What is the minimum computer specification needed to edit high definition video?

Question

Before i go out and buy a hd camcorder i need to make sure my pc is up to scratch.

Answer 1

it will depend on the software, you need to think about the operating system as well, many apps only run on the latest os... especially the avchd cameras, i would buy a tape based hd camera instead.

You will need a couple of gig of RAM, at the very least, you will benefit from 2 hard drives (one to run the OS and the application, one to store your video on, this is true for SD as well) you will also need a decent graphics card, at least 256 for a PC but the higher the better.

Beleive it or not, I can edit HDV footage on a 3 year old G4 mac mini.  Mac came up with AIC an intermediate codec, which takes up more disk space but is faster to read (it behaves more like an AVI file with continuous complete frames, rather than MPEGS groups of frames) however you need to re-render to HDV which can be a slog...

Answer 2

Which video editor are you using? What computer platform are you using? What HD camcorder (HDD or Flash using highly compressed AVCHD or miniDV using not so compressed HDV)?

In general:

2-4 gig RAM (more is better)

500 gig available hard drive space (more is better - especially if you do a few projects at the same time. A dedicated external drive is suggested.)

17"-24" monitor. Larger is better.

I've been editing 1080i on a 4 year old PowerPC G5 flatpanel iMac. It is not the speediest in the world, but it gets the job done. Any CPU from the last 2-3 years should be fine, but that is where the video editor application requirements come in, hence the first question. Faster CPU = faster rendering for video import, transitions, credits, special effects, exporting, etc...

Answer 3

Mac G5 or Mac pro with final cut pro or Imovie hd is best. Avid express HD is best for PC. Check Avid.com for specs.