which edit system?
 

If I go with EX, I'll want some edit capability. I won't need a lot as I don't really edit, only shoot. But I'll want to have some capability for the occasional small project.

I'd like to use my existing laptop. It's Win XP with dual 1.66 GHZ processors and 2 G of ram. I think I can bump the RAM up to 4 gigs. I have every slot known to man on this laptop! so I think I can injest the cards and feed external drives.

The premiere package seems to want a lot more processor than I have. What other edit software should I consider?
Again, I don't need the latest, fastest, geewiz edit system. I couldn't use it if I tried, I'm not an editor.

Thanks

Ed

you will love MPEG editor and DVD editor - Womble Multimedia, Inc. then

practically runs on a 486!

also loves MPEG files and does smart rendering - if u do basic fades etc you will have a DVD burn in no time

You're situation is somewhat of a paradox--You want to use an EX camera, but you want to use a system that really is isn't suitable for the EX camera footage.

I'd suggest you either select another camera or understand that regardless of how little editing you think you're going to do with the EX, you'll need more computing power.

Get a copy of Sony Vegas, knowing you'll be dealing with some render time.

Also know that you'll eventually be getting another computer and your work flow will get a little faster.

Hi Ed,

Long time no speak. What do mean "IF"??? There's no "if" about it, you must get XDCAM EX.

If you're interested in learning more about the XDCAM EX workflow and the differences between the EX1 and EX3, you might be interested in a video (basically a Powerpoint presentation) I put together a couple of months ago.
Vortex Media: VIDEO & PHOTO Tools and Training

This is NOT a training a video, nor is it meant to be a substitute for my 3-hour training DVDs, but it does a answer a lot of questions that many potential XDCAM EX buyers have. Although your question is not addressed dirctly, I'm sure you'll get some good information from it.

Hi Doug,

That's a very nice presentation you have putted together about Sony's EX camcorders.

Keep up the good work!

Andrew

I take it that vegas will perform better with my limited system than other nle's?
But it will handle the full HQ footage but with some render times?
An idea of how slow my system will work with basic editing, no animation or compositing?

Thanks

Ed

You might want to look at Speededit by Newtek. When I first got my EX I was working at a place that used Speededit and even without the wrapper they now have for EX footage, I could edit in real time. Worth a looksee.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

Ed,

You might want to try this:
Vortex Media: VIDEO & PHOTO Tools and Training

It's a DVD that Sony should have produced themselves and given away for free, but they didn't. Nobody else did either, so I did.

You'll be able to test the whole workflow except for figuring out how long it will take to ingest the footage from a real SxS card. The DVD-ROM isn't going to give you an accurate estimate of real import speeds. Other than that, it will give you a good indication of how easy or hard the EX footage will be for YOUR system to handle. No two edit systems are the same, so no matter what someone else tells you, you have to take it with a grain of salt until you can test it yourself.

Doug

I have found Edius 5.01 provides the best real time and fastest rendering of any NLE software.