Final Cut Pro vs. Vegas Vs. Premiere Vs. Edius

Steve G

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Oct 21, 2005, 2:00:35 AM10/21/05

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Comparing just app to app, not platform, which is the best video
editing software - Final Cut Pro vs. Vegas Vs. Premiere Vs. Edius?

A friend told me FC Pro was the bomb, but it's only on Apple that's
why people still use the other stuff. Is FCS really that much better?
I heard the FCS suite is killer and has the best of everything. TIA!

Smarty

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Oct 21, 2005, 8:56:23 AM10/21/05

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Steve,

I own and use three of the four. I personally prefer Vegas, all things
considered, but I am sure there are many people who feel otherwise. The
magazine eventDV has been running a 4 installment series written by Jan Ozer
comparing these products (actually does not include Edius) but as you will
discover by reading this (or visiting their website), the choice is not a
simple one.

There are a number of strengths and weaknesses for each product, and no
single product is vastly superior. The choice may boil down to what you
personally want to do, and how important certain features are to you.

I can say confidently that FCS is not, IMHO, that much better. It is,
however, an extremely well done product.

Smarty

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MediaBLITZ

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Oct 21, 2005, 10:37:09 AM10/21/05

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I am not familiar with Edius, but have hands on with the other 3. I would
rank them so -

Final Cut Pro - most expensive to get at a high level

Premiere Pro (close second, but Video Collection is by far the best buy on
the market in a suite)

Vegas (not a close third, but solid)

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Smarty

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Oct 21, 2005, 10:43:08 AM10/21/05

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Steve,

Here's a link to the 4 installment review and rating comparison of video
editing software I previously referred to.
http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?CategoryID=62&ArticleID=10629

Smarty

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Jona Vark

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Oct 21, 2005, 11:31:30 AM10/21/05

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I own Avid, FCP and Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro is the only one of the three
that has been fast and dependable.

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Jim Gunn

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Oct 21, 2005, 6:59:44 PM10/21/05

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I use Premiere Pro 1.5 now and like it ever since version Premmiere
6.5. I checked out Vegas once and to me it has an awkward interface,
but many others use it and like it. Both Adobe and Sony offer a great
software bundle for editing, DVD authoring & sound editing. Vegas is a
bit more inexpensive for the bundle. You can download both trial
versions sand check them out. FCP is simlar in many ways to Premiere
nowadays but unless you are already on Mac you are looking at a big
investment in Apple hardware andn software.

All three apps are more similar than they are dissimilar, but there
are some diferences based on the integration with their sister apps in
the bundles, not to mention how they handle HD and DVD authoring.

For me, the easy-to-learn interface, integration with Photoshop as
well as Adobe's DVD authoring app Encore, relative inexpensive cost
andn ability to run on the pc platform makes Adobe my choice.

William Davis

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Oct 22, 2005, 7:06:00 PM10/22/05

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The real bottom line is that you can do a great or a crappy job with any
of them.

In my estimation, out of the whole world of editors, there are
relatively few who work at a level where the differences in the software
strengths will make a significant difference in helping them produce
exceptional results.

For example, if most of your projects include 5.1 surround, Vegas
clearly has better tools for that. But TRUELY needing 5.1 tools on a
daily basis is something that ONLY very small percentage of working
editors need.

If you're constantly bouncing back and forth between editing, audio,
titling, DVD mastering, and audio sweetening - the FCP suite has
excellent tools in ALL those areas built into the package.

But again, for most editors, having all those "extra" tools might not be
valuable at all. Perhaps you just want to concentrate on EDITING - (a
skill like many of the other mentioned above that people spend their
entire careers focused on in an on-going attempt to achieve mastery.

The truth is that for most typical "editors" there's NOT a singe one of
the mentioned packages that has any "fatal flaw" that won't let you do
work capable of earning you a HUGE paycheck.

As always, the only way to GET that kind of paycheck is to be so good at
what you do that someone will pay you the big bucks.

And your software won't get you there. Your talent and hard work will.

Besides, anything anyone tells you about how one or another is "better"
right now, is gonna obsolete in a month or so when one or another of the
leading packages is revised again.

Buy ANY of them and get editing and you'll be putting yourself ahead of
the competition who waits and worries about buying the "right" software.

My 2 cents anyway.

Gary Hendricks

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Oct 23, 2005, 11:24:24 AM10/23/05

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Hi Steve,

I did manage to extract some useful reviews of Vegas and FCP for ya:

Vegas: http://www.digitalproducer.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=31944
FCP:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Apple_Final_Cut_Pro_HD/4505-3670_7-30854024.html

Enjoy!

*********************************************************
Sincerely,
Gary Hendricks, Desktop-Video-Guide.com
The best digital video tutorials and how-to guides:
http://www.desktop-video-guide.com
*********************************************************

Mark Pashley

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Oct 23, 2005, 1:42:06 PM10/23/05

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I prefer premiere. Though similar, its layout and operation seems more
logical. I find it more user friendly!

Steve G

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Oct 25, 2005, 6:10:27 AM10/25/05

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Thanks to both you and Gary Hendricks for the links!

On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 10:43:08 -0400, "Smarty" <nob...@nobody.com>
wrote: