hi guys! newbie here from the philippines. just came across this site when i was going through google directories. anyhoot, i jst signed up coz me thinks you guys are talking about some real interesting stuff around here
let me share some of the stuff i experienced with working on video/film projects on mac and pc
on a pc, you only need 512mb of ram, a fast-enough harddrive (72000rpm ide) and a firewire connected (if you need to output to tape, camera, etc). if you're gonna be working with SD (standard broadcast quality), this setup is fine for DV work. started out on one and been using that to do corporate videos, a few commercials, and some animations and it didn't slow me down at all.
i upgraded now, of course
adobe premiere 2.0 (and the new cs3) is excellent to work with. having more ram gives u more realtime preview. altohugh personally, i find Canopus EDIUS workflow very intuitive and fast. http://www.trustedreviews.com/multimedia/review/2006/08/18/Canopus-EDIUS-Pro-4/p1
edited my first full-length feature on a g5 using final cut pro. personally, mac's aren't that fast and responsive compared to beefed up pcs -- but i admit they are very reliable.
a mac system almost never lets me down.
when it says it need 20hours to render, give it 20hours and its done.
unlike with the pc, you get all sorts of problems especially during crunchtime.
i prefer working on a mac now. i've a 1.33 powerbook and i do a lot of editing here (recently just finished a full-length feature film shot in in HD) and it hasn't slowed me down.
my advice is, jst get a machine that can meet the bare minimum (a lot of ram and SATA harddrives wouldn't hurt). dual-core processors and high-end graphics cards are no use if you only edit videos.
dual-core processors and grpahics cards come in if you're into a lot of compositing (after effects, 3ds max, maya, combustion).
hth!
