Re: Getting back into post - few questions

These are only my opinions.....

1.) Fastest Compositing software? Difficult question. For me it is unquestionably Combustion because I know my way around it and I have a render farm set up to chew through frames. The popular opinion is the AE rules for motion graphics. I don't think the choice should be based solely on speed. Interface, capabilites, personal preference all figure in to speed. The point is not to pick the fastest software but to make you a faster compositor. I will say that AE having a huge following is a compelling reason to use it. Also it's integration in to the Adobe suite. For the time being I'm sticking with Combustion and as much as I love it it is hard to recommend as Autodesk does seem to be letting it die on the vine.

2.) Realtime HD? Very few good things are done in real time.

3.) Specs on I7 look very good. It should be very fast indeed. My next machine will probably have one of those. I don't think it's worth spending a lot on a video card for compositing. In Combustion for instance I don't use OpenGL for much other than particles and my consumer level GeForce card is more than up to the task. Use the money you save for more memory, better processor or a better yet a dedicated render box.