Well, there are many options depending on what you want to be able to do, HD, DVD authoring and so on. And how much do you want to spend? I can make a few recommendations. Stay away from Pinnacle Studio, even though Avid has purchased Pinnacle it is still very buggy. I would recommend Adobe Premier Elements for a beginner. It's got alot for the price and the new version 3.0 even does HD. For a little more money you could go with Vegas Video + DVD which is great for the price. For even more you could go with Avid Xpress. Check the system specs. before you buy.