Video editors for up to 200 bucks?

[Sebastian2011]

Hello everyone,

I often need to cut and join video sequences. Most of the time, I rip from dvd and use VirtualDub and Avisynth to cut the video, join smaller parts of it together, fade them in and out and insert some black frames in between. Sometimes I also make my own subtitles using SubtitleWorkshop and VirtualDub subtitler filter.

Now I could spend up to maybe 200 bucks on video editing software. Would this buy me anything for basic editing that is somehow easier, more reliable or in some way better than the Avisynth/VirtualDub combo? It would be nice to be able to edit a decent range of different file types, MP4 in addition to AVI for example.

Is AVI even the best format to achieve what I described, joining short sequences from a dvd together and maybe adding subtitles?

Sorry, I know these are very much noob questions. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[hech54]

Magix Movie Edit is a great, simple editor IMO....just watch out for some of the extra costs.

[pepegot1]

I use Corel Videostudio PRO X4 for my video editing. Then, one day I downloaded Vegas Movie Studio 11 Platinum and tried it out. The level of complexity between the two is enormous. Things that are easily done in Corel are more envolved in Vegas. Moving around with a storyboard editor, in Corel, is a simple matter. When you only have a timeline (Vegas,) it's a bitch to locate and move around efficiently with 50 to 60 clips or more. You must edit in small packets.
Also, in rendering, I was in for a big surprise-few talk about this. The author of "101 Tips, Tricks and Techniques," Bill Myers substantiated what I found out through experience. A one hour video, with many effects, can take over five hours to render in Vegas. I hate to think how long my European Trip Video, of over two hours, would have taken-over night to be sure. Apparently, Vegas lovers are not bothered by this fact. So, rendering and fexibility of movement are Vegas shortfalls to me.
Now that I mentioned the bad, here is the good. Vegas is extremely powerful in motion video, color correction and chroma key. It blows Corel away, to mention only these few things of which there are more. It takes a steep learning curve but, it is well worth the effort. "Nothing good of consequence is ever accomplished without exertion." So, I use Vegas for clip editing and effects and then put clips into Corel for quick rendering and flexibility. I take the best from both and with excellent result My videos produced by Corel are vivid, rich in color and clarity that I don't think waiting an extra four hours, or more, can noticeably improve upon.
You can get them both for less than $150..00

[mL999]

You can download Vegas Movie Studio Platinum and try it at no cost.
Whatever some people say, I think it is easy to learn. The ' show me how tutorials' are enough to get you going doing straightforward editing with simple trimming, cross fades and titles and producing finished work in a couple of evenings .
Try copying five or ten minutes of something from the net to practice editing with...
You can try elaborate effects as you become more familiar with it. Be careful too many special effects irritate the viewer. As you develop you can try adjusting the colours and brightness highlights etc. You will become much more clever than I am.
The last time I checked the price I was surprised how cheap Vegas has become . yours mike.

[pepegot1]

You can get them both for around $120.00 ~= $60.00 a piece.

[_Al_]

Implementation of storyboard into Vegas would be great sure, but on the other hand I dump 200 clips on timeline at once and no problem,

you can use more then one track, mute some, change height of particular tracks, zoom is by mouse wheel (where you instantly see whats inside clip, try it wheel up and down), you flip ripple delete tool, I mean you have in an instant tools that help you to do some sorting ...

[Sebastian2011]

Thanks everyone! I probably should give the trial versions a look first. I've noticed that Cyberlink Powerdirector seems to get a lot of recommendations. What do you think?

[vkmast]

Seb,
see the Cyberlink user forums, the users there tell a lot about what they think. And using the trial versions is always recommended.

[pepegot1]

With my Corel storyboard I can find things quickly. Vegas resize and mute of little help. Try to find clip 137 quickly. You will scroll like hell and have markers all over the place or shrink beyond recognition. Also, taking 4 hours to render a one hour video is a bit much.. Corel is much faster and excellent quality. Be eclectic and to each his own..