Video Editing Computer

Is your slow editing computer a nightmare? Take heart, 10 years ago this system was top of the line and very expensive. The owners were very proud to have such a fast system.

Each month Videomaker magazine helps thousands of camcorder users make better videos, but we do more than just write about video; we actively produce it. In addition to the monthly magazine, Videomaker creates a variety of instructional videos for the video enthusiast.

We receive letters regularly from readers telling us about their editing configurations. We thought you might like an inside look at ours so here it is!

All of our raw footage is currently shot on Hi8 with the Canon L2, then mastered onto S-VHS for duplication. Editing is of the hybrid linear/nonlinear variety, performed on the FAST VM-Studio Plus system. The computer configuration is a Pentium 133MHz with 32MB RAM and a Matrox Mystique graphics accelerator. Hi8 source footage is played into the system from the Sony EVO-9850, while the Panasonic AG-1980 provides delivery for any necessary S-VHS material. Raw video is passed through a Magni MM-400 waveform monitor for setup, then loaded on a 4GB Seagate Cheetah Wide SCSI-2 hard drive. The 4GB Cheetah holds up to twenty minutes of raw video at a compression ratio of 5:1. Longer projects are produced in 15-minute chunks for assembly on the Sony SVO-9600 editing VCR. Fades, wipes and dissolves are produced in real time by the FAST VM-Studio Plus and professional quality titles are created with Innovision's Alpha CG. Sync for system timing is provided by black burst generated by the I.DEN time base corrector. Total cost of a system like this? About $15,000 without the camera.

Spec Box

Camera:
- Canon L2
Editor/SEG:
- FAST Video Machine Studio Plus
- FAST Video Machine Studio Control Box
Titler:
- Innovision Alpha CG
Recorder:
- Sony SVO-9600 (S-VHS)
Players:
- Sony EVO-9850 (Hi-8)
- Panasonic AG-1980 (S-VHS)
Time Base Corrector:
- I.DEN IVT-7
Wave form Monitor:
- Magni MM-400
Computer:
- Pentium 133MHz with 32 MB RAM
- Matrox Mystique graphics accelerator with 4MB SGRAM
- NEC Multisync XP21 Monitor
- 4GB Seagate Cheetah Wide SCSI-2 hard drive
Monitors:
- Proton VT 218
- JVC TM-131SU
- Panasonic BT-S1360y

Chuck Peters | December 1997

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