editing video on a computer is a system-intensive process. as such, things that cause small or no problems in day-today use can cause hours of headaches when trying to edit video. follow these tips to ensure a pleasant editing experience:

    · start off clean. if you use your computer for other dayto day tasks, seriously consider either getting a dedicated video editing machine, or at least install and boot into a new operating system installation so you can be assured that there's nothing remaining that might cause problems.

    · disable power management. on multi-processor machines, power management can actually hang the system. on single-processor machines, power management can cause problems if the machine suddenly decides to go to sleep in the middle of capture or output back to tape.

    · disable any unnecessary background programs and services. screen savers and virus protection software can cause problems because they interrupt the system to blank the screen or scan the drive for viruses. system management software that polls drives and system status can also cause problems.

    · use high-quality components. if you build your own system, choose reliable parts that you can easily get support for. if you have someone build a system for you, make sure they're using quality components.

    there's not much worse than losing a hard drive full of video just before you finish a project.

    · don't install anything you don't need. especially games - many games update critical parts of the operating system and that can cause problems later down the road.

    · back up frequently. if you have completed projects, store a backup of the clips and completed project to tape. store a backup of the project file and batch capture list on a disk or cd somewhere too.

    · always make sure you have enough free disk space.

    as you run out of disk space, system performance will decrease, aside from overall system reliability.

    · get comfortable with your editing setup before you take on any projects. do some practice editing to get a good feel for what you can and can't do.

    · don't be afraid to ask for help. there is a wealth of information on the canopus website and user group, as well as all over the internet. many people have developed timesaving tips and tricks that they're happy to share.