Have you checked out the Dream machine by brother, its fantastic. You can scan a design into it and the machine will digitize it, you can also watch DVD's on it. The best place to buy any machine is an event or show. I just saw the Dream machine at an Anita Goodesign this weekend. I have the Viking Diamond Deluxe and it is a great machine. No matter what you buy you should test them out and make sure the dealer is a good one and has good policies in place for classes, fixing it helping you with learning curves, etc. customer service is key