Well, I've drifted away from here and am now back; needing advice.
So many here are SOOOO far beyond my experience that there MUST be a well-trod path to follow.
My partner (business) has been doing all our video editing (Pinnacle, on pc) and we are venturing into another field. It'll be my dime and expertise that will enable us to succeed with this, so I'm wondering if I should follow his path with a pc, or acquire a Mac. In either case what additional software is best recommended?? We're still shooting DV. I'm getting my feet wet on this one, and I'm not afraid to jump in with both feet; just want the "right" equipment. Help??

Core2 Quad based system should be more than sufficient for DV work. 4GB RAM on XP, a couple of hard drives, and you will be all set for under $1000. A Blackmagic HDLink Pro would give you analog video out from a DV timeline I believe, for $350, if you have the equipment to connect to it to make it worth it. (Nice NTSC SD Monitor and or SD Deck) Matrox's RT.X2 is also an option if you want to be prepared for the jump to HDV. Neither is required in any way, but could improve your worthflow.

.....sounds like the info I need to move forward on this project. I appreciate your insight, Mike; only someone out West would respond at that time. This relieves some of my concerns regarding adequacy of equipment.