Slow video preview

[Matt Crowley]

Disc space and system memory aren’t the problem (though lots of both is good), it’s sheer bone-crunching processor power that you need.

I have a similarly spec’ed laptop and it really doesn’t cut it for HD editing, which is much more demanding than standard def editing. Desktop quad-core machines are about the minimum you need for smooth HD editing.

There’s not much you can do to make editing smoother apart from using a different video format. You can try converting your AVCHD footage to the Cineform (separate purchase) or HDV formats, or if you’re going to DVD then try converting to an SD format like DV.

[Trevor Manteufel]

With the thousands of AVCHD files I have already, I am assuming converting those to another file type would be quite the
pain in the @$$ ?

I am not opposed to getting a new computer to handle my HD video editing needs. Are you basically saying laptops are not the way to go for that. If so, could you suggest some requirements that would give me optimal performance for HD editing ?
Thanks

[Matt Crowley]

Unless you particularly need the portability of a laptop, you’re best to stick with desktop machines for video work as they are generally more powerful for a given price.

I don’t know what’s hot or not at the moment in terms of PC specs and components, but plenty of others here have bought or built systems for video editing and can give advice.

[Bill Church]

Trevor,

While I completely agree with Matt, I can tell you that I’m having pretty good experiences, so far, with an Asus N75S laptop I very recently added to my setup. While my principal desktop NLE system (an I7 980 6-core proc, 24 GB RAM on a new Asus motherboard with GTX 560 1GB video card, running SVP 11 Pro/NB Pro titler) is the “go-to” NLE of choice, the new laptop is proving to be very indispensable in the field. In fact, I’m away from home base, editing a new project on it here in Florida this week with no problems. It is previewing up to 20 tracks, many containing nested sequences and efx, very cleanly to an external monitor, via HDMI. The N75S is an I7 quad 2GHz processor box with 8GB RAM and a Blue Ray burner, and it runs SVP11 quite satisfactorally. And, I’m finding that it is having virtually no problems playing all my HD (HDV) content from an external USB3.0 Seagate drive. The N75S also has Bang & Olufsen sound, that includes a little external sub-woofer that, amazingly, sounds quite good!

The only negative is that its video card is an Nvidia GT555M 2GB 96 CUDA core card that is not certified to run the New Blue Pro Titler software, so I run SVP Pro in the unacclerated mode (using the newest nvidia beta driver didn’t help), but it’s still plenty quick, and previews are quite smooth and natural. So far, it renders in very respecatble times, as well. Here’s the odd thing – I can import projects containing New Blue Pro titles that I created on the main NLE, and it displays, previews, and renders them perfectly. But, if I try to OPEN up those same NB title clips on the timeline in the NB Pro editing interface (or, create a new NB Pro title clip, for that matter) to trim or modify them, it immediately crashes. So, go figure. Otherwise, this is a very sweet little setup that is making me money! You might want to consider something with similar or superior specs. You might be very pleasantly surprised.

Bill Church
Briarwood Productions LLC

[Trevor Manteufel]

Thanks Bill,
my next question was going to be if there is a loptop out there that can efficiently handle HD AVCHD editing…what would people suggest, but you kind of went into that.
I’m not opposed to upgrading to a desktop system but I would prefer the laptop as all of my video footage is on the road and hunting and fishing related.
Like I said in my first post, I’m kind of an ameteur when it comes to talking about the specs of computer systems. I guess what would really help me out the most now is what are some minimum specs for a new system to be looking for ?
Thanks,
Trevor

[Bill Church]

Trevor,

With Vegas and most other NLE software, in my humble opinion and experience, when it comes to HD editing, much like gaming, it’s generally about having all the number-crunching processor horsepower you can muster, the best video card, and all the RAM the motherboard (and your wallet) will support, coupled with the data throughput rates you get operating in a 64-bit W7 environment. I’d do a little online research to see what’s out there right now at sites like Tigerdirect.com and NewEgg.com, then shop accordingly. Just remember, unless money is no object, we all have to make compromises at some point when we start comparing price points vs. performance. So, as a rule, buy as much system amd power as you can possibly afford, as you’ll never have too much machine and horsepower for the work you’ll be doing in HD, especially after your projects become more and more sophisticated. And, regardless of what you end up spending, your system is NEVER current for more than a few months…

Bill Church
Briarwood Productions LLC

[Trevor Manteufel]

Thanks Bill,
I’m going to do some hunting for a new laptop then.
In your opinion then the i7 with 8GB RAM is a good place to start.
I am a firm believer in getting what you pay for so don’t have an issue w paying $900-$1500 to get my HD editing system up and running.