NLE Software choices
 

I know the best way to choose is to try before buying and will work hands-on with each before commiting, but just want to solicit input from users with hands-on experience on the following video/audio softwate combinationa for the PC: Avid Xpress Pro HD & Nuendo, Adobe Pemiere Pro & Audition, Sony Vegas & Sound Forge. What have you found are the pros and cons of each?

You might have better luck asking about XpressPro on the avid forum, and the chances of finding someone with Nuendo and HD as a combination are pretty slim. Most likely they will be cutting on ProTools or ProTools LE. I cut on XpressPro, haven't moved up to HD yet, and don't use a stand alone audio program. Sorry.

My personal feeling is Soundforge and Audition are pretty week, BUT they do most people's jobs.

As for an NLE...I'm begining to lean towards Avid Pro just because I want to learn the interface and be able to sit down pretty much anywhere and cut. If you are looking to make things as easy as possible I say Premiere. I cut on premiere daily and I really like it. Vegas, I cut on 5 for about a week...couldn't get really comfortable. I like the output though, the codec seems to be pretty top of the line. I know nothing about Nuendo, sorry.

Thanks - I have access to both the Adobe and Sony offerings so can experiment there but haven't the chance yet for any hands-on with Avid XpressPro. Nuendo was recommended by the folks at Long & McQuade here in Canada for multi-track sound recording, mixing, and editing, general audio post-production and sweetening in others words but again know it and Pro Tools only by name and reputation as top of the line programs but don't have any feedback as to what might justify their considerable higher cost over the Adobe or Sony suites.

you can get Avid DV Free or whatever it is called off of their site after your register. It is VERY simplistic, but gives you a good feel for how the edit system works. It's a bit confusing so I'd watch the tutorials they ahve on the free site...just to get a feel

Again, thanks. Any feelings on Pro Tools and/or Nuendo versus the audio tools with Adobe and Sony?

Pro Tools LE: This is the watered down version of real Pro Tools. If you want the extra with Pro Tools LE, you'll have to pay for it. For example, OMF export from Pro Tools is an extra plug-in that you have to pay for (which is a PITA if you have multiple audio people working on your project). If you're mixing films and have a huge # of tracks (i.e. 30+), Pro Tools LE is a pain because it has limits to the number of tracks you can have. At this price point, I'd look at other options (which are cheaper and will make you just as productive if not more productive).

Avid, Premiere: Both these programs can export OMFs into an audio program. The downside to this is that:
A- It takes time to export and OMF and switch over.
B- If you make picture changes, it'll totally screw up your audio mix.

What's nice about Vegas is that you don't have to waste time switching programs, and you can make picture changes if you need to without too much hassle.


As far as quality goes, they all sound the same if you're using the same plug-ins. All the good plug-ins are generally available for all audio programs, so that's not a big deal.
If you do specialized tasks like MIDI, then there's differences between the programs.
The main difference between audio programs is how productive you are with the tool.

Audio-wise, Vegas is probably your best choice. For weddings, corporate, commercials, etc. everything you need to do can be done in Vegas. You don't even really need Sound Forge.
It's not a big deal which program you go with though. In the end, they all can more or less do the audio tasks you want.
Audition I like because it has a complete tool set, including a noise-reduction plug-in and single-track editor (which Vegas doesn't come with; Sound Forge is the single-track editor). A single-track editor can useful for quickly editing dialogue and doing noise reduction. You may not necessarily need one.

You might want to look at the video side of things since you're likely spending most of your time editing video. Again I'd recommend Vegas here because it is very powerful and fairly stable. But, it depends on what you do (long-form, commercials, music videos, etc.). For long-form, Avid might be a better idea because of its media management.

Thanks Glenn, appreciate the thoughts. Actually I was already pretty much thinking along the same lines. What prompted my question was I was in Long & McQuade yesterday pricing audio interfaces and picking up a new pair of headphones and they were suggesting Nuendo as the audio post-production tool of choice so I thought I'd see what other users here might think who perhaps could shed some hands-on perspective light on the subject.