Professional Video Editing Software, Part 1

There are a lot of strong professional editing software packages, so over the next few days we'll talk about a few of the best. This information mostly comes from a post on masternewmedia.org, but I can tell you first hand that Adobe Premiere and Apple Final Cut are my personal favorites. They operate differently and have different strong points, but they are both very effective in the end. Nevertheless, here is what I found in doing some research:

Inside the category "professional video editing", belong those video editing tools like Adobe Premiere and Apple Final Cut which are the standard inside professional film and video production houses and among advanced video-makers who want full control over their video production.

These professional video editing software tools allow you to trim to the single frame, to slow down or speed up your video or audio tracks, to add filters and special effects just like it is done inside professional Hollywood film productions. If you need to capture, import or encode in just about any video format, whether in standard 4:3 aspect ratio or in full 16:9, the professional video editing software tools selected in this comparison guide have all you may have ever need on this front.

Most also include support for de-interlacing, chroma-key, and other video editing and post-production features not normally found in the less expensive, free or consumer solutions.
All this power comes for a price, obviously. Professional video editing tools are generally priced at over $300, though there are a few exceptions which are a bit more affordable.

Let's have a look then into some of the key traits that characterize these professional video editing software tools:

Drag and drop video editing: Manage your video in a drag and drop fashion. Just move your clips around the timeline, then re-order and trim to get the output you desire.

Special effects: Enhance and personalize your video with a wide spectrum of transitions types, 3D effects and filters.

Audio import and editing: Utilize and edit one or multiple audio tracks from your computer to create a soundtrack for your movie.

Title and credits: Add an overlay text and final credits to your video. Choose among different fonts, colors and styles.

HD support: Crete and edit videos produced using 1280x720 pixels (720p) or 1920x1080 pixels (1080i / 1080p) resolutions.

16:9 Support: Produce or upscale videos recorded in 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9 format.

H.264 support: Take advantage of the H.264 compression codec to produce high-quality video clips.

DVD creation: Create compatible discs that can be read in any DVD or Blu-Ray disc player.
Here below is also a set of comparative tables and individual reviews to help you compare all of these professional video editing software tools. The additional criteria selected include:
Platform: Specific operating system supported to run the video editing software tool.
Input formats: Supported video file types that you can upload to the video editing software tool (AVC-Intra, DV, GFCAM, HDV, R3D, XDCAM, etc.)

Output formats: Video formats used to save your video projects once edited (FLV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP4, WMA, etc.)

AVHCD support: High-quality video format used by tapeless consumer camcorders that can be used for authoring and distribution of high-definition video.

FLV support: Input support for the popular video file format developed by Adobe which is the standard technology to distribute video on the web.

Multicam editing: Real-time mixing and selection of multiple video camera angles just like it happens in a professional recording studio.

Online collaboration: Web streaming in real-time of the video you are encoding to allow members of your team to provide live feedback.

Free trial: Free evaluation period to test the video editing software tool.

Price: Cost of the retail copy or digital download video editing software tool (applies to what is less-priced).

Tomorrow we'll take a more in-depth look at the individual pieces of software.

SOURCE: http://www.masternewmedia.org/professional-video-editing-software-comparison-guide-to-the-best-video-editors/