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How to best set up my MP for editing?

yoak

yoak

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 4, 2004
1,690
213
Oslo, Norway
Hi
I´m a cameraman that have just started to have to edit more and more.
We have just got a Mac Pro and have already edited to 30 min sports programs on it. We had very little time to set up a system before we started our first edit and now I would like some help and pointers.

We have the stock hard disk and added two Seagate Barracuda 750s.
I cloned the OS and all aplications from the original Harddisk to one of the Seagates. I have a feeling this was not the right thing to do.

I have a 2T Mybook Premium extern hardisk coming in the next couple of days as well.

How about software RAID, will I benefit from that or do you need to get the RAID card?

LethalWolfe, may I ask for your help?
 
i would keep the OS on the original 250GB drive and set the two 750s into a RAID 1 formation. to be kept clean and used only as media scratch drives. Then all of your project files (livetype files, audio, music etc) live on your 250 drive and keep all of your video captures on the 750 RAID.
 
yoak,

I don't know what all gear you have or what kind of budget you have to work with but here's a place to start (and I'm assuming you are only using cameras like the EX1, HV20, XL-H1, etc., like you mentioned in another thread. Like Fluidedge said I'd keep your OS, programs, project files, etc., on the original HDD and use the two Seagates for data storage. Putting them in a RAID 1 depends on how much storage you need. But even if you put them in a RAID 1 I'd still buy some external eSATA or FW800 storage to back-up your footage onto. RAID 1 won't help if a power surge fries your machine, a file accidentally gets deleted, or your place burns to the ground. It's for those types of situations that you should have external HDDs sitting someplace safe at a separate location. You should also have an external HDD to clone your system drive onto as well.

Since you are working w/a tapeless camera like the EX1 you need a way to safe guard that footage (since you don't have a master tape to go back to). For that I'd buy a Blu-ray drive, a copy of Toast, and burn your EX1 footage to BR-DVD ASAP after shooting and treat that BR-DVD as your Master Tape.

For monitoring I'd buy a Matrox MXO and at least one 23" Apple Cinema Display (your 2nd computer monitor can be whatever brand you prefer). The MXO+23" ACD will get your very close to the quality of a b'cast quality Sony HD CRT monitor at a fraction of the price.


Lethal
 
LethalWolfe said:
For monitoring I'd buy a Matrox MXO and at least one 23" Apple Cinema Display (your 2nd computer monitor can be whatever brand you prefer). The MXO+23" ACD will get your very close to the quality of a b'cast quality Sony HD CRT monitor at a fraction of the price.
Click to expand...

If you can wait until July, the MXO2 will be out. This is the box that I'll probably get. It is a much more feature-rich product than the original MXO.
 
Matrox is a great product (23" or 24" monitor is perfect). Currently the best way to monitor HD at a reasonable cost.

I would simply use the internal drives (not the boot drive) for media and keep the project files on at least 2 different HDs. If you're not running tape, you'll need at least 1 backup of your footage until after the client has proofed, paid in full, and signed off on it.

Always keep a backup of your plug-ins and filters as well. (learned this the hard way a while back)
 
bigbossbmb said:
If you can wait until July, the MXO2 will be out. This is the box that I'll probably get. It is a much more feature-rich product than the original MXO.
Click to expand...

The MXO 2 is definitely more feature rich, but it's also more expensive ($1599 I think) and not a direct replacement for the MXO. The MXO 2 doesn't have the DVI pass thru so you can't use it in conjunction w/a 23" ACD for a cheap but very good HD monitoring system. If the MXO 2 had the DVI pass thru and was designed to work w/the 23" ACD I'd get one in a heart beat, but since it doesn't I'm on the fence because I don't know if I'll utilize the input features the MXO 2 has. Decisions, decisions...;)


Lethal
 
The MXO2 is designed to use an HDTV with HDMI In as your external monitor rather than an ACD. It is not a direct replacement for the MXO, but it goes in a different direction with the same functionality.

I think the extra $600 or so is well worth the added I/O and hardware up/down/cross-conversion (for most editors at least). And it's still portable! This will definitely push me to replace my 12" PB with a shiny new MBP sooner rather than later.
 
bigbossbmb said:
The MXO2 is designed to use an HDTV with HDMI In as your external monitor rather than an ACD. It is not a direct replacement for the MXO, but it goes in a different direction with the same functionality.
Click to expand...
The big Q though is how accurate can you get w/HDMI into a consumer HDTV. I really like specs of the MXO 2, but I also really like the ability of the MXO 1 to turn a computer monitor I already own into a b'cast monitor for $1k. Oh well, I guess you can't have it all.


Lethal
 
I assume that Matrox will recommend certain models which are able to get very very close (like they did with the MXO). My big hope is that the current (or next rev) MBP's will be fast enough to encode ProRes at 720p24. Once they do that, it'll make a great combo for HVX/EX1 users that can shoot tethered.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.
On this system we will only use the EX1, XL-H1 etc kameras.
(When I use pro cameras I don´t do the editing myself, it´s always handled by a post house).
We have 2 ViewSonics, a 22" and a 28". How are they for monitoring?

I will clean up the disks later today before we start shooting our next program tomorrow.

The Blu-Ray is an interesting thought. So Toast 9 can burn to BD+
Data or actual watchable files?
 
yoak said:
The Blu-Ray is an interesting thought. So Toast 9 can burn to BD+
Data or actual watchable files?
Click to expand...
Data. To make discs that will play in set top boxes you need Adobe Encore.

yoak said:
What BD burners work with Mac at the moment?
Click to expand...
Here are some drives being sold atOther World Computing.


doctorossi said:
What exactly does the MXO do to improve the Cinema Display's color/gamma/response?
Click to expand...
The MXO does a few things. Basically, via software it supplies calibration controls like those found on broadcast monitors, it takes the signal coming off the DVI port of the video card and turns it into a standard, broadcast quality video signal, and it was made to work specifically w/the LCD panel and other imaging hardware inside the 23" ACD to provide a consistent and accurate image.


Lethal
 
Thanks for the clarification, Lethal.

I don't understand, though, why this isn't something that could just be done in software, say as an FCP output format. Why does it require a $1,000 outboard box?

I presume it's doing everything in realtime. Is it possible to produce similar results in a non-realtime process (a render, say) without outboard equipment, losing only the ability to monitor in realtime?
 
doctorossi said:
Thanks for the clarification, Lethal.

I don't understand, though, why this isn't something that could just be done in software, say as an FCP output format. Why does it require a $1,000 outboard box?

I presume it's doing everything in realtime. Is it possible to produce similar results in a non-realtime process (a render, say) without outboard equipment, losing only the ability to monitor in realtime?
Click to expand...
Basically the MXO takes the inaccurate (for video usage) signal from your computer's DVI port and converts it into a signal that meets certain specifications and is thus usable for professional video. Also, the MXO provides b'cast quality HD and SD outputs as well as HD-to-SD down-conversion in real time.


Lethal
 
do you have to use it with an Apple Cinema Display or will any display with a resolution of 1920x1200 or better do?
 
fluidedge said:
do you have to use it with an Apple Cinema Display or will any display with a resolution of 1920x1200 or better do?
Click to expand...

The MXO was made to work w/the LCD panel and image circuitry of the 23" ACD (and to a less effective extent on a couple of Dell monitors that I can't remember off the top of my head) so using it another monitor will most likely yield inaccurate results. It also only works w/certain GPUs Apple has used over the past couple of years so you need to check you Mac's compatibility w/the MXO as well.

Matrox MXO has all the info.


Lethal
 
The MXO has special LUTs for the Cinema Display. Also, the 23" ACD supports a 59.97 refresh rate (which most computer displays don't). Because of these two things, the ACD is strongly recommended. It will function with other LCDs, but the performance will not be the same.

edit: beat to the punch
 
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