Five Windows Editing Programs for under $100

While anyone with a PC and Windows XP or Vista can edit video using the built-in Windows Movie Maker software (Keith’s WMM analysis), it simply cannot compare with the features and options offered by the stand-alone editing programs on the market. WMM is free for a reason. It is designed to give beginners the easiest and most straightforward tools for cutting together media without confusing the user with more advanced tools. Luckily, PC users have a wide range of really great editing programs to choose from, many of which are less that $100. I would like to analyze five pieces of software that can be bought for under $100 and hopefully demonstrate that it is possible to achieve very professional looking editing jobs without the pricey and complicated professional editing packages.

The five programs are Ulead VideoStudio 11 by Corel ($89.99), Adobe Premiere Elements 4 ($99.99), Pinnacle Studio 11 ($99.99), Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8 ($99.99), and Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 ($79.99). So what can you do with these programs that you can’t do with WMM? More than one video and audio track, more efficient interfaces, advanced video and audio effects, and more powerful import/export capabilities.

Perhaps the most important feature of these products is the ability to add multiple audio and video tracks. What this means is if you were designing a MindBites training video on underwater basket weaving and you wanted to split the screen in half and on the top half show your hands twisting wicker and on the bottom show your friend’s hands twisting different wicker you could easily overlay the two videos on separate tracks. The same goes for audio. If you want the sound of the wicker twisting underneath “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel, you can do so by placing the audio clips in different tracks. The usefulness of multiple tracks should not be overlooked even for beginners, and WMM does not offer more than one audio and one video track. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: DV, editing, music, PC, Pinnacle Studio, Roxio Easy Media Creator, Sony Vegas Movie Studio, Ulead VideoStudio, video effects, Windows Movie Maker | Posted in Video Production and Publishing | No Comments »