How To Set-up External Hard Drives For Video Editing

[BobWard]

I have now converted all my VHS tapes to DV AVI format and they are stored on an external 1TB hard drive. I have bought a second 1TB external hard drive to edit from.

Having not done this before, I thought I should get some advice before starting my editing. I will be using Vegas Movie Studio 10 HD Platinum Suite.

My question is how to best utilize the two external hard drives in the editing process? Do I just copy all the original DV AVI files to the 2nd hard drive and edit from that drive, thus leaving all my original files on the 1st external drive?

Both drives have eSATA and Firewire connections, in addition to USB.

Bob

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Here's how I do it. It may not be the most efficient but it suits me.

In the case of miniDV tapes I do not re-use them. Instead I label and store them so that I can always go back to the original source if I want to re-edit.

For captured VHS tapes I copy them to a 2Tb disc (F: in my case) that I use for archived VHS material. When I want to edit I copy the file to my edit work disc (E:) and then proceed. As I generally have multiple projects on the go simultaneously, this way I can always easily identify any work in progress as it will be on my E: drive.

Note that it isn't necessary to perform that F: to E: copy. I could just as easily edit the source on the F: drive as the editing process is non-destructive to the source material.

[Steve Grisetti]

And don't forget to format any drive you use for video editing to NTFS!

They come from the factory as FAT32 -- but FAT32 drives have a file size limit that often chokes video work.