In search for the perfect software! Yea right...

[kpoman]

I'm in the market it for a "do-it-all" video editing piece of software and I wanted to ask the experts here for some advice. I would like to either capture analog or digital. What I mean by "do-it-all" is that is must:

1. Capture video at various formats

2. Edit the captured video. What I mean by edit is actually splicing out pieces of unwanted video and then rejoining it as well as clipping the beginning and end. Also, be able to add some cool transitions to the video.

3. Create "tweakable" menus and offer an array of buttons, pictures, frames...etc.

4. Be able to create a DVD compliant disc without worrying about the gig maximum allowed on a DVDR. I can always use DVD2One or DVD Shrink after creating the DVD structure.

I've experimented with various pieces of software and here are my issues with them:

1. Pinnacle Studio 8: Will not allow me to create a DVD larger than what can fit on a DVDR

2. DVDit! 2.1: Cannot edit video

3. Adobe Premiere: Way too complicated!

I am currently capturing VHS with my ATI 8500DV card using MMC 7.7 with the following general settings:

Video Type: MPEG2 (352 X 480 NTSC)
Bitrate: 4.02 M Bit/Second
Audio: 48KHz, 16 Bit Stereo

Although I'm quite content with MMC's capturing ability, I still would like a program that will do it all.

So in closing, I would like to know if there exists such a software that meets the above criteria and most important...is SIMPLE! Thanks!

[Rookie64]

Vegas 4.0 will do most of what you're looking for and it's very user friendly. Some basics covered here -
http://thetroxels.com/tts/

You can edit will Vegas, but all you want to do is cut out frames, then it's better to use Womble mpeg-vcr (MPEG Editor).
It will allow you to cut out unwated stuff without any re-encoding, which will save you a lot of time.

Use Lordsmurf's guide here -
http://www.digitalfaq.com/edit/mpeg2vcr/mpeg2vcr.htm

But you can use Vegas for adding effects, color correctness, special filters, adding text or logos over the video or other neat tricks...as well as adjust and cleaning the audio.
All will require encoding though.

Vegas will also capture video and will render edited video to MPEG-2 or most other video formats.

Vegas also comes with DVD Architect to author and create menus...but I can't say if it's a good authoring tool or not. I've never used it myself.

If you're looking for something easy and affordable, TMPGEnc DVD Author is a great choice, which is also a burning tool.

I'm happy with Nero for burning following Lordsmurf's guide - have yet to encounter any problems and I burn DVDs often.

[donpedro]

Edit in Pinnacle Studio and AUthor DVD in DVDit! 2.1