I have been using a Matrox RT2000 for video editing and I want to upgrade.

I would like to get a software based program only to avoid all of the hardware compatibility problems if possible. I know a lot of that has been fixed, but I was hoping to eliminate it if possible.

This is for feature film work. I need really good color correction tools as well as audio. I do not any 3d effects or stuff like that, just simple cuts and occasional transitions.

I use an external 120gb Medea VideoRaid for video storage.

PC based.

I will be buying a new computer. Without the Matrox and other cards, do these programs work in real time? I would like to do color corrections/audio work in real time. I would also like the output back to DV to be real-time, but I think that is pushing it.

I have been focusing on Vegas as my new system. The Avid is more expensive and I would rather put that money into the computer if it is going to help.

Suggestions?

Which version of Avid are you looking at Avid XpressDV, XpressDV Pro, or XpressDV Pro with Mojo?

Jim: I can tell you from personal experience that the Canopus Edius software will give you excellent real-time capabilities, including real-time to DV out, on a sufficiently fast PC. (I use it on my laptop.) Unfortunately, its audio tools are a bit weak, so you might need to output to another program for that step if you did use Edius. As another alternative, Adobe Premiere Pro reportedly does reasonably well without special hardware support. Pinnacle Liquid Edition also gets good reviews, but I tried it and didn't care much for it. Vegas probably has the best audio tools but arguably the least real-time performance, depending on how you look at the way Vegas handles things.

If you go ahead and put your new computer together first, you could then download the software demos for all the various editing applications and see which one works best for your needs on the new system.

Richard,
I was looking at just ExpressDV Pro. That is itself is $1600, I didn't really want to have to shell out for the Mojo.

Kevin,
I have no problem using two seperate programs. Like I said, I need awesome color correction as well as sound, so if I have to use a seperate audio program that is fine.

I thought since you were doint traditional narrative cutting, you would be more interested in XpressDV, around $695 I believe.

Richard - The only problem with XpressDV is the lack of 24p support. Can I buy software that will make up for that? DV filmmaker?

Other than that, I would have no problem with XpressDV and would probably go with it.