Windows XP video 'capture' PC vs. Windows 7 video 'Edit' PC?
 

Two different environments altogether? or which Video editing programs work well with XP or 7?

There's no "best" or "better" answer to that question. All things, as Einstein said, are relative. Depends on what you mean by "editing". Depends on what kind of video you're working with and what you're doing with it. Depends on what you mean by "editor". VirtualDub can be used as an "editor". So can a whole ton of free "editors" and converters, most of which work with XP. Avisynth and Virtualdub are for repair and restoration -- their filters are 32-bit, so you have no overwhelming speed advantage with Win7/64.

Older motherboards that accept AGP cards for capture are still in use. Older means slower bus speed relative to new machines that can't take AGP cards and are limited regarding capture devices but can use faster CPU's and faster RAM and bus speeds. XP can be installed on both machines, likely Win7 can only be installed on the newer BIOS. So the ifs and buts also depend on what kind of PC, motherboard, CPU, etc., you're taling about. Newer NLE's like Vegas Pro, Premiere Pro, AfterEffects, and typical push-button junkware from Walmarft etc., work only on Win7 machines. Most NLE's can't do many things that Avisynth and VirtualDub can do, and vice versa.

Short answer: It depends. Each has pros and cons. Having both covers all the bases.

WIN 7 offers a solid working 64-bit environment option, XP didn't. So read the specification of the NLEs you are considering to verify which operating systems they support - some older releases may run well on both. The newer releases are an advantage if you are doing any HD editing, especially AVCHD, but not as important if mainly doing SD work.

The potential problem with older NLE software is a lack vendor support and patches. However, you can find bargains as well and end-user forums can provide some support that the vendor no longer provides.

My personal preference for NLE has evolved over time from Premiere (ending at v6.5) to Liquid to Edius (currently v7.41).

Thanks for the excellent replies!..I was planning/using the XP/ATI AIW PC for Capture ONLY. Kept Off the Net,and ATI capture software ONLY installed to keep it a "Clean Machine", Then planning to use the Win 7 PC for faster editing. (Just installed a SSD for "C" drive on Win 7 PC) (Haven't even accomplished any Editing yet, still learning!) But as I'm finally setting up a real worstation for Capture XP PC, (SEE "BAD ROCKOVIDS" Post)...It looks like I should go ahead and install/use VirtualDub/Womble MPEG Video Wizard/ on XP PC also, for light editing, and use Win 7 PC for any more "demanding"editing tasks...my wokflow has suddenly changed, since adding the 2 ViewSonics, and dumping the "Big TV as a Monitor" Idea!, (Still good for seeing what finished video looks like on a Big TV)?..I will only be able to use one of the 2 ViewSonics for the Win 7 PC, (only 1 DVI out) But both monitors for XP Capture PC (VGA),(there is no HDMI input on the ViewSonics).

An option to consider if you haven't already.

I have installed a BM Intensity Pro card in my Win7 editing machine. It supports SD and HD analog capture, (4:2:2 uncompressed or compressed) including component HD from my STB, and has HDMI output to a large screen HD TV from my NLE (Edius Pro - others are also supported), and I still have dual monitors output to my PC monitors for displaying the NLE editing screens.

A big advantage is one less system (i.e., a legacy XP box) to deal with. The Intensity Pro is one of the named acceptable capture cards elsewhere in this site, is not expensive, and is supported.

Capturing to an eSATA drive on a dedicated capture computer (XP), then moving it to an editing system (Win7 or OS X) is really the ideal solution. That's what I do now.

All restoration is done on quad-core non-capture XP systems.
NLE work on Win7 or OS X.
Encoding can happen on either.

Either have multiple desks, or KVM it to use one monitor/mouse/keybord/speakers.