[Liz Smith]

Hey! I’m back.

Anyone know what kind of sustained transfer rates I need to edit RT DVCPro HD 1080/60 footage on FCP? (My computer specs are in the thread above.)

I’m considering the possibility of just grabbing some non-RAID SATA external drives for now from Maxtor or Western Digital – at $250 for a TB, it’s worth a try. I’m just not sure where the threshold is for being able to edit HD without it being a pain in the arse. How much is a drive like that really going to impact my working speed – versus a bigger, more expensive drive?

Thanks again!
Liz

[Liz Smith]

Wow! Thanks everyone!

I’m looking at Dulce and the drives from G-Technology – have heard good things about them before.

[Liz Smith]

I thought I saw a few 2TB and 4TB drives out there. Was thinking about just getting one 4TB.

I see what you mean about “RAID” – yes, I was referring to the fact that I don’t need a back-up – so no RAID 5. Storage protocols are obviously not my forte. 🙂

I’m on an Intel MacPro – the two 2.8GHz Quad-Core – running FCP 6.

[Liz Smith]

Thanks! I’ll have about 1.5 TB of footage plus any space for rendering and rough cuts, etc. And I’d like room to grow. I was originally thinking 3-4 TB for now (no RAID b/c I have a backup), maybe split amongst two drives?

WIth eSATA, can you daisy-chain them or connect more if you add more drives as time goes on? Room to grow is definitely a desirable aspect.

Price point is negotiable – it’s more a question of what value I’m getting for the dollar. Speed, reliability, compatibility, and ease of use are all bigger factors than budget, to a reasonable extent.

[Liz Smith]

Alright I’m sold. Any recommendations on particular SATA drives? and cards?

Thanks so much!
Liz

[Liz Smith]

Is the difference in speed that different from FW800? Worth the cost?
And – I’d have to buy a PCI card for the eSata, no?

What are the downsides of eSata versus firewire?

[Liz Smith]

Just figured it out, by chance. Thought someone else might benefit from the solution.

I was using the “Film Safe” column as a checkmark box for unrelated purposes. It just so happens that all of the clips that wouldn’t capture were checked Yes in this column. Un-checking solved all issues. Batch capture is working smoothly.

Didn’t realize the check box would affect capture.

[Liz Smith]

Can you check my math?

Config:
HVR-M15U deck to an AJA HD10AVA converter to a Kona LHe card…

Need:
1 HD-SDI to HD-SDI cable to get from the converter to the Kona
2 RCA to XLR cables to get the audio from the deck to the converter break-out cable

Is that right? And… looking at the breakout cable for the Kona card – why can’t I go straight from the Deck Component to the Kona? Does the HDV footage need to come in straight through the Kona’s HD-SDI in to get the full raster benefits?

I’m much better with cables when all the darn things are sitting in front of me. 🙂

[Liz Smith]

Hey – If I’m going from a HVR-M15U deck to an AJA converter to a Kona LHe card…

All I need is an HD-SDI to HD-SDI cable to get from the converter to the Kona – All the rest of my cabling needs come with the HD10AVA converter… right?

[Liz Smith]

Hi folks,

I thought this might be handy for others, too – I just priced out some HDV decks and options for capture (using BHPhoto as a price leveler). I laid out several different routes just to see the kinds of price differences between firewire, HDMI, and HD-SDI capture. I obviously can’t include every piece of hardware or every option, but it’s something. Let me know if I’m missing something major or if my math is off. 🙂

Liz

HARDWARE

HVR-M15U (firewire) – $1750
HVR-M25U (firewire/HDMI) – $2900
HVR-M35U (firewire/HD-SDI) – $4800

AJA HD10A (Composite to HDSDI) – $900
HDMI to HD-SDI Converter – $570

Kona Lhe Card (HD-SDI into FCP) – $1500
BlackMagic Pro Intensity (HDMI into FCP) – $330

OPTIONS

HVR-M15U via firewire – $1750
(just a deck)

HVR-M25U via firewire – $2900
(just a deck)

HVR-M25U via HDMI – $3230
(deck, HDMI capture card)

HVR-M15U via HDSDI – $4150
(deck, AJA HD10A, Kona card)

HVR-M25U via HDMI then HDSDI – $4970
(deck, HDMI to HDSDI converter, Kona card)

HVR-M35U via HDSDI – $6300
(deck and Kona card)