Technology Requirements

Help

Free-form Content

General Requirements

This page describes the Technology Requirements for the various programs offered at the Arizona Center for Digital Media Arts. These are items that you will use heavily during your time at Huntington and beyond, so it’s important to read these requirements carefully to make sure that you are getting the right quality of equipment. If you have questions about anything on this page, please contact Eric Luce at eluce@huntington.edu

Adobe Creative Cloud Software

If you are purchasing a computer for the program, we recommend getting the most recent copy of the new Adobe Creative Cloud as this package offers many of the programs we use on a daily basis. This software will be installed on school computers, so it’s not required for students to purchase their own license, but some students do find it useful to have the software on their own machine. Even if you do not plan to have your own computer, having your own Creative Cloud account will allow you to synchronize your application settings across multiple computers here at the school.

Huntington University offers a special discount on this software. For $60 per academic semester, you can gain access to the entire suite of Adobe apps. To sign up, you'll need to make an initial payment of $60 on this form. You may purchase up to 2 semesters at a time to gain a full year of access. You will need your student ID, which can be found on your printed ID card, or by visiting this page on the portal.

Software Discounts (not required)

E-Academy

Significant discounts on Microsoft, Adobe and other brands of software (for Windows and Mac) are available through the University's purchase program. The discounts are up to 75% off the purchase price through a normal computer vendor. To log in, use your Huntington University email address and password.

Microsoft Office 365 is available for free to all Huntington University students. Click here to download the software, then use your Huntington email and password to activate the software.

Huntington University Apple Store

Visit the Huntington University Apple Store for discounts on Apple Hardware and Software.

Film Production & Broadcast Media Requirements

A professional hard drive is required for all film and broadcasting students. Your hard drive will be used to keep all of your projects with you as you move between computers and classes.

  • 1 TB minimum
  • 7200 rpm
    • If the manufacturer does not specify this number, the hard drive will spin at 5400 rpm which is not acceptable for video work.
    • The only exception for this rule is if the drive is a solid state drive (SSD), as they are actually faster than 7200 rpm but will not display a rpm speed.
  • USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt

When looking at hard drives, these are the primary requirements, but you may also want to consider other features such as design and portability. Portable hard drives are not required (there will be outlets to plug in other drives throughout the computer labs), but they are handy! Below is a list of recommended drives. All of these meet our hardware requirements:

If you have questions about a hard drive not on this list, don’t hesitate to send it to me and I’ll help you decide if it will work for you.

All students are required to have their own professional stereo headphones that enclose the ear. Ear buds and hobbyist headphones are unacceptable for developing critical listening required in all audio classes. There are tons of options to fulfill this requirement, but my favorite option is listed below.

  • Sennheiser HD 280 Pro - https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-280-Pro-Headphones/dp/B000065BPB/

You will also be required to have 2 SD cards for our recording equipment, one for video recording, and another for audio recording.

For your video SD card

  • SDXC UHS-I or U3 compatible (or higher). These markings are the most important, although you will also see things like 633X and 95 MB/s on these cards\
  • 64 GB size recommended

Recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-SDSDXPA-064G-X46-Flash-Memory/dp/B007NDL54C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1470776409&sr=8-2&keywords=sdxc+u3

Your audio SD card has mush less strict requirements, although the video SD cards would be compatible with our audio gear also.

  • Class 10 compatible.
  • 8 GB minimum

Recommendations:

All of our computers have SD card readers built into them, however you may want to consider an external SD card reader for your personal computer if you are bringing one.

 

Graphic Design & Animation Requirements

A hard drive is required for all graphic design and animation students. Your hard drive will be used to keep all of your projects with you as you move between computers and classes.

  • 500 GB minimum
  • USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt

When looking at hard drives, these are the primary requirements, but you may also want to consider other features such as design and portability. Portable hard drives are not required (there will be outlets to plug in other drives throughout the computer labs), but they are handy! Below are a few recommendations for hard drives that work well for students.

If you have questions about a hard drive not on this list, don’t hesitate to contact Eric (eluce@huntington.edu) and he'll help you decide if it will work for you.

It is recommended that your purchase your own Wacom Pro Pen 2 for use with our Cintiq's. We find that most students want their own pen as it becomes a very personal object that you will use often, however you are able to check out a pen from the Equipment Center for the duration of the semester at no cost, provided that it is returned in good working condition.

The model number KP504E is compatible with our equipment.

Although not required, it is strongly recommended that all Graphic Design and Animation students have their own smudge guard glove to provide smoother interaction with the Cintiqs. More information is available here: http://www.smudgeguard.com/. They are also available for purchase on Amazon.