Editing Software
 

Hello everyone!

I recently purchased a Panasonic DV953 and I am new to video. I am looking for recommendations for a good, consumer friendly editing package. I have had people recommend Pinnacle Studio 9 and Sony Screenblast 3. Now I have downloaded the trial for the Sony software and it looks pretty good however I have read several reviews for Pinnacle 9 and it has some additional features that may be nice (video stabilization, integrated DVD authoring and burning).

My main goal is to take video (family gatherings, vacations, car shows,etc) then burn to a DVD for posperity. I don't want to start any flame wars on software, just looking for people's opinions who are using either of these two packages.

Thanks!
-Jeff

Jeff,

I have been running with Studio 8 for the last 6 months. It is a good home movie product, but I am starting to reach its limitations as relates to capture size and the like. So product use in the future for you will be key. Also, as I am finding out now, software will mean nothing if you computer does not have the memory or the processor speed to run it. Good luck and enjoy your new equipment.

Peace,

Joe

Start with Sony Screenblast then as soon as you reach its limitations you can take all of your newly learned skills and use them in an upgrade to vegas.

Thanks for the replies!

I'm not too worried about hardware. I am planning to buy a new Gateway 710X system after I get my bonus at the end of April. Unless the config changes by then, it will have 3.2Ghz P4, 1GB RAM, 160GB SATA drive (I plan to add another for video editing), firewire port, 19" LCD and DVD burner.

I have heard that Vegas is very good and very popular however I don't see me spending over $500 for editing software but I guess I can never say never. :)

-Jeff

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Trainer : I have heard that Vegas is very good and very popular however I don't see me spending over $500 for editing software but I guess I can never say never. :)

-Jeff -->>>

That's why I suggested starting with Screenblast. It has the same layout and logic as Vegas. Then when you're ready to upgrade, all of your learned knowledge will transfer as well. And, once you start hitting limitations, you WILL want to upgrade.

I started editing with Studio 7, which I found intuitive and easy to use, but quite powerful. It was, in many ways, comparable to Adobe Premiere (then 6.0) -- there was little I could do in the latter that couldn't be done in the former. Once I outgrew Studio 7, the transition to Premiere was relatively painless, and the learning curve manageable.

There are a lot of Vegas fans on this website, but I've been a Premiere user from the beginning and see absolutely no reason to use anything else. In it's latest iteration, Premiere Pro is stable, incredibly powerful, and probably supports more plug-ins and add-ons than anything else for PC.

Keep in mind, there IS a demo now available for Studio 9. I would recommend giving it a try. Not only does it offer the features that you've mentioned as well as color correction and more, but it also supports plugins AND the users have already been developing plugins for it which are freely downloadable, including, mirroring the image, reverse play (video plays backwards), multi window effects and much more, all of which are completely "tweakable". That's pretty good for an editor readily available for less than $100. In fact I think with rebate it can be gotten now for only $80 or less.

Try the demo and see what YOU like.

You should also look at the entry-level Canopus products. The editing software is rock-solid and you can get it with a PCI card if you want realtime editing. Starts at $150 list for the sofware if you have a firewire port. $350 if you want a PCI card to do realtime work.

Canopus Codecs are still the best in the business and the software runs very fast. You can cut a movie on it if you want.

Upgrades include Premiere if you ever want it.

The nice thing about Canopus is the stability of the product line, the good and long-term support.

I'm running a DVRexRT that I bought 6 years ago and just downloaded their upgrades (all for free on the basic system) and have only paid more $ for serious upgrades like their new Edius editing software.

http://www.canopus.us/US/products/Le..._lets_EDIT.asp

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Right now I am working with the trial versions of screenblast and pinnacle 9 (finally found it). I appreciate everyone's feedback so far!

-Jeff

$500...
 

If you're going to spend that much ya might as well go all da way and pick up avid express.... there's a free version you can try out on the avid site... you're limited to only two tracks of video... but you get the feel for the interface... also, if you are even remotely interested in video as a career, avid is still the gold standard (apologies to all the FCP users, but its a PC forum... so its not an option :)...)