ANALOG VIDEO

TOTAL COST: $17,200 Analog editing works best when the output medium is VHS tape and the content is long-length videos such as speeches and customer testimonials. Analog production avoids many of the headaches associated with digital video. There are no quality degradations or performance issues surrounding video compression because analog production requires no compression. And with analog video, VHS tapes are, in effect, your storage medium, so you avoid the eye-popping hard drive requirements of digital capture and edit. Video Machine doesn't demand memory beyond what you need for traditional Windows applications because the digital effects are processed in on-board frame buffers. Total cost (for both systems) includes $500 for cables, tripods, lighting, and other expenses.

A.  Panasonic OmniMovieHQ SuperVHS camcorder
. S-Video and 
    composite ports ($1600).


B.  Video Machine Lite
 from Fast Electronic. Along with
    Matrox Studio, it is the leading analog video-editing platform for
    Windows. An internal board is installed in the computer. Shown here
    is the optional
 Studio Control Box ($2495). The same functionality is
    available with VM Lite and the Multi I/0 cable ($2995).


C.  Scan Do Pro
. Computer-to-Video scan converter for
    capturing computer screen to analog tape. From Communications
    Specialties ($1995).


D.  13-inch Sony Trinitron monitor
 with composite inputs and
    a video sequencer to monitor the various video sources ($600). This
    is a low-end solution. Alternatively, we used Sampo's new AlphaScan
    LC, a beautiful 20-inch monitor with two VGA inputs, a composite
    video input, a stereo audio input, and a cable TV input with tuner.
    You use remote control to switch among video sources.


E.  Two Sanyo GVR-S955 SuperVHS decks
. For true A/B roll
    editing, you'll need three decks, but if you don't mind shuffling
    tapes, you can get away with two ($3495 each). For desktop video
    applications, your deck should support:

    -- Computer control
    -- SMPTE time cod
e
    -- S-Video I/O
    -- SuperVHS
    -- DCI drivers
    -- Drivers for Video Machine (or selected analog control system)


F.  The Video Machine
 does not require a high-end system. We
    used a Gateway 486/66 with 8 MB of RAM, a 500-MB hard drive, PCI
    video, and a 17-inch monitor ($2500).