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iMac+EX+FW 800
I’ve been reading up about a new editing machine and understand that editing EX-material on the new, top-of-the-line iMac with a RAID system connected through FW 800 is feasible but not ideal.
Logic would suggest it’s either possible or not.
What kind of problems could I run into when editing EX-footage via a FW 800 RAID setup?
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6 Replies
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[Alexander Wolf] “What kind of problems could I run into when editing EX-footage via a FW 800 RAID setup?”
There are no inherent issues with editing EX footage with a firewire 800 setup, it’s just pure numbers and all about throughput, which is a factor limited by the capabilities of firewire and the number of drives you can stripe together.
The weak link with iMacs is that they have no expansion slots, so they are limited to a single firewire bus, with no provision for adding an additional firewire card, SATA controller card, etc.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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David Roth Weiss: “There are no inherent issues with editing EX footage with a firewire 800 setup, it’s just pure numbers and all about throughput, which is a factor limited by the capabilities of firewire and the number of drives you can stripe together.”
So… how does this translate into real life? I have a RAID 5 system of 4 drives that I want to connect to my iMac via FW 800 to edit ProRes. Can I expect problems with this setup? If so, what kind of problems?
David Roth Weiss: “The weak link with iMacs is that they have no expansion slots, so they are limited to a single firewire bus, with no provision for adding an additional firewire card, SATA controller card, etc.”
I understand that. But considering I deliver almost exclusively SD and/or for the web, I don’t need that extra slot. That’s exactly why I’m looking into the iMac.
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[Alexander Wolf] “I have a RAID 5 system of 4 drives that I want to connect to my iMac via FW 800 to edit ProRes.”
Tell me what you’ve got precisely so I can scope it out in order to help you.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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David Roth Weiss: Tell me what you’ve got precisely so I can scope it out in order to help you.
LaCie Biggest Quadra, 4×500 GB.
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That should give you acceptable throughput for ProRes and EXCam. If you require more, you can stripe the four drives as Raid 0 to squeeze more performance from them.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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Thanks, David.
I’m still curious about one thing, though, because you brought it up.
David Roth Weiss: “There are no inherent issues with editing EX footage with a firewire 800 setup, it’s just pure numbers and all about throughput, which is a factor limited by the capabilities of firewire and the number of drives you can stripe together.”
How does this apply to my situation? Is there a handicap or anything I cannot do -keeping in mind that I deliver mostly SD and H.264 for the web- because I use FW 800 as opposed to eSata?
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