Greetings & salutations to all...

I find myself being an extremely small fish in a seemingly enormous fishbowl of DVi'ers. Wow. What a place. I feel kind of like Dorothy when she entered the Emerald City for the first time. However, I have a hard time bestowing Chris Hurd the title of "The Great and Powerful Oz." The Freakin' Smart and Talented Kennelmaster, maybe... but great and powerful... nah.

My name is Jeff Baergen and I currenly live in Abilene, TX. My wife and family moved out here a couple of years ago from San Marcos, TX where I had been on the administrative staff at San Marcos Baptist Academy. Your beloved Kennelmaster, the honorable Chris Hurd, and I go way back to... 1995, I guess. Yes, that's correct. Let me tell those of you that might not know him, he's a stinkin' genius... WAY beyond his years! I am very proud of what he and others have created here. It seems to be a wealth of information. Way to go, Chris!

I am currently putting together the necessary pieces for a video production company that would do commercials, special events, etc. and would welcome input from the DVi world on a couple of areas.

#1: If you had a top computer guy available to build you whatever computer you wanted, what would the major specs be? Specifically, hard drive, RAM, video capture, etc.

#2: Your thoughts on the Adobe Video Collection Pro? affordability vs. functionality? Is there a better package for similar price?

Let me thank you in advance for your replies to this posting.

Sincerely,

Jeff Baergen

Hey, Jeff, welcome! Yeah..., Chris is a smart guy, all right. Regarding your NLE question/s, a good place to start is to post them in the PC NLE forum here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&forumid=31

Welcome aboard Jeff! Good to have you with us.

Geez, my past is coming back to haunt me. Y'all should see Baergen in action sometime -- the guy can do some amazing things. Especially when it comes to coercing teenagers into producing a work of art. I once saw Baergen cajole a group of high school senior football players into performing an excellently choreographed number "So Long, Farewell" from the musical "The Sound of Music" to a packed house. And they did a great job, thanks to Jeff.

Hey J.B. -- post your Q's in the appropriate forum! I swear, we gotta whip these newbies into shape somehow...

Hi Jeff! I just started delving into the world of DV this week, and have already spent about 10 hours reading posts. I have so much to learn.
I grew up in Abilene, but I now live in Utah. All my family is still in Abilene, and I plan on moving back in 1-2 years. Know any Merritts or Deegans?
I'm more interested in documentaries and movies, but I may be doing special events to get by. I think I've decided on the Sony PD170 for my camera, but I also like the Panny DVXs. Vegas for my NLE. I'm also not sure about the computer system, whether to go all out with 2 procs, a storm2 card and scsi, or to start out with something basic.
Welcome!
Monte

Monte,

Yes, we know a Bob Deegan here in Abilene. He is on the Board of Directors where I work. He is a very nice man.

Small world, huh?

Thanks for replying to my post. I wish you luck in your endeavors.

Jeff Baergen

Hey, I know Abilene. Is that Bill Murray's hamburger joint still open?

In a weird coincidence, I'm also from Utah. Monte, where in Utah do you live? I went to high school in St. George and went to college at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Well, let me tell you about my system. If there is one thing i could change, it would be the processor, but its not too bad. I configured my system at www.Alienware.com. They build high-end computers without all the unnecessare B.S. that people like Dell and Gateway put on theirs. Anyway, let me tell you what i've got under the hood.

- Asus P4T533-C Motherboard (she talks to me when i turn her on!)
- Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz
- 1 GB PC800 RDRAM
- 40 GB WD Hard drive (system)
- 80 GB WD Hard drive (fun stuff, games, music, etc)
- 200 GB WD Hard drive (where i capture my footage)
- ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128 MB graphics card
- Pinnacle Pro-One DV system
- M-Audio Delta 410 sound card

and that's about it. I also have a CD burner and DVD drive, but no DVD-Burner... yet.

My Thoughts about Adobe DV Package? Well, a rip off for one. :( But Premiere Pro is so awesome... a huge step up from previous versions of Premiere. After Effects is a cool proggie... use it sometimes, but not often. Audition is just CoolEdit, but i think Adobe either bought Syntrillium or bought it from Syntrillium. Its cool, but doesn't have that "i'm an adobe product" feel quite yet (its new, v.1.0). Photoshop is just a necessity. And i've never used Encore DVD, but i hear its cool. I have yet to learn it.

Anyway, i hope this helps.

Gino Terribilini

Thanks Gino, I appreciate your response. Watch out, though... the bitty old ladies that run this place want us to post the appropriate stuff in the appropriate forums... I know, I know... some people are just so anal. They like to whip us newbies into shape so that we'll play fair and within the rules of the sandbox. Once I received my spanking, I learned my lesson and posted my inquiry in the right forum. Just wanted to warn you before...

Oh no... shhh...

They're coming! RUN! RUN to the appropriate forum as if your life depended on it!!!

Oh and Marco, I'm afraid I don't know of any Bill Murray's hamburger joints out here. Might be here... I just might not know about it. Eating out takes money and well... you know *sob* the old story *tear drop falls*... I've sunk all my $$$ into this ?!@%$)* DV equipment!~

Jeff

Jeff,
Bob Deegan's my uncle's (by marriage) father. Small world, indeed.

Marco,
I live in Kaysville during the week and Park City on weekends. Ski season has been great this year. You live in Albany? That's a long way from home!


Monte

Sorry Jeff and Mr. Wrangler. What i really meant to say is, "Hello! Welcome!" I kinda got carried away, though...