Laptop For Video editing

Looking for a laptop to do some good video editing on. i looked at a macbook pro but chose not to buy.

of which of the new sony laptops (Z, Fw, SR), which would you recommend?

 

What kind of video editing?

Standard def., HDV, or AVCHD?

 

standard def., and hdv

 

Then as far as computing power goes, any of the 3 should do the trick. Just be aware that some AVCHD video editing software (in case you ever move to that) requires 256MB dedicated video RAM. The higher priced Z has this, but the lower priced one has only 128MB.

Concerning screen size, well... that's a personal choice. One that I'm struggling with myself, actually, so good luck!

 

thnks
i'm thinking of the FW...and most likely will buy it, but in the back of my mind i keep remembering the weight and size.

is it really that heavy? i still want it to be portable.

 

Boy, can I relate... I'm in the exact same boat.

Love the screen size of the FW, hate the footprint size.

Love the footprint of the SR, wish it had a larger screen.

Ya can't have it all, I guess!

 

The GPU in the SR will do little or nothing to help performance in Premiere Pro - I've made a post on the Adobe User-to-User forums, and they all say PP is far more CPU dependant than anything else.

Get a 7200RPM drive too - very little batt life diff nowadays, and large speed diff if you're gonna work with video.

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I heard that Mac is superior in art and audio/video editing.

 

Not any more.

In fact Macs are having problems dealing with AVCHD video editing.

 

The reason why I'm not fully happy with my TZ is because since I got my Canon HF10 I need to edit AVCHD, which requires A LOT of processing power (CPU more than GPU, although of course H264 acceleration helps). Until now I had my old (and cr*p) Acer TM8106 to do DV editing on the move - I have a 3.6Gz QuadCore desktop with 8800GTX and 6TB NAS to do proper "static" editing! - but a 2,14Gz PentiumM CPU and Ati X700 can't even display an AVCHD clip, so HD video editing on the Acer is out of the question.

To start with, here are the system requirements for Premiere Pro CS3: http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/systemreqs/

Between the Z and FW, it depends of course on how portable you want it to be, but I'd keep the following things in mind:

- CPU should be at least 2,4Gz, preferably more. If you don't mind about the loss of battery life, go for a T9600 2.8Gz.
- You do want 4Gb of RAM (not 2, not 3) even with Vista 32
- GPU should be Nvidia preferably as the next generation of Premiere (and most editing software) will support CUDA optimisation, which means 10x faster video editing and image processing (see this upcoming plugin for the existing version of Premiere Pro: http://elementaltechnologies.com/products.php?id=5). A really really big difference, which is why I'm ruling the FW out until I know if ATI offers something similar which will be supported by Adobe's future versions. For this reason only, an nVidia gaming notebook (ie with 9600m GT) will be great for video editing as soon as software start supporting CUDA.
- You should get indeed a 7200rpm hard drive for HDV editing (SSD if fine re speed, but not re size!).
- 1600x900 is much more comfortable for editing, so I wouldn't go for lower res. On my TZ, Premiere CS3 displays an error message when I try to open it at 1366x768, because it needs a minimum vertical resolution of 1024 lines, so although it will still work, you may want to go for a higher resolution screen, say the 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 of a Dell XPS 1530 for exemple (or ideally its upcoming Centrino 2 refresh). [edit: it seems like CS3 on other PCs doesn't display this message, so disregard this if you're happy with a lower desktop space).
- Of course you do want a Blu-Ray burner if you want to be able to create HD Discs of your edits, although DVD9 should be fine for short pieces (up to an hour).
- If you plan to move files/projects to/from a NAS, you want aGigabit Ethernet port)
- If you want to use external hard drives and use your laptop on the go, a docking station (with gigabit ethernet, HDMI, USB and if possible E-SATA) makes life much easier .

Personally, I'm torn between the Z (more portable, 2.8Gz CPU if imported from Japan, docking station, but insufficient vertical screen resolution forPremiere and no BR burner in the UK ), the Zepto Nox A15 (great specs, ultra fast nVidia GPU - 9600M GT - P9500 CPU, 1680x1050 screen, BR reader but no burner ) and the Dell XPS 1530 upcoming Refresh (1920x1200, BR burner, hopefully gigabit ethernet and 9600M GT but less portable than Z and not available yet!). Another possible choice would be the HP DV5t, unfortunately it comes with poor configs in the UK so I've ruled it out.

If I had to buy today with HD video editing in mind, I would get the XPS 1530 (only [edit: 15.4" or less] laptop available as far as I know with enough CPU power, RAM, full 1920x1200 HD screen, nVidia GPU and BR burner). I would just make sure I get an extended warranty and don't push it with games, because of the defective 8400M GS inside (main reason why I'm not buying it right now, apart from wanting the Centrino 2 refresh). Although is sounds like Dell is giving extended Warranty to all affected models, so combined with the great deals they have at the moment to get rid of their stock before the refresh, you can get a very good deal. Of course the 15,4 is bigger, but I'm ready to compromise as I would keep my TZ for when I need to be thin & light... Main downsides of the present model - apart from defective GPU! - is no gigabit ethernet (and no docking station).

Bottom line, I'm waiting until the end of the year to see the refresh for Z (hoping for BR burner in UK) and XPS (hoping for Gigabit ethernet and 9600M GT, it won't have a docking station), and possibly an upcoming Zepto model scheduled in September (with a BR burner?). Also the Nox A15 will support a docking station but not until mid october, so no point in buying it before.

Hope this helps!

 

get the FW, if you want to do video editting you would want a large and detailed screen.

 

... ...

 

That's bollocks, the line thing, because I've had Premiere Pro running fine on m 1024x768 desktop.

 

It's not really bollocks... because it's not saying "you can't use this at lower resolutions" it's just that it's warning you that on smaller resolutions you'll have to make some potentially awkward compromises with your workspace. If you want to have lots of timelines and lots of tool palettes all visible, you'll have a very small working area for your actual visual bit...

 

Nice pics, Infy. I too have a 40D.

 

Fantastic contribution to the thread, and great reward for the time I took to make an attempt at a constructive answer! Did you try Premiere Pro, or Premiere Pro CS3?

 

Thanks, that was my point!

 

The PPro CS3 and After Effects and OnLocation have worked just fine for me on the 1024x768.

 

If so, then... I guess congratulations are in order. But you certainly have a different working style to mine.

Two of the reasons I'm looking forward to the Z are the screen:

1. It's apparently got "100% colour reproduction". That doesn't make much sense as we're not told 100% of what (NTSC gamut? AdobeRGB? anyone?)... anyway, it'll be better than anything I've used on a laptop, I bet.

2. The resolution and aspect should make a comfortable space for Photoshopping my pics when I'm out and about. I might even be confident enough to upload holiday pics while I'm away (without wanting to rework them on my desktop at home first).

@SoundsGood - thanks very much! I love my 40D to bits but unfortunately my baby girl would literally love it to bits if she got hold of it... so I just recently bought an Olympus Mju 1030SW for using in the pool on holiday (or within reach of baby Katie). Nice little camera although it's hard to give up all the manual options in exchange for toddler-proof build quality...

 

Um....Are you forgetting the AR Series notebook? I specifically held out so I could get this model Vaio for pic/vid editing!

It has everything you listed as needing, 2.5 GHz Processor, 4GB Ram, WUXGA Display (1920 x 1200), NVIDIA, etc, etc.

 

True, but it's huge (17"), and doesn't have a Centrino 2 platform as far as I remember, so we're talking pure desktop replacement, not a portable notebook. Even the FW is borderline. For me, a 15.4 is the biggest possible option. Otherwise, I have my desktop... Also does the AR have a Docking Station? Usually, larger laptops (at least with Sony) don't get a docking station, to the exception of the Zepto.

If you're ready to go as big as 17", you have MANY possible choices. It's more difficullt if you're looking 15.4 or less. As of today, the XPS is the only 15.4 to offer a 1920x1200 screen (as far as I know).

[edit: having re-read my initial post, I hadn't specified 15.4" or less so I've edited it].

 

You are absolutely right and I stand corrected. I tried to launch Premiere Pro CS3 on my desktop PC after having resized my desktop to 1360x768, or even 1024x768, and it didn't produce any error message. I have no idea why I got this message when I first launch CS3 on my TZ (although as I said it does work, you just get an annoying message asking to change your resolution). I've edited my initial post to reflect this.

This doesn't change the fact that this is still too small a screen to edit in comfort at least for some of us, but as far as I'm concerned I'm happy to deal with the 1600x900 of the Z when I'm on the move, so it's great to know we shouldn't get this error message.

 

Hehe, agreed, a higher res workspace is always better
Apologies if I came off sounding like a jackass

 

I personally was looking for a computer to do occasional HD editing/encoding (I have Canon HF100) and what matters in a notebook is:

1. CPU - 2.53Ghz is a recommended minimum
2. Memory - 3/4 Gb sufficient
3. Normal temperature - you don't want to burn your palms or legs (I've used FZ prior to that and it was getting too hot and noisy)
4. Good quality screen (size is just a choice)

With that said, I currently have 2.53Ghz CPU and it's just enough for 1920x1080@30fps editing in Sony Vegas Pro 8. Although playback is choppy in Sony Vegas in real time which is a little disappointing, but AVCHD 1080p clips have no trouble playing WMP.

 

Me too. Great little camera, isn't it?

What do you mean by that?

That's why I'm recording everything in 1440x1080. Still looks great, but only needs a 2.4 GHz CPU.

 

Excellent camera, but not happy with low light video. Waiting for next best thing.

What I mean for video editing screen is not as important as for photo editing

Trying to be future proof when everything will be HD so sticking to 1080p

 

Size, or quality?

 

size is just a choice, I was doing HD video editing on 12" notebook (Lenovo X61) and it's fine. It's not like you have to look at small text, but I would prefer a good bright screen.

What I also personally consider important is the amount of heat notebook produces because I like to do heavy video editing while sitting on the couch