In this course, you are required to have a portable harddrive for editing your video stories. Here is the specification of the hardrrive recommended:
- Portable (Do not require any external power source)
- Preferably equipped with Firewire 800 connection socket
- Or – Equipped with USB 2.0 connection (cheaper but slower)
- Capacity 320Gb – 500Gb
Lacie and WD are the most common brands available in local computer centres. They cost about $1,000HKD. It should come with 2-3 year local warranty.
The harddrive is universal to any OS (Windows/Macintosh) when it is newly acquired. You can configure your harddrive in 2 partitions,
so that it is compatible among Windows (FAT 32) and Macintosh. You can do this by using “Disk Utility” (Go –> Utilities –> Disk Utility) on Macbooks.
FAQ 1: Where can I buy the harddrive?
Ans: You can purchase the harddrive in Wanchai Computer Centre. Take bus 40/40M/23 from HKU and get off at Wanchai MTR bus stop.
The computer centre is on the opposite side of the road (next to a football field).
FAQ 2: How much video can I store on the harddrive?
Ans: Every 5-min video occupies 1Gb of space. So let’s do some calculation…
FAQ 3: Why do I need to purchase a harddrive?
Ans: It is because the computers are used by a few classes, i.e. around 60 students. Each time you will be randomly given a computer. In
addition, you risk losing data if you store them on public computers. Besides, you can build your own multimedia portfolio with the harddrive.
FAQ 4: Can I use my existing harddrive?
Ans: You need to re-configure your harddrive (back-up existing data and re-format) if it is not configured for Macintosh. However, older
harddrives may not be fast enough for video editing.
FAQ 5: What can I do if I cannot afford a harddrive?
You may acquire a cheaper one with only USB 2.0 connection. However, harddrives with USB connection are sometimes not fast or stable enough for video editing, especially HD video editing, so we recommend Firewire 800 harddrives. Let us know if you have any difficulties.