Never use your internal HD to edit videos?

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Hello all, the recon continues...

I was settled on getting a 2.7ghz 21.5" iMac with 2Tb internal hard drive. But - according to some - one should never use anything but an external hard drive when it comes to video editing.

If this is sound wisdom, would I be able to get away with using an entry level 21.5" iMac (500gb HD)? Before purchasing external hard drives I wish to make just two ten minute videos shot from the built in 720p camera and then edit using iMovie 11 before exporting to YouTube.

Will I be able to do that without bits of iMac shrapnel exploding across the room?

Once I've done that I won't be editing any video until purchasing FCPX and a camera months down the line - when I will be getting external hard drives for storage, backup and editing.

Furthermore, what is the point of buying extra internal HD space when you can (and allegedly should) do all your editing via an external drive?

Thanks
 

RavingMac

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Hello all, the recon continues...

I was settled on getting a 2.7ghz 21.5" iMac with 2Tb internal hard drive. But - according to some - one should never use anything but an external hard drive when it comes to video editing.

If this is sound wisdom, would I be able to get away with using an entry level 21.5" iMac (500gb HD)? Before purchasing external hard drives I wish to make just two ten minute videos shot from the built in 720p camera and then edit using iMovie 11 before exporting to YouTube.

Will I be able to do that without bits of iMac shrapnel exploding across the room?

Once I've done that I won't be editing any video until purchasing FCPX and a camera months down the line - when I will be getting external hard drives for storage, backup and editing.

Furthermore, what is the point of buying extra internal HD space when you can (and allegedly should) do all your editing via an external drive?

Thanks

You can absolutely do video editing on your internal drive, you will fill it up rather quickly. And, regardless of where you edit (video or photos) having your libraries on external drives makes sense for a lot of reasons.
I use FW externals for speed, for my working files, and backup to USB drives because they are cheaper.
 
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chas_m

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I think this is another case where the "gurus" waaaay overstate their case.

IMO, what they MEAN by saying things like that is "Mac OS X -- and the video editing program you are using -- work best with LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of free space. Thus a dedicated external drive is likely to be your best choice."

In these days of 2TB startup drives, the "thou shalt not" commandment seems a bit silly, but at least the initial reasoning behind it was and remains sound.
 
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Brilliant - thanks. The plan now then is to get the 21.5" 2.7ghz iMac which comes with a 1tb hard drive but not purchase the built to order 2tb model. The £160 saved can go towards external G-Tech drives once I'm familiar with the basic machine.

I have an entire folder full of potential problems (Lion, Safari, BBOD, wireless routers, sleep issues, freezing etc) - I don't want any tantrums during the first few weeks of use as if I'm the only person in the world who has a duff Mac.

Every issue (which is usually common to a frustrated minority) has been met with calm headed solutions - particularly on here - and that gives me more confidence for when I take the plunge on Jan 03rd.

That's forty one more sleeps.

All that remains now is to choose between the mouse or the trackpad.

Thanks again.
 

RavingMac

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A vote for the TrackPad. I love mine. :)
 
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Gestures are great - I have a magic mouse and magic trackpad for gestures. I've been using the trackpad.

There is a recommendation of using different scratch disks from vendors like Adobe
Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 & CS5.5 * Specify scratch disks to improve system performance
But I've never heard of anything about only using external drives.

When I am doing large editing I do have a USB drive, a FW800 drive, my internal drive and a 32GB SSD in my Express Card slot for various scratch disks. That being said - small projects (even HD editing) I've done fully on my internal seagate momentus drive.
 
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I use my internal drive as my scratch disk for small projects and it works just fine. But for large projects that need lots of storage, I definitely use external drives. You'll be ok.
 
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Regarding the trackpad, which I know is built to fully utilize Lion gestures, would it be accurate enough (with much practice) for video editing?

I hated using a laptop trackpad, pecking at it like a neurotic pigeon, but found it easy to use and accurate after a few weeks.

When I say 'accurate' I mean being able to move the cursor to within a one second segment of video and click - without the cursor flying off in the process of clicking. I've read somewhere that they are sensitive souls.
 

RavingMac

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Regarding the trackpad, which I know is built to fully utilize Lion gestures, would it be accurate enough (with much practice) for video editing?

I hated using a laptop trackpad, pecking at it like a neurotic pigeon, but found it easy to use and accurate after a few weeks.

When I say 'accurate' I mean being able to move the cursor to within a one second segment of video and click - without the cursor flying off in the process of clicking. I've read somewhere that they are sensitive souls.

Can't answer that one. All I can say is I haven't touched a mouse on my Macs since getting the Trackpad.
 
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I tend to use a 2 finger method to track through timelines (hold with 1 finger and track with the other). I didn't have a problem getting to parts of the movie or moving segments around in Premiere. iMovie also worked quite well with the trackpad. Just like Razormac - ever since I got a Mac I don't use anything but trackpads.
 
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Thanks folks - trackpad it is.
 

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