 RPM drives is shorter but that is not a big issue when capturing DV video.

A few years ago I had a vendor who built video editing decks explain to me why the 5400 RPM disks were actually better for editing than the 7200 RPM disks. (I can't recall the details of his argument which I was sceptical of at the time.) Nevertheless I have had both 7200 RPM and 5400 RPM drives in my editing computers and have been unable to tell the difference in editing DV25.

 

[zboss]

I think that RPM in hard drives is somewhat overblown. The data transfer rate for most 7200 RPM and 5400 RPM drives is exactly the same, at 4800 MBps. The access time of 7200 RPM drives is shorter but that is not a big issue when capturing DV video.

A few years ago I had a vendor who built video editing decks explain to me why the 5400 RPM disks were actually better for editing than the 7200 RPM disks. (I can't recall the details of his argument which I was sceptical of at the time.) Nevertheless I have had both 7200 RPM and 5400 RPM drives in my editing computers and have been unable to tell the difference in editing DV25.

I would say you arre correct - when editing large files, speed doesn't matter, size does

 

[diversteve]

I would say you arre correct - when editing large files, speed doesn't matter, size does

It's not the editing, it's the capture. The faster the drive the less likely to drop frames. Or at least that's what I was told.

I use Pinnacle 9. Download the 9.4 upgrade if you buy it, when I first installed 9.01, it would crash regularly when switching between functions. That problem went away after 9.3. I chose it over Ulead 8.0 for some reason at the time, but it escapes me now.

Pinnacle 9 is an easy to use program, but some of the more advanced features aren't intuitive. Or hidden behind the interface. I'd prefer Vegas or Premiere Pro, but I didn't want to spend a fortune in case video editing wasn't something I'd like. I'm seriously considering Vegas now since I have a Sony VAIO.

 

[RickSp]

It's not the editing, it's the capture. The faster the drive the less likely to drop frames. Or at least that's what I was told.

I use Pinnacle 9. Download the 9.4 upgrade if you buy it, when I first installed 9.01, it would crash regularly when switching between functions. That problem went away after 9.3. I chose it over Ulead 8.0 for some reason at the time, but it escapes me now.

Pinnacle 9 is an easy to use program, but some of the more advanced features aren't intuitive. Or hidden behind the interface. I'd prefer Vegas or Premiere Pro, but I didn't want to spend a fortune in case video editing wasn't something I'd like. I'm seriously considering Vegas now since I have a Sony VAIO.

Video editing and capturing over Firewire requires a data rate of 4.5 Mbps. To get that you had to buy expensive SCSI drives not all that long ago. Now the lowest cost 120 gig hard drive will give a pretty reliable 30 Mbps.

One other option perhaps worth considering is Vega Movie Studio + DVD, which at around $100 is about the same as the Pinnacle and Ulead software. They also have a free download so you can try it out to see if it meets your needs. I've never used it but have heard good things about it.
Vegas Movie Studio+DVD

 

[JeffG]

Pinnacle 9 is an easy to use program, but some of the more advanced features aren't intuitive. Or hidden behind the interface. I'd prefer Vegas or Premiere Pro, but I didn't want to spend a fortune in case video editing wasn't something I'd like. I'm seriously considering Vegas now since I have a Sony VAIO.

I tried Pinnacle (I was using Premier 6)...I found it too slow. I ended up buying ULead 8 (with the Cool 3D software). It has pretty much the same functionality as Pinnacle. Its faster, but it does have the same problem with non-intuitive Advanced features. But it still beats Premier for usability (and speed).

 

[fpoole]

First, I'm not a Video-ite by anymeans. Just started with it and went through various programs. Pinnacle, Ulead and several others then finally to Premiere...
Most were missing or lacking or just froze. Believe Pinnacle Studio XX was missing more sound tracks, only had 2-3, needed 4-5 (older versions) so I kept coming back to Premier Pro... tougher to learn like most of Adobe stuff, but when I needed something, I could find it there...

Since I'm not doing any/much video, I'm looking at Premier Lite?? if I had to carry something with me? But I'm guessing your editing is much more extensive than what I would get into... but I'd certainly take a look at Premier Like...
If it's anything like Photoshop Elements 3.0, it will do a lot for the price..

Just a thought... haven't heard anything about it, so not sure if that's good OR Bad.. heheh...
My hats off to you video guys... and it looks so darn easy... LOL... boy did I learn quickly... Keep on Trucking...

 

[Divesherpa]

Thanks for the great replies!