Vote for my final six... (Software) « Videomaker Community Forums

John
Member

I am just a novice at this that wants to do some family video editing for my son in the military and small private projects. But with all the research I have done on the internet I seem to see bad reviews for just about every Editing Software I have looked at. To a person with limited knowledge such as myself, I have no idea if the bad reviews are just written by a few jilted users, or if they represent the majority. So to make my final decision I was hoping that the knowledgeable people in this forum can help me make my decision by either voting for one of my Final Six, or recommending one of them.

I have just chosen these from my local Best Buy, I have a 32 Bit Lap Top, and I want to have the ability to download from DVD’s to SD Cards, videos may be 30 minutes at the longest.

                In random order…

1)      Adobe Premiere Elements 10

2)      Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum Suite

3)      Cyberlink Power Director 10 Ultra

4)      Roxio Creator Pro 2012

5)      Magix Movie Edit Pro MX

6)      Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Collection 15

Posted 5 months ago #
Al Bykowicz
Member

My choice is Cyberlink

Posted 5 months ago #
Bill Dillon
Member

First time didn't work.

I use Adobe Premiere Elements 8 for my home movies. Rendering takes a long,

long time. Has more features than I'll ever use. I started with Pinnacle Studio

11 and had problems galore. I'll stick with PRE8.

Posted 5 months ago #
vid-e-o-man
Member

John, I started out with Roxio that came with a computer I purchased, I was shooting Digital 8. I upgraded a couple of times and was satisfied. When I swithched to a HD camcorder, I bought Roxio's first HD software and had a lot of problems with it so I tried Sony Movie Studio and have stayed in the Sony family since then. I think that every software has a learning curve, some steeper than others, Once you are familiar with one brand usually upgrading in that brand is relatively easy. Before supchasing some software, I think that it is worthwhile to check to see if the company offers downloads of new builds for your purchase that correct the inevitable bugs found in new software. My suggestion for you would be to see if the type of computer/software that you have includes some sort of video editing software bulit-in. Try using that to start and as your experience and skil improves you will be looking for something with more features. I hope that this helps and good luck on your videos. Keep shooting.

Posted 5 months ago #
barth36
Member

Pinnacle Studio is a very easy to use NLE. It's what I edited with for a long time. Studio is very powerful and will do probably everything you need. My kids use my old Studio system now.

Haven't used any of the other NLE's in your list, so I can't comment on them. But I can say Pinnacle Studio worked for me for many years before I moved into the professional arena. Hope this helps out.

And like vid-e-o-man mentioned above, whichever you choose, learn the software and have fun. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

Posted 5 months ago #
mfish653
Member

I bought a Pinnacle Studio 12 for home use several years ago. It has a very easy learning curve. It is very simple. But it does have limitations. I cant say about the Pinnacle 15 but 12 had only 2 video tracks,1 text, and 2 audio. For home videos that is not a big deal but then it also had a crash-for-no-reason problem. I have know idea how many times it crashed in the middle of a project for me. Finally (after about 2 years I think) the audio on the program quit working. So then this summer I bought Vegas Movie Studio. Really I love it and was amazed at how capable it was. It has a lot of the features that the pro edition has. But be warned, it has a steep learning curve for someone not familiar with video editing software. If you dont mind "tinkering around" for awhile to learn it, Vegas is certainly better while I have found Pinnacle to be easier to learn. Those are the only 2 programs that I have ever used of the ones you mentioned.

I would second the suggestion from vid-e-o-man. See if you OS has a video editing software already installed on it (Window Movie Maker, imovie ect) and try it out. Another option would be to download a 30 day trial and decide if that is what you want before you buy.

But whatever you decide to buy or use, remember to have fun! If you are not enjoying it then you cant be creative, and if you are not creative your video will be drab and boring. Good luck!

Posted 5 months ago #
Moab Man
Member

While you're asking about what software I have concerns you won't be happy with any of the options because of the computer you're using. Are you only planning on doing standard definition video? From my personal experience and watching many others that got hooked on the marketing of buy this HD camera or program and you can make great home movies only to find many computers can't handle HD video editing. So my first suggestion is posting up your full computer specs. Then compare that with the min spec on the box. And most of that software will have a spec for standard def and hi-def editing. Personal experience - programs work best when you exceed the spec by at least 25%.

Posted 5 months ago #
David Forrester
Member

Sony: I used Vegas Pro 11. It is huge. Lots to learn. Very powerful. Movie Studio is a watered down Pro, but the main features are in there - the ones that really count. I have done short films with a sizable wow factor from the gallery. You don't want to outgrow your software - but can transition upwards easily. That is the advantage of Sony. They are pretty aggressive in getting great stuff to you and compete with the competition. I have canvassed users and teachers as to which program I should stick with. they unanimously say Vegas. I trust them and I have no regrets.

Posted 5 months ago #
Wonder Share
Member

I prefer to Magix Movie Edit Pro MX.

Thanks for share it.

video to ipad

movie maker software

Posted 5 months ago #