video newb needing help with workflow/general video.

being stills only i bought the canon 7d just thinking of using it as a stills camera. the video mode has me intrigued. before i start this is my rig: http://www.provantage.​com/lenovo-7449eku~7LEN90AH.htm i got it for school and photo editing a year ago. for some reason i can bearly play the files from the 7d. the files skip alot. iam not intending to do work with 1080p(would like to give it a try if i find a solution) i am more interested in 780p(i think thats what it is.). i know its the laptop that is underpowered for this but i watch 1080p mkv files just fine. the only way i can get the 7d files to play fine is if i use windows live video editor and have it convert to wmv first.

i got a copy of unlead video studio 11 from a friend to try out. havent installed it yet, i want to get your opinion, before i install any softwere. should i try to edit the video file before converting?
how is this softwere for newb's?
if i have to what softwere should i use to convert the video before editing?
how do you view video info like fps and such?

my concern is keeping quality.

getting a new computer is not an option.

I assume that you drag the .mov file shot on the 7D directly in the editing software.
even the most powerful computer in the world wouldn't be able to play the native clips in real time. The H264 codec is too heavy
You'll have to convert them in another codec more edit-friendly.
DNxHD is a great codec that is used bu Avid,
there's also Cineform Neoscene which has excellent algorithms for realtime playback.
Both are lossless.

So basically:
- download your video file from the 7D
- convert those files using the codec mentioned above
- use the converted file to edit
- export the final video in your preferred format.

Be advised that working and converting the 7D format requires a decent computing power. Be sure to check out the minimum requirements for the codecs on their website

The same concept goes for the 5DII, and the new AVCHD format of certain camcorders..

yah...so its not only my laptop.

how do we convvert to DNxHD or Cineform neoscene?

i dont really want to spend too much with just trying video just yet!

These DSLR video codecs are a **** to edit, you'll need a proxy codec (Cineform etc. or just transcode to uncompressed YUV) or get a better computer.

There is also these breakout boxes which will save your life if you're planning to do more video stuff http://www.matrox.com/​video/en/products/mxo2​_mini/