OT (kind of): New Computer Question

i c e wrote on 10/23/2014, 5:32 PM

Hello everyone!

How's it going? So thanks to you all here I got my awesome GH2 (at a steal mind you) and been shooting away for my biggest project ever. Like a 45 minute docu-drama. It's all going well. I got some stunning footage. But it seems I am headed for trouble. I am beginning to edit on a pretty fast laptop: 2.7GHz i7, 16GB of Ram 1GB dedicaded graphics card. When I play the files from the GH2 (hacked at 88mbps) and other like files it doesnt take long for Vegas to start lagging (Vegas Pro 10, genuine purchase). Some of the files are so large, like my AVI time-lapse footage plays but wont play smooth like at all.

So I am thinking it's not really realistic to edit a project of this size on a laptop and I should get a desktop. I think if I get a good deal I will be able to sell it when I'm done and not lose too much. My main question here what is the main thing I need to move faster. I found this one with 32GB's of Ram and 3.2Ghz and a 2GBm graphic card. http://nashville.craigslist.org/syd/4701732075.html

Could you guys let me know what you think? Also, anyone want to sell a like machine?

Thanks so much,

Joshua

Comments

Multitech wrote on 10/23/2014, 5:49 PM

Is it just the preview in Vegas that is slow? Try the Draft/Preview/Good/Best options above the preview window. Or maybe someone else has better info on temp rendering to an intermediate codec.

i c e wrote on 10/23/2014, 6:52 PM

Thanks for getting back man. Temp/Proxy files, from my understanding is a long rather complex process, I am going to have hundreds of files so I don't think that approach is gonna happen in my timeframe.

I have it on Preview>Quarter. Draft is just too blurry to see what's going on. But it's not just vegas even in just the laptop, they lag. Quick time or .avi.

I have never heard of people using laptops for big time editing so I think it just makes sense.

Bottom line I just need to get this done as smoothly and easily as possible.

ushere wrote on 10/23/2014, 7:39 PM

one hard drive?

same laptop as in your specs? have you 'cleaned' it up?

working with proxies would be the way to go, and in 13 it's a fairly easy process i gather*.

*i gather since i only ever do very basic editing on my laptop - for serious work there's no beating a well spec'ed desktop

i c e wrote on 10/23/2014, 9:30 PM

Ushere,
Thank you for replying. I really respect your opinion as you've helped me so much over the years. Could you let me know what constitutes a well spec'd desktop for you? Could you check out that link and see what you think about it by chance?

Thank you so very much!

Joshua

ushere wrote on 10/24/2014, 6:45 AM

well i'm no expert in the pc hardware world, but i would say that looks pretty good. the i7 965 is an 'older' chip, but i was very happy with my 920 chip so i can't think you'd be disappointed.
(i'd be tempted to instantly rip out all the green lights though ;-))

of course it really depends upon your budget - there's a few stunning setups mention recently, but to be honest i'm happier buying sweet spot rather than cutting edge, and using the savings to buy production goodies (lights, sound, filters, etc.,)

also, in my workflow rendering is not really that important, i much prefer good, stable playback and leave rendering for when i'm asleep.

as for your original material, i'd still be tempted to work with proxies, the experience will be much more satisfying and easier previewing than trying to work with 88mbps footage.

good luck with it....

diverG wrote on 10/24/2014, 4:39 PM

Whilst you are deciding what to buy, you could try converting the files from your GH2 to .avi.
Easy way to do this is to download & install a codec set from Grassvalley/ (Canapus) together with their AVCHD2HQ convertor. Both Vegas Pro 10 & 11 (32bit) work very smoothly when used with these files. Simply drag the files from the GH2 to AVCHD2HQ and sit back whilst the files are converted.
If you should use 1280x720P 50/60fps don’t upscale to 1920x1080
1920x1080P 24fps is almost the same workload as 1280x720P

http://www.grassvalley.com/

Copy & paste the above link, Sign up & download and enjoy.
I also use a hacked GH2 and work this way on an old laptop.

i c e wrote on 10/24/2014, 9:26 PM

Diver G,

Thanks a lot. I will most certainly look into that software. I used to use an old batch converter script I bought for Vegas but that sounds better. But my two questions are one, what do I do with the new files? I have 6.5TB's of data and it's getting ridiculous. AVI files are huge and more of them would creat more problems.. Would I do like a lossless and then just delete what came out of the camera?

Second, are you saying I would use that workflow to like set up a proxy... Where it would then switch the files for the final render... Any page or tut or blog on how to set that up?

We are kind of getting off topic here... My real questions was what do you think of that or any other machine for video editing?

Thanks man... And everyone.

Joshua

PixelStuff wrote on 10/24/2014, 11:07 PM

You said it "doesn't take long for Vegas to start lagging". I'm wondering if this is a hard drive speed issue or cpu issue.

1. How fast is the HDD in your laptop (5400rpm or 7200rpm, or SSD)?
2. Do you have USB 3.0 ports?
3. What is the exact model of the CPU in your laptop?
4. Are you doing a lot of video layers or simple cutting on a single track?
5. Any video filters?

I haven't tried editing in Vegas over USB 3.0 but I would guess it should work. Especially with an SSD in a USB 3 enclosure.

fldave wrote on 10/24/2014, 11:17 PM

My i5 Quad 16GB screams with my GH2 footage, your issue is HD throughput with the hacked, much larger files. I have to say that even my HD HuffYUV files play back great. The easy way would be to use proxies to get the rough cuts. Or, go with that machine, and put the biggest SSDs you can in it.

diverG wrote on 10/25/2014, 5:14 AM

Joshua, Sorry about going off topic. I was trying to buy you a little time.

Having converted the files from your GH2 to ..avi you simply load these into VP in the usual way.
Edit using these files. You are not using a proxy method. The .avi files are large but then again memory is fairly cheap.

Geoff

i c e wrote on 10/25/2014, 1:47 PM

Wow. Thanks again everyone. Great point Pixel, and no worries DiverG, I appreciate all the help I can get. I do realize now that my internal HD is 5400 so thats an issue. Most my footage is on Externals so thats even worse. I am close with the laptop, but add any filters and it starts really slowing, even with AVI.

Thanks a lot all. I think a new PC would go a long way in speeding this up. If I can get that one or another that I can afford that should work out. Meanwhile I am going to learn how to do proxies. But I will start a new post for that for clarity.

Thanks a million.

J

i c e wrote on 10/31/2014, 5:12 PM

Okay so here's is a quick update and maybe anyone could chime in with opinions.

The deal I had going fell through (after further interogation, there WAS some damage to the unit). So I am thinking to buy Vegas Pro 13 and use proxy settings. In addition, I am thinking to buy a 512 GB SSD for my laptop (specs above) and go with that. I guess SSD is supposed to be 20 times faster.

I think that might do it... any opinions or suggestions would be highly appreciated.

thanks so much everyone.

Joshua