I am going to be a newcomer to editing video on my computer so I want a software that has good flexibility, features and ease of use. I ordered a firewire input for my computer which I'm still waiting to recieve so in the meantime I need some advice on different softwares.
I've heard a little about some softwares such as Adobe Premiere and Pinnacle. I've recently discovered that my Windows XP already has Movie Maker video software that came with my computer when I bought it. I didn't know that it had it because I had no reason to use it until now. What I've heard about Adobe is that it's very diffucult to learn how to use, which I would not be interested in because I'm a beginner to this. Is Pinnacle also difficult to learn to use? Does it have more features than the software that I already have? What would be the advantages of Adobe Premiere?
I would very much appreciate any advice.
Thanks, Tunes Man.

[Stuart Wright]

Try reading some of the software reviews at www.camuser.co.uk and www.whatcamcorder.net

[David]

I would stick with Movie Maker 2 until you REALLY outgrow it. It's pretty good actually!

I'm actually anxious to try it out,(Movie Maker 2 that is) but I don't have any way to download any video, unless there's a way that I can take a video clip from one of the dvd's that I've already made. I have a couple of dvd recorders that I've currently been recording all my home movies on, but I don't know of any way that I could take a video clip from one of them to experiment with.
My computer does have a dvd player built into it, but is it possible to record a segment of one of my home dvd's onto my computer's hard drive? I'd like to find out.
Thanks for any replies. Tunes Man.

[MarkE19]

As David said I would stick with MM2 for now.
It is basic, but easy to learn and with some nice features. If/when you want more then go for Pinnacle Studio 8 (get all the latest downloads for it). This is also fairly simple to use and what you have learnt from MM2 will help with Studio 8. But you might find that the free MM2 is all you want, so why spend money you don't need to.
The advantages of spending more money are added features such as more wipes, better titleing, effects etc. Premiere has hundreds of these, and MM2 only has a few. Studio8 is somewhere in between.

Mark.

Thanks Mark. I recently downloaded Movie Maker 2. My computer only came with Movie Maker, which is not as elaborate. I do have some video clips that I have been able to experiment with. One of my Sony camcorders allows me to transfer a 15 second segment of video from the video tape onto the included "Memory
Stick", which came with the camcorder. I can then by means of a Sony floppy disc adapter transfer these clips onto my computer. I have several of these clips on my hard drive. I didn't really realize until I started checking into this video editing that I could already do this with my computer a long time ago! (duh!)
Anyway with these video clips on file I've been experimenting with
Movie Maker 2 and it's kind of exciting to work with. It's added a
whole new demension to video.
I'm still waiting to recieve my firewire input to install on my computer so that I can really do some work. Thanks again, Tunes.

[stretcher]

I'm new to video editing too - the new edition of PC Plus magazine has got an interesting guide to movie maker with XP - looks like a good place to start

Tunes Man: You mention that you have a Sony Camcorder with a memory stick card, perhaps you can assist me with something.

I've not a newbie to this but was suprised when my Sony DCR-IP220 connected perfectly using the Software from Sony which came bundled with my camera.

However, no other software would connect to the camera, including MM2 and Ulead Video Studio. I emailed Sony who replied that because the camera uses the new MicroDV format, only the Sony software and Pinnacle Digital DV8 could connect to it.

nevertheless it's great, I've got a DVD-R and have already created a test DVD and the results are very impressive!

To Pyara: I'm afraid that I'm kind of new to this video software game and haven't been able to experiment with any other software to know which one works with the other since I'm basically just getting started. All I know is that what I've been doing for right now is a little bit of experimenting with some video clips that I've downloaded by means of the memory stick that came with my camcorder. A lot of the newer Sony dv camcorders come with one and even my Sony VX2000 has one. The VX2000 does not however allow me to download a 15 second video clip like my cheaper camera does though. Anyway, I've got a floppy disc adapter which I use to transfer these onto my computer. I've been using these clips to experiment with my Movie Maker 2 software which I downloaded for free from a web site. These video clips have allowed me to see what the Movie Maker 2 is capable of and what features I can use for my videos, but what I really want to do is get my firewire input and download actual video from my camera's video tape. Then I can really see what I can do. I've had no compatibility problems with software from my Sony camera's,(I'm not really using Sony software other than the software for the Sony floppy disc adapter.)
It sounds to me though that you've got your problem licked. Hope it continues to work out for you! Tunes Man.

[MarkE19]

Pyara,
it is well known that many of the popular editing programmes can not control the new Sony microDV camcorders. As new versions of the software become available then this problem should be resolved. Until then its down to the Sony software for device control.

Mark.