Wise-Women List Archive File
Recommendations for Video Editors
Question:
Hi All,
I have a client that wants to edit mpeg videos. I know about Adobe's
program, can anyone recommend another one that is user friendly?
Does anyone have a favorite site for info on videos that is updated? I have
come across many that are two years out of date...
Cheers and thanks
Hi
Premiere is not really that bad. I learned it in school and it was pretty
user friendly and Adobe has those great Classroom in a Book series. Plus it
gives you many different extra options that other programs don't have like
compression issues. I used to know some other names of other software but
unfortunately it's been a while since I took the class.
[Editor's note: This message is from one of our members who is a professional video editor.]
Here's a good source for digital video info...
www.dv.com (aimed at pro/semi-pro level users)
also
www.videomaker.com (aimed at beginners-to semi-pros)
Be warned - these are both sites for print magazines - but they're very
up-to-date as to what is available.
Also, the DV magazine subscription can be had for free if you register under
a company name. I highly recommend it.
Adobe Premiere has the best user-friendliness/user power ratio I've seen
thus far (I use v.5.1a, as my 9600's early ['97] FireWire card doesn't play
well with v6 and QuickTime 5, and I haven't been able to justify spending
the cash for a newer card. But v6 runs fine on my G3 laptop with a PCMCIA
FireWire adapter card.)
There are other video editing solutions available (iMovie for the Mac and
ULead's Video Studio for Windows) that are easier to master initially, but
are lacking in advanced editing features.
I have just gotten to try out Final Cut Pro 2 for the Mac, so I don't feel I
can give an accurate assessment on it just yet...
I played with the Ulead's version. I love their graphic editor PhotoImpact,
but I wasn't too impressed with the video editor, however.
MGI (now Roxio) VideoWave works pretty good and is usually less than $100.
This is for Windows only.
http://www.mgisoft.com/roxio_index.asp
I did have a Pinnacle System (which in most cases include capture
hardware). However, I did have some problems with the version I used (which
is a few years old and no longer supported--for some unknown reason you had
to change the printer setting in bios--even though you didn't print from
that program--which then screwed up my printing). But the editor worked
well. YMMV. http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ Hopefully they've improved things.
I used it on Windows...I'm not sure if they have a Mac version. Prices
usually range $100 on up depending if there is hardware included.
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