first time cider questions

So I plan on making a cider for the first time today and I just had a couple of quick questions....sorry if they have been answered already on this forum
I have read that it is important to dissolve the campden tablets in the cider and let it sit for some time. Is this necessesary, if so how long should i leave it for?
Also, I will be using dry champagne yeasts, and the guy at the store said i could just pitch it directly on the cider. Do you guys pitch yeast directly or make a starter?
any other advice or input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks peoples!

It's good to let the cider and the campden tablets sit for 12-24 hours before adding the yeast. That way, wild yeast and bacteria are killed, but some of the sulfite has disapated before you add your cider/wine yeast. I just sprinkle it on, usually, unless I'm making a very acidic must or something that is higher gravity. For cider (just cider and yeast), sprinkling is fine.

thanks for the quick response!

yooper the brewmistress is a seasoned vet - I am not, but two things I might share with you that she neglected to mention
if your juice/cider is a commercialy bottled product ( Ie: martinellis, treetop, santa cruz, etc.) the product was pasturized when it was bottled -
- no need to put campden tablets in it ( unless for some strange reason you decided to taste the juice first, opened it and took a swig straight from the bottle - EVEN IF YOU BRUSHED AND FLOSSED FIRST )

if it is a fresh press juice right off the farm or roadside stand or healthfood store or other unpasturized fresh juice (and now since the odwalla fiasco of the mid 90's unpasturized juice products sold in stores must be labled as such) then yes, for best results you'll want to put some campden tablets in it, as Yooper points out.

the other thing I want to mention is: while yes, you can just add the dry yeast to your juice and get the desired result it may be a good idea to proof it first to make sure your yeastie beasties are alive and ready to kick sugar butt and poop plenty of sweet, live giving alchohol. the yeast packet will have instructions on how to proof your yeast ( generally you re hydrate with some warm 100* F water and a little sugar and let it stand for 20 minutes or so - if it foams up a little and smells yeasty then it's alive - and time pour the little killers in to do the gods' work.

thanks for the advice! two more questions. I already added the camden tablets to the cider so too late for that, so i figure ill let it sit til tomorrow anyway since i already added the stuff just to make sure all the wild yeasties are dead. However, the guy at my LHBS recomended i add some yeast nutrient when i pitch my yeast....makes sense to me but is this a good idea? Also, should i attempt to aerate the cider as i would with an ale before pitching the yeast? i assume oxygen is just as important for cider as it is for beer. thanks again.