recommendation

[xinjingqiao]

I am still a relative newbie in this video authoring game but already I think I would like to upgrade to another program. I am presently using Ulead v. 8. I would really like a program that can do good, true subtitles from within the program. I would also like a program that will let me transition graphics by doing a simple fading in and out. Ulead gives u all kinds of options but this one. Can you recommend a program that will do these things for about $250?

[junkmalle]

Here's a quick workaround for your missing fade-to-black transition: Create a short (1 sec?) black video and crossfade to it.

[mats.hogberg]

Creating fades and stuff is not authoring. That's editing.
IMO, best bang for bucks for authoring is DVD-Lab Pro - it does subtitles nicely too. But it aint no editor....

/Mats

[guns1inger]

Vegas Movie Studio is a good entry point editor. There is also a version that ships with DVD Architect, I believe. Worth a look. I also use DVD Lab Pro, but it and Movie studio exceed your budget by about $40.

[harley2ride]

How about Adobe Premiere Elements. Going on ebay for less than $50.00.

[guns1inger]

I would pick Vegas Movie Studio over Premiere Elements as it has less limitations.

[Mister Flonk-Flonk]

You can do all that stuff and more with freeware apps like VirtualDubMod & AviSynth.

[guns1inger]

You can't encode to mpeg2 or author a disk with either of those tools, and the learning curve on both is much steeper, especially on avisynth. Both are great tools, and both should have a place on your HDD, but I wouldn't substitute either for a good NLE. (Unless, of course, you still believe that real programmers only use Notepad )

[Mister Flonk-Flonk]

Who said anything about encoding? creating fades & subtitles is just editing. All I was doing was suggesting a freeware alternative that would actually do the tasks the OP was inquiring about.

[mats.hogberg]

(Unless, of course, you still believe that real programmers only use Notepad )

Well, believe it or not, they do. The rest are just hacks.

/Mats

[guns1inger]

Actually, real programmers use vi, because real programmers don't use windows

[mats.hogberg]

Ah - I took "Notepad" as a way to say "generic text editor". Yes, vi is cool, (and there is a Windows port) but at times, your employer forces you to make apps for "The Dark Side"

/Mats