What editing software is best for me??

[Hoku10]

I have over 30 hours of video taken over the past 4 years and I need to start editing them and making some dvd's to send family. My videos are in 2 formats: 1) from my digital camera I have QuickTime files. 2) from my camcorder I have Maxell mini DVs.

I've researched the popular editing software but they all seem to have different drawbacks and I'm feeling intimidated about my choices.

I need something that can handle all of the video that I have.

I need something that can work with the formats I have.

I am a true newbie and not computer savy so an easy interface is helpful.

I'm going to buy a new computer for this but hope to keep it at around $300. (is that reasonable?)

Thanks for your insights!

[guns1inger]

Download the demos of

Sony Vegas Movie Studio Pro
Adobe Premiere Elements
Corel VideoStudio X2

and have a play. They are probably the most accomplished of the home user type editing suites.

You do need to fill in your computer details properly if you want real recommendations though. Most of what you need to know can be found by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting Properties if you have Windows.

[Hoku10]

Thanks for the reply Gunslinger! Evidentally Adobe only holds about 30 minutes of video unless you subscribe to their service ($50/month?). Corel apparently has lots or rendering problems. I have too much video to work with and would hate to waste work for a crappy product. Sony had the worst reviews of the three on Amazon so I wasn't sure about that one either. That's why I decided to try a different approach to finding what I need.

Thanks also for the tips on finding my computer info. I learned something! In this case, though, I'm buying a new computer especially for this project and don't know what it will be yet. Maybe some insight into which computer goes best with a good software??

At any rate, I thank you for the links and input!

[PuzZLeR]

I would say VideoStudio is the easiest of the three for a beginner, and has a good price, but I've never worked with the QuickTime format so I can't comment on the render problems.

However, all you really need to do is smart render the output (if possible). This will only re-encode the few frames close to where you made edits. If you can wing this, then for the exported output just use a separate stand-alone MPEG-2 encoder, and DvD author app (many good ones are free).

Editors can usually do edits -> MPEG-2 encoding -> DvD authoring. But usually they don't produce good results beyond the edits.

[guns1inger]

Frankly, I wouldn't read any reviews on Amazon. The few I have seen have obviously been written by people with idea at all on the subject they were writing on.

I have no idea where you got your information about Adobe, although it wouldn't surprise me if it came from an Amazon review. If you buy Premiere Elements you get the program to use forever. No monthly fee, no size limits.

[lordsmurf]

Frankly, I wouldn't read any reviews on Amazon. The few I have seen have obviously been written by people with idea at all on the subject they were writing on.

Online reviews are most often where people display their stupidity in public.