What do you use for video editing

Hi Guys,

Looking for a little advice. Need to get some machines for Video Editing. Got the PC's spec'd up but am having trouble settling on the software.

Ordinarily I'd use Mac and iMove HD, but the budget only allows for max three new machines and there are already two PC's in use. We (teacher, head and myself) came to the agreement that five working PC's are better than two top spec Macs :(

But what software to use on Windows? I think I've got the list down to three likely candidates...

Sony Vega Movie Studio 9 Standard
Cyberlink Power Director 7
Adobe Premiere Elements 7

Ideally, I'd like something as close to iMovie HD on the Mac in terms of interface, ease of use, and features. Reading .net reviews currently put Elements in the lead - seems to be the closest to iMovie I can find.

Does anyone have experience with any of these programs or suggest other alternatives that I might like to check out?

Cheers

Terry.

Hi there

We use Mac and Windows for video editing.

For Windows we use Adobe Premiere Pro, excellent bit of kit, Adobe Premiere Elements 7 will probably be just as good.

Z

Adobe Premiere Elements 7 is fantastic, I used it to produce a video at exam day, and its used in school by staff and kids to produce some top notch work.

I'd go for Premiere. It's great software and leads in nicely to their professional stuff Premiere Pro, Encore and After Effects. The educational pricing is pretty good.

has anyone got an open source alternative?

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Originally Posted by danIT

has anyone got an open source alternative?

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VirtualDubMod?

If by open source you mean free then Windows Moviemaker.

I use MovieMaker for the simple stuff. Use Premiere when I need to start doing tricky/fancy stuff.

Got a trial of Vegas but it was just a big mess on the screen. Overly complicated layout (for me at least). Didn't find out how powerful it was because couldn't be bothered wasting time trying to get used to the layout.

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Originally Posted by laserblazer

If by open source you mean free then Windows Moviemaker.

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I think you need to brush up on your definition of opensource, it's not even free given the requirement that you must pay for windows!

Some free alternatives:

jahshaka.org - Home

Avidemux.org

http://www.kinodv.org/

http://cinelerra.org/

I use Elements for more professional stuff. Works a treat and I love working with it. Colleague is currently trialling Serif's MoviePlus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CyberNerd

I think you need to brush up on your definition of opensource, it's not even free given the requirement that you must pay for windows!

Some free alternatives:

jahshaka.org - Home

Avidemux.org

Linux Digital Video -

Cinelerra :: a video editor and compositor for Linux

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The OP said this is for a Windows applications and I can't believe he is going to be using less than XP for video editing. So, as he already has Moviemaker it is not going to cost him any more to use it and I would hazard a guess that it is on a par with the free alternatives you have mentioned. I've not used them so I admit I might be wrong there.

I could do with brushing up on a lot of things and I really don't need you telling me that in such an arrogant manner thanks.

After doing some digging, I went for Premiere Elements as being the closest thing to iMovie I could find on a PC. After putting the order in I found some spare licenses for Serif Movie Plus, so they'll have that and Windows Movie Maker as well.

Just can't help feeling a little dirty having to install PC's instead of Mac's for this use :(

Still thanks to all those who replied!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by laserblazer

The OP said this is for a Windows applications and I can't believe he is going to be using less than XP for video editing. So, as he already has Moviemaker it is not going to cost him any more to use it and I would hazard a guess that it is on a par with the free alternatives you have mentioned. I've not used them so I admit I might be wrong there.

I could do with brushing up on a lot of things and I really don't need you telling me that in such an arrogant manner thanks.

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You twisted this out of context.
DanIT was asking specifically for an opensource alternative - not the OP.


The Open Source Definition (Annotated) | Open Source Initiative

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CyberNerd

You twisted this out of context.
DanIT was asking specifically for an opensource alternative - not the OP.


The Open Source Definition (Annotated) | Open Source Initiative

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My mistake, I need to brush up on my usernames as well but you still need to brush up on your bedside manner :) IMHO that is.

Ok. Sorry. I'll try and be polite in future
XXX