CompuServe Thread

Jon: >We are considering making our on traning and promotional videos,but know what hardware/software is best for us . We have Windows bases PC.< Tho it may seem like heresy on this forum <g>, have you considered a *non*-desktop video option? Let me ask just how sophisticated you intend your videos to be, and just how much computer-generated material you intend to use. Are your computer-generated needs limited to titles and the occasional graphic, or do you have extensive computer graphic/animation file intermixing with live action? Also, how powerful is your Windows-based computer system? If it's a standard 486 configuration like you'd buy at a retail outlet, you might find extensive DTV use (like nonlinear editing and rendering of 3D animation files) to require upgrading your RAM, your video card, your hard drive and probably your processor–a LOT. OTOH, if you'd just like nice titles and an occasional computer-generated 2D graphic over mostly live action, you could easily get away with a standard 486 computer using, say, a Studio Magic or a Snap Plus! card (tho they're pretty low-end, both can genlock your titles and graphics to your output video and take at least stills from your video to be modified inside your computer–and the Studio Magic can use your TrueType fonts for titling). It'd help if we knew a little more about what your needs are, and just how high-end you want your productions to look. Tim Liebe