Comparison of video editing software
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a comparison of non-linear video editing software applications. See also a more complete list of video editing software.
Contents |
[edit] General information
This table gives basic general information about the different editors:
| Developer | Released | Latest version | List price (USD) | License | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Adobe Systems | 2003 | 2 | $849 | Proprietary |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Adobe Systems | 2004 | 3 | $100 | Proprietary |
| Avid Xpress DV | Avid | 2000 | 4.6 | $495 | Proprietary |
| Avid Xpress Pro HD | Avid | 2003 | 5.6 | $1695 | Proprietary |
| Avid Liquid | Avid | 2003 | 7.1 | $999 | Proprietary |
| Blender | Blender | 1998 | 2.43 | Free | GPL |
| Cinelerra | Heroine Virtual | 2002 | 2 | Free | GPL |
| EDIUS Pro/Broadcast | Canopus | 2002 | 4.1 | $699/$999 | Proprietary |
| Final Cut Express | Apple | 2003 | 3.5 | $299 | Proprietary |
| Final Cut Studio | Apple | 1999 | 5.1.2 | $1299 | Proprietary |
| FORscene | Forbidden Technologies | 2004 | 19 July 2006 | from $2/hour | Proprietary |
| iLife | Apple | 1999 | 6 | $79; free on new Macs | Proprietary |
| LiVES | Salsaman | 2002 | 0.9.8.2 | Free | GPL |
| MainActor | MainConcept | ? | 5.5 | $199 | Proprietary |
| Pinnacle Studio MediaSuite | Pinnacle Systems (now part of Avid) | ? | 10 | $129.99 | Proprietary |
| Serif MoviePlus | Serif (Europe) Ltd. | 2007 | 5.1.1.27 | £59.99 | Proprietary |
| Sony Vegas | Sony Media Software | ? | 7 | $449.96 | Proprietary |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Ulead Systems (now part of Corel Corporation) | ? | 8.1 | $399.99 | Proprietary |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Ulead Systems (now part of Corel Corporation) | ? | 10 | $99.99 | Proprietary |
| Video Edit Magic/Express | DeskShare | 2002 | 4.25/4.09 | $69.95/$39.95 | Proprietary |
| Windows Movie Maker | Microsoft | 2000 | 6.0.6000.16386 | Bundled with Windows | Proprietary |
| Creator | Released | Latest version | List price (USD) | License |
[edit] System requirements
This table lists the operating systems that different editors can run on without emulation, as well as other system requirements. Note that minimum system requirements are listed; some features (like High Definition support) may be unavailable with these specifications.
| Windows | Mac OS X | Unix | Processor | RAM | Disk space | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes (as of CS3) | No | 1.4 GHz,SSE2 compatible processor | 512 MB | 4 GB |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | No | No | SSE2 compatible processor | 512 MB | 4 GB |
| Avid Xpress DV | Yes | Yes | No | 933 MHz Pentium, 667 MHz PPC | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Avid Xpress Pro HD | Yes | Yes | No | Pentium 4, PowerMac G5 | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Avid Liquid | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Blender | Yes | Yes | Yes | 600 MHz | 128 MB | 20 MB |
| Cinelerra | No | No | Yes | 500 MHz | 256 MB | ? |
| EDIUS Pro/EDIUS Broadcast | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 3.0GHz+ | 1 GB | 800 MB |
| Final Cut Express | No | Yes | No | 500 MHz | 384 MB | 1 GB |
| Final Cut Studio | No | Yes | No | 867 MHz G4, Intel Core Duo or Xeon | 512 MB SD, 1 GB HD | 4 GB Apps |
| FORscene | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | 256 MB | Any |
| iMovie HD | No | Yes | No | PPC G4 or faster, Intel based Macs | 256MB | 10GB |
| LiVES | No | Yes | Yes | 800MHz | 128MB | 10GB |
| MainActor | Yes | No | Yes | 700MHz | 128MB | ? |
| Pinnacle Studio MediaSuite | Yes | No | No | 1.4GHz | 512MB | 1.7GB |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | No | No | Pentium II or AMD Athlon XP | 128 MB | 149 MB |
| Sony Vegas | Yes | No | No | 800 MHz | 256 MB | 200 MB |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | No | No | 800 MHz | 256MB | 800 MB |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | No | No | Pentium 4 or higher | 256 MB | 1 GB |
| Video Edit Magic / Express | Yes | No | No | 500 MHz or higher | 256 MB | 200 MB |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | No | No | 600 MHz | 128 MB | 2 GB |
| Windows | Mac OS X | Unix | Processor | RAM | Disk space |
"Unix" includes the similar Linux, BSD and unix-like operating systems.
Note: Adobe Premiere Pro and Premiere Elements currently operate only on Windows XP. An OS X version of Premiere Pro (for Intel processors only) has been announced for release in mid-2007.
[edit] High definition import
The table below indicates the ability of each program to import various High Definition video formats for editing.
| 720p HDV | 1080i HDV | DVCPRO HD | Uncompressed HD | IMX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | No |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Avid Xpress DV | No | No | No | No | No |
| Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Avid Liquid | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Blender | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| Cinelerra | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? |
| EDIUS Pro | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| EDIUS Broadcast | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FORscene | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iMovie | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| LiVES | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? |
| MainActor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Pinnacle Studio MediaSuite | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No |
| Sony Vegas | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (AVI only) | No |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No |
| Video Edit Magic | ? | ? | No | ? | No |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| 720p HDV | 1080i HDV | DVCPRO HD | Uncompressed | IMX |
[edit] Feature set
| High Definition support | Non-destructive editing | Full-screen playback | Storyboard mode | Video tracks | Audio tracks / max channels | Timecode display | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | Yes | 99 | 99 | Yes |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 99 | 99 | Yes |
| Avid Xpress DV | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 tracks, unlimited layers | 8 tracks, unlimited layers | Yes |
| Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 24 tracks, unlimited layers | 24 tracks, unlimited layers | Yes |
| Cinelerra | Yes (any resolution) |
Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited / 16 | Yes |
| EDIUS Pro/EDIUS Broadcast | Yes | Yes | Yes, on both PC & TV monitors in realtime | No | unlimited realtime layers | unlimited realtime layers | Yes |
| Final Cut Express | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, in the Media Browser | 99 per sequence | 99 / 2 per sequence | Yes |
| Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | Yes, in the Media Browser | 99 per sequence | 99 / 24 per sequence | Yes |
| FORscene | Input only | Yes | Yes (podcasts) | Beta test | 2 | 4 | Yes |
| iMovie | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 3 / 2 | Yes |
| LiVES | Yes (any resolution) |
Yes (multitrack mode only) |
Yes | No | Unlimited | 1 / 2 | Yes |
| MainActor | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | Yes | Yes, & on separate monitor or TV | Yes, partial | Unlimited | Unlimited | No |
| Sony Vegas | Yes
(any resolution) |
Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | No | Unlimited | Unlimited/Max Channel 16 | Yes |
| Pinnacle Studio | Depends | ? | ? | Yes | 2 | 4 | ? |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes, on separate monitor | ? | 99 | ? | Yes |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 | 2 | Yes |
| Video Edit Magic / Express | ? | Yes | Yes | No | 2 / 1 (Express) | 2 / 1 (Express) | No |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 2 | Yes |
| HD | Non-destructive | Full-screen | Storyboard | Video tracks | Audio tracks | Timecode display |
[edit] Output options
| DVD | HD DVD | Smart phone | Java phone | QuickTime | Windows Media | MPEG-4 | XML/EDL | Print to tape | Web, not hosted | Web, hosted | Podcasting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Yes | Template:Blu-ray Disc (CS3) | ? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Adobe Premiere Elements | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avid Xpress DV | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Avid Xpress Pro | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Cinelerra | Yes | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
| EDIUS Pro/Broadcast | Yes | No | ? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Final Cut Express | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | No (as of 2.5) | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Final Cut Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (3rd party) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| FORscene | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (MPEG 2) | Yes (MPEG 2) | ? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iLife | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (with .Mac) | Yes |
| LiVES | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
| Serif MoviePlus | Yes | ? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Sony Vegas | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Pinnacle Studio | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Ulead MediaStudio Pro | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Ulead VideoStudio Plus | Yes | Yes | Yes (via plug-in) | Yes (via plug-in) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (with DropShot) | ? |
| Video Edit Magic | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes (WMV only) | No | No |
| DVD | HD DVD | Smart phone | Java phone | QuickTime | Windows Media | MPEG-4 | XML/EDL | Print to tape | Web format | Web hosting | Podcasting |
[edit] Target market
| Consumer | Prosumer | Professional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Least expensive Most expensive |
Avid Free DV |
LiVES MainActor |
Cinelerra FORscene |
