Pixlet Rocks!!

[Steve Mullen]

Frederic really has it down cold.

The PC world is simpler. Buy Apect HD -- which I recommend as it is a TOTAL SOLUTION. With RT FX.

Or, use Vegas 4+DVD to directly edit the TS. No RT FX.

Both require at 2.4GHz or faster P4.

Then there is the issue of going back to your HDV camcorder.

Both Vegas -- and HDVcinema -- require one to use Womble to convert HD MPEG-2 PS to TS.

Aspect HD includes this function.

What power PC do you have? What NLE do you use now?

[Alex Raskin]

I run Premiere Pro on P4 2.4Ghz, 400FSB, 1Gb memory, 7200rpm IDE drives in RAID 10 at 120Mb/s on 33Mhz PCI bus.

PPro is resource-hungry, so what I have seems to be the minimum configuration needed for PPro to even realistically process DV, let alone HD.

I'm planning on upgrading to dual-processor 3 or 3.2Ghz each, 800FSB with matching DualDDR 2Gb or 3Gb memory, on 66Mhz PCI bus with the same RAID as above.

Aspect HD: I consider myself to be a very reasonable person, so I keep all options open. The company I own also has funds to buy whatever solution I like. However Aspect just doesn't make good business sense to me at the moment for the folowing reasons:

1. Not available for Premiere Pro. I'm not going to step back to Premiere 6.5 just to run a plug-in.

2. Requires very high-end PC (like the upgrade I'm going to undertake, see above). But then maybe I'll be able to process HD files even without Aspect?

3. No-trial policy of Aspect HD. If there was trial available, I'd at least check it with Premiere 6.5 to project what Aspect would be like with PPro. However trial is not available. I can imagine that if this is a deal breaker for me, then it probably throws off many other people who are in more restricted curcumstances than my company.


My intention at this point is as follows:

- Have enough processing power to have real-time proxy editing with Premiere Pro (I do not realistically think that I could run real-time HD with filters on 2-3 streams at the time even after my upgrade as above.)

- Have an application that would streamline the process of capturing/cataloging/making proxies of the footage. Ideally it's Premiere Pro, which already has great DV capturing modules; all they have to do is upgrade them to deal with HD instead of DV, and ideally create offline proxies if required by user.
Not having this functionality, I'll just have to create proxies myself.

My plan is to have m2t converted to HUFFYUV AVIs at full res for originals; then these originals down-rezd to 640x360 MS DV 1 miniMe proxies for super-fast editing with many streams/filters applied with no problem.

When done, the project will be onlined by substituting proxies with original AVIs.

I don't really care to have it output directly to m2t from the timeline.

Instead, I'd render the project to uncompressed AVI at the end, and thus have a high quality master to work with.

From there, I can:

- Downconvert it for 720x480 high-quality DVD using TMPGENC;
- Encode it as a WMP9 (which is my preference. Hey, I can even do it directly from the timeline, with all 5.1 sound channels intact! But where are the WMP9 set-top players???)
- Encode it back into m2t with multiplexed AC3 5.1 sound and further transfer to a D-VHS tape for viewing/distribution in HD.

The 3 things as above I'm already doing without a problem.

Problem is:

- Inability to batch-capture HD files from HD10 cam with thumbnails/timecode as it was done in DV previously. There seems to be no solution to this one at the time :(

- Huge lag between the PC power available and taxing requirements of real-time HD processing. Solution: upgrade to high-end PC (I'm going to) AND employ either offline editing with proxies, OR online editing with software accelerator like Aspect. See my notes on Aspect above.

As I said, being a reasonable person, I keep all my options open. Aspect or other application, if they actually solved the problem, then they'd be contenders for my investment of time and money.

[David Newman]

<<<-- Originally posted by Alex Raskin : I run Premiere Pro on P4 2.4Ghz, 400FSB, 1Gb memory, 7200rpm IDE drives in RAID 10 at 120Mb/s on 33Mhz PCI bus.

PPro is resource-hungry, so what I have seems to be the minimum configuration needed for PPro to even realistically process DV, let alone HD.
-->>>

Remember Aspect HD completely replaces Premiere's entire playback engine, so even your current system will work fine. Aspect HD can really use the fastest PC, yet at 2.4GHz and that excellent RAID of yours, you would be comfortably editing dual streams of HD with the CineForm product. You system exceeds our requirement specs. as your memory system is 50% faster than the 266Mhz minimum (CPU speed is much less important than memory speed.)

We understand that many are waiting for the Premiere Pro version, and we are working with Adobe to release this ASAP (it is a free upgrade for purchasers of Aspect HD for 6.5.) In meantime a very productive tool is available, so if you have work to do you should consider this product.

There are good reasons to not widely release a free trail version, although we understand your point of view and may consider a download version in the future. We have a full 30-day money back guarantee that meets the the evaluation need of many. If you can plead you case for a free trail you will need to call CineForm and negotiate directly.

[Alex Raskin]

David, thank you for the time you dedicated discussing different issues during my phone call.

Hey people, whoever are interested in Aspect HD: David Newman is a great person and is one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry.

If you are seriously interested in HD editing using Premiere 6.5, I recommend that you listen to what David is saying.

As for me, the trial version is still unavailable, so I will just upgrade my PC instead - which will have positive overall effect on everything I do on the computer anyway - and then wait for trial version of Aspect HD for Premiere Pro, if and when it becomes available.

My opinion remained unchanged from my previous post.

Meanwhile, some other solutions may surface that help real-time HD editing. Of course, no-one knows whether they will be more or less expensive than Aspect HD, and how will they compare feature-wise.

However if you have a deadline and need real-time HD editing NOW, then you may see things differently and actually consider Aspect.

[Steve Mullen]

<<<-- Originally posted by Alex Raskin : As for me, the trial version is still unavailable -->>>

Just put in on your credit card! If you don't like it, cancel your order within 30-days. What more do you want -- a free toaster with your order?

Would you expect B&H to loan you a camcorder for 30-days without charging your card?

[Alex Raskin]

Steve, am I supposed to be ashamed because I did not buy Aspect HD?

What's the point of your sarcastic advice to me? Please explain.

B&H: I buy from them when I'm sure of what I need.

In case of Aspect HD I was not sure, and thus trial would help convince me. To pay $1200 to try and convince myself seems like not a good idea to me.

Of course I may end up paying $1600 for the same product when it's available for Premiere Pro. Or I may not. In any case, this will be my decision based on the trial of the software, if such will be available at the time (preferably), and/or other factors.