64-bit - is it worth it?

[Hans Fugal]

I have an AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 2800+ (VIA mobo if that matters). 
I've almost always just run 32-bit on it because I haven't been in the 
mood to deal with the inevitable issues with 64-bit, and I haven't had a 
compelling reason to do so.

But I'm considering switching to 64-bit when I upgrade to the next 
version of Ubuntu, Real Soon Now™. The reason is that I think it might 
be a substantial enhancement when it comes to transcoding large video 
files (i.e. HDTV - I don't have an HDTV and even if I did I'm not nuts 
enough about quality to want to allocate 9GB/hr).

I know many of you have been riding the 64-bit wave for some time now. 
What are the remaining pitfalls? Will I be constantly fighting with 
software to get it to run? This is primarily my wife's desktop computer, 
and she primarily does web, email, and OOo.

Also, am I right in thinking it would help in video transcoding? I know 
that theoretically it should, but does it in practice with current software?

-- 
Hans Fugal ; http://hans.fugal.net

There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the
right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
     -- Johann Sebastian Bach