Good Video Editing Software

[leeland]

I have a butt load of home movies (of the kids not the paris hiton kind ) that I want to start putting on DVD's....

What is a good program to use? Not looking to break the bank but something that is user friendly and has some cool options and functionality to it?

 

[Schadenfroh]

Leeland Palmer? Hope these links can help you:

Video editing software?
What's a good movie editing software
easy video editing software
Video editing
What video editing/movie making software for beginners?
Best video editing software?
Video editing 2
Free video-editing software?
Looking for some video editing and conversion software
Video editing software that's like iMovie?
Please recommend video editing software
Best (free) video-editing software?
Good video editting software for pcs?

 

[Trevelyan]

I vote for Sony Vegas

 

[Rottie]

Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing (output is fairly ok)
Adobe Encore DVD or Nero Vision (under Nero Burning ROM) for authoring DVD
Alive Converter for video to convert to divx, avi, mpeg 1 to 4
that is all i do for learning purpose

 

[AnitaPeterson]

rottie, no offense, but the Adobe titles you mention are ANYTHING BUT user-friendly... and they have a steep learning curve.

For a couple of years now, I've been using Ulead (nowadays Corel) Video Studio - there's something about its intuitive interface that I really like. I progressed from version 4 to version 11, and it keeps getting better...

I've also heard good things about CyberLink PowerDirector.

Leeland (as Schandenfroh said, this name inevitably reminds me of Twin Peaks), your best bet is to browse this list and look at several products, see how they're rated, and what other people say about them... most, if not all, offer free trials:
http://www.videohelp.com/tools...video-editors-advanced

One word of advice: AVOID Pinnacle products like the plague, they have a nasty habit of installing themselves all over your system, eat lots of resources, and uninstalling them is a nightmare. I speak from experience.

 

[Evander]

I can't find info on the english version version but i recommend TMPGENC DVD EASY PACK:
http://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/ja/product/te_dep2.html

It has the essential functionality of 3 of their products (editing, encoding, dvd authoring) at one low price. I have the japanese version of the "easy pack 1", now they have the easy pack 2. I know there was an english version of the easy pack 1, it was under a different name I think and for some reason it's hard to find info on it. You might want to email them to see if they made an english version of the new pack, it's a very good value

 

[Wheezer]

I suggest a good DVD recorder. I do a lot of transfers and I can tell you it will save you a lot of time a grief. The first step to capturing to a PC can be the hardest due to audio/video sync issues. Depending on your set up, hardware, software the quality of your VHS.

Am I saying you will have them? No.

But I can tell you that with a good DVD recorder eliminates that risk all together.

Once they are transferred there are a ton of options out there for DVD authoring, I suggest TMPGEnc DVD Author. You can use the new 3 or if you can locate it the 1.6.

I tried the 3 and found the user interface a pain and switched back to 1.6.

If you have any experience with Photoshop menu creation is a breeze and fun.
(I have a template I use with the TV safe areas already mapped out)



edit I currently have a Pioneer DVD recorder that has been great...unfortunately they do not make this model any more and the only one Pioneer makes is like 400-500 bucks.

I did find this: Toshiba D-R550
it is a DVD recorder, 1080p upconverting dvd player, has firewire input AND plays Divx. If mine ever dies, I will probably get this. (only $199)

Quality DVD recorders:
Pioneer
JVC
Toshiba
Lite-on

 

[aurareturn]

Another vote for Ulead. It's very very easy to use.

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
rottie, no offense, but the Adobe titles you mention are ANYTHING BUT user-friendly... and they have a steep learning curve.

you are correct but it is fun while you learn. I have read a lot of books about Premiere v6.5 to Pro 2.0. I haven't tried export movie until Pro 2.0

Maybe Adobe Premiere Element (lite version) could be easier?

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Actually, Wheezer is right... OP hasn't told us if the clips are already digitized, and how exactly he'd be accomplishing this process...

Leeland, if you don't have a GOOD capture device (a dedicated tuner with hardware encoding, a good Radeon All-in-Wonder card, or something like ADS InstantDVD), along with a decent (as in "fast and spacious") computer configuration, your best bet - for simplicity's sake - is, indeed, buying a dedicated standalone DVD recorder.

After you record the video in MPEG2 format, you can play with it as much as you like.

Be forewarned, though, that there are *only* a couple of applications that allow you to edit MPEG video WITHOUT re-encoding it - which is notoriously difficult, as audio/video gets de-synchronized really quick. I use VideoReDo... the other program I know to do this correctly is Womble MPEG Video Wizard.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[leeland]

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
Actually, Wheezer is right... OP hasn't told us if the clips are already digitized, and how exactly he'd be accomplishing this process...

Leeland, if you don't have a GOOD capture device (a dedicated tuner with hardware encoding, a good Radeon All-in-Wonder card, or something like ADS InstantDVD), along with a decent (as in "fast and spacious") computer configuration, your best bet - for simplicity's sake - is, indeed, buying a dedicated standalone DVD recorder.

After you record the video in MPEG2 format, you can play with it as much as you like.

Be forewarned, though, that there are *only* a couple of applications that allow you to edit MPEG video WITHOUT re-encoding it - which is notoriously difficult, as audio/video gets de-synchronized really quick. I use VideoReDo... the other program I know to do this correctly is Womble MPEG Video Wizard.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

I guess I was a little obtuse when I first posted...I should have said that I have all these home movies on Mini DV tapes so all I have to do is plug in the Camcorder into the firewire and let the application of choice do the transfer (at least I think that is how it will work)

I have worked with a couple of video editing apps such as Adobe premier back a couple years ago and one of the other posters was correct...I think I spend somewhere around 6 hours trying figure out basic functions

So anything that is general and has good video quality is all I am looking for...


and if it has some cool options and transitions that would be a bonus...


I will spend some time looking through the links provided...thanks guys!

Leeland

 

[Fayd]

i make videos in lineage 2, for pvp recording and whatnot.

for recording them, i use fraps.

for compressing them for uploading, i use some free utility i cant remember anymore.

for compression and editing of the final production, i use sony vegas.

it works very well for what i use it for.

 

[Blain]

For simple editing of mpeg's, Womble mpeg-VCR is fantastic!
It's very easy to get up and running fast. It's got 9 transitions and only costs $35.
The transitions are...
Wipe Horizontal
Wipe Vertical
Wipe Rotate
Blend
Zoom Circle
Keying Title Image
Color Keying Image
Beginning Fade
Ending Fade

Remember, in video editing, sometimes less is more.
Womble offers a free trial period, so check it out.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Looks like new info is being added.

Thanks, Blaine, for the software suggestion!

Leeland, if you can import digitally over FireWire from your camcorder into your computer, you're sitting pretty. Just remember that each hour of uncompressed .AVI is about 13 GB. Most video editors these days (Ulead, Vegas etc.) will do a great job in capturing, re-aligning clips, adding transitions, changing the sound, adding commentaries and so on, then will 2-pass encode everything to DVD-compliant MPEG2 (with Dolby Digital sound, no less!)

Look for a little Java utility called "Bitrate calculator", which will give you really precise bitrate advice for different lengths of video...

 

[Wheezer]

Go here that forum should help answer just about any questions you have.

My vote still is for a good DVD recorder with Firewire input....it is idiot proof the first time and once the disk is finalized you can do what you want with menus and the order of things etc.

just my .02

Edit: toshiba has a model similar to the one I posted earlier, but it is only$149 at Amazon. (Toshiba D-R400) the only difference between the 2 is that this does not have a TV tuner built in. It does have a Firewire port on the front.

Link