Has anyone messed with power director stuff? Also could I edit 4K in 1080p so it doesn't slow the computer much and then export the file in 4K?
Post your 4k Editing setup.
- Thread starter Christopher D Odom
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We have 4k presentation monitors in our conference rooms at work so I need 4K editing. I try to slip in some 4k drone footage on any presentation I give, even if it's not relevant, and it's always a crowd-pleaser. Guess I'll stick with Premiere Elements. The stuff I shoot looks amazing on those 4K 60 inch OLEDs.
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If the end product is 4K, you need to edit in 4K, or edit with a proxy in HD, and conform the final result back with the original to output 4K. You can output a HD timeline to 4K, but it doesn't give you 4K, just HD enlarged to 4K, with 25% of the original resolution.
Hi guys,
My 2009 Macbook just doesn't seem to cut it with video editing from the drone, so I am looking at upgrading. My dilemma is what to upgrade to!
I want the future proof ability to edit 4K - even though it isn't mainstream yet - certainly here in the UK. I would also like the ability to show off the 4K edited video to potential clients - should they want/need it.
My initial thoughts were to get a 4K iMac for editing and then show off the footage on an iPad - but the iPad doesn't "do" 4K - yet!
The obvious choice would of course be a Retina Macbook Pro, which I could use to both edit and show off the 4K footage - but the price is somewhat off-putting!
So, do I bite the bullet and go with a 4K iMac (for now the cheaper option/best bang for buck) and then upgrade to a 4K iPad as/when they are available/required?
Do I go for a 2015/early 2016 (pre-update) Macbook Pro - which will be less powerful, but more portable, for showing off work?
Or is there a better option 3?
You will notice this is all Apple kit, as I do love the simplicity of the Apple eco-system. BUT - for that you pay the premium of Apple prices. Is there an equally good, but cheaper, viable, option? ( I don't want a large desktop unit sat on top/beside my workstation).
Views and opinions please guys (and I know this will be quite personal/subjective!)
My 2009 Macbook just doesn't seem to cut it with video editing from the drone, so I am looking at upgrading. My dilemma is what to upgrade to!
I want the future proof ability to edit 4K - even though it isn't mainstream yet - certainly here in the UK. I would also like the ability to show off the 4K edited video to potential clients - should they want/need it.
My initial thoughts were to get a 4K iMac for editing and then show off the footage on an iPad - but the iPad doesn't "do" 4K - yet!
The obvious choice would of course be a Retina Macbook Pro, which I could use to both edit and show off the 4K footage - but the price is somewhat off-putting!
So, do I bite the bullet and go with a 4K iMac (for now the cheaper option/best bang for buck) and then upgrade to a 4K iPad as/when they are available/required?
Do I go for a 2015/early 2016 (pre-update) Macbook Pro - which will be less powerful, but more portable, for showing off work?
Or is there a better option 3?
You will notice this is all Apple kit, as I do love the simplicity of the Apple eco-system. BUT - for that you pay the premium of Apple prices. Is there an equally good, but cheaper, viable, option? ( I don't want a large desktop unit sat on top/beside my workstation).
Views and opinions please guys (and I know this will be quite personal/subjective!)
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The issue with DJI 4k, is the very intense demands that the DJI Used codec places on the playback hardware. There is very limited hardware able to play the DJI 4k footage directly. The data rate of the DJI files is low (60MBS/sec) so you get a lot of footage on a small memory card, which is obviously a good thing. However, it comes at a fairly high cost, needing very high performance cpu/gpu hardware to decode the footage in real time.
This leads to 2 choices for resolving the problem. The first is new, high performance hardware, either PC or Mac. For now, that is neither cheap or compact. The other is to transcode the video into a format which is less hardware demanding. The cost is much larger files, but fine playback on even modest devices.
I have gone through this morass, and decided that rather than junking my MacPro 2008 with lots of expensive hardware, I would take the path of big files. I shoot 4k exclusively, and generally long takes, as it is very easy to not having the camera running when something breathtakingly beautiful starts. When finished shooting, I offload the microSD card into the computer using software to transcode the H.264 encoded material into ProRes files for use in the Apple ecosystem (Final Cut Pro X, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Motion etc.) All play 4k ProRes without difficulty. The tradeoff is in file size as mentioned before. The bit rate of the DJI files is about 60 mb/sec. The ProRes files are around 560 mb/sec. This is essentially a 10 x increase in file size. This tradeoff also makes the editing result much higher quality, as the ProRes codec contains complete, full frames to edit with. H.264 provides only partial frames which require the editing software to rebuild on the fly these incomplete frames.
"There is no free lunch"
This leads to 2 choices for resolving the problem. The first is new, high performance hardware, either PC or Mac. For now, that is neither cheap or compact. The other is to transcode the video into a format which is less hardware demanding. The cost is much larger files, but fine playback on even modest devices.
I have gone through this morass, and decided that rather than junking my MacPro 2008 with lots of expensive hardware, I would take the path of big files. I shoot 4k exclusively, and generally long takes, as it is very easy to not having the camera running when something breathtakingly beautiful starts. When finished shooting, I offload the microSD card into the computer using software to transcode the H.264 encoded material into ProRes files for use in the Apple ecosystem (Final Cut Pro X, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Motion etc.) All play 4k ProRes without difficulty. The tradeoff is in file size as mentioned before. The bit rate of the DJI files is about 60 mb/sec. The ProRes files are around 560 mb/sec. This is essentially a 10 x increase in file size. This tradeoff also makes the editing result much higher quality, as the ProRes codec contains complete, full frames to edit with. H.264 provides only partial frames which require the editing software to rebuild on the fly these incomplete frames.
"There is no free lunch"
Wow, David thanks for the thorough explanation.
I understand what you are saying, except for the "offload the micro SD....using software to transcode the H.264 into ProRes files"
I am not that technically knowledgeable I'm afraid, could you please explain this as an idiots guide. What software do you use to do this etc..... I don't mind the larger file sizes and the footage I will be using certainly won't be up to professional standards, more like that of a very enthusiastic amateur.
Regards CLR
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I use "EditReady" which is designed exactly for speeding offloading memory cards to disk and transcoding them to ProRes. DaVinci Resolve will do this as well, not as fast, and Compressor will probably. I haven't tested that path, but it still should work.
Transcoding from capture cards while unloading is very common. There are probably many other software packages that will work too. I just haven't felt the need to explore them.
Transcoding from capture cards while unloading is very common. There are probably many other software packages that will work too. I just haven't felt the need to explore them.
Video card GTX - 1070
Processor i7
RAM - 64
SSD - 512, 2 X HDD - 2TB
Dual 4K 10 bit monitors - Samsung u28e590d
HDTV LG 32"
Gamer keyboard (heavy duty) Very useful when everything goes wrong in editing
Processor i7
RAM - 64
SSD - 512, 2 X HDD - 2TB
Dual 4K 10 bit monitors - Samsung u28e590d
HDTV LG 32"
Gamer keyboard (heavy duty) Very useful when everything goes wrong in editing
5k iMac, Late 2015 with 4GHz Intel Core i7
- 48GB RAM (2x8GB, 2x16GB)
- 500GB internal SSD, 256GB Thunderbolt External SSD
- 18TB Raid 5 Array (USB 3)
The best part of having a 5k screen is that 4k content can be edited fullscreen as 4k content without the need for transcoding. Another good alternative for 4k editing would be to have dual monitors at least one of which is 4k (for the same reason - not having to transcode the video during editing). I've been using iMovie for now. After using it for about 8 months I've discovered that it's a lot more powerful than people think. Many of it's options are hidden away in non-intuitive places. After reading this thread, I'm going to give DaVinci a look.
5k iMac, Late 2015 with 4GHz Intel Core i7
- 48GB RAM (2x8GB, 2x16GB)
- 500GB internal SSD, 256GB Thunderbolt External SSD
- 18TB Raid 5 Array (USB 3)
The best part of having a 5k screen is that 4k content can be edited fullscreen as 4k content without the need for transcoding. Another good alternative for 4k editing would be to have dual monitors at least one of which is 4k (for the same reason - not having to transcode the video during editing). I've been using iMovie for now. After using it for about 8 months I've discovered that it's a lot more powerful than people think. Many of it's options are hidden away in non-intuitive places. After reading this thread, I'm going to give DaVinci a look.
I Didn't realize the I Mac could go this high with Ram. I have the same system ...HmmmmTime to go find more ram.
48GB????? Holy crap!! I remember when they said 2GB would be enough for most programs... lol... (yea, I'm old...)
I don't shoot 4K yet, but got a pretty decent Lenovo laptop for $700 a few days ago, Kaby Lake Corei7, 12GB RAM, 256GB SSD, IPS screen (non-touch). It's only going to be for on-site photo and video editing... tried something quick yesterday, worked very well.
I'll be investing in a desktop system after Christmas, so thanks for the posts on what you all are using...
I don't shoot 4K yet, but got a pretty decent Lenovo laptop for $700 a few days ago, Kaby Lake Corei7, 12GB RAM, 256GB SSD, IPS screen (non-touch). It's only going to be for on-site photo and video editing... tried something quick yesterday, worked very well.
I'll be investing in a desktop system after Christmas, so thanks for the posts on what you all are using...
NEGATIVE. Davinci cant output MORE than UHD but it definitely can render 3840x2160 (which is a res that DJI refers to as 4K although its not true...) First you dont need 4K screen but its better with it. Second all you need is Davinci Resolve and a good GPU thats it...
But isn't most of Resolve free anyway? At least the features short of the pro stuff?
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