NT boosters ascribe this quantum leap in Wintel capabilities to the unique architecture of their platform. The latest version of NT is a full-fledged 32-bit OS, unlike Mac's System 7, which is at its heart a 24/32-bit hybrid. That means that NT 4.0 can fully exploit the high-octane power of dual-processor Pentium Pros or the new Pentium III chips, crunching massive image files and performing two or more complex DV tasks at once. D-Vision 3.0, for example, allows an editor to render a sophisticated video effect in real time while continuing to insert footage into a timeline--or work in a completely different program such as Adobe Photoshop or Sound Forge.

Says Shelby Zavoral of HotDish Media Group: "D-Vision has been able to utilize the power of NT, combined with the multi-processing capability of today's PCs, to make it more capable in doing more effects than any of the Mac-based products that are in the same price range." 3D Studio MAX also lends itself to multitasking; animators can model 3D characters in the foreground while another computer-generated image coalesces in the background.

Of course, Apple may even the score--and slow down or even reverse the move to NT-- with its 32-bit Rhapsody OS, slated for release next year. The Mac still has a leg up on NT in user-friendliness and smoothness of operation.

Configuring NT-based systems can be a real headache, especially if weird PC clones are part of the package. And some Windows programs (Avid MCXPress 1.5, for example), lack features that are standard in the Mac version. A certain crudity is understandable, given NT's short tenure in the DV arena. Avid released MCXPress for NT last year, eight years after the launch of its first Mac-based product; the NT version of Adobe After Effects (www.adobe.com) came into being just a couple of months ago. That's why Chuck Wilkerson of DigiQuest Video Productions in Minneapolis still swears by Mac-based editing systems such as Avid Media Composer and Media 100. "It boils down to the tools," he says. "Right now, with the Mac, I have a very rich tool base to work with, because it's such a mature operating system."

But early adopters of NT seem content with their choice, citing the platform's open architecture and the advanced features and attractive pricing of programs such as D-Vision Online and 3D Studio MAX. Other NT-based DV applications that have received positive reviews in the trade press include Adobe After Effects, Lightwave 3D (www.newtek.com), Softimage 3D (www.softimage.com) and Bryce 2.