Compare Computing Platforms
From MITVWiki
[edit] Windows
Windows is often times not thought too highly of for high-end video production; however, that doesn't mean it doesn't have something to offer. Windows Movie Maker is pre-installed in Windows XP, and while not particularly powerful, it does allow for some basic capturing and editing. However, its format output is extremely limited - you're stuck outputting to WMV. There is a large variety of video editing software available commercially, such as Adobe Premiere (which also has a much cheaper, albeit slightly stripped down version, known as Premiere Elements) and Avid.
[edit] Mac OSX
OSX is often considered to be the de facto standard platform for video editing, thanks in no small part to Apple's introduction of the Firewire port years ago and its editing powerhouse, Final Cut Pro. However, as licenses run quite expensive for that, it's much better to start off with the preinstalled iMovie, which (much like Windows Movie Maker) offers limited editing options, though is considerably more powerful than WMM. Much like Adobe, Apple also offers a slimmed-down and cheaper version of Final Cut in Final Cut Express.
[edit] Linux
Often not discussed in the video editing realm, Linux can be quite a powerful platform. It's particularly useful to those who would like to attempt video editing, but don't wish to spend a lot of money in start-up. While there are a plethora of options, generally the two video solutions most commonly referenced are Kino for video capture and Cinelerra (or its semi-fork, Cinelerra-CV) for editing. Kino has a basic editor for sequencing and adding effects, but is particularly useful for editing and exporting clips captured from a Firewire camcorder, as you can define what regions to export from film clips in order to cut down on unnecessary or unused footage. Cinelerra is considered to be the most powerful editing environment offered for Linux, offering features rivaling that of its commercial competition while remaining free and open source.
