video editing software

[Roadtorque]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for an easy to use product to take mpeg-4 files I shoot with my camera and edit them and turn several short clips into a longer movie. Anyone have a specific software they like? I'm using a windows vista based computer.

[Mike]

I would start with the free windows software that you should already have loaded on your computer called Windows Movie Maker. That is a very simple yet effective program to use. There are others out there with a lot more features but first, try that out and see what else you would like to be able to do from there.

[Roadtorque]

Thanks Mike! It goes to show how well I know my computer, I had no idea it had that!

[Stonewall]

I have been wanting to get a nice outdoor video camera for a while, so a couple months ago, I finally bit the bullet and bought a GoPro Hero 2. It's a nice little camera, very versatile and easy to use. But I now have a problem. I have several memory cards full of video, and no way to make nice movies with it. I have tried Windows Movie Maker, but it doesn't work well for me. I'm not very good at using computers, so I need something that will be simple. The GoPro is capable of 1080p video, so it needs to be able to work with that. Any suggestions?

[Mike]

What isn't working well for you with windows movie maker? The reason I'm asking is that it could be a file size issue. At 1080p the files will be very large especially if you just let the camera record without stopping it. Even on a dedicated video editing Mac machine, a couple of GBs of video is tough to process at once. I have tried a couple of different windows programs and found the longer files freezing the programs regardless of which one I used unless I cut the videos down to more manageable lengths. Maybe try that first. If a video is really long, open it up in movie maker, cut it into smaller parts and save them as separate videos. Then work with those videos.

If it's another issue, you may want to try Pinnacle Studio as it isn't very expensive.

[Stonewall]

It's not a file size issue, I have only used short (15-20 minute) test videos to try and learn how to use it. The problems I was having were that as soon as I opened it up in movie maker, the quality tanked. It would also sometimes make them choppy so to speak, and a couple times the whole program crashed. I will try it again on a different computer and see if that works better.