You won’t get very far in ICT these days without realising the importance of digital video. It is the subject of an initiative by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency and is probably the key ICT development for 2002 and beyond. So it’s not really something you can afford to ignore.

So where should you start? First you need a digital video (DV) camera, which stores information digitally, making it transferable quickly on to a computer and relatively easy to edit. It will also take digital video information both in and out, so you can use the camera to send video into the computer for editing, then export it to create a copy on an ordinary VHS video system if required.

Some cameras also have “analogue in”. This allows you to copy VHS tapes, digitise them, and edit them. Finally, the great thing about digital video is that you can edit and send material back to the camera without losing quality.

The computer you use with a DVcamera should have a FireWire connection (also known as the IEEE 1394 standard) to transfer files quickly, ample memory (at least 128Mb), a capacious hard disk and some form of editing software. Remember, a five-minute video with sound and other effects can eat up about 1Gb of memory on your hard drive.

The clearest and easiest path forward has been carved out by Apple, the company which has long recognised the importance of digital video. All its current machines are equipped to deal with digital video, even coming with free iMovie2 editing software as standard, and prices start around pound;600. Some Apple machines can even create DVDs so you can “burn” your video sequences on to a high-capacity DVD disc for efficient distribution.

Apple can also take you well beyond the basics. Live Channel from Channel Storm, for example, can create a broadcasting studio on your computer. This phenomenal piece of software, reviewed on page 54, enables you to have an entire studio with multiple camera inputs all coded in a program that will fit on to a floppy disc. Live Channel will only work on Apple machines, but the material produced can be viewed on any platform.

So if you want a painless and economical introduction to digital video, get a DV camera and one of the Apple systems - and you’ll be on the road to some exciting technological developments.

The PC world has not been as visionary as Apple, but now both Tiny and Hewlett Packard (Viglen soon) have systems which can handle digital video. However, no educational PC specialist has yet to move in this direction.

The Tiny Home Movie Creator 1500 costs pound;1,399 (inc VAT and delivery) with a Pentium 4 processor (1500 MHz) plus an 80Gb hard drive. The best part is that the JVC Digital Camcorder and MGI digital video editing software are included in the price and there’s also a DVDCD Re-Writer combined drive.

Hewlett Packard has just launched its first digital video PC, the Pavilion 7975. It has a DVD drive you can write to together with Pinnacle Studio editing software - all for pound;1,599.

There are also some DIY options. If you have a relatively new PC with a large hard drive (at least 20Gb) to store video files, then MGI Videowave Suite is certainly worth considering. The package costs just pound;100 and includes the FireWire connectors that you will have to install into your machine, plus the software for editing. A FireWire cable linking the computer to the camera to flow the video along is also part of the package. It is not difficult to install the card - just take off the cover and slot it in. Then, theoretically, you will be able to do most if not all of the things you can with Apple DV technology.

DV cameras are getting smarter and cheaper. Those that shoot short bursts of video, up to two minutes long, are the most economical and can be great for use in education where you are teaching techniques and so don’t necessarily need long videos. The latest Sony Mavica camera will record a video sequence lasting a minute.

Small video cameras, at around pound;100, are available from TAG Learning. TAG will be distributing the Intel Pocket PC Camera until March - this small digital camera can also act as a Web camera and can take up to two minutes of video. And the latest Microsoft operating systems, ME and XP, now have basic video editing capability built in.

Apple Computer BETT stands: E34 amp; F34 www.apple.comukeducation

Sony Broadcast and Professional BETTstand: Q25 http:www.sonymavica.co.uktell.htm

Tiny Professional Systems BETT stand: B44 www.tiny.com

Tag Learning BETT stand: F50 www.taglearning.com

Canon BETTstand: A50 www.canon.co.uk

MGI www.mgisoft.com

Hewlett Packard http:welcome.hp.comcountryukengwelcome.htm