Is a 500GB external Hardrive big enough for video editing in iMovie and then later When I have the money to buy Final Cut Express.
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500GB HDD big enough
- Thread starter djstarrock
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Yes. If you can afford a terrabyte that would be better.
Are you planning on making DVD's then removing the old files, or do you want it online indefinitely? I worked at ILM and I can tell you there is never enough space for the later.
Are you planning on making DVD's then removing the old files, or do you want it online indefinitely? I worked at ILM and I can tell you there is never enough space for the later.
An 'empty' 500GB drive will hold 465GB (based on 10^3/2^8 discrepancies). It is suggested that you keep at least 10-15GB free on your start-up disk for optimal swap performance. Additionally, subtract 40GB for OS + iLife + FCE. This leaves you with about 410GB of useable space. DV is about 12GB/hr, so that gives you about 34 hours of storage space.
If you can live with 34 hours to store all of your active projects, then the 500GB drive will be enough for you.
Keep in mind that your music/photos/games/etc. will be eating into that space as well.
If you can live with 34 hours to store all of your active projects, then the 500GB drive will be enough for you.
Keep in mind that your music/photos/games/etc. will be eating into that space as well.
If you're going to be doing video editing and working from an external drive for storage, you'll probably want to go with a dual-drive solution so you can RAID-1 mirror the drives. You wouldn't want one drive to go out and lose all your data.
I guess what I'm asking is: When you're done editing a project will you back it all up and take it offline, or do you want everything you have ever shot to remain online? I can not emphasize enough how much better it is to back up and take things offline. Then a 500GB drive will be fine for home use.
If you are needing hard drive space and storage for video editing, wouldn't even firewire 800 be alot slower than internal drives, or a eSATA?
I don't know what your budget is, but Coscto has/had a 1TB external hard drive for $350 CND. For 350 (Canadian), that's a fantastic deal, it was a "My Book" hard drive.
In anycase, 500GBs should be fine. But in 4 or 5 years, 500 will be the norm.
In anycase, 500GBs should be fine. But in 4 or 5 years, 500 will be the norm.
I couldn't get that drive because I live in the UK.I don't know what your budget is, but Coscto has/had a 1TB external hard drive for $350 CND. For 350 (Canadian), that's a fantastic deal, it was a "My Book" hard drive.
In anycase, 500GBs should be fine. But in 4 or 5 years, 500 will be the norm.
got just over 500gb spread across three drives, two external and they are almost full
would love eSATA but its not for mac and a bit pricey anyway
Maybe go for 500 or less for now, then go for another 500 in the future when drives are allot cheaper as you need it
would love eSATA but its not for mac and a bit pricey anyway
Maybe go for 500 or less for now, then go for another 500 in the future when drives are allot cheaper as you need it
I also do video editing on a small scale, and I will tell you that it dosn't take long to kill off 500 gigs. When i first started I thought that 120 would be enough, then 250, I just bought two 500gig drives last week and have already filled one of them. A/V work is a storage hog and you'll begin to find yourself on that slippery slope of looking for the next deal on a huge hard drive solution.
But to begin with 500 gigs is a good start and keep watching the drives get bigger, faster AND cheaper.
But to begin with 500 gigs is a good start and keep watching the drives get bigger, faster AND cheaper.
I don't do video editing, but I think I can give you an informed opinion about storage space. 500 GB will be big enough if you only work on 1 or maybe 2 projects at a time. Beyond that, all your other projects will have to be removed to offline backup.
I can tell you this because I just bought a 500 gig, and once I put on my huge MP3 library and many of he TV shows that I download, the drive is quickly filling up, and this is all highly compressed media. I used to do a lot of multitrack audio editing on my 60 GB startup disk, and I could never work on more than 1 song at a time, I had to load up all the tracks for a song, full complete it, bounce it to a 2 track final mix, and remove all the source files onto off line storage. And let me tell you, it was quite a pain.
It's entirely doable to swap projects on and off your disks, but if you can afford more than 500, get it. Or you can do what someone else suggested, buy 500 now, see if it's enough for you, and if not you can buy more. I don't think the price per MB is any lower on a single 1 TB drive than it is on 2 separate 500 GB drives, so the only downside if you choose to get 500 + 500 instead of a single TB is that you'll have 1 extra box in your life.
I can tell you this because I just bought a 500 gig, and once I put on my huge MP3 library and many of he TV shows that I download, the drive is quickly filling up, and this is all highly compressed media. I used to do a lot of multitrack audio editing on my 60 GB startup disk, and I could never work on more than 1 song at a time, I had to load up all the tracks for a song, full complete it, bounce it to a 2 track final mix, and remove all the source files onto off line storage. And let me tell you, it was quite a pain.
It's entirely doable to swap projects on and off your disks, but if you can afford more than 500, get it. Or you can do what someone else suggested, buy 500 now, see if it's enough for you, and if not you can buy more. I don't think the price per MB is any lower on a single 1 TB drive than it is on 2 separate 500 GB drives, so the only downside if you choose to get 500 + 500 instead of a single TB is that you'll have 1 extra box in your life.