OT software question

[monte55]

I am searching for a decent video editing software. I am trying a trial of Adobe Premier Elements 4 now. Anyone use this or other and remarks?
Thanks

[lens42]

This may sound silly, but I know two dads who bought Macs just to use the iMovie video editing software. They got fed up with messing around with various PC software. One made a nice DVD of ours kids little league season and finished it the on same day he bought the Mac notebook. I know this is an expensive solution, but it works with the least hair pulling.

[jonnymag]

I'm sure everybody has their preference and their own reasons for their preference. So here's mine:

(1) Format. My camera's output is AVI. In fact, I think all digital video cameras, digital cameras, and camera phones output to either MPEG or AVI. Because they're generic formats that can be played on any computer using any video player.

(2) Features vs. ease of use. I'm not a film maker. I'm just making home videos and short presentations. I don't need professional quality editing software. Having special features is OK as long as the basic editing features are easy to use.

(3) Cost vs. Features. Cost is more important.

(4) My computer came with Windows Movie Maker (WMV format), Quicktime Pro (MOV), and Real Producer (RM). These are proprietary editors. They output to proprietary formats. And require proprietary video player software.

My video geek friend recommended an AVI editor called Virtualdub. The basic editing is very simple to use. But it's geek software with a lot of bells and whistles (which I usually ignore unless I have a particular problem to fix). It has an online user support forum. And it's freeware.