I've have been shooting and editing in standard def (4:3) on this computer and have been asked to shoot and edit a small production for a school on HDV /16.9 to output to DVD.

I'm using an Acer Aspire laptop with 2 gigs of ram.
I gather I will need more for HDV 1080 editing. Can you recommend how much ram - 4 gigs,8 gigs? I'm on Windows 7 Ultimate SP1.

And will Vegas 9d handle the edit OK without glitches.

Thx

Actually, in addition to the RAM, you might need a new laptop with a stronger CPU than what your current laptop has just to even handle high-definition video content at all. It is highly likely that a laptop or system that's originally equipped with this little RAM is equipped with either an old, outdated or even obsolete CPU or a very-low-end CPU.

Actually, you might be surprised that the you will get by okay. I would just get a hold of some footage first, and test it out. Have you played HDV files on the computer yet ?

You might want to consider a conversion codec like Cineform's NeoScene to transcode you footage to something that will edit closer to the ease of SD DV,

Thx for the replies guys.

The system consists of these -
CPU is a Core2 Duo/T7300/2GHz
VGA is ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 XT
Ram 2gigs (speed 667)

No I havent imported any HDV into the system to date so have no idea if it is ok. The Cineform NeoScene to transcode the footage to something that will edit closer to the ease of SD DV sounds just the right thing. I'll look that up. Do you have any advice about the use of NeoScene.
Thx

My laptop has a Turion dual core rated at 1.8 ghz with 2 gigs of ram on Win 7 pro 64bit. I have edited both HDV and mp4 720 HD. It will handle it but it tends to get a little clunky and don't expect real time previews. The Cineform codec would be the way to go for smoother editing, but it can work the other way. You will just need some patience.

Hey Geoff

I edit all my weddings on a DuoCore with 3GB ram and the footage plays smooth as silk...I do shoot in AVCHD and the computer struggles with that so I convert the Panasonic MTS files to HDV MPEG2 at 50mbps and no issues at all. It also plays MTS direct but stutters a bit!!! With normal HDV 1440x1080 you should have no playback issues at all!!!

Chris

Well that is all a bit encouraging!
As I have 2gigs of ram, would 4 be better...along with the Cineform codec?

Chris, I see you are based in Perth as well. I have just returned here so check your mail as I sent you my contact details if you like.

Cheers
Geoff Jak

I once pulled out 10 gb of the 12 gb RAM on my MB. Mighty slow to render, but worked OK with Vegas. If you want rendering speed, you'll need 6 gb min. for 64-bit Win7; if using 32-bit Win 7, no need to get more than 4.

Hey Geoff

If it's HDV as opposed to AVCHD you don't need to transcode at all. Vegas 9 handles HDV on a DuoCore easily with no issues but I do have 3GB ram...never a stutter in playback!! Just drop HDV into the timeline and go..in fact I used to run only 2GB ram without issues with HDV.

If you have AVCHD then you will need to transcode..I either use Upshift from NewBlue which enables me to shift from AVCHD 1080i to Progressive HDV or when I shoot in progressive I just transcode to the Canopus HQAVI codec which gives the same result but for some reason doesn't have a de-interlace facility on the utility!!!

Chris

Ram noticeably affects timeline performance when you have so little that OS operation is affected. If you have a minimum of 4GB to 6GB and add to it you will see little improvement if any.

Vegas' timeline performance is affected most by CPU and hard drive speed. It is commonly understood that the faster your CPU, the better Vegas performs. Graphics and Ram are of little consequence, but if you're using only 2GB of Ram your system is underpowered to begin with for even efficient Windows operation, so if you add to 2gb you might see improvement, but only because Windows works better with more than 2GB of ram, not because Vegas itself benefits directly from it so much.

HD footage edited on your laptop I would suspect would be more than slow, IMO, and will render so slowly it would be scary.

The specs on your PC do not even allow for using all of the features for Windows 7 Ultimate, let alone efficient editing, but give it a try as has been suggested. I just can't imagine editing HD on a laptop to begin with, but people do it all the time. I just don't know how they cope with it.

If it hasn't been recommended already, download the free trial of Cineform and use it for this project. If you already edit SD on the laptop, the Cineform files will work fine.

or you could try sony's (built-in) mxf codec. i use it when necessary.....

All good info - thanks.

I am downloading the Cineform NeoScene and will give it a try but I as for the mxf codec I've got no knowledge about this at all.
Leslie can you tell me what it will achieve on my system.
I will get the extra ram - 4 or 6 gigs folks?
Thx again

Forget to mention - I will be shooting on an Sony EX3
Geoff Jak

All good info - thanks.

I am downloading the Cineform NeoScene and will give it a try but I as for the mxf codec I've got no knowledge about this at all.
Leslie can you tell me what it will achieve on my system.
I will get the extra ram - 4 or 6 gigs folks?
Thx again

4gb for 32bit, 6+ for 64bit.....
i suggested mxf cause it's free and in vegas already. it works exceedingly well on the tl. and to all intents and purposes is almost lossless (unless you're really going in for heavy duty cc'ing and the like).

Sony's mxf...

That sounds just the trick - it's already installed - so thanks Leslie.
I'll definitely do tests soon and let the group know how it goes.

Cheers