Video Editing Software for home use

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RonH
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Video Editing Software for home use

Post by RonH »

I am going to purchase such software to use instead of Windows Live Movie Maker.
I have studied a number of brands including Photoshop Premier Elements, CyberLink PowerDirector 9 etc and would appreciate the views of members who 'indulge' in making movies. I currently actively use Photoshop Elements for pictures and WLMM/Audacity (Audacity latest version is brilliant) for video making ... they are all very good but PD9 gets excellent reviews.
CYa Ron
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The only reason we have the 4th dimension of Time is so that everything does not happen at once.

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johjue
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Re: Video Editing Software for home use

Post by johjue »

Hi Ron,

I've been using Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 for about a year. I can't say that I have any real complaints about Premiere Elements 8; it's done everything that I've asked it to do. It does have a bit of a learning curve; it's a powerful program. I'd enjoy it more if my CPU were faster, but that's not the app's fault. It can be a bit picky regarding file formats, but once you learn what it will and will not work with you can adjust your approach accordingly. Since you are already using Photoshop Elements the layout of Premiere will be easy for you to figure out. You will also find a lot of free resources online for Premiere- many YouTube video tutorials are available, and some of them are quite good. I recently found the PE 9 and PrE 9 bundle on sale for $79.99 ( regularly $159.99) and couldn't pass the deal up, but I haven't played with it much yet. I'm not familiar with PowerDirector; hopefully someone can share their experience with that app to help you decide. Whatever you decide on, I know that you can look forward to a lot of fun making movies!

John

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RonH
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Re: Video Editing Software for home use

Post by RonH »

G'day John & thanks for your reply.
Yes, my familiarity with PSE is a factor I am considering and it sounds as if the Premier version does what is needed ... this product also gets good reviews from the experts. Last night I 'bit the bullet' and downloaded the free 30 day trial version of PowerDirector and will now have a look and 'play'. Later I may also download Premier Elements and have a study. If I choose to continue with Adobe then I will wait for 'version 10' which should come onto the market later this year according to what one can find out.
Thanks again John.
Any users of PowerDirector out there?
CYa Ron
W11 pc, Android toys.
The only reason we have the 4th dimension of Time is so that everything does not happen at once.

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BobL
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Re: Video Editing Software for home use

Post by BobL »

Hi Ron,
I've been using Powerdirector6 since it was pre-installed on my HP Laptop (part of Cyberlink DVD Suite) and can verify that it does work as advertised. The only caveat I have is that (like most all other movie making software the 'rendering' portion will occupy the greater part of your time (lunch and dinner come to mind <g>).
V6 is pretty intuitive and seems to have all the bells and whistles you may want to do to a movie. I'm certain that V9 would improve on that but I haven't seen the need to update (i.e. a seldom user of PD6).
Seems to me price may be the deciding factor.?.?.?
BobL
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RonH
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Re: Video Editing Software for home use

Post by RonH »

Thanks Bob. I've had a few hours play and am impressed with this easy to use software. It is very fast on my laptop pc (i7 processor/8GB) BUT two different outputs to .wmv are very fuzzy. One test output is a series of still pics and the other a short movie and all source files are very sharp. I have correctly set the output format eg 4:3 or widescreen. Any ideas? I have also asked this question of CyberLink.
CYa Ron
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The only reason we have the 4th dimension of Time is so that everything does not happen at once.

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BobL
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Re: Video Editing Software for home use

Post by BobL »

Really? on the 'few' times I've used V6 I didn't notice any degradation of my pics. The stills I used were both .jpg and .tif (tiffs coming out a tad bit better) and for the movies (shorts) is imported .avi files.
I do remember using the Magic Fix button (just to see what it would do) and it improved them *some* but not a whole heck of a lot. Still the output was passable for my use at the time. I probably should try V9 and see if it co-exists with V6 just to see the diffs.
For my 'really important DVD's' I generally use MemoriesOnTV Pro http://www.codejam.com but I fear they seem to have abandoned the software with no improvements or updates since 2005 - still I prefer to use it since my learning curve was satisfied and I can get some pretty decent output from it for DVD's, Clips, and Flash exports.
Later,
BobL
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RonH
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Re: Video Editing Software for home use

Post by RonH »

I guess then Bob that it must be something to do with my settings ... I will see what is the advice from CyberLink forums etc.
Thanks again
CYa Ron
W11 pc, Android toys.
The only reason we have the 4th dimension of Time is so that everything does not happen at once.