I'm looking to overhaul and upgrade my set up, I was thinking of a Dell desktop workstation and a Panasonic AG HVX200 and I have a few questions, sorry in advance if they're a bit newbish.

1. I am going to learn Final Cut Pro and so wanted to get a workstation whereby I can partition the hard drive and run Avid and FCP; is this a good/bad idea or doesn't really matter?

2. When building the computer ideally what graphics card should I go for?

Hi,

Are you planning to stay on Xpress Pro, or do you plan to upgrade to Media Composer?  I ask because there's a new version of Media Composer coming soon (possibly in June), so if you're planning to upgrade, you ought to wait to see what the new system requirements are.

If you're sticking with Xpress Pro, stay as close as you can to the system requirements.  That link has a list of specific video cards that are guaranteed to work with Xpress Pro.

good luck,
Carl

Final Cut Pro will not run on a PC. Only Mac Pro if you want to run both NLE's. Pay close attention to Avid's specs for Media Composer for the best ability to remain current with the software upgrades.

 And keep in mind that Avid offers you a 90 day window from time of purchase or upgrade for the next upgrade to be available to you free.

OK, it seems I have a lot to think about, the Panasonic AG HVX200 is supported by Xpress HD, so it would seem if I want that camera I'm going to have to upgrade to that version of Xpress,

any comments on that?

Also I've been told that Avid doesn't fully support P2 but final cut does, is this true?

Assuming I don't go for the HVX200 can anyone recommend a good prosumer deck to go for, in about the $1500-3000 range?

And I'm looking to partition my drive and run OS X on it and in turn run FCP on that, will this be problematic in any way?

dariv:

Also I've been told that Avid doesn't fully support P2 but final cut does, is this true?

The Panasonic rep here told me I needed FCS for P2 then had to lever his jaw off the floor after I showed him what Avid could do with his crappy P2

I use both FCP and Avid.  Avid eats FCP for P2 media import. 

dariv:

1. I am going to learn Final Cut Pro and so wanted to get a workstation whereby I can partition the hard drive and run Avid and FCP; is this a good/bad idea or doesn't really matter?

If you need both you will need to get a MacPro. FCP is OS X only. If you want to run Avid in PC, then you will need to run BootCamp. That config is not supported. Some have gotten it to work.

dariv:

2. When building the computer ideally what graphics card should I go for?

Nvidia, Nvidia - and probably Envidya :)

Wicked, thanks guys; you've given me a wealth of much needed information. I just have a couple more questions on the subject (I think!).

1. Dom Q. says above that I will need BootCamp to run FCP on my PC, I'm assuming this is in addition to OS X on a partitioned drive (which Intel can fully handle); is there anyone out there who has tried this with any success?

2. Also Andrew says Avid's MXF is perfect for P2 and no messy conversions to QT, being a total newb the only part of that sentence that I can really make sense of is no messy conversions to QT, which obviously appeals, I've never really understood why Avid uses QT as the program to export with.

So can someone tell me what MXF is and also if I can export my standard dv425 into something other than a QT, with more quality than a QT?

3. Finally, I'm guessing that because no one has directly answered me on this point that seeing as it shoots NTSC and Pal, there should be no problem in getting my Panasonic from America and using it in the UK? (this question sounds silly to me, but you never know!)

Once again thanks for your time and comments.

dariv:

1. Dom Q. says above that I will need BootCamp to run FCP on my PC, I'm assuming this is in addition to OS X on a partitioned drive (which Intel can fully handle); is there anyone out there who has tried this with any success?

No. FCP is OS X only on a Mac. You can't run it on a PC. You can however, buy a Mac, run FCP in OS X, run BootCamp so you can boot your Mac with Windows and run Avid in a PC platform (via Mac hardware). YOU CANT RUN FCP ON A WINDOWS.

dariv:

what MXF is and also if I can export my standard dv425 into something other than a QT, with more quality than a QT?

MXF is like QT or AVI, it is a file container format. QT quality is dictated by the codec. You can have a heavliy compressed QT file using the Sorenson codec or you can have a lossless QT file using Animation.

Cool, thanks Dom, I thought I could run OS X on my partitioned drive but looks like I'll have to bite that Mac bullet :-).

I was wondering though when you say you can have a lossless QT file using animation, is animation a bit of software or a technique within Avid?

Thanks

dariv:

I was wondering though when you say you can have a lossless QT file using animation, is animation a bit of software or a technique within Avid?

Hi,

Animation is the name of the codec you select when you're exporting a QT file.

good luck,
Carl

Animation codec is a standard software based codec that comes with every QT installation. It is NOT a native Avid codec. Meaning, it will be converted to a standard Avid codec upon import.

 Dariv,

I own a HVX200 and edit on Xpress 5.6.3.  No problems and it is easy to work with on AVID on a PC computer etc.  The thing about shooting HD is the speed.  Your processor needs to be quicker when editing HD and you need to get the correct video card. (see AVID specs) I have a pentium 4 with 3.6 processor and about 3000 gigs of mostly external hard drive space (500 gigs internal).  I found that eSata external hard drives work great, because they are quicker than firewire drives.  The MXF files take up a lot of hard drive space - so you should get at least 1500 gigs of memory for a feature type film.  I basically started with a Pentium 4 and kept upgrading it, through various stages.  The processor, the card, and finally external hard drive space.  I did it on the cheap.  Had the custom built computer at around $700 - added the processor for $450 and the card for under $200.  Shop online and get the best prices.  But the key is to get a computer and hard drives that are fast working with hd.

Thanks all for the above advice and knowledge, slowly but surely I'm getting there, I think :-).