First time DVD Encoding/Authoring, I'm overwhelmed by load on Computer

[kman79]

So, this past weekend my parents had a little house party. They called me up Sunday evening wanting me to transfer two Mini DVDs from their Sony DCR-DVD403 to a regular DVD. Figured, no problem right, how hard could it be. So I came by the house and picked up the camera and the two Mini DVDs and they had purchased Pinnacle Authoring software.

Anyways I get everything installed. First off, I thought recording on Mini DVDs on the fly for Digital Video Camera Recording was a great idea, until I started trying to edit and join the two disks together. I couldn't for the life of me figure it out using Pinnacle. So instead used the software that came with the camera. The software is very limited, you could barely do anythign with it. I got so frustrated I just used the software to encode in an MPEG format Pinnacle could manipulate. My parents were hurrying me to get this done cause they needed it tonight, so I'm not even sure how the quality is going to be. So I get everything arranged the way I wan the DVD to be, with transitions and menu.

Well my computer(specs in my signature) starts encoding it. OMG....100% CPU load and slightly over 1GB of memory use. I think the whole project is a little over 35 minutes long, it's been a little over 20 minutes and I don't see it being done for another half hour or more. BTW.....I've added another Seagate Sata 300GB HD where all the encoding is being placed.

I was wondering if anyone knows the best reference on the web that shows how to or the best possible setup to encode/author DVDs? Anyone have any tips?

BTW: This camera, although fine for quick video taking and playing straight to DVDs, is a pain to do any type of editing on. Talking my dad to getting a MiniDV camera instead

 

[gwag]

dont have much to say other than editing with mini dvds sucks compared to DV from tapes.

 

[gsellis]

Welcome to wonderful world of MPEG-2 encoding. That is part of the reason why I have a Dual Xeon for video editing.

What until you see HD Video....

Edit - Oh, Videohelp.com has some tutorials and tips. But, for speeding up, the answer is hardware and expensive software.

 

[LTC8K6]

That's a Franklin fix, kman.

 

[kman79]

Thanks for the input guys.

Well talked my father into selling his Camera and he ordered a DCR-HC90 on newegg today. What can I say, he's a sony man. I was trying to talk him into a 3CCD model from sony, for obvious reasons, but my Mom wouldn't let him spend 1500.00 on a camera.

Video editing is sorta fun, I could see myself get more involved in it. But with my headphone HI-Fi hobby, I don't have the cash to build a better machine.

Thanks again for the inputs

 

[n7]

Now you know why many of us buy X2s

They allow me to do whatever i want while re-encoding...

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: kman79
Thanks for the input guys.

Well talked my father into selling his Camera and he ordered a DCR-HC90 on newegg today. What can I say, he's a sony man. I was trying to talk him into a 3CCD model from sony, for obvious reasons, but my Mom wouldn't let him spend 1500.00 on a camera.

Video editing is sorta fun, I could see myself get more involved in it. But with my headphone HI-Fi hobby, I don't have the cash to build a better machine.

Thanks again for the inputs

Time to branch out. You can spend just as much and a lot more getting good audio into video...

I have a grand of audio on my camera and about $300 in other stuff. $250 for Sound Forge, which is a good minimum for audio... See

 

[kman79]

Originally posted by: n7
Now you know why many of us buy X2s

They allow me to do whatever i want while re-encoding...

I considered getting an X2 a long time ago. Main reason that is holding me back is that I'm not sure which X2 to get, and money is an option. Still being in school, I'm a little tight on cash. I considered a 3800 X2, but I game heavily and there is no guarantee that I'll get the same speed from it as my 3700 San Diego. It's been a while since I looked into it, but at the time that I was heavily interested there was no concrete proof that it would perform at least on par with my current setup for gaming. I'll probably start looking into it again. Then of course, there's the issue of what to do with my current processor. Among friends, there are not many that are PC Enthusiast, so no easy way to sell and recoup most of the money spent on the 3700. Would you have any quick links or articles bookmarked or in mind that I could get an easy answer as to which X2 would suit me?

Originally posted by: gsellis
Time to branch out. You can spend just as much and a lot more getting good audio into video...

I have a grand of audio on my camera and about $300 in other stuff. $250 for Sound Forge, which is a good minimum for audio... See

If you don't mind me asking, what camera did you go with and what extras did you purchase? Being that my father is getting this camera, it as good as mine anyways...haha At the begining of the semester, I was looking into getting SounForge bundled with a Sony MZM100 Mini Disc Player/Recorder to record lectures in school. The bundled price was 499, which I think is a good deal considering the MZM100 costs at least 350.00. I picked up an iAudio X5 since then, and recording is great if the instructor is sitting on his desk and speaking, but not adequate when he gets up and lectures. Oh btw...earlier you mentioned HD Video. Those also record on MiniDV media correct? Would the resolution be better on an HD Video Camera than a 3CCD Camera? I'm thinkin the advantage of 3CCD is better color, but doesn't better color come in HD Content? Help on this would be great

I really appreciate the replies guys, and more input and reccomendations is greatly appreciated

 

[CU]

3CCD doesn't have anything to do with HD. 3CCD means three chips record color, one for red, one for green, and one for blue. HD just means it records at HD resolutions, ie 720p or 1080i. You can have a 3CCD HD or non 3CCD HD camera.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: kman79

Originally posted by: n7
Now you know why many of us buy X2s

They allow me to do whatever i want while re-encoding...

I considered getting an X2 a long time ago. Main reason that is holding me back is that I'm not sure which X2 to get, and money is an option. Still being in school, I'm a little tight on cash. I considered a 3800 X2, but I game heavily and there is no guarantee that I'll get the same speed from it as my 3700 San Diego. It's been a while since I looked into it, but at the time that I was heavily interested there was no concrete proof that it would perform at least on par with my current setup for gaming. I'll probably start looking into it again. Then of course, there's the issue of what to do with my current processor. Among friends, there are not many that are PC Enthusiast, so no easy way to sell and recoup most of the money spent on the 3700. Would you have any quick links or articles bookmarked or in mind that I could get an easy answer as to which X2 would suit me?

On a budget, the X2 3800+ or Opteron 165 (if they are still being made?) would be your best option.

Technically, to get the same performance as your 3700+, you'd need an X2 4400+.
But here's the thing.
You are never going to notice the difference between the two CPUs.
In fact, due to the new multitasking ability you'd have with an X2 3800+, i'm betting it'd feel faster to you.
Also, new games such as Serious Sam 2 & Quake 4 are actually multithreaded (see here), so having an X2 will give you a small boost too

The other great thing about an X2 is that many programs for video editting/encoding are actually multithreaded
That something i didn't realize till i actually got my X2, so it was a pleasant surprise!

Really, you can justify the value of an X2 as being not worth or so worth it, it's really something you just have to decide