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General discussion

Easy-to-Use Home Video Editing Software?

Aug 17, 2005 12:57PM PDT

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.

Discussion is locked

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For capture...
Aug 18, 2005 12:15AM PDT

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

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Easy-to-Use Home Video Editing Software?
Aug 22, 2005 4:19AM PDT
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Firewire/USB 2.0
Aug 22, 2005 5:41AM PDT

I do have a firewire card, but my camcorder only provided a USB 2.0 wire. So I plug that into my USB 2.0 card for the video transfer... is this a problem, or doesn't it matter?

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FIrewire is on your camera.
Aug 22, 2005 6:53AM PDT

"The PV-GS250 has the usual assortment of analog and digital ports: FireWire, USB, S-Video, and analog audio and video via RCA plugs."
http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_PV_GS250/4505-6500_7-31267070-3.html

If you're just needing a cable then that's under 20 bucks. Maybe under 10.

I've learned my lesson to not help with USB transfers. If it works you are done. But can I count how often it fails?

Bob