Editing Systems 2007 Turnkey Buyer's Guide

Brian Peterson
April 2007

» Next Image Previous Image «

Here at Videomaker, we often field the question, "what kind of computer should I get to edit my video?" The challenge in answering this question is that it comes from people with varying experience levels editing different types of video productions. Some are just getting into creating video programs. Others have a fair amount of experience. And still others are working on their second documentary. As you can guess, there's no one right answer.

That's why we, and many of you, look forward to this annual roundup of computer systems. It gives us an opportunity to put together this ever-changing comparison with only those systems that are capable of editing digital video; so you don't need to worry about the question, "will it, or won't it?"

In our Buyer's Guide grid, you'll find dozens of Turnkey computer manufacturers. With a turnkey system, you can simply remove it from the shipping box, turn it on and immediately start editing video. Not long ago, this was limited to only certain higher-end computers and those configured by systems integrators. Now, however, just about every PC and Apple system comes with this capability at least at a basic level.

The hot new question this year is not whether a particular computer system can edit video, but will it be able to edit high definition video? In fact, this question may be driving your search for a new system. Since it's possible to add options like faster processors, more RAM, and powerful video cards to nearly any computer, we really can't give you a definitive "yes" or "no" for a particular computer. We will, however, tell you everything you need to look for to answer this question for yourself. Of course, if the system will be capable of editing HD or HDV, you can bet it will handle your standard definition footage with plenty of space to do more complex tasks in real-time.

Clock speed and bandwidth (i.e., related to Front Side Bus) of the computer processor(s) are among the most important factors affecting video editing of both HD and SD footage. New this year is the proliferation of multi-core processors on even mid- and lower-priced systems. This type of processor is essentially two CPUs on one board, giving you about twice the processing horsepower.

Intel's Core 2 Duo, IBM's PowerPC dual-core and AMD's Athlon 64 series processors are no longer limited to just high performance servers and workstations. You'll find these powerful processors now in many mid-priced systems as well. Even if you are just starting out in video production, if you think you'll soon be shooting in high definition, it's probably a good idea to invest in a system that uses one of these higher performing processors. If you are an advanced user and you are committed to working in high definition, you may even consider a system sporting some of the new quad-core technologies by both AMD and Intel.

When assessing processor performance, be careful to look closely at real world benchmarks, not just simply at processor clock speeds (e.g., 3.2GHz). This used to be a standard marker for performance, but with the introduction of multi-core technologies, some manufacturers have actually reduced the clock speeds while at the same time increasing overall performance.

• Digg This!
• del.icio.us
• Technorati
• StumbleUpon
• Reddit