Considering FCP/G5 for HVX200?

[Phil Hover]

Hi All,
I am looking at solutions to edit DVCproHD from the Panasonic HVX200 camera and I am aware that FCP 5 does a pretty good job of it.

I am debating between what type of system to get for this application - G5 Dual 2.3 or G5 Quad 2.5. I also saw on the AJA website that the Kona LHe accelerates DVCproHD footage on FCP. What would you get? 2.3 + Kona LHe or Quad G5 with the potential of getting the Kona LHe down the road. Is the 2.3 pretty close in speed or does the quad offer a lot?

I would like this system to last me a good 3 years of editing and I know the Intel macs are coming but it seems like they are a year away from getting stable and probably wouldnt offer anything over the quad for 1.5 to 2 years.

In terms of output, I would do h264 or Quicktime ref for film outs so I dont necessarily need the In/Out capability of the Kona card.

What would you do?

[Hans Damkoehler]

Originally Posted by Phil Hover

Hi All,
I am looking at solutions to edit DVCproHD from the Panasonic HVX200 camera and I am aware that FCP 5 does a pretty good job of it.

I am debating between what type of system to get for this application - G5 Dual 2.3 or G5 Quad 2.5. I also saw on the AJA website that the Kona LHe accelerates DVCproHD footage on FCP. What would you get? 2.3 + Kona LHe or Quad G5 with the potential of getting the Kona LHe down the road. Is the 2.3 pretty close in speed or does the quad offer a lot?

I would like this system to last me a good 3 years of editing and I know the Intel macs are coming but it seems like they are a year away from getting stable and probably wouldnt offer anything over the quad for 1.5 to 2 years.

In terms of output, I would do h264 or Quicktime ref for film outs so I dont necessarily need the In/Out capability of the Kona card.

What would you do?

If you really don't need the Kona card for input/output then there's no reason to get it. All it "accelerates" is realtime effects ... don't think you're going to be doing effects in realtime ... it's not that kind of acceleration.

I use my Kona because I need the SDI out for monitoring and the occasional dump to a rented deck. I also use it for dumping in the stray VHS and DVD but didn't get it specifically for that ... there are less expensive solutions if that's all you need.

Something I've learned on this site is to get what you need that's available when you need it. You could fret about the Intel Macs but if you need one now go for it now. I'm a big believer in getting the most you can afford. If you can get a quad and jam it full of RAM then go for it!

[Phil Hover]

Well... I got the QUAD! SWEET.

[Hans Damkoehler]

Originally Posted by Phil Hover

Well... I got the QUAD! SWEET.

Congrats, Phil! I'm green with envy!