numerous people (including me) have commented on the amount of time compressing and downloading via Pando take.  yep.  its true.  here are a couple simple suggestions for work flow...

• compressing:  use the batch function of MPEG Streamclip.   That way you can build a batch of files to convert to MPEG 4... and let them compress while you do other things ( or overnight)

• downloading: once you open a Pando package, it may take a while to download - especially if the package is big

• playback: if you are not a digital station (we are not), then you will need to somehow get the files to tape.  my recommendation is to build another batch in MPEG Streamclip and 'export to DV'.  this will also take a while, but you can let it go in the background or overnight.  The alternative is to drop the Mpeg-4 into your editing program (FCP, Premiere, iMovie) and hit render.  This will also take a long time, and you will be able to do less while it is going on.  thats why i prefer the first option.

those are some ideas... got more?  add your comments!