XDCAM HD editing feel??

[Raja]

Hi Guys,

Currently I edit DVCAM SD on a P4 3.4ghz and editing is smooth and realtime.

We intend to go to XDCAM HD and will upgrade the PCs to Intel quadcores, with 2gb or more ram.
My questions are:

1) Is editing XDCAM HD footage (unconverted) as smooth as my current DVCAM SD editing is?
If not, will I have to convert it to Canopus HQ?

2) Are SATA II drives as standalone fast enough or will it have to be raid 0 or 5 (to edit raw XDCAM HD or Canopus HQ)?

3) We edit footage stored on other machines over gigabit ethernet. Its VERY good with SD. Will it be slower with raw XDCAM HD and Canopus HQ?

The answers to these qustions will greatly help in the move to the new system structure.

Thanks in advance.

[GrassValley_KH]

XDCAM HD is Long-GOP MPEG-2 data.

So, combining MPEG-2 content, with a much higher resolution than DVCAM, you are going to need more system power if you want smooth, realtime editing in the native format. (this is assuming you use the essence content, and not the proxy content)

Otherwise, you'll need to convert to Canopus HQ to speed things up - it's recommended anyway. MPEG-2 is a horrible format to edit with. :)

As with most of our solutions, RAID is never a requirement, it's just preferred.

Bandwidth-wise - the workflow with the Professional Disc system is a bit different - typically you edit with proxy data, and then replace (when needed) with the essence content. In this way, the bandwidth requirements are minor, for proxy data. But in terms of what's small, medium and large:

Small = DVCAM SD
Small/Medium = XDCAM HD (closer to HDV size)
Large = Canopus HQ (less compressed stream, greater data rate)
Large = HDCAM

You could probably get away with minimal network-based editing with native XDCAM HD. But if you're going to be using Canopus HQ a lot, you might have to reexamine your network infrastructure.

[Raja]

XDCAM HD is Long-GOP MPEG-2 data.
You could probably get away with minimal network-based editing with native XDCAM HD. But if you're going to be using Canopus HQ a lot, you might have to reexamine your network infrastructure.

Thanks for the response.

So are there any improvements i can make to the network to edit Canopus HQ over the network? (if any)

So editing XDCAM HD footage is the same as editing MPEG-2 SD? (horrible!)

DV is 3.5MB/s. What data rate is Canopus HQ?

[Jerry]

Thanks for the response.

So are there any improvements i can make to the network to edit Canopus HQ over the network? (if any)

So editing XDCAM HD footage is the same as editing MPEG-2 SD? (horrible!)

DV is 3.5MB/s. What data rate is Canopus HQ?

This link should answer all of your questions concerning the Canopus HQ codec.

http://www.canopus.com/contentfiles/...paper70b72.pdf

[Raja]

Hey Jerry, thanks for the link. Very detailed explanation.

I see from your system specs that you have gigabit ethernet. Do you edit Canopus HQ over the network (files on one PC and edit on another)? Is it workable / smooth?

[Jerry]

Hey Jerry, thanks for the link. Very detailed explanation.

I see from your system specs that you have gigabit ethernet. Do you edit Canopus HQ over the network (files on one PC and edit on another)? Is it workable / smooth?

Yes I do. It works very nicely. But I also have 3 fast raids. One on the main machine and 2 on my second machine. I am getting raid speeds of 350 read and write on one, which is my capture machine(capture with BM card) and
250 read and write on the others.
This is instrumental in the overall flow of the information across the network.

Make sure you know where you put the files, at least for future reference.

[Raja]

Yes I do. It works very nicely. But I also have 3 fast raids. One on the main machine and 2 on my second machine. I am getting raid speeds of 350 read and write on one, which is my capture machine(capture with BM card) and
250 read and write on the others.
This is instrumental in the overall flow of the information across the network.

Make sure you know where you put the files, at least for future reference.

I have the same drive mappings across the 3 edit machines so any project can be opened from any PC.

Are you RAID 0 or 5?

[Jerry]

I have the same drive mappings across the 3 edit machines so any project can be opened from any PC.

Are you RAID 0 or 5?

Raid 0.
I use the main machine for editing and just mainly access files across the network as opposed to projects. I have not tried to open a project across the network.