The First Steps to Video Editingby Andrew AlexanderPublished on Jul 30, 2001 12:00 AM 
|
|
Technology has come a long way. As computers have become faster and more affordable, and camcorders have gotten more advanced, it has now become very feasible to have a high-quality video editing facility on the desktop computer in your basement. However, setting up your computer to be able to edit video can be at times be seemingly overwhelming. It may require you to learn much more about the technology inside your computer than you had originally intended. The purpose of this article will be to give you an overview of what's required and what it can cost you.
The Bare Essentials
The first thing you're going to need to edit video on your computer is obviously a video camera. I won't devote a lot of time discussing what kind of camera you should have, but I will suggest that your life will be much simpler if your camera has what is known as a Firewire (IEEE 1394/DV/i.Link) port. This port will allow you to transfer seamlessly from camcorder to computer. You can edit video with a non-Firewire camcorder, but it’s more complicated and we’ll cover it in a future article.
If you're reading this article, you already have the second key component of computer-based video editing - the computer. However, not all computers are created equal and yours may need an upgrade. There are four essential components a computer needs for you to edit video effectively, or in some cases, at all.
1. Video capture technology
Your computer will need a Firewire port to import the video from your camcorder. If it doesn't have one, it is a fairly simple exercise to install a Firewire card, but if you can’t do it check your local computer store.
Macintosh computers typically come equipped these days with Firewire ports, which isn't surprising, as Apple computer invented the Firewire standard. If yours doesn't come equipped with one, it is possible to add one, but you should definitely take it to an Apple dealer to do this.
Current relative costs of PCI firewire cards
ADS Technologies PYRO BasicDV $69
Orangemicro OrangeLink PCI Card $59
Western Digital PCI Firewire adapter $49
2. Operating system
For a Windows-based PC, ensure that you have installed DirectX 8.0a, which includes some crucial Firewire-related fixes. It is important to keep in mind that Windows 95, 98 and ME are limited in the maximum size of any given file, to a size around 19 minutes of digital video. Windows NT and 2000 do not have these limitations, so you may want to consider upgrading to either of these systems if you intend to work on larger projects. Macintosh computers don't have any of these limitations.
3. Hard disk space
Video takes up a lot of space on your hard drive, 2 hours requires about 26 gigabytes of storage. A crucial step then, in evaluating the status of your system, is to figure out how much available hard disk space you have, and decide whether you need more. In Windows just double-click on My Computer, choose a hard drive and right-click on it, and select properties; this will give you a report on how much free space is available. I would recommend at least double the amount of space your project will need. Hard disks are cheap these days, and it's relatively easy to add them to your computer.
Current relative costs of hard drives
20 Gigabyte Western Digital $78
40 Gigabyte IBM Deskstar $110
60 Gigabyte Maxtor $159
4. System Specifications
You've got the connection, you've got the space - theoretically, you should be set to go. The speed, however, at which your computer will be working is limited by your processor, the "brain" of the computer that does all the work. Check on the box of your editing software to see what the recommended, not minimum computer specifications are; if your processor or other specifications of your computer are less than this, be prepared that your computer make take a while to do the tasks you require of it. RAM also affects the speed at which your computer operates, and your editing will benefit from as much as you can put in your computer. At a minimum, I would recommend 64 megabytes. You can consult many of your system specifications by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting "Properties".
Current relative costs of processors
AMD Duron 700 mhz $26
Intel Celeron 733 mhz $46
Intel Pentium III 750 mhz $97
Conclusion
If you have to evaluate buying a new or additional hard drive and a new processor, it may be more cost-effective to sell your current system and buy a completely new system. This can be achieved for less than $1000 these days.