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General discussion

Video editing and hard drive space

Feb 22, 2006 2:08AM PST

I am in the process of upgrading my computer, and am trying to find out what size hard drive is needed to do video editing. We have a mini DV recorder which connects via firewire. My son has recently learned video editing at school, and wants to start taking video and then editing it and burning it to a DVD at home. I won't be permanently storing the raw footage on the hard drive, but wonder how much hard drive space might be in use during the editing process. I know that bigger is better for hard drive size, but I am on a limited budget. My current hard drive is 20 gig and is about 75% full.

Thanks

Discussion is locked

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For example.
Feb 22, 2006 3:42AM PST

When I create about an hour video, the intermediate file space is about 20 GB and shrinks to about 4GB at the end of the session.

You may want to look at a hard disk just for the video work. I picked up a new 300GB for 129US just last month so as far as space goes, it's pretty cheap.

Bob

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Larger HD vs. Mother Board??
Feb 25, 2006 4:02AM PST

I was about to buy a 250-300GB HD for video work and a colleague of mine told me some HDs that large are not compatable with some mother boards. Since my old Gateway is 3 yrs. old, I'm wondering if I should just wait and (maybe) get all I want on a custom made computer down-the-line or where can I go to find more info on large HDs vs. mother boards.

Thanks a million!!

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Then put it on USB 2.0.
Feb 25, 2006 4:59AM PST

Your XP SP2 OS handles that on USB 2.0 with ease if your internal drive connection doesn't. 20 bucks or so more?

Bob

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You can put a disk controller card in which will handle the
Feb 25, 2006 1:44PM PST

large drives even if your mother board can't. They have their own bios.

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USB vs. Disk Controller
Feb 26, 2006 1:47AM PST

Since my computer has USB 1.0, I'm assuming a disk controller would be the way to go? So I would buy a 300GB HD + a disk controller for said drive?

Thanks to both of you for succinct answers to my dilemma regarding old vs. new!!

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Yes. It should not be a problem at this point, but be sure
Feb 26, 2006 2:11AM PST

that you use the manufacturer's latest driver for the controller. It needs to support disks larger than 127 gigs.

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PCI USB 2.0 cards are ... cheap.
Feb 26, 2006 2:42AM PST

At newegg.com and geeks.com they are 10 bucks. I've found those IDE PCI cards to be great but stress the owners as to how to make them work with the OS.

Bob

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My 2 Cents
Feb 22, 2006 8:44PM PST

Video takes lots of space. ''Raw,'' non-compressed video takes around 12GB per hour. Then as you edit your software will be creating temporary files & etc.... and there are the ''test files'' and such along the way... anyway, it'll fill up fast. And as your son gets the hang of it, he'll be wanting to do bigger and longer projects, I'm sure.

Anyway, I'd get at least a 160GB drive, but you'll find that for a little more you can get 240 or 300. And after you get it, format it to "NTFS" before saving anything on it. (It'll probably come "FAT32.") That'll save you a different headache later on.

Please see my page below. I realize it's outdated now and I don't have experience with a wide range of equipment, but I think there will be some useful information for you.

Also, making nice DVDs takes time: no one sits down and makes a perfect, polished disc on their first try... or their second......

Good luck. Go to:
http://www.timwerx.net/odds/pcfile.htm

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Thank You
Feb 24, 2006 1:29AM PST

Thank you both for taking the time to respond. Your answers have been very helpful.