'Hobbyist' PC editing software for MPEG4 AVC/H.264 footage?

Luis Caffesse

Luis Caffesse

Admin
So a friend of mine just emailed me - he has this new camera and doesn't know what program to get into for post.

He's NOT a video professional - but he's definitely a tech savy guy
(he's a programmer). He's looking to shoot and edit home movies, basically.
I would call him a hobbyist - he wants to have fun, but he doesn't want it to feel too much like work.

He's on a PC.
Told me he downloaded the Premiere demo and he felt like it was too much for him.

So - is there something on the PC side that I could recommend to him that is somewhere between Windows Movie Maker and Premiere in terms of complexity and options?

iMovie sounds just about right (maybe a little too simplistic) but he's not on a Mac.
So...any thoughts?

OH yeah - and this camera is shooting MPG4 AVC/H.264 footage.
 
Here's a list of various PC based NLE's. (they rate 'ease of use')
http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

The real rub here is the codec (AVC HD). It does a good job compressing the signal, however it's a lot of work for the processor to decompress the signal for editing. I'm unaware of any programs that edit AVC HD natively. From my understanding even iMovie transcodes the AVC HD footage to another codec.
 
Which Premiere did he try? Pro or Elements?

Prem. Elements is about as good as it gets for user friendly but powerful, AND it's cheap too!

- Mikko
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys - I'm not sure what version of Premiere he tried... I'll ask him.
Both Premiere Elements and Edius Neo seem to be right along the lines of what he's looking for.
I didn't even realize those programs existed.
:)

And Milksac - thanks for that link, that's exactly the kind of breakdown I needed to see.


This site rocks.
 
Maybe the consumer version of Sony Vegas.

I believe it has most of what Vegas has aside from support for a few formats, and not as many tracks.
 
milksac said:
Here's a list of various PC based NLE's. (they rate 'ease of use')
http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

The real rub here is the codec (AVC HD). It does a good job compressing the signal, however it's a lot of work for the processor to decompress the signal for editing. I'm unaware of any programs that edit AVC HD natively. From my understanding even iMovie transcodes the AVC HD footage to another codec.
Click to expand...

Hi Milksac,

I'm thinking of buying a cam that shoots in the MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format too. I want to use it for underwater video to mix in with edits shot on the Sony Z1. Will I be able to use this format in Final Cut Pro as I'm getting reports that I cannot.

Many Thanks

Matt Hopkins
 
Pinnacle Studio 11 has native realtime-ish support for AVC-HD as well. I think EDIUS Neo is supposed to offer AVC-HD native but I'm not sure.
 
Neo does support AVC-HD natively.

There is also a newer version of their conversion utility (free download) that will convert avc-hd files to Canopus HQ for easier editing. It's supposed to be about 10% faster and 50% less memory intensive, if I remember correctly. I don't know if it's only for EDIUS or will work for NEO as well, though.

Later,
Jaon
 
Jason Ramsey said:
maybe EDIUS? It has native avchd support.


Jason
Click to expand...


You've got to be kidding. I swear that Edius is the least intuitive NLE out there. I haven't looked at anything beyond 4.0, but unless it's changed its interface I'd say stay away from Edius. As a certified software bonehead, I think I known what I'm talking about here.

Btw, Luis, is that a camera or a electric shaver?
 
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