I Need a Video Editing Beast (no gaming, just filmmaking)

[Mannie Bothans]

I need a "tom's hardware 2012 Buyers Guide: High-End Video-Editing Configuration." I'd like to find a place that can sell, assemble, and ship a custom video-editing PC that will allow me to edit and render 50Mbs HD footage with the least possible lag. I will not be gaming, just editing broadcast-quality video and audio.

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: ASAP

Budget Range: $5,000 (without monitor)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Editing HD Video Footage, Editing Film Audio, Home Theater

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Parts to Upgrade: New Build

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I cannot assemble this myself, please recommend a place that sells it all installed

Location: Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Parts Preferences: The absolute best I can afford for editing with Creative Suite 6 Production Premium

Overclocking: Open to advice

SLI or Crossfire: Open to advice

Your Monitor Resolution: Might be a separate topic, but I am also seeking a nice 1920 x 1200 reference monitor-- with 1:1 pixel mapping, great deltaE after calibration-- suitable for editing and color correcting.

Additional Comments: I don't know the first thing about what is compatible with what, how to configure a raid anything, or how to build this myself. I won't be using this for gaming, but I will have multiple monitors and will be using it for films.

Why Are You Upgrading: My current PC won't handle the demands of editing or rendering HD video.

Include a list of any parts you have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts:

I have selected nothing so far, except for NLE software.

Right now I have the full Creative Suite 6 Production Premium-- with Premiere Pro CS6, After Effects, Photoshop Extd., Audition CS6, Flash Pro, Illustrator, Encore CS6, SpeedGrade, Prelude, Bridge. and Media Encoder.

I have been thinking about the following:

Video Card:
Matrox mojito max
http://www.matrox.com/video/en/products/mojito_max/

Audio Card:
Focusrite Saffire PRO 14
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SaffirePro14/

Video Monitors:
I still don't know what external reference monitor I will get, but for the PC NLE interface monitor I have been looking at
the NEC P241W
http://www.ecost.com/p/7358469?source=EWBGOOGLEBASE&CAWELAID=1350857885

Audio Monitors:
Genelec 8260A
http://www.genelec.com/products/3-way-monitors/8260a/

 

[Draven35]

What is the ceiling height? What kind of power do you have down there? Two decent size filming lights are pretty much more than a home electrical system is designed to handle....

 

[Mannie Bothans]

From concrete floor to the bottom of the floor above is 8.4ft. Very low.

Right now I just have 3 lights, and each of them pulls 500 Watts each, they are fluorescents.

 

[Draven35]

Kino-flos or some clone? good investment, they are one of the few ways to be able to run multiple lights in a household. I'd try to add a 500w Fresnel to that and that gives you a decent kit... keep in mind you're probably going to burn two of those flourescents lighting the screen evenly....

 

[Mannie Bothans]

No, I haven't invested in nice, dimmable kinoflos yet...
I just picked up cheap cowboy studio softboxes for now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064L8MCC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I like the versatility of fresnels, too-- but haven't gotten one yet.

 

[Draven35]

nice, still...

those softwoxes will be nice for lighting a screen and for fill lights, but a key light needs a bit of a harder light source.

 

[Mannie Bothans]

I suppose I'd also need gels to make the 3200K arris look like the 5500K fluorescents?

BTW, what would you configure based on what is offered at http://www.adkvideoediting.com?

 

[Draven35]

ADK 3900

Case ADK - ADK Tower: (8) 3.5" bays 6 are removable, (4) 5.25 Bays Firewire/USB2 in fr
Power Supply Top Power - Striker 850 - 850W, up to 94% efficiency, 5 year Warranty
Motherboard ADK - Core i7 SB-E, 4 PCIex16, 2 PCIe, up to 64Gig ram no firewire.
Processor Intel - Core i7 @ 4.2GHz 4 core 10meg cache
Processor 2 None
CPU Cooling Intel - Intel Liquid cooler self contained unit (quiet)
Quieting/Xtra Cooling ADK - ADK Quiet Case fans (2) 8DB Noctua
Memory 16gig (4x4GB) DDR3 1600 LV Lifetime warranty.
Operating System Microsoft - Windows 7 Pro 64 bit OEM
Other Software Paragon Backup & Recovery 11 Suite with ADK recovery DVD.
OS/Programs Drive 120GB SSD: 560MB read/515MB write. 10 yr warranty.
Source Drive SEAGATE - 2TB raid 0 (2 64Meg 1TB drives)
Render Drive SEAGATE - 1TB Sata 600 64meg cache 1 yr warranty ST1000DM003
DVD-RW/BDR PLEXTOR - PX-890SA 24X DVDRW SATA Retail: Plextor 24XDVDRW with PlexUtilities, SATA,
Dual Head Video GeForce GTX570 1280MB: 1280MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 HDMI - DisplayPort - DV
Video Preview Blackmagic Design - Intensity Shuttle: Incredible 10 bit HDMI and Analog video editing for USB
Pro Audio Interface Focusrite - Focusrite Scarlett 2i2: 2x2 USB2 Audio Interface USB 2.0 Audio Interface, 2
Studio Monitors KRK - KRK RP5 G2(pair)

Total $3,741.00

I might switch the 1 yr warranty seagate drives for 5 yr warranty WD drives (adds $66 to total) and add the KRK powered sub (they don't list). You can upgrade the CPU if you like but using premiere most of your premiere rendering is going to be on the GPU anyway. Get a $250 or so condenser mic and build a vocal boos, put up walls and add a sub floor to get you off the concrete (otherwise all the effort of buying the nice audio interface, monitors, etc will be lost in having an acoustically horrible room).

For shooting your little greenscreen, run an HDMI cable from the HDMI output of the Canon XF 100 directly into the Intensity pro and capture straight into the RAID in the editing system. You can capture 10-bit uncompressed video that way and skip the horrible compression of the camera. (I have a lot of personal experience with DVCProHD and the compression on that is pretty strong...) Get a spot meter and learn how to use it, spot meter the screen and try to get the entire visible area of the screen within a half stop (I prefer less) to get good keys. (yeah i realize that part is usually responsibility of the DP, I have a degree in this stuff and taught more than a dozen people in college how to meter a screen... but being realistic he may be shooting this stuff himself with no DP.)

 

[Mannie Bothans]

Best answer selected by Mannie Bothans.

 

[Draven35]

Sorry i didnt pick monitors or anything, you were looking at those elsewhere.

 

[Mannie Bothans]

Sorry i didnt pick monitors or anything, you were looking at those elsewhere.

Right. The internal stuff I really felt like I wanted them to install, but external things I could get from another place. I didn't particularly love any of the video monitors they offered. I am looking at a few that can be color-calibrated easily like maybe the NEC P241W, the NEC PA231W, the Asus PA238Q, HP ZR2440w, Dell UltraSharp U2410, BenQ EW2730, BenQ XL2420T, or Viewsonic VP2365-LED. Of course, since I am planning on making the editing room do double duty as a home theater space-- that means I can sink ALL of my home theater budget into a larger, more color correct video monitor and a better, fuller-range audio monitor system as well.

 

[Draven35]

or use a good, color correct projector...

 

[Mannie Bothans]

For shooting your little greenscreen, run an HDMI cable from the HDMI output of the Canon XF 100 directly into the Intensity pro and capture straight into the RAID in the editing system. You can capture 10-bit uncompressed video that way and skip the horrible compression of the camera. (I have a lot of personal experience with DVCProHD and the compression on that is pretty strong...)

Hmm... So instead of the internal Intensity Pro card, could I add an external one to my rig (maybe something like the Intensity Extreme) and hook it up to a portable hard drive mounted to the rig, and always record uncompressed?

 

[Draven35]

Well, the drive would have to be capable of maintaining uncompressed HD data rates, but yes.

 

[jkcinci]

If you are still in the video rendering mode and want to pick up some real-time speed with economic feasibility. I would recommend the

EVGA Z77 FTW Mother Board
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-2600K
16 Gb ddr3
(4) EVGA GTX 580 1595-AR GRAPHIC CARDS 4-WAY SLI
(4) SSD Hard drives RAID 5 STRIPING
(2) AX 1200 WATT POWER SUPPLIES
Lian-Li Dual Power Supply Adapter
CM STORM TROOPER HIGH TOWER CASE
(2) 12Omm 110 CFM CASE FANS
NOTE: The fans do add additional noise although water cooling is high risk and not as effective as proper designed and placement of air cooling fans

I personally have this system and have done benchmarks with other professionals with many different and much more expensive and elaborate systems and not be brag, but . . . . . . later CPUs do have a small impact and the only other systems that will significantly out do mine are extremely complex, elaborate, and several times the price. jkcinci@yahoo.com