Aspect Vs Pixlet

Lisa Lee · October 31st, 2003, 07:01 PM

" I bought my HD10U for over $3,000. I can't see spending $5,000 for anything that'll let me edit footage."

I don't know if I would view it that way. I mean an G5 decked out with all the gear with FCP4 to edit footage from an XL1 is around 5K. Very similar price to edit DV if you have the proper set up. Obviously it can be done for less, but many people spend in excess of $5K to edit their DV footage, so I don't see how buying Aspect, premiere and a similar PC with the appropriate RAID drive set up for a tad over $5K is that much different. Same thing in my book.

Lisa Lee · October 31st, 2003, 07:14 PM

Frederic,

Actually, I view what Steve is doing as more of generous gift to the DV community rather than formally creating a business. I highly doubt he is doing this and expecting hordes of money to roll in. His video guides and plug ins seem to me as more of a generous use of his time to help out other people in the HD world. I personally think we should just be thankful that he is spending his time putting all of this information together. In my mind a few bucks here and there for a software project and writing guides is just pocket change. There is no way anyone could make any real money off of doing things like this because apple, jvc and others will just formally make it on their own when the time comes. He is just helping us out in the early days when we have no other options. And, for that I think we should be grateful for his time and work.

Lisa

Frederic Lumiere · October 31st, 2003, 07:15 PM

Actually Lisa the difference is that the $5K ($4,785 exactly) that is being talked about here is not the NLE nor is it hardware, it's just a set of plugins and utilities that allow you to use your HDV footage in Final Cut Pro.

Pro Indie HD Toolkit doesn't include any hardware nor does it include Non Linear Editing.

You still have to purchase a sizable machine, monitor, and Final Cut Pro to edit your footage. So we're talking about a $9,000 investment, at least to edit HDV.

In my opinion, Pro Indie HD Toolkit is highly over priced! They are trying to capture the desperate editor with a deadline before more affordable solutions arise. Keep in mind that their solution doesn't allow you to output your footage to camera, only deck. (Here's another $800).

Steve Mullen's solution is clearly a better one. Without a doubt.

Frederic Lumiere · October 31st, 2003, 07:30 PM

Lisa,

Regarding Steve.

I don't disagree with you that he has been a fantastic contributor to this new technology to date and he ABSOLUTELY should get compensated for it.

When I'm asked, his solution is the only one I recommend so far. Because for realtime HDV editing on the MAC, it's the only one that makes economical sense (for now).

My comments to him were simply regarding the longevity of his solution if he decided to take it to the next level, which I think he could. His posts certainly indicate that he has every intention to.

But I'm not here to put words in Steve's mouth (or keyboard)...and now I'll get out of Steve's business.

P.S. $200 a pop ain't bad Lisa ;)

Alex Raskin · October 31st, 2003, 08:08 PM

Frederic, sorry if I asked before... you seem to be objective and well informed... what's your personal opinion of Aspect HD vs. Vegas 4 as real-time m2t editing platform?

Frederic Lumiere · October 31st, 2003, 08:22 PM

Alex,

Honestly Alex, I don't know enough about it to give an educated opinion.

I have to admit that I have been focusing my research on MAC because it is what we use here at our facility.

I did read lots of posts regarding these two products on this forum however and I'm sure you can pull them up if you do a search.

Sorry...

Lisa Lee · October 31st, 2003, 09:09 PM

Actually, my original post was just to determine end product comparison of Pixlet, aspect and vegas as well. Problem is most people stick with mac or PC but don't bother with both systems like we do.

I'll attempt to answer my own question and post an original .ts file along with a .ts made from aspect and pixlet and maybe we all can see which has a cleaner look to it. In the end that is what is going to make the decision for us. I do understand that aspect was designed for the HD10, so it may have a distinct advantage, but I would like to see the results for myself, so we'll play around with pixlet and I'll try to post the results for everyone as well as the files.

Frederic Lumiere · October 31st, 2003, 09:25 PM

Sorry to dissapoint you Lisa but I'm not a software reviewer, I'm an editor.

Most editors I know edit on one system only. You find what works for you and you stick with it.

All I can offer you is what I've learned trying to edit HDV on the system I use, MAC.

After reading your post, I contemplated buying a PC with Aspect and Vegas so I could answer your question but then I realized that I had work to do.

October 31st, 2003, 07:01 PM	#16
Lisa Lee Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 86	" I bought my HD10U for over $3,000. I can't see spending $5,000 for anything that'll let me edit footage." I don't know if I would view it that way. I mean an G5 decked out with all the gear with FCP4 to edit footage from an XL1 is around 5K. Very similar price to edit DV if you have the proper set up. Obviously it can be done for less, but many people spend in excess of $5K to edit their DV footage, so I don't see how buying Aspect, premiere and a similar PC with the appropriate RAID drive set up for a tad over $5K is that much different. Same thing in my book.

October 31st, 2003, 07:14 PM	#17
Lisa Lee Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 86	Frederic, Actually, I view what Steve is doing as more of generous gift to the DV community rather than formally creating a business. I highly doubt he is doing this and expecting hordes of money to roll in. His video guides and plug ins seem to me as more of a generous use of his time to help out other people in the HD world. I personally think we should just be thankful that he is spending his time putting all of this information together. In my mind a few bucks here and there for a software project and writing guides is just pocket change. There is no way anyone could make any real money off of doing things like this because apple, jvc and others will just formally make it on their own when the time comes. He is just helping us out in the early days when we have no other options. And, for that I think we should be grateful for his time and work. Lisa

October 31st, 2003, 07:15 PM	#18
Frederic Lumiere Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Point Pleasant, NJ Posts: 437	Actually Lisa the difference is that the $5K ($4,785 exactly) that is being talked about here is not the NLE nor is it hardware, it's just a set of plugins and utilities that allow you to use your HDV footage in Final Cut Pro. Pro Indie HD Toolkit doesn't include any hardware nor does it include Non Linear Editing. You still have to purchase a sizable machine, monitor, and Final Cut Pro to edit your footage. So we're talking about a $9,000 investment, at least to edit HDV. In my opinion, Pro Indie HD Toolkit is highly over priced! They are trying to capture the desperate editor with a deadline before more affordable solutions arise. Keep in mind that their solution doesn't allow you to output your footage to camera, only deck. (Here's another $800). Steve Mullen's solution is clearly a better one. Without a doubt.

October 31st, 2003, 07:30 PM	#19
Frederic Lumiere Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Point Pleasant, NJ Posts: 437	Lisa, Regarding Steve. I don't disagree with you that he has been a fantastic contributor to this new technology to date and he ABSOLUTELY should get compensated for it. When I'm asked, his solution is the only one I recommend so far. Because for realtime HDV editing on the MAC, it's the only one that makes economical sense (for now). My comments to him were simply regarding the longevity of his solution if he decided to take it to the next level, which I think he could. His posts certainly indicate that he has every intention to. But I'm not here to put words in Steve's mouth (or keyboard)...and now I'll get out of Steve's business. P.S. $200 a pop ain't bad Lisa ;)

October 31st, 2003, 08:08 PM	#20
Alex Raskin Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,435	Frederic, sorry if I asked before... you seem to be objective and well informed... what's your personal opinion of Aspect HD vs. Vegas 4 as real-time m2t editing platform?

October 31st, 2003, 08:22 PM	#21
Frederic Lumiere Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Point Pleasant, NJ Posts: 437	Alex, Honestly Alex, I don't know enough about it to give an educated opinion. I have to admit that I have been focusing my research on MAC because it is what we use here at our facility. I did read lots of posts regarding these two products on this forum however and I'm sure you can pull them up if you do a search. Sorry...

October 31st, 2003, 09:09 PM	#22
Lisa Lee Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 86	Actually, my original post was just to determine end product comparison of Pixlet, aspect and vegas as well. Problem is most people stick with mac or PC but don't bother with both systems like we do. I'll attempt to answer my own question and post an original .ts file along with a .ts made from aspect and pixlet and maybe we all can see which has a cleaner look to it. In the end that is what is going to make the decision for us. I do understand that aspect was designed for the HD10, so it may have a distinct advantage, but I would like to see the results for myself, so we'll play around with pixlet and I'll try to post the results for everyone as well as the files.

October 31st, 2003, 09:25 PM	#23
Frederic Lumiere Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Point Pleasant, NJ Posts: 437	Sorry to dissapoint you Lisa but I'm not a software reviewer, I'm an editor. Most editors I know edit on one system only. You find what works for you and you stick with it. All I can offer you is what I've learned trying to edit HDV on the system I use, MAC. After reading your post, I contemplated buying a PC with Aspect and Vegas so I could answer your question but then I realized that I had work to do.