which system for video CEP ?

[Silicium]

Dear SGI experts,
here's a video studio that I'd like to build around a SGI system:
-3 or 4 prosumer camcorders or affordable used professional video cameras
-analog video mixer
-microphones, audio mixer with adat output
We'd like to create DVDs of live plays in a theatre.
I'm hesitating between Indigo2 & ImpactVideo, O2 & video, or Octane & OPV.
How much disk space is needed per hour of uncompressed DVD-quality PAL video ?
Then which CPU and how much RAM is needed for basic video effects ?
We'll also like some nice 3D effets on DVD menus, to have a professional look
unlike software cr*p that comes bundled with consumer video hardware.
A PC would be used only at the last steps of DVD authoring, multiplexing all the
videos/graphics/soundtracks made on the SGI system, and burning. As it would
also be used as a cheap RAID-0 file server, the SGI needs a 100 MBit ethernet.
Which SGI systems can accomodate a video input card and a 8-channel digital
audio card at once ?
BTW [sorry OT for this group] is there any IRIX software that does 5.1 audio ?
In Octanes with PCI card cage, which PCI sound cards are supported ?
Thanks for advice.

[Benjamin Gawert]

Post by Silicium
Dear SGI experts,
-3 or 4 prosumer camcorders or affordable used professional video cameras

analog or digital?

Post by Silicium
-analog video mixer
-microphones, audio mixer with adat output
We'd like to create DVDs of live plays in a theatre.

Ok.

Post by Silicium
I'm hesitating between Indigo2 & ImpactVideo, O2 & video, or Octane & OPV.

Are you sure you want to use such old critters for DVD creation? Mind
you that the hardware is _very_ slow and the necessary software ultra
expensive (if it's still for sale, that is! Especially since SGI made
the dead of IRIX officially).

Post by Silicium
How much disk space is needed per hour of uncompressed DVD-quality PAL video ?
Then which CPU and how much RAM is needed for basic video effects ?
We'll also like some nice 3D effets on DVD menus, to have a professional look
unlike software cr*p that comes bundled with consumer video hardware.

Then why not just get better software for your current hardware?
Replacing "cconsumer video hardware" with old dinosaurs IMHO isn't a
good idea.

Post by Silicium
A PC would be used only at the last steps of DVD authoring, multiplexing all the
videos/graphics/soundtracks made on the SGI system, and burning. As it would
also be used as a cheap RAID-0 file server, the SGI needs a 100 MBit ethernet.

Why RAID0? Are you aware that RAID0 has _zero_ redundancy which means if
one disk dies _all_ your data is lost! RAID0 is good for performance,
but in this case slow 100MBit doesn't make sense. You probably want FC
then (expensive!).

Post by Silicium
Which SGI systems can accomodate a video input card and a 8-channel digital
audio card at once ?
BTW [sorry OT for this group] is there any IRIX software that does 5.1 audio ?
In Octanes with PCI card cage, which PCI sound cards are supported ?
Thanks for advice.

Honestly, my advice is to forget the idea of using SGI and get a PC or
even better a Mac for this task, simply because it's the far more
economical choice. One application for IRIX probably will cost you more
than a highend video editing setup based on a PC or Mac with
professional software. The firewire support is awful as is the support
for modern codecs like MPEG2. Processing takes ages due to the slow
hardware while any cheap PC does the same in seconds. Are you really
sure you want that?

For video editing have a look at Apple Macs as they have really great
video edition software available (Final Cut), and they already come with
entry level software for video editing and DVD creation.

Benjamin