|
The Digital Media Series Digital Origin's EditDV |
 |
While reviewing EditDV last fall, I completed a medium-sized video project. This was the first time I used the application, and to test it, I wanted to complete the project exclusively using EditDV . I found it to be a very fast editor that probably took hours off of my editing time.
EditDV was started under Radius, and then
continued under the reorganized Digital Origin unit. EditDV's
claim of fame was that from the ground up, it was designed solely to work with DV.
The company planned to sell EditDV with its FireWire PCI upgrades well before Apple
started shipping FireWire on its computers. As a result, EditDV works fairly well
with the DV medium, and this is why I was interested in giving it a spin.Once I got the feel of the software, things started to go pretty smoothly. Now I don't consider myself an expert in video editing, but I have been tinkering with Macs and digital video for almost three years now. When doing a large project with Premiere, I usually average an hour per finished minute of work. With EditDV, once I hammered down its controls, did speed up the work. Comparatively speaking, I found EditDV to function faster than both Premiere and Final Cut Pro. I haven't spent too much time with FCP, but in doing basic editing, EditDV seemed to be faster here also. In all, I estimate that EditDV cut my editing time nearly in half.
Speed aside however, EditDV does falter in some areas. Adobe has been developing Premiere for quite a long time and EditDV is relatively new. As a result, I found EditDV lacking in some areas. Specifically, I was frustrated with the lack of sound control in the program. In EditDV, I could not find a good way to control sound levels dynamically throughout a clip. For example, if I wanted to mix a music track with a voice track, I typically would want to lower the music level while the individuals are talking and raise the music to finish off the scene with an exit shot. Or, in many cases with me, I have poor microphone placement and need to boost the sound levels to hear something. While I want to boost the levels for the action, I also want to lower the sound levels around the action to avoid hiss. EditDV handles sound manipulation through filters, which sort of works, but not nearly as well as Premiere's "rubber bands."
Another area that's a little touchy is the installation. EditDV installs a host of system extensions into the Mac OS. In the early days, this caused considerable pain with numerous conflicts. Right now things are pretty well ironed out, at least until Apple decides to update its QuickTime or FireWire software. Also, Digital Origin's extensions conflict with Apple's QuickTime FireWire DV Enabler. To use EditDV, it must be removed. This is not a big deal, just so long as no other hardware or software needs it, like Final Cut Pro.
MotoDV Extras
I found the included MotoDV software to be extremely useful. There are two parts
of the MotoDV package, MotoDV and MotoDV Player. MotoDV is a DV capture utility and
MotoDV Player is a DV player. Now EditDV can do all this within the application,
but the MotoDV software is very small and to the point. Both packages are absolutely
prefect for doing quick capture or playback. Numerous times I just wanted to show
off a DV movie, and instead of loading up the full EditDV program, I could just drag
the file on top of the MotoDV Player.
One other interesting piece of software is LiveDV System addition. LiveDV is a system
component, which allows the Mac to play DV files through a DV device. Basically DV
is similar to MPEG, in that it's a highly compressed video medium. MPEG needs to
have hardware assistance, whether its a dedicated decoder or a fast graphics card,
to properly play. Currently, Apple's systems can not play full DV files properly.
DV devices, such as a DV camera can however handle them, since they contain a hardware
DV codec. To take advantage of this, LiveDV can stream the DV file out the FireWire
port to an external monitor. Also LiveDV works with most DV files, whether you're
using EditDV or the QuickTime Player.
LiveDV helped considerably with my editing, because I could see exactly how my work
would look without lengthy rendering. Because of the DV format, EditDV with LiveDV
can instantly make any edited work available to me without rendering. The only exception
is if I add filters or transitions, in which case rendering would be needed.
Summary
EditDV is a fast DV editor. While I haven't worked with Final Cut Pro as much as
EditDV, it does appear to be considerably faster than both FCP and Premiere. One
key area of saving time is the ability to preview my work with light or no rendering
time. While some features are lacking or not quite up to task with other pro-consumer
editors, EditDV is a fine product. Digital Origin, who is about to be acquired by
Media 100, is working on a newer version of the the program. Numerous features need
to be added, namely AltiVec support. Additionally, I feel there are still some rough
edges to the software. In the end however, I'll continue using EditDV for all my
DV work and I look forward to seeing what future versions will have to offer.
Pros:
Offers fast DV editing, includes MotoDV, MotoDV Player and LiveDV utilities.
Cons:
Lacks good sound support, hefty additions to System Folder with current and possible
future conflicts.
System Requirements:
Power Macintosh G3 or 604 computer w/ FireWire support.
PowerBook G3 266 MHz or faster w/ CardBus FireWire PC Card
64MB of RAM (128MB recommended)
Mac OS 8.0 or later
Hard disk drive capable of sustaining 5 MB/second transfer
An NTSC or PAL format DV camcorder or tape deck with a FireWire port
[Full Specifications]
|