Video Professionals Find a Compelling Video Editing Alternative with Dell Precision Workstations + NVIDIA Quadro Graphics

In the last blog on this topic, we introduced you to the Dell Precision and NVIDIA video editing advisory program and the panel “Moving From Final Cut – Progress or Perils?” we were hosting at the SXSW Film Festival. We’ve had a very busy few months since then so I wanted to provide an update on the SXSW panel, the video editing program, NAB and our new line of Dell Precision workstations

The SXSW Film panel was attended by more than 50 people and inspired honest conversations about moving from Final Cut Pro over to Adobe Premiere Pro software on a PC platform. The four panelists were former Final Cut Pro users and all agreed that Final Cut Pro X wasn’t going in the direction they wanted it to and admitted it was missing some key professional features. As professionals who make their living off of and require professional-grade software and hardware, they were feeling abandoned. They were all looking for a new professional, fast and stable video editing solution.  After the panel it was clear they found one: Dell Precision workstations with NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics and Adobe Premiere Pro software.

During the panel, Erik Horn of Arts + Labor said working on a Dell Precision workstation has been much faster and smoother than on a Mac and that he likes that the workstations are built to take advantage of Adobe’s upgrades and improvements in CS5.5. He also noted that transitioning to Adobe Premiere Pro was actually much easier than learning Final Cut X. James Fox of DawnRunner Productions said he was impressed with the accelerated performance seen on a Dell Precision T7500 combined with NVIDIA Maximus and the Adobe Mercury Playback Engine.  Andrew Baldwin of RD&F Advertising said the Dell workstation does exactly what he needs it to do, provides him with a very fast and stable platform, and is very pleased with the way the software and hardware handles his Red Epic Footage. Tom Baurain of Red Owl said he likes the fact that Dell and NVIDIA video editing solutions enable him to take advantage of the GPU and CPU as speed is everything to him and he doesn’t get paid to sit around. You can see a video of the SXSW panel below.

In addition to SXSW, several of the video advisory participants have been documenting their experience in switching from Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere Pro on a Dell Precision Workstation with NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics.  We encourage you to follow their switching journeys via their blogs: The Red Owl, The Edit Doctor, Biscardi Creative Blog, Tom Olsen, and weigh in with any questions or comments.

Dell and NVIDIA also attended NAB and demonstrated our solutions for content creation, 3D animation, video editing and rendering. In the NVIDIA booth, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects were running on a Dell Precision T7500 workstation with NVIDIA Maximus to show advanced video editing and motion graphics capabilities. Artists were shocked to see that Adobe After Effects runs up to 27 times faster on a Dell Precision Maximus configuration than on a CPU alone. NVIDIA also showed a Dell Precision T7500 workstation with NVIDIA Maximus technology and Autodesk Maya 3D animation software for near real time physics-based effects. Very neat stuff!

At the show we also had an opportunity to catch up with a few of the video professionals in our program and show them our new Dell Precision tower workstations under embargo. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Their favorite features were the removable power supplies, front accessible hard drives, clean interior and innovative design.  Here are their first impressions of the new products.

  • Tom Baurain: “This is how I would design a computer. I mean that, inside and out. This will be a big contender for those switching away from a Mac Pro. ”

     
  • Tom Olsen: “It is really apparent that Dell is committed to making systems that we professionals can use for our projects.”

     
  • James Fox: “I am thrilled these are live – as I want to begin suggesting them to everyone who is desperately searching for the next "Professional" Video computer solution!  I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on one!”

     
  • Walter Biscardi: “One of the biggest surprises for me at NAB this year was Dell’s new awesome workstations.”

     

We look forward to getting these new workstations in the hands of many more video professionals and hearing their feedback. Check back for more updates on our video editing program including videos documenting the switch to Dell. In the meantime, let us know if you have any questions or comments about Dell and NVIDIA’s video editing solutions.

About the Author: Scott Hamilton