Prosumer Editors

[whatsatripod]

What do you find is the best prosumer nonlinear editor for the buck? I have at home Pinnacle Studio 10.7 and it's alright for banging out the occasional home video to DVD but I would like to get something a little more reliable.

 

[Chicago Dog]

From what I understand, Avid offers a free (and very bare-bones) editor over at their site. I'm not sure if that's still the case.

 

[smltm4nw]

fcp

Can't say enough how much I love final cut. For a nice system and software I wanted i spent $5,000. It's so user friendly and easy to learn.

Now if you can't, don't want to go mac then i have been hearing nice reviews for Avids Liquid software. I have not personally used it, but have seen some results from very amateur people and I like what I saw.

 

[Schett]

Fellow Pinnacle User

I to use Pinnacle for projects at home. It does alot for very little money but it does seem to crash often.

AVID does have the AVID Express DV program for home use. I don't believe DVD's can be authored without using a secondary program. I saw it for $500 a B&H. I have also heard good things about Adobe Premiere Pro. It does offer DVD authoring. I think it is also around $500.

 

[hunt tv]

I use FCP and Avid..but cost a bit...you could pick up a Vegas 6 for a buck or two and and could be very happy with that. free trial.

 

[justashooter]

I think Sony Vegas is a pretty full featured NLE. Give it a try, you can download a tryout of Sony Vegas 7 at https://www.sonymediasoftware.com and if you like it, it can be had for $334. Here is how I did it. B&H Photo sells Vegas 6 for $99, you can then upgrade to V7 (which includes DVD Architect 4, Magic Bullet Movie Looks HD 50 and AC-3 encoding software) for $234 at https://www.sonymediasoftware.com/shopping/item.asp?PID=416&cid=111&disp=1

I've found it to be very stable. The one thing that took a while to get used to, I was using Adobe Premiere before switching to Vegas, was the single preview window/edit window. I kinda missed the side-by-side windows.

Give it a try.

Duane

 

[Tapeape]

Believe it or not, Premiere Pro has become quite a robust little editor. A lot of people are turned off of premiere because the last time they used it was version 6.5 or before, but the difference between those and the Pro versions is night and say.

My shop just got Newscutter and I gotta say, there are a LOT of areas where Premiere is actually much better - especially if you're talking about the user interface. I find myself having to click all over the place to switch to the various modes I need in Avid. Premiere just figures out what you want to do based on where your mouse is. No switching to a trim tool to trim clips. if you put your mouse on the edge of a clip, Premiere knows you want to trim and switches to that mode. Easy.

At my old shop I even did daily turn news on Premiere, so it's fast enough to keep up with whatever workflow you need to do.

And yeah, version 2.0 does offer DVD authoring, but with a caveat - - you must have a burner that's supported by Premiere in order to pull that off. There's a list of them on the Adobe website.

 

[Auto Tranz]

Premiere Pro should do the trick

 

[Necktie Boy]

I use and like Premiere Pro. Like Tapeape said, it can burn a DVD off the timeline. No menu, but makes a quick simple DVD. Also you can put markers on the time and create chapters off the timeline. If you haven't tried the new Premiere Pro, you should. Lots of good features.

 

[villagevidiot]

Absolutly sold on Premere Pro 2.0 Very intuitive! I have been married to the adobe product for about 2 years...I started with version 1.5 was impressed and upgraded to 2.0...2.0 also offers multicam editing...so if you have are doing a multicam shoot, no longer do you need a mixer...just find a common point on all your video switch to multicam mode and all you do is click to select the shot you want...very cool! I also found that using the effects palette is much much easier than avid. The only advantage the avid offers over premere is you can edit audio much easier!

If you can find a student to buy premere for you do it...it will save you about $300 bucks!

 

[patssle]

I also love 2.0. Its fantastic and stable on a powerful system with no extra graphic cards (Matrox). I've edited a multi-layered graphic intensive sports show on it, rendered the entire 30-minutes overnight while I slept, and would always wake up to a finished product.

 

[SoMissTV]

We just got Newtek's SpeedEdit for a laptop at the office. It's based on the software that runs with the Video Toaster card, but is only $499.

We've had good luck with it, but we've also only had it for three months.

 

[ReadyTeddy]

Adobe Premiere is nice, but it's hardly a prosumer type product. It costs over $500 and is a very full featured professional editor.

I think "whatsatripod" might be looking for something cheaper and easier to use...

SONY has a couple of streamlined implementations of VEGAS which go for around $100 street price.

Vegas Movie Studio 6 is geared to someone who wants to create simple videos that can be exported to online formats like QT and Windows Media.

Vegas Movie Studio+DVD Platinum is about $120 and supports HDV.

I've found that VEGAS is stable and quick. It's not as gimmickey as the Pinnacle products.

 

[NoJobTog]

http://www.applied-magic.com/p_screenplay.html
Basic System 1,500.00 dollars but it is a descent system. I liked using it. I think you can by upgrades like different transition etc. I used this system at my first station along with xl1s. Everything works in real time. I wouldn't buy the dvd burner with it. I would interface the system with a computer with a burner and use it that way.
120GB Hard Drive
64MB DRAM Memory
7 hrs Broadcast Quality Video
DVD Recorder (Optional)
12 Storyboards
130+ Customizable Transitions
16+ Special Effects
29+ Color Effects
Broadcast digital quality video (DV-1394) In & Out
Front Inputs
CD-ROM for importing audio, digital photos, graphics and true-type fonts
Headphone and microphone connections
PC-MCIA slot
5 levels of capture quality
Custom Keyboard & Mouse

 

[John M.]

If not Premiere Pro

You might investigate Adobe Premiere Elements ($99 at http://www.adobe.com/products/premiereel/). It's a basic version that might do enough for cheap enough.

 

[couryhouse]

SpeedEdit yea I just got it also... also use vegas

SpeedEdit yea I just got it also... also use vegas

Vegas is awsome but wanted something quicker for banging out quick news items.

so far there are things I like and things I dislike....

more later as I learn it!

We just got Newtek's SpeedEdit for a laptop at the office. It's based on the software that runs with the Video Toaster card, but is only $499.

We've had good luck with it, but we've also only had it for three months.

 

[BNVN]

pc vs mac... adove 2.0 pro vs fcp 5

Ok, I know the whole Mac Vs PC or PC Vs Mac and Adobe vs FCP will start some heated fights with some people but here is some real world help.

I just got done editing a project that took a terabyte of disk space at home on my PC using Adobe 1.5 and then 2.0 when I upgraded.

This is an 2 hour long project out of almost 30 hours of hurricane footage from 2005.

At the same time I also edited a 28 minute project for someone else on a Mac using Final Cut Pro 5.0

What is the difference between FCP and Adobe Pro 2.0

Not much but the price.

Yes, not much.

Some will argue but I found that Adobe Pro 2.0 was better and easier to work with since the settings and output was much simpler and the fact that it was on an NTSC setup, the huge file sizes were a non factor.

Major differences? Just the short cuts on the keyboard. They both do the same thing. It's like someone speaking english from the back woods of Mississippi talking to someone from Ireland. There both speaking english but it will take some time to understand it.

Granted there are some features in Adobe and FCP that come standard with one but not the other. But if you have a PC and a budget less then a grand, go with Adobe Pro 2.0

But if your on a Mac, go with FCP.

Just remember, you get what you pay for when it comes to computers and software. If you pay under $100 for stuff at the store, don't expect too much.

Doug
www.WeatherPaparazzi.com