Berlin - A big family get-together, your child's first steps: there are lots of reasons to pull out the camcorder and record life's most wonderful moments in moving images.
One press of the record button and hours of video footage pile up. That's not the end of the process, though. Try showing your friends and families that raw material and you'll quickly test their patience. There's only one way out: editing.
There are a variety of commercial programs to edit your home videos, as well as several no-cost freeware ones. The freeware solutions typically provide less functionality than commercial software. They nevertheless are capable of putting together respectable results.
"Adobe, Magix, and Pinnacle are the top dogs in the video editing field," says Markus Bautsch from the German consumer testing organization Stiftung Warentest in Berlin. Those three software houses also tend to pull in the best grades in comparative software testing.
Germany's Computer Bild magazine, for example, recently tested the software for HD readiness. It's an important criterion, because almost all new mobile phones, camcorders, digital cameras and pocket camcorders record at HD resolutions. The winner was Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 14 from Avid, followed closely by Video Deluxe 16 Plus from Magix, Power Director 8 Ultra from Cyber Link, and Premiere Elements 8 from Adobe. All four programs are available in stores for around 100 dollars.
"That's how much you have to put down to get a proper program," Bartsch, the software tester, claims.
There are typically three variants of the software. "The base variant is suitable for normal video resolution. That's sufficient for older camcorders recording on Mini DV cassettes," explains Georg Oevermann from Computer Bild. These variants cost between 50 and 70 dollars. Only the better equipped programs bring HD-quality burning, for around 100 dollars.
"The even more expensive versions have additional material and are typically something for hobbyists," Oevermann says.
Yet even the basic and HD variants possess lots of functions, multiple video tracks, and a full bag of effects. "There are many semi-professional features that amateur filmmakers often don't use at all," explains Thomas Probst from Chip Foto-Video magazine. If all you need to do is splice a few scenes together, then a free program is often enough.
"Video editing programs come pre-installed on many computers," Oevermann says. Windows Movie Maker earned a poor reputation because of its instability. The new Windows Live Movie Maker, available only on Windows 7 and Vista, can be downloaded for free and is significantly improved. "The program is easy to use and suitable for beginners," Oevermann notes.
There is a catch, though. While the software is theoretically capable of editing the AVCHD high-def format, it cannot save it at that quality and must instead convert it to the less impressive WMV format. "The best free program is probably iMovie 09," Oevermann finds. The editing software from Apple comes pre-installed on Macs and stands out for ease of use and stability.
It's worth noting, though, that the "big boys" of video software may also offer free versions of their software as well. These tend to be stripped-down versions or time-limited trial versions. They are also usually limited in their licenses.
"It's quite annoying if you have edited a film and go to burn it to DVD only to find that it doesn't work because there's no license - or the film can't be exported into the corresponding format," says Marks Bautsch from Stiftung Warentest.
On the other hand, the test versions are perfect for figuring out whether a program fits your needs or not. "You can usually use them for 30 days free, with no further commitment," Thomas Probst says.
Users should take advantage of that time to see how comfortable they find the user interface. Even Windows Movie Maker is suitable for getting your feet wet with film editing and learning how the software works. There are also completely no-cost Open Source programs like Cinefx or VirtualDub. They require a bit more advance knowledge about video editing, though.
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