I'm always turning to the FREE software called WinDV. I'm unsure what some want the capture to be part of the video editing software, but I share what I use.
For editing, I'm growing found of Sony Vegas. But it's a budget buster for some. You can try the Ulead offerings (demos) at ulead.com
About item 5. There are a few that want to encode to the DVD MPEG file encoding to burn to DVD. Let me write you may or may not have asked to do that, but I find it much easier to let Ulead or Sony create the DVD or 'DVD image.' If you want to duke it out with files ready for DVD, then please never ask me to help you figure that out. It's too time consuming.
Bob
I'm looking for suggestions about the best home video editing software for a beginner.
One where I can:
1. Easily load video from my Panasonic PV-GS250 video camera (MiniDV) to my PC
2. Splice and merge video footage
3. Easily play around with cool video effects
4. Create basic, attactive DVD menus
5. Gets the file ready for DVD burning
I don't need a lot of extras, and as you can probably gather, an emphasis on an idiot-proof interface and flow.

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