Video Editing Software

What are your thoughts on video editing software?  I know I'm not the first to ask this question on these forums, and the consensus is always "Vegas" - but there are others available which look very good, too, IMO.  I almost pulled the trigger on Magix Movie Maker when it was on sale last week, but decided to wait and research the rest of them more.
 
there is a review website I found which shows features of several of the more popular titles like Vegas, Corel Video Studio, Adobe Premiere Elements, Cyberlink, Pinnacle, etc.  They all rank fairly well.
 
http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ppc_index.html?cmpid=445088&s_kwcid=TC-17139-9061259925-e-1039105753
 
have any of you used any of these titles and what did you think of them?  is sony vegas really "the best" like I've read so many times on these forums, or are there alternate choices?  the review website above doesn't rank vegas as the highest, but it is in the top 5.  I'd rather base my decision on best value and ease of use.

Beagle
Not sure about the rest but I purchased Vegas and used it last year - I did all our promotional videos with it.
I found it really easy to learn and use - especially if you've used to any other Sony stuff like Cd Architect - it just had the same sort of feel in my estimation.
I purchased it on a special and it was very very cheap - if I remember correctly about $50/$60 dollars - and it came with some extras (which I can't remember exactly what they were  and unfortunately I can't check as it's on my system in Barbados and I'm in Cape Town at the moment).
The only thing I would say is that you need a reasonable system to run it without major delays when rendering etc - I was trying to use on a fairly old system with not a great deal of memory - it worked but it did stress the computer badly - next time I will have a system which will cope better before starting!
I will be using this again soon - hopefully we'll have invested in a better camera and I will have gotten better at compiling videos.
Hope this is helpful
Nigel

I bought the honestech video editor last year. Around $40 IIRC and it does a fair job for what it is.  It's a step up from windows movie maker. 

It allows me to have 2 video time lines so I can fade or overlap video with stills if I want. 

It's kinda like the audio stuff we play with..... I need to spend time with it to get decent results.... and I'd rather be working in audio than video. 


I think I used it to make one video...and started but abandoned a second one. 

I'm also trying out Adobe Premire Elements....but after spending $800+ dollars years ago on Adobe products (CS something? which included Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Cold Fusion, etc., all of them being too complicated to learn for my time frame), they refused to give me an upgrade price because my programs were too old.....normally I can understand that, but for that amount of $, it's ridiculous...no more Adobe for me

I think the answer to this question largely depends on your needs. For many, the free Moviemaker is more than enough. Vegas is a great program, but has it's strengths and weaknesses. My experience with Vegas is with the "Pro" version but much applies. I find that for the person coming from an audio editing background, Vegas tends to be easiest to use because it was originally an audio only editor. Sonic Foundry(now owned by Sony) left all of the audio features and added video editing capabilities. Every now and then Sony has a crossgrade uption to get the Pro version . One time I received an offer and Sonar was on the list. Probably because some people still use the Pro version as a multitrack audio editor. I have also used Premiere Elements. It is almost as easy to use as Vegas and is very powerful for the price. I would suggest you download trials of both and compare.

Reece, even I learned how to do vids with Vegas , you'd have no problem with it. I dabbled with Magix a while ago but couldn't get on with it at all.

jamesg1213


Reece, even I learned how to do vids with Vegas , you'd have no problem with it. I dabbled with Magix a while ago but couldn't get on with it at all.

 
haha!  thanks James!  I have used Magix Music Maker in the past (before I started with Sonar) and didn't like it - it didn't seem intuitive to me.  I was afraid the video editing software would be similar to the music software and I'd be disappointed with it.  you have probably helped me decide that Magix is not the way to go!
 
Drew - thanks!  I will definitely download the vegas demo and try it.
 
right now I'm thinking it's between Vegas and Cyberlink, both have demos, so I'm going to try them out.
 
thanks everyone!

if it's between those two, i would definitely go with Vegas simply because it puts you on the upgrade path to the more advanced version in case you outgrow the version you purchase. The price will be less to upgrade and like Cakewalk, Sony often offers specials to current customers. i cannot stress enough how much better ti is to work with audio in Vegas compared to other video editors. It offers VST support and the onboard plugins are very good. The audio timestretching features are built in and it supports acidized loops. Since I have switched to using Premiere Pro, I sorely miss being able to use Vegas' audio tools. being able to take voiceovers that did not quite fit the required space and adjust them right in the program without any weird pitch changes or artifacts saved my butt many timnes.

Beagle, I was looking for a software package I thought you might take a look at came across the one I posted while looking for it. I just now found that software - it was in academy award wining feature film - it is called Lightworks. Here is the link for free ver at site also does many tracks of sound. I haven't used it myself. http://www.lightworksbeta.com/

thanks guys!

Thanks Wren!

Thanks Bob! that's the main thing I plan to do with it - make youtube vids for my songs.

I don't how much video/ material you plan on using in your projects but I'd be more concerned with the processing. For myself it's the real time editing & rendering that strains the puter.

carl


I don't how much video/ material you plan on using in your projects but I'd be more concerned with the processing. For myself it's the real time editing & rendering that strains the puter.

what do you mean by "I'd be more concerned with the processing."?  more concerned with processing than what?  the RAM?  I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying.

Oh, and Beagle and becan.

The first time I cook becan at home after getting my boxer I left the kitchen for a moment to change a CD or whatever.  I left the room, heard a crash and Pudge had eaten a pound of the stuff in a few seconds.  Bad dog.

@