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Editing HD on external hard drive

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MotherFuckaJones
Posts: 681 - Karma: 14
So I have been into editing for awhile, and recently switched over to HD. The problem is I have a laptop which isn't the best in the world for editing and rendering HD. If I ran the video footage off of an external hardrive would it speed up rendering and editing? If so could someone recommend me a pretty good external hard drive?
Jun 8 2010 11:17PM
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canterbury
Posts: 2382 - Karma: 55
it won't matter where the footage is saved, rendering and other speeds are dependant on you computer's processor and amount of ram.
Jun 8 2010 11:38PM
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MotherFuckaJones
Posts: 681 - Karma: 14
Well shit. Looks like i'll need to update that then, hopefully I can in my laptop.
Jun 9 2010 12:25AM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,947
Not true. There's a limit to the amount of information that can be passed through a cord at one time.

For instance - my computer is pretty damn good, and I have a 1TB external, and I can't transfer over 5GB at a time or else I get an error saying the disc is full. It does matter, but just get a hard drive with inputs for good cords (firewire) and you should be okay.

I edit with all my footage on the harddrive and it runs fine, though, so if thats what you went, then yeah.
Jun 9 2010 7:01AM
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Static
Posts: 8491 - Karma: 4,059
if your computer can't take it you can always edit at a lower quality, FCPs media manager is pretty handy
Jun 9 2010 8:06AM
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Jwenz
Posts: 8893 - Karma: 7,633
i edit dvcproHD through an external HD (firewire 800) and i enver have issues. shit is the beeze neeze ya digg. I am running a macbook pro with 2.4ghz processor and 4gb ram. shits like butter. so smooth
Jun 9 2010 12:22PM
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icantskiiFILM
Posts: 2113 - Karma: 140
it would stay the same. when u edit..all it is editing is the timecode. not the actual video. it all depends on how fast ur computer is
Jun 9 2010 1:07PM
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EH_DUBS
Posts: 3080 - Karma: 969
so wait, ive recently started editing hd footage off my external (usb)

are you saying my slow render speeds might improve a bit if the footage was on my internal hd?
Jun 9 2010 1:10PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,947
Not sure, and again, I don't have a lot of experience with it. I'm just basing it off my experience because from what I know/have seen, moving a lot of information across the cord will slow down/lock up the process. I'm pretty its more with transfering files than with retrieving them and running them...so maybe I'm speaking about something totally different.
Jun 9 2010 3:01PM
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MatRich
Posts: 4789 - Karma: 1,812
it wont, Im doing this right now. what your computer does in that case is, it has to manage between your computers functions and your editing so by balancing system and editing, it takes away some processing from the editing to direct to the system so everything runs slower. you get dropped frames and bad shit like that because it doesnt know what to prioritise
Jun 9 2010 3:16PM
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canterbury
Posts: 2382 - Karma: 55
and that's where it's good to have a dual or quad core processor
Jun 9 2010 3:42PM
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MatRich
Posts: 4789 - Karma: 1,812
Im running a dual core and its still too much to handle, I think you would need an octo core to run hd flawlessly but that is way too expensive. The problem is seperating tasks between processors is not doable in my knowledge.
Jun 9 2010 3:45PM
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canterbury
Posts: 2382 - Karma: 55

slight correction, I think you mean cores, not processors (it's dual core processor, not 2 different processors).

I don't know a whole lot on the subject as I've just started doing some research for my new laptop purchase, but I think that this talks about your "separating tasks" statement:

", the operating system must be able to recognize multi-threading and the software must have simultaneous multi-threading technology (SMT) written into its code. SMT enables parallel multi-threading wherein the cores are served multi-threaded instructions in parallel. Without SMT the software will only recognize one core. Adobe® Photoshop® is an example of SMT-aware software. SMT is also used with multi-processor systems common to servers. "

from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-dual-core-processor.htm

Jun 9 2010 4:04PM
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MatRich
Posts: 4789 - Karma: 1,812
hmm thanks for that find, im one step closer to understanding the wreck that is my editing station right now!
Jun 9 2010 4:07PM
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