Author Topic: Minimal software and computer needs for editing video clips (Read 4846 times)

sg123 · « **on:** January 23, 2015, 17:59 »

I've checked into the requirements for Adobe Premiere and others and don't want to spend that much money at this time. Also, I am not going to be making any video productions now. I just want to be able to do basic editing of individual clips that I will upload to stock agencies.

Does anyone have any suggestions for basic software and computer power needed?

Thank you.

gcrook · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2015, 20:20 »

Pretty much anything will do for hardware,even "mum's laptop" so to speak, unless we are talking 4K.
Same goes for software.
Maybe try to be a bit more specific?

sg123 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 24, 2015, 00:41 »

I want to be able to do the basics like trim a clip to the proper length and make color corrections, and then submit in the form required by the stock agencies. Again, at this point, I will not be making any productions, so I'm thinking I can get by with less computing power.

It would also be nice to be able to do stabilization, since I will be doing much from aircraft.

Semmick Photo · « **Reply #3 on:** January 24, 2015, 06:37 »

Power director is cheap and basic

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 24, 2015, 08:40 »

I use MPEG Streamclip, which is free and works on a Mac. It does very basic stuff fine. For stabilization I imagine you will have to pay.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #5 on:** January 24, 2015, 09:06 »

I'd say for comfort and not squeezing your computer to it's limits, 8GB memory and a good video card with it's own memory - not the one that comes on the mother board. Fast, high RPM, hard drive for your scratch disk. (in other words, software runs on the C drive, you work is being edited on E or some physically other drive. Just another partition is not going to do anything)

That's a good start.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/equipment-and-software/is-it-possible-to-edit-video-in-i5-processor/msg395293/#msg395293

sg123 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 24, 2015, 19:43 »

Thanks for all the replies. I haven't purchased a computer for over 6 years so have some catching up to do. Do you think it would be possible to find something around $600 plus monitor that could do a sufficient job? I can work with slow for now but don't want crashes.

Would this work?

newbielink:http://sellout.woot.com/offers/hp-pavilion-quad-core-desktop-w-2tb-hd-27?utm_campaign=Amazon+Daily+-+20150124+-+Sellout.Woot+-+hp-pavilion-quad-core-desktop-w-2tb-hd-27&utm_source=Amazon&utm_medium=email [nonactive]

sg123 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 24, 2015, 19:45 »

In case the above link doesn't work, it's for this computer:

HP Pavilion 500-314 Desktop, AMD A8-7600 Quad-Core 3.1GHz, 8GB DDR3, 2TB SATA, 802.11n, Win8.1

Holmes · « **Reply #8 on:** January 25, 2015, 14:14 »

from my experience... buying underpowered technology and marginal software always turns into regret. sure you save some money up front but then have to live with a dogged system and all the frustration of that. eventually you will want to edit a demo reel or something for family and friends... Final Cut Pro X is a powerful cost-effective program.

Mantis · « **Reply #9 on:** January 25, 2015, 17:45 »

Quote from: Holmes on January 25, 2015, 14:14

from my experience... buying underpowered technology and marginal software always turns into regret. sure you save some money up front but then have to live with a dogged system and all the frustration of that. eventually you will want to edit a demo reel or something for family and friends... Final Cut Pro X is a powerful cost-effective program.

Couldn't agree more. I went the cheap route and had nothing but issues, crummy outputs and horrible customer support, in fact they never returned support tickets, emails, etc. That was Power Director that was mentioned in this thread....zero support. I ended up making a big change and went from Windows to Mac and purchased Final Cut Pro. It has opened up more opportunities for me I really had no idea I could leverage. I now have a mix and wide breadth of video content thanks to FCPX. I don't regret making the change and there is A LOT on the net to help you with FCPX.

images · « **Reply #10 on:** January 25, 2015, 21:13 »

I use Corel Video Studio. It is cheap and does basic editing and doesn't have the steep learning curve like some of the other programs. Stabilization is not good, though.