Author Topic: Video Editing software - Any recommendations? (Read 52236 times)

p3lb0x · « **on:** April 05, 2010, 02:09 PM »

I have been wanting to do more than simple video editing for some time and MS movie maker has begun to show it's faults more and more as I have been using it. I have shifted slightly over to VirtualDub but that too has a lot of stuff I would want and is pretty technical compared to MS movie maker. What I am looking for is a above basic level video editing program that can do special effects above just overlaying filters and such. Even with those requirements I am hoping I can find something that doesn't require a 2 month learning course to understand and hopefully it would also be free or at least cheap.

Any suggestions?

kartal · « **Reply #1 on:** April 05, 2010, 02:16 PM »

Sony Vegas is probably the best video editor on Windows.

cmpm · « **Reply #2 on:** April 05, 2010, 02:33 PM »

Corel isn't too bad either.

http://www.corel.com...4228541#tabview=tab0

http://www.corel.com...0605036#tabview=tab0

ACall · « **Reply #3 on:** April 05, 2010, 03:21 PM »

VideoPad might be worth having a look at:
http://www.nchsoftwa.../videopad/index.html

cmpm · « **Reply #4 on:** April 05, 2010, 03:43 PM »

No thanks on any nch software.
Made that mistake once, that was enough to remember to stay away.

TucknDar · « **Reply #5 on:** April 05, 2010, 04:25 PM »

No thanks on any nch software.
Made that mistake once, that was enough to remember to stay away.
-cmpm (April 05, 2010, 03:43 PM)

Really? What's wrong with it, I thought it looks quite interesting, tbh. Quietly following this thread, as I'm looking for the same thing, preferably without paying the world for it.

I own something called something like Womble video editor, but I'm not exactly loving it, even if it kinda gets the job done...

cmpm · « **Reply #6 on:** April 05, 2010, 04:36 PM »

NCH software is install on demand.

In other words, download 1 program, any program of theirs, you get direct links to all their programs.
And if you want to burn a cd it automatically will download and install it's burning program and make it the default program for burning.
Same with the rest of the programs they have.

JavaJones · « **Reply #7 on:** April 05, 2010, 09:32 PM »

Yeah, I'd say Vegas. I haven't used Vegas Movie Studio, their simpler home user version, but I think it's based on their higher-end product and if that's the case I recommend it. Certainly Vegas Pro is a great app. Of course I haven't tried Final Cut, but since it's not available on Windows...

- Oshyan

InstantFundas · « **Reply #8 on:** April 06, 2010, 02:09 AM »

MAGIX Movie Edit Pro is available for free for a while.

http://store.v3.co.u...=details&id=2393

MerleOne · « **Reply #9 on:** April 06, 2010, 07:05 AM »

For Mpeg2 editing and DVD burning, Videoredo TV Suite is excellent.

IQLover · « **Reply #10 on:** April 10, 2010, 07:37 PM »

I can honestly say that I have tried at least 10-15 Video editing Software; the result is that most of them was too difficult 4 me 2 use or wasn't doing the job as I wanted. Now I am using AVS Video Editor for Months & I am very satisfied with it (I learned how to use it in about 8-10 minutes!)

There's 2 things though I do NOT like, but it still is the best solution to me so far...

1) Sound editing is NOT what it should be
2) The CPU-usage is too high during encoding

Apart of these 2 things I can really recomend it

sajman99 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 10, 2010, 08:27 PM »

... Now I am using AVS Video Editor for Months & I am very satisfied with it (I learned how to use it in about 8-10 minutes!) ...
-IQLover (April 10, 2010, 07:37 PM)

If you mean this site, it looks like the NCH Software site in that they have software for everything under the sun.

Since I don't want another NCH pita experience, I have to ask...
-Did you pay for the software?
-Are ads incorporated into the software?
-Are offers for additional software commonly encountered?
-Do they use install on demand?
-Anybody know the WOT (or similar) rating of this site?

Thanks for any responses.

I'm just trying to avoid an unpleasant experience like the one I had with NCH's VideoPad.

IQLover · « **Reply #12 on:** April 10, 2010, 08:55 PM »

1)-Did you pay for the software?
2)-Are ads incorporated into the software?
3)-Are offers for additional software commonly encountered?
4)-Do they use install on demand?
5)-Anybody know the WOT (or similar) rating of this site?

Thanks for any responses. I'm just trying to avoid an unpleasant experience like the one I had with NCH's VideoPad.

1) that is none of your concerns :-) But they even have a refund policy
2) NO
3) NO
4) I do not know what 'IOD' means; the Software installes several components (without asking you) BUT! you can uninstall them immediatelly after installation is complete without problems (in case you do not want/ need them, as it is in my case

Those are: Updater, YouTube uploader and Screen recorder - I do not need any of them so I simply uninstalled them

Hope this helped

PS: 4 me is also important that this is NOT an US-Company!

Curt · « **Reply #13 on:** April 11, 2010, 12:55 PM »

1)-Did you pay for the software?
1) that is none of your concerns :-)
-IQLover (April 10, 2010, 08:55 PM)

The question may have been misunderstood or at least poorly formed. On the homepage I see no other way to get the Video Editor than to buy ("subscribe to") the hole package, $59 (plus VAT)(or $39 for a year); so I think the question in question could be: is it really worth all that money, this AVS Video Editor? Or did you "subscribe to" a stand-alone version that maybe is cheaper?

Secondly, it is perfectly okay to question that particular site, as they for several years have had the one and same advert as they have now: "70% Off! Final Offer! In April only!" Only the name of the month has ever been changed...

sajman99 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 11, 2010, 01:32 PM »

Yep, Curt--you nailed it with question #1. It was poorly formed on my part--basically I was just trying to figure out how many $$ AVS Video Editor actually costs.

Any time I encounter a site loaded with software and "special offers" I tend to get a bit skeptical/nervous. I learned long ago--if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

Thanks very much IQLover for taking the time to respond to my concerns. To be honest, I'm the picky sort who dislikes uninstalling software I never wanted in the first place. So I guess I'll be taking a pass on this AVS Video Editor.

Armando · « **Reply #15 on:** April 11, 2010, 07:11 PM »

For pro editing you basically have 3 choices on Windows :

- Adobe Premiere
- Sony Vegas Pro.
- Avid (liquid 7 probably)

I can't afford any of these -- and maybe are they to expensive for you too -- but I did work with Premiere and Sony in University labs for a project last year. Unfortunately I can't comment on Avid (they might have downloadable demo though... Haven't checked -- avid used to require special hardware and the university had a few computers with these, but... They were already used for some other projects...).

Premiere is complex and can do a lot. Some Pros : The fact that it can be used with photoshop, After effects, etc. is a big plus. Some Cons : However : 1- when I used CS4, it was highly unstable. Crashed all the time. 2- simple actions were often hard to achieve. 3- I didn't like the rendering default settings for mpeg compression and was never able to achieve the quality I was after.

Sony Vegas pro can probably do almost anything premiere does. Pros : 1- It's easier to use, very efficient : many actions are performed in at least half the time (than premiere). 2- It's also VERY VERY stable. It never crashed once when I used it. This is a big big plus for me. 3- Rendering to mpeg was a breeze and high quality.

If I was going to buy something, it would be Sony vegas. Unless Avid proves to be superior... But I honestly wonder how it could be.

Curt · « **Reply #16 on:** April 14, 2010, 07:57 AM »

There has been a break in the posting stream in this thread, so I expect we now are done with the zillion dollar programs, or what? Why must I come here for a free or low cost editor and be told that a $600 editor is what I need?

.. I am hoping I can find something that doesn't require a 2 month learning course to understand and hopefully it would also be free or at least cheap.
-p3lb0x (April 05, 2010, 02:09 PM)

"Any suggestions?" -as he also were asking.

40hz · « **Reply #17 on:** April 14, 2010, 08:51 AM »

@IQLover - Out of curiosity, why is important to you that something not be from a US company?

superboyac · « **Reply #18 on:** April 14, 2010, 09:12 AM »

I agree with Armando. i went through this last year, and I thought Sony Vegas was the best one. A lot easier to use than most video editing apps, very fast, stable.

kartal · « **Reply #19 on:** April 14, 2010, 10:45 AM »

No thanks on any nch software.
Made that mistake once, that was enough to remember to stay away.
-cmpm (April 05, 2010, 03:43 PM)

Word up

kartal · « **Reply #20 on:** April 14, 2010, 10:48 AM »

There has been a break in the posting stream in this thread, so I expect we now are done with the zillion dollar programs, or what? Why must I come here for a free or low cost editor and be told that a $600 editor is what I need?

.. I am hoping I can find something that doesn't require a 2 month learning course to understand and hopefully it would also be free or at least cheap.
-p3lb0x (April 05, 2010, 02:09 PM)
"Any suggestions?" -as he also were asking.

-Curt (April 14, 2010, 07:57 AM)

You can use Blender as well, it is a free cross platform software. It is originally a 3d animation program but has an integrated sequence-video editor

@Armando:

I think Vegas is way faster than Premiere. Also Adobe apps have turned into bloatware. To instal one Adobe app, you need to install some other crap too even if you unselect many other crap.

JavaJones · « **Reply #21 on:** April 14, 2010, 11:57 AM »

There has been a break in the posting stream in this thread, so I expect we now are done with the zillion dollar programs, or what? Why must I come here for a free or low cost editor and be told that a $600 editor is what I need?
-Curt (April 14, 2010, 07:57 AM)

What about a $72 editor?
http://www.amazon.co...atinum/dp/B001CPFWI2
Same root technology as Vegas Pro as far as I know, but made for the home market (like Photoshop Elements). The sad truth is this is one area where the free and open source options are sorely lacking.

- Oshyan

cmpm · « **Reply #22 on:** April 14, 2010, 12:31 PM »

I'd choose Corel rather then Adobe at this point.
Less expense and I worked with it and produced without a six week course

.
It wasn't much but I edited and cut with just playing with it.
Same with photo software of that caliber, imo.

I have heard of some picking up Adobe's workings quite fast though.
It wasn't me...lol...

Armando · « **Reply #23 on:** April 14, 2010, 12:57 PM »

There has been a break in the posting stream in this thread, so I expect we now are done with the zillion dollar programs, or what? Why must I come here for a free or low cost editor and be told that a $600 editor is what I need?

.. I am hoping I can find something that doesn't require a 2 month learning course to understand and hopefully it would also be free or at least cheap.
-p3lb0x (April 05, 2010, 02:09 PM)

"Any suggestions?" -as he also were asking.

-Curt (April 14, 2010, 07:57 AM)

http://www.sonycreat...oviestudiohd/compare

I see other prices than 600$.

@Armando:

I think Vegas is way faster than Premiere. Also Adobe apps have turned into bloatware. To instal one Adobe app, you need to install some other crap too even if you unselect many other crap.

-kartal (April 14, 2010, 10:48 AM)

Yes, that's also what I said. Premiere is bloated and buggy. It has some strengths though.

40hz · « **Reply #24 on:** April 14, 2010, 01:30 PM »

I've worked a little bit with Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum when I needed to quickly put together some training materials. It was easy to get your head around how it worked, and the results were quite impressive. Or at least they were to my client - which is all that mattered AFAIWC.

I got VMSP as part of the Sony Imagination Studio Suite.

Along with Vegas, the suite also gives you "home" versions of Acid, SoundForge, DVD Architect, and PhotoGo.

It runs about $150 plus change if you shop around. Lotta bang for the buck in that the suite costs about what you'd pay for any two of the packages that make it up.

I used Acid Studio to whip up some nice ambient and techno background music to go with the video and ran it all through Architect to get it on DVD. I didn't use PhotoGo since I didn't need an image sorter/tweaker for my project. But if you're going to be doing a lot of this stuff it could come in handy. I also didn't bother with SoundForge because I already have a pro-grade audio editor that I'm comfortable with. However, if you don't have a favorite audio editor, you'll find SoundForge is a very capable product.

I'm not a video pro by any stretch, but the one pro I do know (who works for ESPN) said he thought VMSP was a very capable product. He felt it was probably the best single package to start with if you're on the PC platform and new to video editing. (Which is why I bought it!

)

Plus, if you ever do need to move up to Vegas Pro, the experience you gained using the "starter version" will 'transfer' very nicely.

Luck! (And let us know what you finally select.)