Editing Program for Beginners

[InSaNiTy]

Hi,
I'm looking for a program that I can use to edit video I capture or transfer to my PC (no MEPG). In general I wish to adjust brightness, color and such, maybe to smooth it a little (some of the videos are grainy). I also want be able to add images to video (not to make clip out of them, more like drawing on some frames). I haven't edited much before but if it's not overkill I can handle.

Thanks in advance.

[JohnnyMalaria]

You could start with Windows Movie Maker that should already be on your system. It will at least give you an idea of what a basic program can do. Once you determine what the limitations are, it will help you decide what you would like from a different program....

[Seeker47]

You could start with Windows Movie Maker that should already be on your system. It will at least give you an idea of what a basic program can do. Once you determine what the limitations are, it will help you decide what you would like from a different program....

I was curious to see just what WMM can do, but it seems to be intended for XP. The majority of programs I've run into that indicate they are for XP seem to be installable and usable with W2K SP4 . . . but there are exceptions (Bart PE), and I'm certainly no Win geek. Do you have any info on where WMM falls in this regard ?

[JohnnyMalaria]

Officially, it won't install on 2000. But you may get some mileage following this advice:

http://practician.blogspot.com/2007/02/re-incarnation-of-windows-movie-maker.html

(It's for Window 2003 Server but may work for 2000 Workstation).

(You'll need access to an XP SP2 machine).

[edDV]

You could start with Windows Movie Maker that should already be on your system. It will at least give you an idea of what a basic program can do. Once you determine what the limitations are, it will help you decide what you would like from a different program....

I was curious to see just what WMM can do, but it seems to be intended for XP. The majority of programs I've run into that indicate they are for XP seem to be installable and usable with W2K SP4 . . . but there are exceptions (Bart PE), and I'm certainly no Win geek. Do you have any info on where WMM falls in this regard ?

The things you want to do are intermediate level. Win2000 is less supported since most modern programs are built over DirectShow. Win2000 is begining to narrow your choices.

Explain what formats you need to import and what you want to do with the edited video?

Win2K is ok for the office but is lagging for multi-media. Most Adobe Products still run on Win2K since they are business focused.

[DarrellS]

Win2K is ok for the office but is lagging for multi-media. Most Adobe Products still run on Win2K since they are business focused.

I run Windows 2000 and all I do is graphics and multimedia. I can do anything I want with Windows 2000 and have no interest in upgrading to a newer OS.

It's not an OS that you would want to try and play games with but it does audio, video and graphics just fine.

[gadgetguy]

I run Windows 2000 and all I do is graphics and multimedia. I can do anything I want with Windows 2000 and have no interest in upgrading to a newer OS.

Ditto (Well, almost all I do)

[guns1inger]

The problem with staying with aging technology is that the rest of the world moves on without you. Eventually the current software will stop supporting your choice of platform. Yes, Windows 2000 is a solid platform, for the most part, however it does not support the sort of tech that modern editors need, and so modern software won't run on it.

Your best bet is bargain bins or ebay to look for an older copy of Ulead VideoStudio (probably version 6 or 7) or perhaps MediaStudio Pro, both of which should run on Win2k if you can find one old enough.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Win2000 is less supported since most modern programs are built over DirectShow. Win2000 is begining to narrow your choices.

Windows 2000 supports DirectX 9.0c and, hence, the same level of DirectShow as XP. The main reason that more recent software tends to be limited to XP (or Vista) is that Microsoft introduced additional API functionality that makes third-party authors' lives easier. Most particularly, the support for FireWire and USB transfer is wider with XP. For example, one of our programs relies upon features in XP not available in 2000. Mostly, these features are within kernel mode drivers that Microsoft provide.

[edDV]

I know many business customers cling to Win2000 forcing application writers to continue support but newer editing apps are moving on to or requiring Net Framework 3 which isn't listing Win2000 as supported.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb188202.aspx#topic1