ADITA Video Inc.ADITA Video Inc.Be sure to come back and visit this page often. We get dozens of questions from video enthusiasts all over the world. Every week, Dr. Video will answer a variety of important questions from our readers. You're sure to pick up a new tip that will help you with your video making, or save you time and money.
| QUESTION: I am looking towards purchasing
digital editing equipment and want to begin reading with the
thought of what systems I will eventually buy. The problem is, what a maze
there is in this field. Plus, everyone seems to have their own personal
angle and vested interest, not necessarily the best for me. Can
you suggest a reliable publication(s) that will provide me advanced
information, in a language I understand? Larry Melton, VIA the
InternetANSWER: To answer this question, you must
define your clientele. What quality level is required to meet their
demands? Can I afford to purchase such a Non
Linear Editing (NLE) system?
How comfortable will I be with a computer-based system and how productive will
I be?For example, lets say you decide
that you must be capable of putting out a product which meets
S-VHS quality. You would seek a digitizing "board" and
complimentary computer hardware that meets this requirement. Then you would
check what NLE software is available for this "board". Many of the current NLE
software packages are available as FREE demo downloads from
Internet sites. You don't need to have the digitizing "board" because you can
use AVI or Quicktime clips that come on many
CD-ROMs or download clips from the Internet. So you can discover for yourself
how comfortable and productive you would be with the software.How do you learn to use the software? There are Internet
sites that contain step-by-step tutorials on ADOBE Premiere, for
example. Or, you could invest $25.00 on a book that teaches how to use the
program. This is a small investment compared to the risk of plunging right into
a system and then not liking it.Some dealers offer
a 30-day trial (evaluation) period. If you don't like the
hardware/software, you can return it and/or exchange it for something
else.As far as reading material goes,
most of the MAJOR magazines have Internet sites that showcase many of
the feature articles. This includes magazines such as
Videomaker and DV Magazine.
I tend to take magazine reviews "with a grain of salt" because often the
reviewer has very little hands-on time with the NLE package to really learn its
idiosyncrasies. Don't hesitate to call your "competitors" in the Yellow
Pages and ask them about their editing systems. Some of them may
invite you in so they can "show off" their facilities. Others may offer to let
you rent time on their NLE so you can see first hand how it works.These are some good ideas on how to do your market
research. It takes time and energy. Think about your NLE as a
long-term investment. You want to generate a good 5 years of profitable
revenue from it. You don't want to get into a system and have to "dump
it" in a year and take a huge loss. QUESTION: I am looking
to purchase a computer-based Non-Linear
Editor (NLE). What factors should I take into
account when looking for a suitable system? Question VIA the
InternetANSWER: There are 4 key areas
to consider when purchasing a computer-based NLE. These
include: Price, Video Quality,
Software Features, Playback and Recording
Equipment.Playback and Recording Equipment: We'll address
this issue first because it's easily overlooked. You can buy the most expensive
NLE system on the market, but if you use poor quality or badly adjusted video
decks to play back the source footage, then you'll never capture the true
quality of the raw footage. Similarly, after editing your work on the computer
and "printing to tape", if your recording deck is
inferior you'll never achieve the full potential of your investment.Recently, we tested digitizing some high quality
S-VHS footage using 3 different source decks.
The first "deck" was a Panasonic AG-450 camcorder that was set
for VCR playback mode. When digitizing from this source, the NLE played back a
noisy, overly contrasty image. Next, we used a prosumer S-VHS deck, the
Electrohome HO4. This produced a better image with good
contrast, but there was still a lot of video "noise" in the digitized playback.
Finally, we used a professional industrial editing deck, the Panasonic
AG-7500. This produced an excellent image with very little video
"noise".Similarly, when
"printing" digitized footage to tape, it's essential
to use a high quality recording deck. A $50,000.00 NLE system
can be "brought to its knees" simply because inferior decks are used to
playback the source footage and record the edited results. Most high-end NLEs
are used with Betacam SP decks that are well maintained by
professional service "techs". However, many hobbyists using entry-level systems
such as the miro DC-30+ or FAST AV Master are
cheating themselves further by using inexpensive playback and recording decks.
These people never get to see what these inexpensive digitizing boards are
truly capable of.Video Quality: We have
seen people endlessly argue the quality of their digitized footage. They'll
tweak the software, buy faster hard drives, buy more RAM, change their
motherboard, switch to Windows NT ... you name it! This effort is completely
wasted if the previous advice about using high quality, well-tuned decks is
overlooked. All the hardware and software manipulation in the world isn't going
to make a sick video deck get better. Investing $4000.00 for a
professional S-VHS deck, for example, will do more to improve
video quality than playing around with the computer, hard drives and software.
It is truly a case of GIGO - Garbage
In = Garbage Out.Software
Features: There's a saying, "People would sooner change their
spouse than switch to another word processor!" Well, it's starting to get that
way with NLE software too. Once comfortable with the editing interface, it's
difficult to get anyone to try another system. Every package has its advantages
and share of quirks. Many users adapt to and adopt the first package they've
ever used.Most systems operate on the same basic premise
- an editing TIMELINE. Realistically, most of your edits are
going to be straight cuts and dissolves. Some NLE software is better suited for
producing short clips or commercials. Other software lends itself better to
full-length programs. But every user will develop a kind of
"personal relationship" with the software.
Experimenting with work-arounds turns glitches into features. Before long, no
one can take the software away from you.Price: There are 3
main classifications of NLE systems. They are: Entry Level,
Industrial Level, and Broadcast. Example of Entry Level systems are the Pinnacle DC30+, Pinnacle DV500, and Matrox RT2000. These products sell for about $1000.00 US including editing software. Add a Pentium III (or better), a fast hard drive for recording video, and you're "in business" for less than $5000.00. Remember, however, that this does NOT include a high quality video deck. Most people using entry level systems simply use a camcorder or home VCR as a feeder deck. To get optimal performance, you really need to invest in a superb industrial grade video deck. Moving up to
Industrial Grade NLEs, there's the DPS
Velocity, the NewTek Video Toaster, AVID
MCXpress, etc. Hardware and software will set you back
$10,000.00 to $15,000.00. The video
digitizing quality is superior to entry level systems, providing you use top
quality video decks. Many people using these systems are working with
Betacam SP or Professional 3-chip S-VHS
cameras and industrial S-VHS recording decks.Broadcast NLE systems are beyond the budget of most
independent video producers. Configurations can easily exceed
$100,000.00. They are capable of digitizing incoming video in
real time with no compression! There is no end to the special effects, video
layering and titling capabilities. AVID is the industry leader
in this specialized market. They are getting healthy competition from
Data Translation and several other new manufacturers. These
are the systems for the rest of us ... to dream about!For more information on many of the NLE products mentioned
above, check out our LINKS page. |
