Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

video-editing for PCs made simple?

3K views 31 replies 15 participants last post by  Uncle Six Pack 
#1 ·
hi all,

i’m new to video editing and am currently using windows movie maker. i’m having fun editing a couple of small clips and putting together a series of related pics into one video but am already seeing the limitations of the program. one being i cannot seem to find a way to specify the location of the text – it always places it in the middle of the photo/clip.
any of you that use WMM offer any help?

to the rest of PC users that are not professionals, what editing software do you use? why did you chose it? is it easy to use and learn?

any help/input will be gr8ly appreciated.

ms K

ps: i would post this in the video forum but have noticed that not as many people hang in there as they do here. ;)
 
#2 ·
Adobe Premiere Elements for PC use. I think it retails around $100. Not as full featured as Premiere which I used in school, but good comprimise for home use.

I'm a linux user, Kino works great for simple projects. There's other open-source software out there that is more powerful but requires more skill to use.
 
#3 ·
Seconded. Before we switched to mac (best move we ever made), we bought licenses of a few high-end video apps. I'd have to look them up to recall... but the one we settled on was Premiere. & at a hundred bucks, you're not going to do better than Elements.

Final Cut Studio 2 though, on a Mac Pro... is nice.
 
#4 ·
thanks guys

i'm somewhat confused and overwhelmed. i went to amazon.com and read the reviews on element and most of them are really bad.

however corel/ulead videostudio 11.5+ has 4 and 5 stars from almost everybody.
darn, now i have a headache...
 
#5 ·
I use Premiere Elements. I'm on version 3. I haven't had any issues. It has some minor quirks,
but I've learned to work around these.

It is so full of features that I have yet to try many things.

I've been over the top on this video stuff, and Premiere Elements is more than good enough.

You need to make sure that your system is "capable". It's 2008. Use the right computer.
That means one with the right front side bus, cpu, memory, drives, etc. Newer, faster, wider.
More is better.

Go to video guys dot com for more info.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I haven't read the reviews on Amazon, but I would be suspect of them. Like EvilPatrick said, you need the right computer for editing video and it's hard to say what someone uses when they have a bad experience. I've used many of the Adobe / Macromedia products and they can have a steep learning curve. Once you get used to it, they are great pieces of software. If you can wait, Adobe's website says a trial of Premiere Elements will be available on July 1. Download it and give it a shot before you fork out some cash.

Edit: Hot Black - you can't beat Final Cut or the Avid products, but they're a little hard to learn.
 
#7 ·
I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum. Amazon has it for $85.99.
I like it and think it is pretty easy to use. You can put text wherever you want. Easy to add video, splice video together, insert audio, transition from one scene to another, create slow motion/fast forward, add filter and special effects.

I got it because I saw someone else's video that used that software, it was in my disposable income limit.

The one thing I would like it to do that either it doesn't or I don't have the right add-on or I just can't figure out how to do it is overlay multiple video scenes - so with a fixed camera position you see the same rider in multiple positions on the same - kind of a multiple exposure but in video form.

One other thing I have a problem with it is that I seem to have to pull the video from my camcorder. I would like to be able to take video off a dvd (which I created), but also either it doesn't do it or I don't have the right add-on or I just can't figure out how to do it.

Overall though I really like Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum
 
#9 ·
Lets keep the Mac vs. PC debate out of this. Doesnt matter, a PC can video edit just as good as a PC.

I preffer to use Sony Vegas. It does everything Adobe Premier does, but easier. THere are millions of Tutorial video's on YouTube that show you how do to some amazing things in Sony Vegas.

Its way cheaper than adobe as well.
 
#10 ·
I use Avid Liquid which is soon to be replaced. It is not hard to learn and there is a quick visual pro guide available at Amazon. Also free tutorials are available via torrent.

As far as making sure your computer is capable----consider building a computer. The video guys website gave me the idea. The parts came from new egg. It was not hard at all. mysuperpc and mechbegone were websites that were helpful in knowing what was to come and what to expect. I'd definately recommend going this way and one can build something really decent for between a grand, grnad and a half that is a video editing power house--latest quad core chip, xp pro, raid drives, DR3 memory, huge tower case by Apevia etc.
 
#13 ·
TheSubaruJunkie said:
Lets keep the Mac vs. PC debate out of this. Doesnt matter, a PC can video edit just as good as a PC.

I preffer to use Sony Vegas. It does everything Adobe Premier does, but easier. THere are millions of Tutorial video's on YouTube that show you how do to some amazing things in Sony Vegas.

Its way cheaper than adobe as well.
I didnt mean it to come off as cocky, but I do have to agree with you about 2 things, i love subarus and a PC can video edit just as good as a PC;)
 
#14 ·
Hey K,

For some reason, I think you posted something a while back that you are running MS Vista. I’m hearing Vista is a resource hog, but that also tells me that you prolly have a system that should be able to handle something like Premiere Elements.

I’m running Premiere Elements 4 on my one gig notebook, and I need to be really careful to shut down unused utilities and don’t dare open up anything else. It too, is a big resource hog. But I can still render videos just fine.

That being said, I’m really digging it. I suck at this editing stuff, but I’m having a kick learning about this software. It has way more features than WMM (at least WMM for XP). Premiere is a little more complicate, so the easy things take a little bit to figure out. The learning curve isn’t as steep.

I also like being able to render my files into the H264 format. H264 is a Quicktime format, that has pretty small file size, but still gives you really nice quality.

If you do upgrade, I’d ask some of your buddies what they are using and consider buying the same program, so you can bounce questions off ‘em.

I would also make sure your camera file type is compatible before buying new software.
 
#15 ·
Corel Ulead VideoStudio 11 is my choice. Has a lot of cool features with a pretty easy learning curve. The interface is really user friendly. You can get it for 69.00 off the main site, or try the free trial download. I've used it at work and for my own video editing. Lots of effects and plenty of output options.
 
#17 ·
I wanted to point out that I have been using Adobe Photoshop since version 2.5, which is probably 14+ years. I find myself comfortable with Adobe products in how they work and how to navigate their features.

When I got heavy into video editing, i tried Premier and was completely lost. I couldnt figure out anything, so I took a friends advice and tried Sony Vegas. Its amazing how easy they make things. The layout and the way you interact with your video clips.

I havent tried anything new from Premier in a few years so im not sure if they simplified things... but now im used to Vegas and wont go back.

I also run Vista, but i have 2 gigs of RAM and a quad core at 1333mhz FSB which is pretty zippy. I'm sure im up to par with MAC :thumbsup:
 
#19 ·
well, guys

thank you all for your replies.

first, i just upgraded my computer to one with vista home premium, 3G RAM, intel quad core 6600 @2.46GHz with NVIDIA 8500/512Mb.

my present camera shoots .mov which WMM doesn't read. also, like someone else mentioned, wmm lacks many basic/cool features. SO, i need a program that will take .mov format.

does vegas and premiere? (pardon my ignorancia - i'm a total noob at this!)

u2me2: you say "If you do upgrade, I'd ask some of your buddies what they are using and consider buying the same program, so you can bounce questions off 'em." you mean, move this thread to our AZ forum?
 
#20 ·
what kind of camera are you using if it uses the .mov file format? Thats kinda odd.

Typically when you transfer video from a camcorder to your PC, you stream it in a raw format and save it as a .avi uncompressed. Then you edit it and chose the format in which you want to encode it.

Is this a digital camera that is taking movie clips or something?
 
#21 ·
TheSubaruJunkie said:
what kind of camera are you using if it uses the .mov file format? Thats kinda odd.

Is this a digital camera that is taking movie clips or something?
yes, it's a digital camera and i'm happy with the quality of the video it takes.
for the type of video i'm doing, i don't need to get a camcorder.

do you know if premiere elements of vegas imort/read .mov?
 
#22 ·
MOV is Apple's movie format. Liquid will import it. Not sure about those other programs you mention. However Google should eb able to give the answer you seek.

kaboose said:
yes, it's a digital camera and i'm happy with the quality of the video it takes.
for the type of video i'm doing, i don't need to get a camcorder.

do you know if premiere elements of vegas imort/read .mov?
 
#23 ·
Yeah im not sure if vegas would import it. I'd check, but I haven't reinstalled vegas since my last format.

I dont deal with .mov cause it is an apple proprietary file format, meaning, you almost ALWAYS need special software from Apple to play it.
 
#24 ·
well, i went to the store and found a tutorial book for premiere elements. in it i found that .mov (quick time) IS a format that the program imports.

SO, guess which program i'm buying? ;)
 
#25 ·
TheSubaruJunkie said:
what kind of camera are you using if it uses the .mov file format? Thats kinda odd.

Typically when you transfer video from a camcorder to your PC, you stream it in a raw format and save it as a .avi uncompressed. Then you edit it and chose the format in which you want to encode it.

Is this a digital camera that is taking movie clips or something?
I am reviving this thread because it came up in my search and I am wondering...

When I plug my digital camera into my computer, each picture or video loads very easily and saves as a file...

What should I expect to see happen when I plug in my Sony Handycam? I do not have the USB cord yet, but I was wondering how it works-will it separate clips like the digital camera does, or will it's entire contents just get dumped? What application will launch (on my Macbook)? iPhoto comes up with my camera.

Thanks
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top