question about which G4 to buy for digital vido

[gail weisman]

hi folks,

i'm hoping someone can give me some good solid advice reagarding buying a
new G4 digital video and audio editing and Midi work. i've been a graphic
designer for about 12 years so i'm familiar with designing for print and web
and what i need to do that on my Macs, but i'm CLUELESS about the digital
video thing!

i haven't upgraded in quite some time (don't laugh, i still have a power mac
7500/100) and i'm not sure about:

1. different graphics cards, i.e., Nividia vs. Radeon, etc., also video
in/out options... what exactly do i need or what is best  for digital video
and audio editing?

2. should i get one of the dual boot systems so i can keep using OS 9 which
i'm fairly familiar with (and i've been told is less buggy than OS x) or
should i just get the new system with jaguar and deal with it? is jaguar
better for video?

3. will i need to upgrade anything (besides maybe buying more hard drive
space and RAM) to handle video and audio editing, like sound or video cards
or specific hardware (besides camera)?

4. finally, what's the difference between the lower end G4 and the higher
end ones ... in other words, what exactly do i get for the $500 price
difference between the $1495 model to the $1995 to $2495 models?

any help would be GREATLY appreciated, also, if there are specific monitors
which are better for editing, etc.

thanks!
gail