HD Video Editing/Encoding

[DukeUsul]

Hey - does anyone know anything about HD video editing/encoding? I recently got a HD video camera when our daughter was born, and I've discovered that my laptops are a bit too old/slow to handle the HD video. I'm in the process of searching for a new PC and software that can do it. I'm also trying to keep everything under $1000. Anyone have experience with all the latest CPUs, GPUs and software tools?

[2535Miles]

Hey - does anyone know anything about HD video editing/encoding? I recently got a HD video camera when our daughter was born, and I've discovered that my laptops are a bit too old/slow to handle the HD video. I'm in the process of searching for a new PC and software that can do it. I'm also trying to keep everything under $1000. Anyone have experience with all the latest CPUs, GPUs and software tools?
Apple is making the most of use of GPUs from the bundled software, OS integrated perspective. At $799 a Mac mini is a decent start towards an amateur editing station though I would honestly recommend stepping up to an iMac, especially if you want to see the HD as you're editing HD.

iMovie (part of the iLife bundle) supports HD and while they're newer user interface isn't as cool (IMHO) as the older UI, it's a great editing application for beginners. PM if you need any more help.

Have fun!

[Highlander]

Hey - does anyone know anything about HD video editing/encoding? I recently got a HD video camera when our daughter was born, and I've discovered that my laptops are a bit too old/slow to handle the HD video. I'm in the process of searching for a new PC and software that can do it. I'm also trying to keep everything under $1000. Anyone have experience with all the latest CPUs, GPUs and software tools?

I use Pinnacle, although our camera is not HD. The interface is pretty easy to use, although it takes some getting used to. The newer version is HD ready. It has a lot of extras you can buy that aren't bundled with the core product, which is annoying. However, it is fairly straightforward.

I bought a new quad core dell for $799 about 6 months ago. It doesn't even breathe hard for editing, and it can compile a full disk in about a half hour or less.