C'mon, what specs do we need to edit 5D2 HD!

[benesotor]

I'm struggling to find an answer to this, one page i see some guy with a single core CPU and cheap G-card can view/edit fine, then some other guy with a mammouth PC cant?
What spec's do you have an how does editing go for you?
I've got a 2.3dualcore CPU, 4GB ram and 8600GT graphics card, with Sony Vegas Pro 8.

No idea if this is okay for 720p let alone 1080, anyone really know? :P

Thanks a bunch, Ben

[osv]

why not download some raw footage and test it on your computer?

the hf11 review at dvinfo.net has some footage for just that purpose.

i can tell you that you won't get decent playback speed in sony vegas pro 8, because i have a similar rig... i recently overclocked the core2duo to 3.5 ghz, and it helped a lot, but the framerate for playback is still slow in vegas.

[benesotor]

why not download some raw footage and test it on your computer?

the hf11 review at dvinfo.net has some footage for just that purpose.

i can tell you that you won't get decent playback speed in sony vegas pro 8, because i have a similar rig... i recently overclocked the core2duo to 3.5 ghz, and it helped a lot, but the framerate for playback is still slow in vegas.

Okay cheers, might have to upgrade to a quad-core machine :(

EDIT: Okay i downloaded some HD footage and playback wasnt great, useable for a short clip with no effects, ill look around for more powerful PC's im thinking, thanks for the link though!

[sfaust]

I can tell you that a quad core should be fine. I edit clients projects on a quad core Mac with Final Cut Studio all the time. I've done some editing on a dual core with reasonable success. I haven't tried it on anything less. As expected, a fast processor, lots of memory, and a good graphics card and disk subsystem make all the difference in the world. But then again, that can be said for any intensive application ;)

[Zilly]

unless your running a ram farm there is little point in trying to run 1080hd footage back at full speed thats why they created proxy's a powerful machine isnt needed you just gotta know how to use your software

[osv]

proxy editing is a great idea... there are some tricks for doing it with sony vegas pro.

you can also use an intermediate codec with slower hardware, i use canopus hq, but it takes more disk space.

the 5d footage should actually be easier to playback than the hf11 avchd footage, but by the time you add some titles or color correction, it's going to get tough.

[benesotor]

proxy editing is a great idea... there are some tricks for doing it with sony vegas pro.

you can also use an intermediate codec with slower hardware, i use canopus hq, but it takes more disk space.

the 5d footage should actually be easier to playback than the hf11 avchd footage, but by the time you add some titles or color correction, it's going to get tough.

What's this proxy editing in vegas? Never heard of doing that :S
It looks like im going to upgrade to a 2.4 q6600 quad core PC soon, im not sure how much head room that will give me without overclocking.

[osv]

somebody posted up a script on the official sony vegas pro forum, that swapped all the files out for you, but don't know what the link is... you are still going to have to encode some low bitrate proxy files to do that, so going straight to an intermediate codec to begin with may not be such a bad idea.

if you have vegas, take a look at the lagarith codec, it's freeware.

if you have a core2duo, as opposed to a dual core, you might be able to edit with it, using some of these tricks.

2.66 ghz is what i've seen recommended as the minimum for core2quads... i just pulled the trigger on a q9400 for $183, shipped to my door, and i'm going to overclock that.

[BrantG]

I'm using an i7 Processor and 12GB of memory with a Nvidia 260 graphics card. If I use NeoScene to uses as my working files in Premiere CS4, I can edit them just fine even with multiple filters applied. Rendering isn't necessary unless it's an intense filter.

[benesotor]

somebody posted up a script on the official sony vegas pro forum, that swapped all the files out for you, but don't know what the link is... you are still going to have to encode some low bitrate proxy files to do that, so going straight to an intermediate codec to begin with may not be such a bad idea.

if you have vegas, take a look at the lagarith codec, it's freeware.

if you have a core2duo, as opposed to a dual core, you might be able to edit with it, using some of these tricks.

2.66 ghz is what i've seen recommended as the minimum for core2quads... i just pulled the trigger on a q9400 for $183, shipped to my door, and i'm going to overclock that.

2.6? wow, i read that it was 2.6 for a dual not a quad :S

[benesotor]

EDIT - Just upgraded my PC after a good deal was put upon me. q6600 quad core, 4gb ram, 660gb HDD, 512mb 8600gt GFX.
Ill post how it handles HD when i have it all set up and everything installed tomorrow eve.

[osv]

avchd is harder to edit than this canon video... keep us posted on how it works out.

watch out for the dreaded quicktime gamma shift, make sure that you have the latest version of qt for the pc... i think that neoscene automatically fixes that(???).

[benesotor]

UPDATE: Okay, got my quad core system set up and got vegas installed, the news is it now runs HD footage very smoothly even at full playback quality. It's using about 8% of the CPU compared to 100% on my old dualcore set up.
It seems the quad makes a real difference. Hope this helps!

[biggpopa]

I'm struggling to find an answer to this, one page i see some guy with a single core CPU and cheap G-card can view/edit fine, then some other guy with a mammouth PC cant?
What spec's do you have an how does editing go for you?
I've got a 2.3dualcore CPU, 4GB ram and 8600GT graphics card, with Sony Vegas Pro 8.

No idea if this is okay for 720p let alone 1080, anyone really know? :P

Thanks a bunch, Ben


I actually have a very similar set up. I have the 2.66 Core 2 Duo, and the 7300GT graphics card, and my sony vegas 8 runs perfect. I shoot my HD on my HV20 camera....ie wedding, receptions etc.. and I have not had an issue. Although, if I had the chance and if you're going to upgrade, then quad core is where you'll want to be.

[Stephen Marshall]

I have a Macbook Pro. 2.8 Core 2 Duo, 4gigs of RAM and 9600M Video card. Raw playback of the footage is very jerky but after i render and Export from Final Cut Pro its perfect.

[benesotor]

I have a Macbook Pro. 2.8 Core 2 Duo, 4gigs of RAM and 9600M Video card. Raw playback of the footage is very jerky but after i render and Export from Final Cut Pro its perfect.

Hmm, i need it to be smooth before render really, but its okay now that i've upgraded to quad-core.

[Stephen Marshall]

Hmm, i need it to be smooth before render really, but its okay now that i've upgraded to quad-core.

Its only Jerky in raw Quicktime, I believe its the way it is compressed and how quicktime deals with it. To edit you can have Much lower specs. Quicktime isnt the best for native viewing I suppose.