I'm looking into editing in Premiere Pro CS4 on a Laptop machine using the Matrox Video for Windows (VFW) software codecs to edit offline. I need to be able to perform multicamera editing with up to 4 cameras and do basic editing on a timeline. We have 2 Axio LE systems at the office and we are setting up a laptop system so that we can edit offline at home. Then when we return to the office we can just bring the project files from the laptop onto a Axio for further editing.

I have a couple of questions such as; what computer should I get with what video card? I know matrox has a few but which one in particular is recommended? I don't just want the minimum requirements. We use M2T files for our editing that only work in matrox projects. Will they work using the VFW codec for CS4? Will I need a separate hard drive for video files, what kind, speed and connection will I need? Firewire, what? I understand what the minimum requirements are but what do you recommend? I absolutely need a video card that can give me some preview out of the computer.

Also with the CS4 license, if I put our existing software on the laptop will we have any authorization problems. Only one of the computers will be in use at a time. Will I have to buy 2 new CS4 to CS5 upgrades when I'm ready to upgrade CS5 or only 1?

Thank you!