Which Program to Buy?

[angryassdrummer]

hey hey hey

i need you guys to give me some advice on which editing program to buy.

What i need it for is to capture my gigs that i film, some editing- nothing major just little trims here and there, some effects would be cool but not a major issue and the big thing is making into a dvd with a nice menu where i can choose each song.

I guess simplicity to use is the key, and cheap...but not childish.

Do all editing programs allow you to make your own chapter points?

Im not going to spend a fortune so Premiere Pro is out.

Ive checked out the scores given in here and its hard to choose, as some will say they are cool, then the next one say's it crashes like mother.

Well, any help is gladly appreciated.

[angryassdrummer]

sorry, didnt mean that pic to come out so big

[Scorpion King]

sorry, didnt mean that pic to come out so big

Thats easy. Fix your photo the way you want it then "Edit" your post above containing the picture. Delete the line [lmg]blade_runner_comic_fc2.jpg[/lmg] (or similar) from the post, then use "Upload image or file(Optional)" and upload your edited photo and add it as the replacement. (use a different file name)

I assume the original uploaded photo will remain on this server but just won't be used anymore unless you include that command line again at some point. I think you would need to add the full path (where the photo actually is on the server) between the IMG markers. The actual path can be found by right clicking the photo then choose Properties.

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As for as an single video editing/encoding/authorizing program then good luck. I don't use just 1 program for hardly anything. Sometimes because they won't do everything I need done, so they just don't do certain functions well enough to satisfy me.

My most used programs probably are:

ATI MMC (my capture card)
Ulead VideoStudio v10
Tmpgenc
Tmpgenc DVD Author
VirtualDubMod
ffmpeggui
several others less frequently

good luck.

[angryassdrummer]

after some research it seems the Ulead products are best my price range.
Cant work out what the difference is between VideoStudio 10 and MediaStudio Pro 8 is..
Im guessing one is more suited to editing and one more towards authoring?
But they both have editing and authoring features...... confusing.

Either way, i want something easy to make menu's, chapters and authoring to dvd.

Ive decided once i get my head around it ill get Vegas...which leads me to the next question.

Is dvd architect simple to use? seems a little daunting. Does it accept different file types or just ones exported from Vegas?

[Jeremiah58]

Is dvd architect simple to use?

It is simple to learn, but you would have to spend some time with a manual.

Does it accept different file types or just ones exported from Vegas?

It accepts other files which are DVD compatible. It accepts even a non-compatible files with a warning that it would make them compatible.

[thecoalman]

after some research it seems the Ulead products are best my price range.
Cant work out what the difference is between VideoStudio 10 and MediaStudio Pro 8 is..
Im guessing one is more suited to editing and one more towards authoring?
But they both have editing and authoring features...... confusing.

Both are primarily editors, Media Studio has extensive editing features and is geared more towards pro-sumers/pros. Unless you want to get very creative many of the editing features will barely be used if at all. By that I mean if you can think of it you can create it. Both have basic authoring features, actually Media Studio doens't have authoring feature by itself, at least my version. Last I looked it comes with stripped down version of Movie Factory.

I'll break it down for you:

Consumer:
Movie Factory, more authoring features than Video Studio but less editing features.
Video Studio, lots of editing features and basic authoring

Pro-sumer/Pro:
Media Studio Pro, Extensive editing features and as I mentioned last I checked it comes with basic version of Movie Factory.
DVD Workshop, probably their best product by far. Extensive Authoring features and minor editing features.

From those choices I guess it depends on your budget and needs. Overall if the menus are the most important to you and minor edits is the only thing you need such as adding transitions between clips I'd suggest DVD Workshop, it's not cheap though.

[Scorpion King]

I know its confusing, and expensive....

I use Ulead Videostudio to transfer my DV camera footage to my harddrive. If I need to add some transitions, crop out some shaky or no-content scenes, then I use that program to do so. I then use the "smart render" function and copy the edited file out (without any reencoding or quality loss). I am then done with Ulead. Sometimes I will use other programs instead....

If my file is ready to author I most often will use Tmpgenc DVD Author. I like the program because it is so simple to use and I always get great results. Author allows me more 'leeway' when using files that may be a little out of specs (higher than standard bitrates). Most times I will also use the built-in burning feature also. Ulead can do most of my projects just fine but I just don't use the author and burning features very often.

If I need to encode or reencode I use nothing but Tmpgenc. It always gives me the best quality of any of my other programs. Ulead can encode and v10 is their best so far (IMO) but I just don't use it for that. lol

You will need to do as the rest of use has and try different programs until you find out which you like and are willing to learn and use. We can't do anything but suggest software, you will need to figure out the rest.

Good luck.

[angryassdrummer]

thanks for your advice!

Its a hard situation, because although i can test the free trials-that really doesnt work for me. Its takes me awhile to get used to programs and be comfortable with them.
So im just getting as much advice as possible before investing.
I find most transitions tacky and will mainly be using straight cuts or a dissolve....so any feature like that isnt really usefull to me. I know it cant hurt to have extra features, but id rather something straight ahead to use and very stable. Dont want to spend a few hours making my video then it crashes on me! lol
Ive read so much information on all the different products...and a lot of sites seem biased to certain brands...though that could be my paranoia. lol
One review will say how Premiere Elements is the bee knees then the next will say its rubbish. And that go's for all the ones i am interested in....Vegas, Videostudio, Elements
I was at one stage interested in Pinnacle cause its so widely available here (australia) but i think 99% of reviews are saying its poor.
I guess i can only do some more research till something seems to stand out. I should note too that im not a complete noobie to editing, but i definetely favour programs that are simple and intuitive to use.
I am really interested in everyones opinion so please keep them coming esp if you have either of those 3 programs.
Thanks again

[Ron B]

I use Ulead VideoStudio 6 now and used a couple versions of it before that. One of my big video tasks is to get video from the camera, do some quick editing and get the video on the company website. Ulead works great for this. Most of the time I do basic cuts and crossfades between them, then render an AVI file. Any complex procedures, like adjusting contrast, gamma, etc., I slap the AVI file in Adobe Premiere because it does a fantastic job at these things, VideoStudio struggles here. I use TMPGEnc for MPEG files and Windows Meda Encoder for WMV files. For MPEG2 DVD files, TMPGEnc gets the slight edge, but the encoder in VideoStudio is pretty good. I have Ulead MovieFactory, it works OK for basic DVD authoring and works well with VideoStudio, but if I needed to do a more professional job of DVD authoring, I would go with something more than MovieFactory.
I was thinking about getting VideoStudio 10, but when I emailed Ulead about upgrading(upgrading time after time after time is kind of a problem), they didn't have the courtesy as a long-time customer to even return my email, that sucks in my book. Overall, I would say you can expect zero support from Ulead on any matter regarding their products.
Most editing software has trial versions, I would try them out and see which one suits your needs.