Editing video software?

concorde
concorde Posts: 1,008
edited April 2011 in The Crudcatcher
prob been asked a fair few times but the search function on here leaves a lot to be desired so....

I want to edit a HD quality video clip, what software allows me to do this and keep the HD quality? Last time I did it the programme seemed to reduce the quality a lot!

Thanks in advance guys

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Well, generally, editing will reduce the quality. Which is why professionals start with uncompressed, high quality footage.

    I'm guessing since you don't state, that you're on a PC, so have a look at windows live movie maker, it's actually pretty good. For anything more complex, then have a look at Sony's Vegas software. Sony Vegas studio (or home studio, or whatever it's called) can be bought for around £50 and is jaw droppingly capable.
  • concorde
    concorde Posts: 1,008
    Cheers man. Just on a lappy. Don't want nothing fancy. Just something that can delete a few bits out. I tried with videopad, but it's pretty crap I think. No help with how to use it whatsoever!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Try windows live movie maker then. the LIVE version is very different to the one that comes with windows.
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    Try windows live movie maker then. the LIVE version is very different to the one that comes with windows.


    potato.... it's actually very good.
    I like bikes and stuff
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    Whatever software you use, it will be slow as feck on a laptop. WMM might be your best option at the mo. If you want something more complex then wait till you have a PC.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Depends what the laptop is. My work laptop is actually more powerful than one of my home computers.
  • welshkev
    welshkev Posts: 9,690
    redvee wrote:
    Whatever software you use, it will be slow as feck on a laptop. WMM might be your best option at the mo. If you want something more complex then wait till you have a PC.

    for the stuff i've shot my laptop is fine, and my brother uses a laptop to do alot of his editing and he runs a video production company (ok so it's a mac but...)
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    my lappy runs a 2.66 GHZ core i5 processor and 4gb of ram... it's more than happy to edit anything I can throw at it.
    I like bikes and stuff
  • mak3m
    mak3m Posts: 1,394
    ewwwww windows movie maker :?

    Vegas is quite good i prefer to use it for audio editing very quick and powerful, big advantage is the masses of video tutorials out there for this

    prefer adobe prem pro for video, it has nested sequences so you can composite a sequence or complicated edit and keep your main timeline nice and neat

    + if you get adobe production suite you get the adobe dynamic link switch straight from prem pro to after effects cuts down massivly on render times particularly working on uncompressed footage which is a must for quality
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Oh get stuffed, vegas home studio, circa £50 Adobe's package = substantial financial outlay, you douche.
    Yeah, a full discrete combustion/smoke setup is ace, but at what cost?
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    edited April 2011
    doublepost
  • mak3m
    mak3m Posts: 1,394
    ffs use your imagination, i ride a half tonne ht, if i could dl a lapier i would
  • blister pus
    blister pus Posts: 5,780
    mak3m wrote:
    ffs use your imagination, i ride a half tonne ht, if i could dl a lapier i would
    You've got people who work in IT and develop for a living on this site. The last thing I'd start banging on about is warez.
  • mak3m
    mak3m Posts: 1,394
    i didnt i suggested an editing package nothing more
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    mak3m wrote:
    i didnt i suggested an editing package nothing more
    Oh, really? Because...
    mak3m wrote:
    ffs use your imagination, i ride a half tonne ht, if i could dl a lapier i would
    Looks to me (and Blister pus it seems) suspiciously like a suggestion to just download it from somewhere.
  • phz
    phz Posts: 478
    just because someone has to say it...

    ditch windoze, ignore mac OS and install linux.

    kdenlive and/or cinelerra will do the job for nowt.

    (I personally prefer kdenlive these days - much less buggy and more powerful than it used to be, and WAY easier to use than cinerella (don't care how powerful that is if it takes an hour just to split a clip).

    slainte :D rob
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I quite like cinelerra, but compared to something like Vegas, it is clunky as all hell.
    Which is what I notice with most Linux software, unless you go for the pro packages, which are uber-expensive. So you're right back into Windows/OSX territory.

    Linux support for obscure HD formats seems lacking, There were a few video files I was just never able to open at all.
  • concorde
    concorde Posts: 1,008
    Why do these things always turn in to an "I wank off Mac" or an "I wank off Linux" who cares. They're all the same! Well they're different for some things, but for your Joe average AKA me! it makes no difference!

    I'll try that one yeehaamcgee cheers man!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Concorde wrote:
    Why do these things always turn in to an "I wank off Mac" or an "I wank off Linux"
    Because these guys have a superiority complex, and believe themselves and fellow users to be above the rest of humanity?

    I find it very irritating when people assume I just defaulted to Windows. I didn't, I chose to use it. In fact, I use OSX, Linux and windows, but all of my professional work is done on Windows. That's right, by choice.
  • concorde
    concorde Posts: 1,008
    Haha, I like it yeehaamcgee there's an element of snob in there somewhere. "Oh look at these Windows noobs! While I'm sat here playing solitaire on me Mac!" Great stuff!

    They all have their place, simple as. Just like a Carrera Vulcan has it's place on a trail and so does a Lapierre Zesty.

    I used to run Linux on my PS3. I can't no more as SONY tweeked the rules because the full power of the thing was beginning to be unlocked by some legend and he spoilt it for us all. But hey, who cares. If it does the job for me (which it does) I'm happy with my lappy running... what was it???? Windoze???? Haha :roll:
  • mak3m
    mak3m Posts: 1,394
    mak3m wrote:
    i didnt i suggested an editing package nothing more
    Oh, really? Because...
    mak3m wrote:
    ffs use your imagination, i ride a half tonne ht, if i could dl a lapier i would
    Looks to me (and Blister pus it seems) suspiciously like a suggestion to just download it from somewhere.

    meh perception doesnt count

    original question
    I want to edit a HD quality video clip, what software allows me to do this and keep the HD quality? Last time I did it the programme seemed to reduce the quality a lot!

    you cant get that on either windows movie maker or vegas home studio

    the difference is £120 btw


    home studio vegas is like having a scott genius without the wheels
  • phz
    phz Posts: 478
    Didn't mean to come off as a 'Linux is better' fanboi, just offering alternatives as it's what I choose to use at home as I like the open source ethos (although to be totally honest even though Linux is as capable as I need for 'hobbyist' image manipulation and audio processing every time I want to do something more involved video-wise I do think about re-installing Windows).

    In my job (teacher) we use Windows and I always advise my (GCSE Media) students that Movie Maker is more than capable of doing pretty much everything they need at that level, although those that get more involved in this stuff end up evenly split between Vegas and Adobe. Try the demos and see which workflow appeals.

    slainte :D rob
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Ah, the old Premier/vegas divide.
    As a sound guy, I tend to fall into the Vegas camp, since it's as fluid to use as a multitrack audio editor.
  • mak3m
    mak3m Posts: 1,394
    it was a pure audio package till vegas 4.0, still just so much easier to edit and mix audio with it even though im an adobe nut
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I don't understand how the pros work with things like Avid, it's just so clunky to my eyes.
    With audio, we routinely edit multitracks where we have dozens and dozens of tracks. And we manage fine.
    Video virtually never runs to that many tracks.

    The multitrack audio editing wokflow just seems to make sense from a "get it done quick" approach.
  • phz
    phz Posts: 478
    mak3m wrote:
    it was a pure audio package till vegas 4.0, still just so much easier to edit and mix audio with it even though im an adobe nut
    Yeah, but I guess the Vegas/Acid crossover got too much for the Sony marketing guys so Vegas got steered towards video more at that point.

    Never really got on with the Acid/Vegas approach to audio personally. Until I moved to Linux I used Adobe Audition for multi-tracking & audio editing, but I guess that stems from me using CoolEdit back in the day when I first started playing with digital audio.

    slainte :) rob
  • mak3m
    mak3m Posts: 1,394
    never tried audition, similar to soundbooth?

    always seemed i was only scratching the surface and that it was way more powerful than i needed for my nub stitching together :D

    vegas feels more comfy, big think to admit for an adobe user :lol::lol::lol:
  • phz
    phz Posts: 478
    Wasn't aware of Soundbooth, but looking at the Adobe site it looks like it uses the same or similar audio processing to Audition, just wrapped up in a less 'audio specialist' interface.

    Seems Adobe are ditching it next week anyway and just leaving Audition as their do-it-all audio processing app.

    slainte :arrow: rob
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    pHz wrote:
    Wasn't aware of Soundbooth, but looking at the Adobe site it looks like it uses the same or similar audio processing to Audition, just wrapped up in a less 'audio specialist' interface.

    Seems Adobe are ditching it next week anyway and just leaving Audition as their do-it-all audio processing app.

    slainte :arrow: rob

    Its audition lite. Handy for quick edits but really annoying when yiou want more control over the audio. At the high end though prem/fcp/avid and after effects/combustion are all pretty much the same. If you can cut and paste then you're away. Bring back string and sellotape/
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    At the high end though prem/fcp/avid and after effects/combustion are all pretty much the same. If you can cut and paste then you're away.
    Not really. At the high end it comes down to the really fine details. Ability to import/exportd EDLs from other workstations, very accurate colour correction/compensation, timecode sync - sometimes at different rates simultaneously, real-time editing whilst on air, import and export of a vast array of formats not commonly supported by consumer kit, speed of editing, painting, autoconforming, quality of compositing etc etc etc.