Viewfinder: Caught "In-between"

Talking with people at our Videomaker Workshops and Expos, I am beginning to understand that many people editing video are "in-between." This condition is also something I notice when I read messages on the Videomaker.com forum, in Usenet groups and when I talk with people on the phone. When I say "in-between," I mean the inability of many people to make equipment-buying decisions. They can't make a decision because they are concerned whatever approach they take will be the wrong one.

These people are not very excited about embracing tape-to-tape editing solutions. They are concerned that editing with VCRs and "black boxes" (like special effects generators, audio mixers, switchers, video enhancers and so on) will soon be a thing of the past. They read that DVD will soon be capable of recording video and that camcorders can record video to miniature hard disks and they wonder if "tape-to-tape" will become obsolete. At the very least, they realize that even if they continue to use a tape-based camcorder, they will soon be expected to edit with a computer.

It makes sense, after all, with the prices falling so drastically. The prices for computer memory (RAM and disk space) seem to fall weekly. RAM makes editing faster and disk space enables computer editors to store more video for random access. The central processing unit (CPU) is also falling in price even as it becomes more powerful. Both of these factors are extremely important to anyone considering computer video editing. Another key component of computer-based editing is the digitizing card, which compresses the video so it can be stored on the computer hard drive. The prices for digitizing cards are also falling even as they are getting more …