Video Editing Software

Built mine too. It's deceptively easy.

I built my own editing system, and it runs immensely great. I am running Win2k on a Dual P3 850mhz with 1 GB of RAM. I've been using Premiere 6.01 for quite a while now, and I've been digging it. I would like to grab a copy of After Effects to build it up and properly format the 16:9 video I shoot...

Vegas 4 does it nicely, and I think it may be the next piece of software I pick up. Everyone over at indieclub.com (a site for independent filmmakers) seems to rave about it.

If anything the Sonic Foundry (errr...Sony) stuff is great for ease of use. You can pretty much use it out of the box with little learning curve. Plus, it's stacked with useful features so you can keep learning and do pretty advanced (as far as my needs go) editing. The only thing is, I haven't been able to find a whole bunch of plug-ins for it and I like to play with bells and whistles. There's a few but it doesn't seem like there's as many as other editing programs have. Perhaps Vegas just has more of the "bells and whistles" built in, but I don't know enough about the others to say.

I've even read of a few broadcast productions and commercial DVD's being done on Vegas.

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Jeff said:
I built all of my own. Is there another way?

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I was about to ask the same question. There is no better way, and it saves you the grief of all the crap already pre-loaded on the system.

I recommend looking at this article for good video editing software under $100:

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/products/story/0,24330,3568969,00.html

I've built before, but with the prices the way they are now ... and with the configuration options that are available, I find it's better to let someone else do the work.

I just bought a new custom-built system from HP and I got a great deal. I did the research and found that what little money that I would save by building wasn't worth it when I could have everything under one warranty.

Not all computer nerds build their own systems :)

As for editing software, let me mention MovieShop Deluxe. Broderbund isn't the first thing you think of when video editing comes to mind. But the original, personalStudio (created by Adamation), was well done and is the engine behind MovieShop. Not perfect or in a league with Avid or Premiere, but it's pretty good for the price - around $70.

Why go for an external when you can get something like a Western Digital 80GB "Special Edition" for under $80? It's among the fastest and most reliable IDE hard drives currently on the market and should offer plenty of storage space for video.

Also, if you know what you're doing, installation should only take 5-10 minutes.

-Jeff

http://americacoasters.com

Build your own system? HA...it's FUN! I'll build it for you if you pay me...

-seth

Jeff, how did you learn how to build one?

How did any of you guys learn to build your own PC?

Trial and error I assume. It really is not that hard to figure out how to do. I am just lazy and have not done that yet.

I wouldn't even say trial and error. You just know you can. I bought my first PC from Micron and in the 3 or 4years I had it, I learned a ton about PC's. When I was ready to upgrade, I just knew I could build one.

Again, it's deceptively easy. Like a small puzzle. There's only a handful of pieces you need to assemble a fully working box. You just snap them together.

Basically if you don't think you can do it (which I'm assuming because you keep asking how to do it) then you might not want to. If ou do want to pursue it, do a quick google search and you'll find tons of info.

When I did this PC, it took less than 2 hours to get it together and running (and it was my first time).

I think this link might help you.

Avid now as a free version of their software. Granted it's got some limitations when it comes to number of tracks, transistions, etc, but it's enough to get the idea.

I think anybody, and I mean anybody, could build a PC if they had the time and did a little research into how. It's not like building a car. It's really pretty easy with today's hardware and software. Pretty much plug and play. It really comes down to time. Some people want to pay to have simple things like sound cards installed for them, some people pay Valet parking instead of hunting for a space. :)

My advice for anyone interested in learning how to build a PC would be to check the magazine rack at your local bookstore. There's a special issue of Maximum PC on the stands right now. It's a "How to build a PC" issue and should get you up to speed. And the regular monthly issue of Maximum PC is a good resource too.

I've been gone for a little more than a week, but...

I see Jeff is also an Avid advocate. I have Avid Xpress DV 3.5 at home on my Macintosh, but I freely admit that the PC version (requires Windows XP) is slightly better developed because it's been around for several additional versions (v1.0 was for Windows NT; v3.5 was the first dual-platform version). You don't need dual processors to make it work; Avid sets their system requirements very high and practically guarantees that the system will work...but I am running Xpress Pro (the upgrade from Xpress DV) on a P4-733 system, which Avid says can't be done.

But as long as I am talking about Avid, let me mention this: Avid now has a bare-bones version of their software (VERY bare bones; it's about as capable as Apple's iMovie...) available for FREE through their website at www.avid.com. It's called Avid FreeDV, and it's a stripped down version of Xpress DV. The great thing about it is that it uses the same interface as Xpress DV, which uses the same interface as Media Composer, which is the industry standard. If you then want to upgrade to Xpress DV or Xpress Pro, if you are a student, Avid has some very aggressive educational pricing. I don't know if you have to show that you are in a broadcasting program or not.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.