Render to a series of image files whenever possible. I recommend .tga files, as they are cross platform, can contain alpha channels, and do not discard information like lossy formats do. .bmp files are also good, if you are on a Windows system and do not need alpha channels. This way, you do not lose work when a render crashes late into an animation (and believe me, such things happen all too often). Additionally, the image files can then be easily loaded and tweaked in Photoshop if you like. Image sequences can also be loaded directly into compositing programs like After Effects, or video editors like Premiere, and then output as various video formats like .avi, .mpeg, .mov, etc., using a variety of codecs. I am not familiar with Pinnacle Studio 7, so I can't tell you anything about it's capabilities in this regard. I hope this helps you out a bit.