| How do I find the right Video Editing Software? This is often times much easier than you might think. There are dozens of video editing application on the market, from consumer to professional, in a variety of price ranges. Before you can find the right program to edit your home movies you will first need to answer some specific questions about your computer system, camcorder, and what format any existing movies might be in or what they are currently stored on. 1.) Computer System Questions A) What are the primary specs of your current system? 1) Processor 2) RAM 3) Hard Drive(s) 4) Video Card and memory 5) Audio Card 6) DVD Burner These specs will help us to narrow down the search by finding software that will work on your current system. B) Are you planning to purchase a new computer for video editing? If you are planning to purchase a new system, you can look for one that meets the requirements for the software you choose. 2.) Camcorder Questions A) What type of camcorder do you have? 1) VHS 2) VHS-C 3) MiniDV 4) Hard Drive 5) DVD 6) Other Depending on your type of camcorder the editing software will be limited to what works well with that type. Also, additional hardware may be required for VHS and VHS-C camcorders; like a digital converter. B) Are you planning on purchasing a new camcorder? If you are planning on purchasing a new camcorder you can look for the software that will work best with that type. C) Maybe you only have a digital camera? 3.) Existing Video Questions A) Do you have existing home movies that you want to edit and transfer to DVD? B) Do you have existing movies on DVD that you would like to edit and put back on DVD? C) What format are the existing movies in or what are they stored on? 1) VHS Tape 2) VHS-C Tape 3) Beta Tape 4) Laser Disc 5) DV Tape 6) 8mm 7) 16mm 8) DVD a) mpeg .vob files 9) Hard Drive a) AVI b) MPEG c) MOV d) WMV e) Other The answers to these questions will help to determine the right editing software, programs generally work best with one particular format. Now, after answering the questions we can get down to what it is that you really want to accomplish. It is time to make a decision on what type of movies you want to create. After you gather that information, and combine it with what you have learned above, you will be ready to make an educated decision on what software to use in creating your feature films. 4.) Different Types of Videos A) Slide Shows B) Music Videos C) Home Movies D) Documentaries E) Mini Feature Films F) Sporting Events G) Weddings and Special Events H) Something I haven’t thought of (Other) Believe it or not, you could use a different editing program for each of the above. If you choose the editing program for what it does best, you could easily be doing each project in a different application and that is not very practical. Just considering the time it would take to learn them all would be astronomical. What you want to look for is the application that will do everything you need it to do, but does what you do the most better than all of the rest. Here is a list of some of the available editing tools (for Windows) with links to help you decide. For video editing with a Digital Camcorder I cannot recommend anything more than Premiere Elements. For editing primarily from a capture card or USB device and MPEG files, I recommend Sonic MyDVD. For simple Slide Show creation, I recommend Photoshop Elements 4. Those are my recommendations, now you take a look and decide for yourself what will be the best for you! ( You may notice that Pinnacle Studio is not in the list at all, I could not recommend that software to my worst enemy, sorry.) Here is a good article on why it is better to work in the DV format rather than MPEG http://tangentsoft.net/video/mpeg/edit.html Windows Movie Maker – Free Free software from Microsoft that is actually quite good. Even if you don’t use this as your primary editing tool it will come in handy for a number of things. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1681494,00.asp http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx Photoshop Elements 4 - $99 USD A very good tool for simple slide show creation and the best digital imaging/graphics software around. This is another tool that can be useful no matter what editing software you have. http://reviews.cnet.com/Adobe_Photoshop_Elements_4/4505-3634_7-31515402.html http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1863363,00.asp http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pixelbased/gr/pselements.htm http://store.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/main.html Premiere Elements 2 - $99 USD My pick for best DV Editing Software, in my opinion there is no other product with as much functionality and stability within $100s of dollars. http://store.adobe.com/products/premiereel/main.html http://store.adobe.com/products/premiereel/reviews.html http://reviews.cnet.com/Adobe_Premiere_Elements_2/4505-3670_7-31515394.html http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,123239,00.asp (A Rating of 90 – Superior) Sonic/Roxio MyDVD 8 Premier – $70 USD This is my second choice, especially if you are using mpeg files for editing. http://www.sonic.com/products/Consumer/MyDVD/default.aspx http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=16394 http://www.sonic.com/products/Consumer/MyDVD/StudioDeluxe/quicklook.aspx Ulead Movie Factory 4 - $45 USD http://reviews.cnet.com/Ulead_DVD_MovieFactory_4_0/4505-3668_7-31343275.html http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1782063,00.asp http://www.itp.net/reviews/details.php?id=2583 http://www.ulead.com/dmf/runme.htm Ulead VideoStudio 9 - $82 USD http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2C1895%2C1784941%2C00.asp#memberratings http://www.ulead.com/vs/reviews.htm http://www.cnet.com.au/software/music/0,39025669,40054846,00.htm?type=pop http://www.dvformat.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=32374 http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/articles/story_2802.html Cyberlink PowerDirector 5 - $80 USD http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/powerdirector-review.html http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000A3ZLHE/103-0061348-4108652?v=glance http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/products/awards_4_ENU.html http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t121938.html http://www.cdrinfo.com/forum/tm.asp?m=126266&mpage=1𞴺 Magix Movie Edit Pro 10 - $50 USD http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1777473,00.asp http://www.daytrum.com/pctechnology/videoediting/052305magixmovieeditpro.htm http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/articles/story_2858.html http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews82863.html http://www.videoforums.co.uk/reviews/software_reviews/p2_articleid/64 http://audiovideo.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=32265 http://site.magix.net/index.php?16535 Video Edit Magic 4 - $70 USD http://www.deskshare.com/vem.aspx http://www.webattack.com/get/videoedit.html http://www.download.com/3000-2194-10145900.html http://www.infopackets.com http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Video_Edit_Magic/1043839116/1 Avid Express DV 4 - $395 http://products.consumerguide.com/reviews/product.epub?productId=29493 http://www.cwol.com/software/avid-xpress-dv.htm http://videosystems.com/mag/video_avid_xpress_dv_3/index.html http://www.videoguys.com/XpressDV.html http://www.avid.com/products/xpressdv/ Nova Video Explosion Deluxe - $38 USD If you can find a copy this is really a decent software package for starters. http://www.internetvideomag.com/articles2002/NovaVideoExplosion.htm http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005UV54/103-0061348-4108652?v=glance http://www.novadevelopment.com/Products/productinfo.aspx?productcode=vew§ionID=18 Sony Vegas Movie Studio + DVD Platinum Edition - $95 USD http://www.cyber-aspect.com/sreviews/vegas_studio.htm http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002QNDKG/103-0061348-4108652?v=glance http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/showproduct.asp?pid=977 http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php?id=55502690 http://reviews.cnet.com/Vegas_Movie_Studio_DVD/4505-3670_7-31520625.html Roxio Easy Media Creator 8.0 - $75 USD http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1886703,00.asp http://reviews.cnet.com/Roxio_Easy_Media_Creator_8/4505-3669_7-31554137.html http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review.php?reviewId=1373 http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=41041 http://www.roxio.com/en/products/emc/index.jhtml Nero 7 Ultra Edition - $72 USD http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1886699,00.asp http://ww2.nero.com/enu/index.html http://www.techgage.com/review.php?id=4055 http://www.cdr-zone.com/reviews/dvd_software_reviews/nero_7_review_page_1.html http://stores.tomshardware.com/rating_getprodrev.php/product_id=12763951/id_type=M// Muvee AutoProducer 5 - $100 USD http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1909940,00.asp http://reviews.cnet.com/muvee_autoProducer_5/4505-3669_7-31636330.html http://audiovideo.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=36749 http://www.muvee.com/website/ap5.php Another good source for reviews, if not listed, is Amazon.com I hope all of this information is helpful. If you have additional questions, or questions about specific editing software visit the Adobe Premiere Elements User Forum. Most of the users there have had experience with many of these titles (and still use some of them in addition to Premiere Elements) at some point and will be happy to answer your questions. Thanks for taking the time to visit videoinasnap.com and chuckengels.com |
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