Converting to SD for quick editing on old laptop?? Best way?
 

Hey guys, getting dangerously close to ordering a 550d. My concern in with editing as there is no money for a system upgrade.

Im NOT a computer/techy guy at all, and alot of the stuff at the minuite is over my head.

My goal is to use my existing Laptop:

Turion Tl60 2.0ghz Dual core
2g Ram 667 DDR2

And convert the footage into not only something Windows Movie Maker (dont laugh) can handle, but also down res to SD.

This will allow me to take shot offtage and make nice quick rough cut ups. I can then re-edit the whole thing when I have a better machine.

I know I will have to convert the files from .MOV, but what about Down resing them?? Any advice?

As I say Im not a tech guy, I like to keep things mega simple.

Thanks for the help
James

Forgot to mention, Ive used the above machine for a couple of friends wedding in SD and it performed fine. As I say Im only looking to make basic edits to get the flow of a piece. although I would like it to stay looking 'nice' in SD.

Also, would I be correct in saying that the machine should be good enough to archive the footage from card to hard drive for use at a later date?

Thanks
James