Laptop to edit GoPro footage?

[gryffin123]

We just bought a GoPro to take underwater video while we are cruising. We want to buy a laptop to edit the footage while we are traveling. I know that we need something pretty powerful to edit HD video, particularly when we have 2.5K footage. Has anyone here done this? Any experiences to share?

 

I know a desktop would be better, but we really want at least minimal portability.

 

Thanks for any advice!

[zqvol]

We just bought a GoPro to take underwater video while we are cruising. We want to buy a laptop to edit the footage while we are traveling. I know that we need something pretty powerful to edit HD video, particularly when we have 2.5K footage. Has anyone here done this? Any experiences to share?

 

I know a desktop would be better, but we really want at least minimal portability.

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

 

Desktop or laptop it doesn't matter.

 

Get something with an i7 processor and as much RAM as you can possibly afford, and as big of a hard drive as you afford, and a powerful video card. The rest doesn't matter.

 

Be prepared to spend a couple of thousand for this configuration.

[shootr]

I agree with above 100%, with emphasis on being sure there is a dedicated video card - most laptops use the main processor and that isn't good for editing.

 

I found the editing software to be as big an issue as the hardware. I have an A10 AMD that does OK, but the GoPro software blows.

 

I have been using Corel VideoStudio Pro because it let's me start editing as soon as I import the clips instead of waiting for the software to convert every clip into whatever format it needs to be edit-able.

 

Most editors have free trials, I tried a bunch until I found what worked for me - you may want to try the same if you don't already have something you like and use.

[xlxo]

Most editors have free trials, I tried a bunch until I found what worked for me - you may want to try the same if you don't already have something you like and use.

I love Pinnacle Studio 17 for 1080 content on my MSI game laptop. However it was very jerky for 4K. Haven't tried version 18 yet.

 

What software are people successful with?

[gopro63]

I7, vid caption with minimum 16gb.

 

Cineform by Gopro GPS professional, is the better, the GPS offered free is good, those who have no clue, never will.

 

Cyberlink Poweredirector 13 Ultima. Suite is just extra.

 

:rolleyes:

[zqvol]

I love Pinnacle Studio 17 for 1080 content on my MSI game laptop. However it was very jerky for 4K. Haven't tried version 18 yet.

 

What software are people successful with?

 

 

Jerky points to a hardware issue, not a software issue.

[pierces]

Jerky points to a hardware issue, not a software issue.

 

Not always. Video can jerk and stutter if the software doesn't make use of hardware acceleration on the video subsystem. Processor and RAM are important but regardless of the processor, make sure your choice of hardware has a good GPU and that your software supports it.

 

Dave

Edited March 31, 2015 by pierces

[gryffin123]

The GPU is the thing that I have the most concern about. I can choose between a fast consumer card (Ge Force) or a mid range workstation card, e.g. Quadro K2100., but I'm not sure which is the best route.

[pierces]

The GPU is the thing that I have the most concern about. I can choose between a fast consumer card (Ge Force) or a mid range workstation card, e.g. Quadro K2100., but I'm not sure which is the best route.

 

If this is going to be your primary machine to do all editing, spending $2000 on a mobile workstation may make sense. The newer G9xx series Nvidia mobile chips are really hefty and you can get an ASUS ROG G75 laptop with desktop specs for about $1800.

 

http://www.amazon.com/G751JT-DH72-17-3-Inch-GeForce-GTX970M-Graphics/dp/B00OBQ5950/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427824006&sr=8-2&keywords=G970M

 

If all you plan to do while traveling is view video or maybe trim clips out of boringly long sequences, a good i5 laptop with a discrete video chip and enough RAM will suffice.

 

Dave

[peety3]

I'd strongly recommend getting a laptop with a tiny hard drive or SSD (enough for the OS and software, little else), then add an external SSD for your footage and editing work. That'll make it a lot easier to pull the footage over to your desktop system for any other work.

 

Last summer it was time replace my 5-year-old MacBook Pro. I went with the bare-bones but then-current MBP, knowing that it'd get used on our cruise, during a photo workshop in Atlanta, and rarely other than that, so it wasn't worth going hard-core on it.

[Mikes145]

I choose to buy more micro sd cards and just edit the video when I get home. I don't want to spend my vacation doing it.