Hi, I just purchased a Panasonic pv-gs 300 and am looking for a user friendly capture and edit program as i am a noob to all of this new digital technology.I used to video with my super 8's and hi 8 sony corders and edit with my sony editor in days gone by and now all of this is new to me and i want to do something similar for the grandkids as i did for their parents.

All i really want to do is fade in and out and add a little music where necessary, no Steven Spielberg stuff.
At least that is what my plans are for the moment. I have other hobbies and don't plan on spending all my time editing.

So I was wondering if this program is complicated as I have heard that the Sony Vegas program is basic.
But what I need is one where there would be a Tutorial that I could go over and over until I understand it and keep notes in my notebook binder that I reference when I run into problems.

I already capture video via a Hauppauge win tv pvr usb 2 and then create a dvd with ulead movie factory 4.
I know that I can Import from that program the video from my corder to the hdd but am not sure about editing as I know the Ulead has a program Video 10.

Since I am a Noob, I am not looking for something that I have to spend hrs reading about only to do a short 4.75 dvd.

As it stands I am not fussy about the corder and its user friendliness, it is simply not like the old sony's that is for certain. Joystick and toggling around to turn off and on etc.
I would not be looking at one of these if it were not of the grandkids, I found the older models to my liking and more user friendly.
They say point and shoot and all the while you have to be looking through the LCD and burning up your battery. I still prefer looking through the eye piece.
But times do change.

Please advise as to what would be a recommended program for me to use as it would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou.

I would say if that is all you want to do with it then go Adobe Premiere Elements 2. It is much more for the home user then the Pro version is and MUCH MUCH cheaper. Sony Vegas is good too. I started out with Sony Vegas then moved to Adobe Premiere 6 then after liking it so much I immediately upgraded to the Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5. I don't have PP 2.0, but will get it evetually. Personally I like Adobe better than Sony Vegas I won't go back too Vegas. Adobe is where it is for me.

Just make sure to try each one out and test it for yourself before buying.

Go here for a Try Out version of Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0:
http://www.adobe.com/go/trypremiere_...ts_win_landing

Here is the demo downloads for Sony:
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/dow...p1.asp?CatID=1


Dave

APE2.0 will do everything you want it to from capture, to editing, to burning out to a DVD again. Everything is laid out in a simple step by step fashion, so when you complete one step you just click on the next. It contains a timeline, just like the way they edited old movie film in Hollywood decades ago (you can see every frame of the video if you so desire) with a razor blade and what was the name of that tape or gum they used to stick it back together again with? This idea of cutting bits out, sticking in a bit from somewhere else on the reel and then splicing it all together seems to be the idea behind programs such as APE2.0 and others. Either download or go into your local news store and see what video editing magazines are on sale and you should have no problem finding demo versions of all of the latest video editing software on the cover mounted DVD. They will run for 30 days and most have all their functions working. See which ones you like, which ones run the best on your computer and which ones have the best support both from a written perspective and from the Internet.

__________________
Better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick any day...

Another silly question, how does one incorporate the music. I remember it was quite a challenge with my super 8 and hi 8 sony's and their editor. Getting the music to start right on cue and also being able to stop the footage at the right time.
I remember doing a 90th birthday compilation that took me months as there would be silly things occurs such as when I wanted to stop the video at a certain point as the music stopped, I ended up with the subject with a spoon in the face and it drove me nuts.
That one particular piece I had to edit over at least a dozen times and it was a 45 min video in total.
Of course technology has improved a lot since then.

My biggest problem at that time was picking out music that was the duration of the clip that I was using.

Also where does one get this music. Can I use my own cd music? As I don't d/l music.
I still have a lot of cassettes that I use and in many cases the music I might want to use is on these, however I don't believe there is a way to transfer cassette format to cd is there?
At least I have not read about it.

I look forward to comments, thankyou.
Sorry if these questions are mundane, however they are in my mind at present.

Cheers and best regards.

Ok as far as editing so the movie ends with the music.....its not that bad, you have seperate tracks/layers to build on and you can "crop" where you want it to stop and start....if you play with the program a little bit it will become apparent...

If you have CD's, you can rip them using Windows Media Player....just make sure that you set it up so that it doesnt protect the files and that it also rips them to MP3's, the default is WMV and would not be compatable.

I have only ever used Premier Pro. Infact I only use the Adobe products. It is quite hard to get to grips with but I taught myself and am now happy with all what the different programs have to offer.

I would say that unless you have the time and patience to sit down, learn it and be prepared to make mistakes then steer clear. Its not very forgiving but when it works (or when you can work it!) its fantastic.

www.onlinevideosolutions.co.uk