Portable Editing ?

JackHughs wrote on 12/10/2002, 12:18 PM
Hello,

I'm new to this forum. Actually, I'm fairly new to video editing as well and I need some advice.

I would like to make a "portable" editing system by installing either Vegas or VideoFactory on a Western Digital 120 gig Firewire hard drive. This would allow me to take the hard drive on both business and personal trips and be able to capture and edit video on any available Windows machine with a firewire connection.

This sounds so simple that I fear there must be monsters lurking in the circuits - patiently waiting for someone like me to fall into the "simple idea" trap.

So, can I do this and expect it to work? Better yet, can I expect it to work well?

Thanks

JackHughs

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 12/10/2002, 1:07 PM
It would only work if that drive also had a complete Windows installation on it and also became the system boot drive when you plugged it into a computer. Just having a piece if software installed on a drive does not mean that software is installed on the computer that contains the drive. Unless it's installed under the Windows that is running on that computer, the operating system won't know anything about it, it's registry keys, it's DLL files, etc.

It would be better to have Vegas installed on each computer you wish to use, then use the firewire drive for transporting just the media files.
KPITRL wrote on 12/10/2002, 4:41 PM
Or simply get a Laptop with Vegas installed,
and then get an external hard drive.

Then you could edit on the go.
AlexB wrote on 12/11/2002, 5:05 AM
"It would only work if that drive also had a complete Windows installation on it and also became the system boot drive when you plugged it into a computer. "

It wouldn't even then work at all. With winME or 98SE it would take at least some time to adapt Windows to the different hardware used on different Computers, while XP or W2000 installations are not portable at all.

You could install vegas on any computer you meet with the serial you bought, provided you do not use it for more than 30 days, otherwise you'd have to register. It then falls back to the demo version, where you can't save your work.

Best solution is a good and fast notebook with an external data tank for the large video files.
JackHughs wrote on 12/11/2002, 11:13 AM
Well, thank you all for setting me straight. I knew that this idea was too good to be true. It does seem that a laptop with external storage is the only rational approach to portable editing. However, it does raise a Firewire question.

Assuming the laptop has a modestly-sized hard drive, I would guess that one would want to capture directly to the external drive. Assuming that the laptop has only one Firewire port, this would require that the external drive be connected directly to the port and the camera be connected to the external drive.

So, would this configuration work - or am I describing another digital train wreck in the making?

Of course, I wouldn't have to ask this question if I could afford a high-zoot laptop with a big removable drive.

Thanks

JackHughs
Tyler.Durden wrote on 12/11/2002, 2:05 PM
Hi Jack,

The daisy-chain thing works fine for me. (Sony Vaio, ADS pyro drive, D-8)


You might also consider a laptop with onboard 1394, and adding a PCMCIA 1394 card for another port.


HTH, MPH

Tips:
http://www.martyhedler.com/homepage/Vegas_Tutorials.html
the_rhino wrote on 12/12/2002, 7:09 AM
If the laptop route is too expensive or you don't like the idea that they cannot be upgraded, I have been using a Shuttle SS51G small format computer for video editing. The Shuttle has AGP and PCI ports, takes the latest P4 chips and up to 2Gb RAM. I take mine wherever I go and just "plug in" to office/home/other people's keyboard, mouse & monitor. They have AMD versions as well and run around $300 for the mini case and all-in-one main board containing firewire, USB2, sound, video, etc. I stripped everything from an exisiting computer and was only out the cost of the Shuttle.

Video Editing is too time-consuming to try to take shortcuts. You will pay with time what you try to save in $$$. I don't even like a lot of other programs running on my editing rig because a lot of stuff anymore runs applications in the background and slows things down. I have to unistall instant messenger, etc. even from WindowsXP. I can't imagine going around and installing Vegas on other people's computers [even if it was legal] and trying to get everything to work right on an unknown configuratiion.
bakerja wrote on 12/12/2002, 8:06 AM
Do a search on firewire hard drives in this forum. You will see that a lot of folks have had problems using them as video drives.

JAB
Tyler.Durden wrote on 12/12/2002, 10:34 AM
Nice scoop rhino,

I've been looking for something like this...

Thanks,

MPH
the_rhino wrote on 12/12/2002, 1:21 PM
The Shuttles come with a specially designed heatpipe cooling system that uses the case fan to remove heat from the heatsink attached to the processor.

The Shuttles accept 1 - 5 1/4" device, 1 external 3 1/2" and 1 internal 3 1/2" device. I have a DVD Burner and 2 hard drives [no floppy]. I also use a dual monitor AGP card and have an empty PCI slot remaining.

You can buy a small designer bag from Shuttle to tote it around [much like a laptop] and if you purchase an LCD screen and wireless keyboard/mouse combo, this thing is really portable.

Dimensions are on the Shuttle website [www.Shuttle.com]

Hope this helps