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Editing systems are as necessary to digital video as Photoshop is to still images. The newest non-linear editing (NLE) software packages are all priced under $1000 and two are versatile programs that may be used on either the Macintosh or Windows platform. Digital Origin EditDV ($799, Mac/Win), Apple Final Cut Pro ($999, Mac) and Adobe Premiere 5.1 ($895, Mac/Win) are apprepriate video editing tools for a new generation of Web developers. Reviewers describe EditDV as a film-style DV editor with a fast rendering algorithm but lacking the special effects and compositing features built into the other two. Final Cut Pro got its start at Macromedia (headed by Premiere creator Randy Ubillos) before the software package sold to Apple, and receives high scores as an all-in-one integrated editor and special effects system. Adobe Premiere 5.1 is the original desktop video editing tool known for its versatility on both the Mac and Windows platforms as well as its integration with other Adobe products.
The feature that all three editing systems share (as long as you have the hardware) is FireWire functionality, a device standard that has rapidly transformed the computer industry. FireWire, also known as the IEEE1394 standard, possesses numerous attractive features for integrating hardware including: data processing up to 400Mbps making it possible to capture full-screen DV directly to disk and a lossless digital signal that operates on Windows, Mac and UNIX systems. FireWire hardware does not require a separate power supply, devices may be "daisy chained" in configurations of up to 63 devices and peripherals are hot-pluggable meaning any device can be added to the chain without turning off the computer. FireWire also assigns device configuration information automatically so you never need to worry about terminators, ID jumpers or DIP switches.
Video prepared for the Web will need to be compressed and Media Cleaner Pro 4.0 (Mac, $359) is a popular desktop video compression utility that has a large range of compression options. As David McManus explains, "Four minutes of digital video requires one gigabyte of hard drive space. Lossy compression applied to video files will make the file size more manageable." Media Cleaner's popularity is due to its wide range of compression options and a batch processing feature. As David says, "Media Cleaner can compress a group of files in an unattended mode - a simple feature that is very valuable when you're working on a large project."