Video Editing Software

[mickey04]

Just thought that I'd ask those who are familiar with video editing software what they'd recommend. I'm looking for a good program to ask for for Christmas, lets say under $100 to edit some of my old videos (especially Disney) onto the computer. I have a Sony Handycam with Mini DV tapes. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[RU42]

I use Adobe Premier for my editing. Not sure of it's price.

RU

 

[xfkirsten]

Premiere is pretty pricey. However it is also very easy to "find".

I also use MGI Video Wave, but one thing I don't like about it is that it's hard to really visualise the individual clips in order like it is on Premiere. If that makes any sense.

-Kirsten

 

[imagineer99]

Premiere is a good program, but it's also pricey and a little challenging to learn.

In my opinion, I would go with Pinnacle Studio v. 8.0. It's easy to use, under $100 dollars, and can do almost everything that Premiere can do.

Pinnacle has enabled me to edit tons of stuff for school projects and my very own amatuer movies.

Good Luck!

 

[Testtrack321]

The best program is iMove for Mac. Now, you'll have to buy a new computer, but it's worth it IMHO. Plus you can get a new powerful 800mhz G4 iBook for around $1000. 800mhz G4 is around the power of a 1.4 ghz P4.

 

[mickey04]

Nah, dont think I'm gonna get a new computer- especially seeing as how I'll probably get a laptop next year, and I'm not a big Mac fan.

Alright, so just a couple more questions/ comments:

Does the program come with anyway to hook my camcorder up to the computer- or do i not need to do that? It came with a wire for connecting to the ISB port, but it only works with disgital pictures, and not the movies recorded on tape.

Also, I am interested in eventually putting these on DVD. I am assuming these programs allow you to do that? :veryconfu

Sorry if these are stupid questions. As you can probably tell I'm not exactly a computer genius.

 

[PrincessAli]

Originally posted by imagineer99
Premiere is a good program, but it's also pricey and a little challenging to learn.

In my opinion, I would go with Pinnacle Studio v. 8.0. It's easy to use, under $100 dollars, and can do almost everything that Premiere can do.

Pinnacle has enabled me to edit tons of stuff for school projects and my very own amatuer movies.

Good Luck!

I use Pinnacle as well, I got it in a package with my video camera when I bought it last summer. It's fairly easy to use. And it's an easy find at a Best Buy.

I don't remember if it came with the cable or if I had to buy that too.

And to record onto DVD's you need a DVD burner or recorder but I'm fairly sure you can still use any program to edit.

 

[mkt]

Originally posted by Testtrack321
The best program is iMove for Mac. Now, you'll have to buy a new computer, but it's worth it IMHO. Plus you can get a new powerful 800mhz G4 iBook for around $1000. 800mhz G4 is around the power of a 1.4 ghz P4.

bah.. Mac.

Get a real computer.

 

[imagineer99]

Originally posted by mickey04
Nah, dont think I'm gonna get a new computer- especially seeing as how I'll probably get a laptop next year, and I'm not a big Mac fan.

Alright, so just a couple more questions/ comments:

Does the program come with anyway to hook my camcorder up to the computer- or do i not need to do that? It came with a wire for connecting to the ISB port, but it only works with disgital pictures, and not the movies recorded on tape.

Also, I am interested in eventually putting these on DVD. I am assuming these programs allow you to do that? :veryconfu

Sorry if these are stupid questions. As you can probably tell I'm not exactly a computer genius.

Yes, Pinnacle does come with both a Firewire cable and IE 1394 card (if your computer doesn't already have it). So your digital camcorder can eaisly plug in to your computer for video transfer.

Pinnacle does offer several ways to output your finished video project. You can output back on to tape, turn your project into an AVI File, and you can also output to DVD.

However, in order to do this you need to have a DVD burner (which I have). DVD's are really cool. You can even create your menus and scene selections so it looks really professional.

Remember that if you are planning to do a lot of editing, make sure your computer has the memory and processor to support it!

Hope this helps.

 

[Testtrack321]

Originally posted by mkt
bah.. Mac.

Get a real computer.

Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't hear you over you installing more critical Windows updates so your system isn't hacked or crash.... :wave:

Also, I'm going to the Panther launch tonight, so ta-ta!

 

[mickey04]

I have a CD burner with a DVD drive on my computer. Will I be able to make DVDs or do you have to have a special "DVD burner"?

 

[RU42]

A DVD player is not necessarily a burner. You must have a DVD Burner.

Now - on the good side is that a CD Burner will allow you to create VCD/SVCD formatted files and those can be played in DVD players. And with a little experience you can make some very nice looking files.

More info can be found at:
http://www.vcdhelp.com

RU

 

[mkt]

Originally posted by Testtrack321
Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't hear you over you installing more critical Windows updates so your system isn't hacked or crash.... :wave:

I'm sorry.. I can't hear you while I use my variety of applications...

and yeah.... I have every port blocked unless I allow it (ex- IM)...

I'm telling you though... Mac has one thing I don't have...

a cool logo.

 

[Testtrack321]

Originally posted by mkt
I'm sorry.. I can't hear you while I use my variety of applications...

Yeah, like all those Trojans and e-mail viruses? All I ever need, games, other apps, I all run on my Mac. Have fun MKT. Don't let the fatal windows error bite!

 

[Chris Lang]

If you're running Windows XP (or going to get it with your new laptop), Windows Movie Maker is actually a pretty decent program (but you need to upgrade to version 2 online). It's a very underrated program with a lot of features. It's not Adobe Premiere, but it's also free. (but it only runs on Windows XP because of the new technology it utilizes).

- Chris Lang

 

[imagineer99]

Originally posted by Chris Lang
If you're running Windows XP (or going to get it with your new laptop), Windows Movie Maker is actually a pretty decent program (but you need to upgrade to version 2 online). It's a very underrated program with a lot of features. It's not Adobe Premiere, but it's also free. (but it only runs on Windows XP because of the new technology it utilizes).

Thats true. However, Movie Maker lacks a lot of features. First, the version that comes with XP cannot even output movies on to tape. If you even want to see your movie in a format beyond your computer (i.e. tape/DVD), you need to download a new beta 2 version of Movie Maker from Microsofts website. The beta version is very buggy, so you never know when you will run into problems.

However, if you just want to add simple transitions and the like, movie maker is not a bad program. Remember, its free so don't expect too much.

 

[Blizz]

Well when I do editing in the studio I use the "editors" (black boxes running editing software and hooked up to Panosonic DV Players/Recoders).

I also use Adobe but I am not a fan of it.

At home I use Sonic Foundry's Vegas Video. Its nice software and it can handle green screen and has some CG effects. Its not as expensive as Adobe (and IMO, Adobe is not really great at making non-photo editing software).

There are tons of good ones out there and to pull off cool effects, but hands down the best out there is Final Cut Pro for the Mac platform. To run it correctly you need like a PowerMac G5 with close to 500 GB of hard drive room (to store video files) and 8GB of memory. So i will guess you wont be editing like the Coen Brothers.

 

[mkt]

Originally posted by Testtrack321
Yeah, like all those Trojans and e-mail viruses? All I ever need, games, other apps, I all run on my Mac. Have fun MKT. Don't let the fatal windows error bite!

haven't gotten one to date...

however, I have managed to get a Mac to start with a frown instead of a smile

 

[Testtrack321]

Ah, one of the many Mac rumors that isn't true. Sure, there arn't 800000 freeware apps, but 99% of the apps I need are on the Mac. Oh well, to his their own....

 

[DisneyJedi]

I use VirtualDub (www.virtualdub.org) which is completely free and has a bunch of free plugin filters. Since I am mostly archiving TV shows and tapes, it works for me. I compress alot of my stuff to divx avi. Sometimes I use the logo filter to superimpose my own logos on my videos. I guess with the right filters, anything you can do in the expensive editing apps can be replicated in Virtualdub, except compressing to SVCD (which may be possible witht he right plugin). I am not sure if there are plugins for whipes and fades and other jazzy effects, but maybe. It's a very simple program to use once you tinker a little while. I know some people don't like divx cause of the difficulty playing them back ont he TV displayer, but there are a couple ways around it:
1) build a home theater PC (my option)
2) Get a hacked XBox that is chipped to play videos (suppossedly the wonder video playback device, can handle anything)
3) Wait for more DVD players to support divx files. A few do already (KISS-enabled). It's just a matter of time. I figure I save space now and burn shows in great quality to free-after-rebate CDRs, someday I will have easier access to play them back on the TV.