Prosumer Editor Reviews - Introduction

Whenever I review a prosumer video editor, it involves multiple days of testing not only the program I'm reviewing, but also the most relevant competitors. The results are generally incorporated into a short cohesive review that hits the highlights but not the underlying detail. A single screen replaces the dozens usually involved in the process.

For years, I've been promising myself to create some pages that detail the complete analysis, with sample clips, screen shots and comparative frames that illustrate the key differences between the programs and show why some rate high while others are downgraded. So here we are.

The following pages detail my tests of Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, Apple Final Cut Studio, Avid Xpress DV Pro, Pinnacle Edition 6 and Sony Vegas 6.  They are unedited stream of consciousness self dialog, not the polished reviews that I am able to produce with the help of the great editors at the various magazines I'm proud to write for.

Note that these aren't the only criteria I consider when evaluating video editors, but constitute the bulk of my testing and analysis efforts. I'm getting them in slowly, so please be patient.

If you see any errors or mis-statements, please let me know at jan@doceo.com.

Timeline and storyboard features, library functions, trimming, preview and other ancillary functions.

Color correction, backlight correction, image stabilization and low light videos

Describes the capabilities and performance of blue screen, slow motion, picture in picture and other artistic effects and effect controls

Mixer, rubber band controls, noise reduction, normalization and other audio-related features

Pan and zoom, red-eye removal, matching slide show to background music track.

Output features and quality for DV, MPEG-2 and Windows Media [Under Construction]

Features relating to DVD authoring and burning DVDs [Under Construction]