Appendix B. Selecting and Building an NLE System

By far the best approach to building an NLE system is to choose your software first, then make hardware purchases to match its requirements. Some software packages actually require you to buy specific makes and models of computers and video cards. So, picking hardware first actually risks wasting money on gear you don't need – or that won't work properly with the editing software you prefer.

Of course, if you have a recent-model machine already, you'll be taking on a retrofitting and reconstruction project. In particular, you may have to upgrade or replace the video display card or add a special rendering card, especially to enable neat tricks like 3D compositing.

But be warned – for DV editing ...

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