What’s the Best Video Editing System?

By
Doug Graham
Revised August 22, 2004

I see this question posted in newsgroups and video discussion boards about once or twice a week. Being lazy, I decided to write this short article so that the next time someone asks, I can simply say, “go and read this!”

OK. You’ve just gotten a new digital camcorder. You’re new to video, and haven’t done any editing, and you don’t know where to start. There are so many choices out there, and nearly every advertiser has a great line of buzzwords proving his product will make you the producer of the next Hollywood blockbuster with “only a few clicks of the mouse”.

Be grateful for your confusion

Only a few years ago, you wouldn’t have been able to be confused. In order to edit video, you would have had to choose from only a few systems, and any one of them would cost more than your house. Only people who were on the inside of the video industry used these machines. Video editing was inaccessible to the ordinary person.

Sit down and take stock.

Asking the question “what’s the best editing system?” is rather like asking, “what’s the best car?” The answer you get back is “what do you want to do with it?” So try and decide what you want to accomplish. Are you a hobbyist who wants to make home videos that are more watchable? Do you want to start a wedding video business? Do you want to make digital movies, and enter them in film festivals? Do you want to break into the corporate video market, or make documentaries for PBS? Each of these goals has a different set of video requirements in terms of equipment, and in terms of the skills you must have, or develop.

In this article, we’ll concentrate on the hobbyist and the wedding and event videography aspects. By the time you are ready to tackle the higher goals in that list, you won’t need articles of this sort anyway; you’ll be asking much more detailed questions.

Time vs. Money.

Even though we’ve limited ourselves to “entry level” systems, there is still a bewildering variety of choices…everything from $30 Firewire cards for your PC to turnkey systems priced at $10,000 or more. Why this incredible range of options? The answer usually boils down to time vs. money. The less expensive systems require more time…to set up, to work out bugs and conflicts, and to edit and output a project. More expensive systems allow you to get started editing faster. They also have features which speed up the editing process itself. In addition, very inexpensive solutions may not tell you that there are “a few optional extras” you’ll have to add in order to have a complete editing solution.

Are You a Nerd?

That is, do you actually LIKE opening up your computer and adding new hardware? Do you enjoy tweaking your system for maximum performance? Do you like to sit around with your buddies comparing the performance of your systems? Or do you regard computers as a necessary evil, and only learn about them what you must, to get the job done? The answer to that question has a definite bearing on what editing system you’ll be happy with. Systems that insulate you from the computer do tend to cost more…time vs. money, you know. Either that, or they are very limited in the choices they’ll allow you.

Working at the Interface.

The user interface of the editing software or system is where you, as an editor, spend a lot of time. What tools are provided, how they are laid out, how they’re accessed, even the on-screen color scheme…they all play a critical role in whether you are a happy, creative editor – or a frustrated, angry one. Not all people like the same toolset; what works well for one is a nightmare for another. This is why it is critically important for you to GET A HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION of any video editing system before you buy it. This is harder to do than reading magazine reviews or newsgroup discussions…but you must do it. Dig out the Yellow Pages and call video equipment suppliers and small video studios in your area. Find out what they carry, or what they use, and ask if you can come over to kick the tires. Even if you have to drive a couple of hundred miles to get that hands-on demo, it is worth it. (2004 update: This is still true, maybe more than ever. Don’t trust magazine reviews or web forums to make the decision for you. Get a hands-on demonstration of the systems on your “short list”. If you absolutely can’t find a way to do this, at least order an instructional video. They’re available for most of the popular systems out there.)

“Real Time” and Other Unreal Claims.

An increasing number of editing systems offer “real time” features. Before writing a check for one of these systems, be very sure exactly what is meant by the manufacturer’s claims. Some systems offer only “real time preview” – that is, you can see the results of your editing choices right away, sometimes at a reduced screen resolution, but you still have to render your material before you can export the final project to tape. Other systems offer a limited number of effects in real time, while more complex choices must be rendered. Or there may be a limitation on the number of “streams” of video that can be handled in real time. There are, at present, no systems that can do an unlimited amount of “real time” editing; at some point, you run up against the limits of present-day hardware and computer processing power. Also, remember that just because a system doesn’t offer real time, doesn’t mean that system is no good. All it means is that you have to wait a little while to see the results of your work…sometimes only a couple of seconds. Once again, time vs. money! If you have a client breathing over your shoulder, real time features are highly desirable. If you’re editing a family album in your basement studio, you have more leisure to wait for an effect to render.

The Basics.

All computer-based editing systems have at least four things:

• 1) A computer (duh!). The more powerful, the better. However, almost any current Mac or PC, including many laptops, is fast enough to handle DV video editing.
• 2) Lots of disk space. DV takes a gigabyte of storage for each 3.5 minutes of video. Two hours of material will just squeeze onto a 30 GB hard drive. It’s highly desirable to store video and audio on a different hard drive than your system (c:\) drive. Not just a different partition, mind you – a separate physical drive. (2004 update: Many editors find that multiple drives are needed to store all the material they want. These can be configured individually, or combined into a RAID array and used as one very large hard drive. A RAID can improve the real time performance of some systems, but it also can increase the risk of data loss due to a hard drive failure.)
• 3) A way to get video into and out of the computer. Some machines come with a DV (Firewire) interface built in. On others, you’ll need to add a Firewire capture card. [Note: You can only transfer digital video (DV or Digital 8) via Firewire. If you have an analog camcorder or deck (VHS or 8mm), you'll need a digitizing card as opposed to a DV capture card, or else an analog-to-DV converter box.]
• 4) Capture and editing software. Most capture cards come bundled with one or another of the popular editing programs. It’s probably best to choose the editing program you want first, then pick a capture card that’s compatible with it, and finally a computer platform that supports your choice of capture card.

Some Good Systems to Consider (2004 Update)

No, I am NOT going to tell you which is “the best”. As I explained before, that question is meaningless. But all of these systems have a number of happy users. You can get further info by following links at the bottom of the page or doing a keyword search on the Web. Once you’ve narrowed down the field, don’t forget the hands-on demo!

Macintosh:

The iMac DV is a great entry-level system, and comes complete with editing software (iMovie2). For more professional work, the new dual G5 Power Mac with Final Cut Pro HD is a huge seller, especially on the West Coast. You can even burn DVDs with the built-in SuperDrive. FCP has some native real time capabilities, and there are also third party accelerator cards (Matrox RT Mac). True to its name, it can be expanded to edit true HD video with the proper hardware.

Kron, AVIO, Prestige

These are examples of the “editing appliance” approach. Here, there is no visible computer, just a dedicated black box you hook up to your monitor and camcorder. Nothing to install, nothing to configure. Editing appliances are good choices for people who really, really hate computers. Advantages are ease of use and minimum learning curve. Disadvantages are lack of expandability, and dependence on the manufacturer for all support and upgrades.

OHCI Capture Cards

These inexpensive Firewire cards can perform well, but some are a configuration nightmare. Cards that feature OHCI compliance can also be used to interface other Firewire devices to your computer (such as external disk drives). Good choices in this area include the Pyro series of capture cards. Generally, these cards do not have real time features. With many modern computers, you don’t even need a Firewire card; the capability is built right in to the motherboard.

DV Capture Cards.

I used to strongly recommend Canopus products. Lately, their support has dropped in quality, but their product line is still worth lookin at. It’s representative of the spectrum available from other makers, so I’ll list them in order, from lowest to highest price:

Let’s Edit. Comes as software only or with optional RT features. $150 – 440

ACEDVio. Works with Vegas or Premiere. $360 – 600, depending on bundled software..

DV Raptor RT2 Max Works with Edius or Premiere Pro. $650.

DV Storm2 Pro. Additional real time capabilities. Works with Edius and Premiere Pro. $1,600.

DV Rex RT Professional. Adds component video I/O and RS-422 deck control. $4,400.

Competing head to head with the DV Storm2 is the popular Matrox RTx.100 real time DV card. It comes with a good software bundle, including Adobe Premiere Pro, and is priced around $1,100. There is also the RTx.10, priced to compete with the lower end Canopus products, for around $500. If you plan to use Premiere Pro, the Matrox cards are probably a better bet than Canopus at the time of this writing (2004), due to compatibility issues.

Software-Only Systems.

As computers have increased in power, it’s become possible to do without a hardware card dedicated to video editing acceleration. You can put together a very respectable system with only a Firewire port, a fast computer, and a good software editing program For the hobbyist who only wants to make the occasional home video, there are a number of quite inexpensive software packages available, such as VideoWave or Pinnacle Studio. However, if you’re serious about video, you’ll want to graduate to one of the more complete programs such as the ones below.

Two very popular choices are Sony’s Vegas 5.0 and Pinnacle’s Liquid Edition. Adobe Premiere Pro can run all by itself, without a fancy Canopus or Matrox card. If you want to start at the bottom rung of Avid’s product line, Express DV is offered at about $800, with many hardware and software additions possible as you move up their performance chain. Final Cut Pro on the Mac, which we mentioned earlier, is also a software-only solution with possible hardware add-ons.

What About DVDs?

A complete discussion of DVD authoring software and burning equipment is beyond the scope of this article. However, some editing systems are becoming more tightly integrated with DVD authoring applications, for example Sony Vegas and Sony DVD Architect. Some, like Pinnacle Liquid Edition, even come with built-in DVD authoring capabilities. It makes sense to consider the DVD authoring job when you’re choosing your editing system, since DVD is becoming the new standard for output. The complete post-production chain is: capturing, editing, transcoding, authoring, and burning. These tasks can be done by separate programs, or by a single one, and there are advantages to either approach.

Higher End Choices.

There are a number of specialized editing systems on the market, such as Media 100 for the Macintosh, the higher-end Avid systems, Matrox Digisuite, DPS Velocity, and the Pinnacle “Liquid” line of products above Liquid Edition. However, most of these are unsuited to the wedding and event editor, because of their high cost. There is one system, though, that’s worth a closer look:

NewTek Video Toaster NT (3.0).

VTNT uses uncompressed video as its native format for maximum video quality. However, it will accept DV files from an inexpensive capture card, and has incredible editing power and choice of editing application (ToasterEdit, Speed Razor, Adobe Premiere). Requires state of the art computer and SCSI RAID drive array for maximum real time performance. Boardset and software is $3,000, breakout box option for $2,000 more. Around $10,000 – 12,000 for complete system with computer and SCSI drive array. A major feature of the VTNT is its ability to act as a live video switcher on location, which can potentially save you a great deal of time back in the studio, as well as opening up the possibility of producing live broadcasts or webcasts.

Buy or Build?

Many Value Added Resellers (VARs) are in the business of configuring turnkey systems with several of the above editing cards. If you prefer the PC platform to the Mac, and don’t like the idea of a dedicated editing appliance like the Avio, but yet don’t want to spend time configuring your system and tracking down any bugs, then one of these folks (also known as Systems Integrators) is the way to go. A good example of the breed is Alienware, but there are many others. You can find them advertising in the pages of magazines like DV, Videography, and other trade publications. The extra money you spend in getting a turnkey system is well worth the extra time it takes to build and debug your own.

Local or Mail order?

If you have a good system integrator in your area, buy locally by all means. You’ll have a support resource close by when you need it. If all you have is a “computer superstore” that happens to sell video capture cards, forget it. They probably know less about the subject than you do. There’s very low risk in dealing with reputable mail order firms these days. Companies like B&H, ProFeel, Roscor, and The Electronic Mailbox stand behind the products they sell. The systems integrators who sell to a national market also tend to be a safe bet.

Links, We Got Links!

http://www.2-pop.com All things Final Cut Pro and Apple

http://www.digitalproducer.com Video articles of interest

http://www.pinnaclesys.com Pinnacle products and user forums

http://www.sharbor.com System integrator for Video Toaster; user forum

http://www.newtek.com Video Toaster, LightWave 3D, and Aura

http://www.avio-kron.com/ Dealer for Avio products

http://www.videoguys.com Dealer for many popular products

http://www.matrox.com Matrox products

http://www.apple.com Apple Computer and online store

http://www.avid.com AVID Express DV and other products

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/products/default.asp Vegas and related products

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DOUG GRAHAM has many years of experience in video production and video technology. He is a regular columnist for EventDV magazine and has been helping people on the Video University forums since they began. Contact him on the forums or by email