Which firewire + editing software package?

[SkinnyDog]

Im going to be getting a firewire card to capture home movies from a digital camcorder (Canon zr 20) edit and them burn to DVDs. I'll be getting a DVD burner in mid to late april (after I see some reviews of the new dvd+r/rw drives from hp, sony etc.). I also have a lot of old video on vhs-c and video tape i'll be capturing with the camcorder (to tape first and then to the computer as the zr-20 does not have video pass through).

I have a PIII 1000 mhz with a 20 gig 7200 rpm hard drive for programs and a 40 gig 7200 rpm dedicated to capturing video. I'm running XP and have 384 meg of RAM.

I'm looking for the best bundled software with a firewire card in the $300 range. As i see it my choices are

1. pyro platinum with Premiere 6 and additional software for $279 at videoguys. Seems to be the most recommended software for someone willing to put in some time.

2. pyro with Ulead Media Studio Pro 6.5 for $250 also at video guys. Advanced features and easier to use than Premiere 6??

3. Vegas video, but I haven't seen it bundled with any firewire cards for a reduced price.

4. pinnacle studio dv for $100 range everywhere. Simple but capable editing software.

5. Pinnacle Deluxe if I want to skip the camcorder capture of old vhs and use the included breakout box.

I'm really looking for recommendations as to the best solution. it seems like premiere is the hands down best in this price range, but why are so many of you using Media Studio and pinnacle Studio??

In the end my question might come down to just a Premiere v. Media studion question, but i would really appreciate some input before i toss out $300 on any of these packages.

skinnydog

[SkinnyDog]

Ok, I'm going to try this one more time and limit my question to:

Media Studio Pro 6.5 versus Premiere 6.

I did do a search before reposting and only came up with this link which started out promising but in the end really went nowhere:

http://forum.vcdhelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=77930&highlight=premiere+media+studio

Come on any recommendations?

Skinnydog

[Snakebyte1]

Hi..

Premiere is a high-end app, there are lots of 3rd party plug-ins. However, I do most of my work with Ulead MediaStudio mainly because I personally find it easier to figure out and also because I get great results with it. For me, I spend less time getting what I want with Ulead. I just don't have the time to spend learning Premiere enough to really make use of its full features.

Both apps have given me some crashes, although I've had a little more trouble with Premiere (but I am using an older system and pushing it to its limits).

No software is prefect and since every person's computer is different (diff hardware, diff drivers, diff installed apps) how any piece of software works can vary. As I said, for me, Ulead does the job. Others have posted they have problems with it (as with Premiere as well).

Why not download the trial versions and at least take a look at the interfaces etc and see which one will get you up and running the fastest?

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