HDV editing solution for a laptop?
 

Hi guys!

What's a good editing solution for HDV (1080i) for a laptop? My vendor suggested Pinnacle Liquid, but my laptop did not meet its minimum requirements (it requires 256 MB video RAM for 1080i).

My laptop specs these:

HP Compaq NW8240
Processor: Intel Pentium M 760 (2.0 GHz)
Chipset: Intel 915PM (533 MHz FSB)
Graphics: ATI Mobility FireGL V5000 128 MB GDDR3
Screen: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
Memory: 1.5 GB DDR2-533 (upgradeable to 2GB)
Hard Drive: 60 GB 7200 rpm (+500 GB storage space in external drives)

I would like to have a relatively smooth program that produces good quality results, and has a wide support for computer codec formats. DVD production capabilities is a plus, but not a requirement, since DVD isn't HD anyways.

I'll hold up the Vegas Flag.

P.s. You most likely will need more 'umph' in your laptop for almost any software.

Do you mean upgrading RAM to 2 GB? There is not much else I can upgrade here. Other components are as fast as they can get. The processor could be upgraded to 2.26 GHz for $800-$1000, but I don't think it's worth the money.

If you can get trial software from anyone, give it a shot! I bought JVC HD-10 three years ago (720P HDV), and used their included software on my PIII-900MHz laptop. Playing clips and previews was jerky, but played smooooth in the camera after being laid back to HDV tape. Getting a clean capture onto the internal (slow) hard drive was iffy, but external firewire drive worked fine.

I have my issues with Ulead, but you can download a month free trial of media studio pro. I think version 8 has ability to edit and capture both 1080i and 720p HDV.

Good luck!

What Dave said, and know if I spend anywhere close to 1000 bucks to upgrade a computer, I'm buying new.

Your best bet on that laptop would be either Premiere Pro or Vegas using the Cineform plugin. Long term you should plan on upgrading to a dual-core laptop for HDV work, maybe something like the following:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/15/s...s-on-pre-sale/

Thanks for replies, guys.

Ulead Videostudio 10 would be another good bet. May take years to render - just like any other program, but it can run in a pretty small envelope.

I have it running on an IBM X40 - wouldn't want to do real work on the laptop, but it runs.

I have used Liquid 6 with 128MB of video memory on some of the first clips that came out using my workstation. What you definitely lose is the real-time playback, but it will still edit it (1080i). Did not try AL7 though.

I might have an option to upgrade my laptop to a new one with 256 MB video memory and hardware H.264 support (HP Compaq nw8440). Now, would you say that Liquid would triumph over Vegas in HDV editing? If that's the case (as my vendor suggested) upgrading the laptop might be a wise move.

I have not compared the two side by side, so I cannot say. Maybe your vendor has a couple of stations setup so you can feel which fits you better?

I have used Premiere Pro 2.0, Vegas Movie Studio Platinum +DVD, and Pinnacle's Studio 10 Plus, which has the same editing engine as the Liquid, to edit HDV natively. I am doing this on a dual core AMD 3800+. I feel most comfortable wiht the Premiere Pro 2.0 in terms of getting trouble free results. VMS and Pinnacle Studio are a bit buggy. Pinnacle studio, seems to be faster in terms of renders, though, under certain situations. None of the programs worked that well on my lap top with similar spec to yours, and if I was using it to edit HDV, I would go with an intermediate editing system like Cineforms Aspect.