Movie Edit Pro 2004

by Magix Entertainment

Product Features

• Simply, powerful, and complete desktop video editing
• Make cuts, build special effects and 3-D transitions, and create your own soundtracks
• Easy DVD and CD authoring
• Watch your movies on TV, share on disc, or post them on the Web
• Cut, edit, and create titles

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000AFX5Q
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 1, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,380 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #42 in Software > Home & Hobbies > Movies & Television
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

A choice of edit screen modes and professional, yet easy-to-use features make it a snap for anyone to transform raw video footage into impressive movies. Watch your movies on TV, share on disc, or post them on the Web. Simple, powerful, and complete desktop video editing.

Make Great Movies

• Unique 16-track Video & Soundtrack Editing
• Easy DVD & CD Authoring + Animated Menus
• Virtual VCR Function with Timer
• MPEG2-Encoder and Restoration Tools

Capture, Edit, Burn & Share
A choice of edit screen modes and professional, yet easy-to-use features make it a snap for anyone to transform raw video footage into impressive movies. Make sensational cuts, build special effects and 3D transitions and create your own soundtracks. An integrated CD & DVD authoring utility makes it easy to create animated chapter menus, like those seen on DVD videos, and record your memories onto CD & DVD. Watch your movies on TV, share on disc, or post them on the web. Simple, powerful and complete desktop video.

Capture & Transfer

• Unlimited (supports files over 4 GB) digital and analog video capture. Capture from IEEE Firewire, USB 1&2, TV/VCR (RCA), Internet
• Automatic image/sound synchronization at capture
• Remote-controlled programmable video recording
• Two-way DV camcorder communication
• Real-time compression, batch-capture and full-screen capture monitoring
• One-click stills capture

Cut, Edit & Create Titles

• Two storyboard modes: Standard linear storyboard mode plus essential multi scene overview mode.
• 16-track (stereo) timeline mode
• Simultaneous PC/TV view: Cut scenes on your PC; view the results on your TV or dub directly to VCR
• Title screen designer
• Automatic scene detection; two scene trimmers
• Native (direct) editing and non-destructive realtime editing

Dub & Sync Custom Soundtracks

• Automatic song maker; volume normalizer
• Karaoke -style voiceover function: Dub your own voice over the original music backing tracks
• Audio effects such as reverb, delay, pitch & tempo

Restore, Add Transitions & Effects

• Motion stabilizer, image & sound restoration
• Split screen mode; slideshow capability
• Presets for image display resolution and optimized for TV viewing
• Video controller: Create custom video effects
• 3D transitions, slow motion/fast motion, reverse, interlace handling
• Chroma keying: Blue, green, white & black screen compositing. Overlay characters or objects into your video for studio-style special effects

Integrated CD & DVD Burning

• Disc authoring utility: Burn backup & autoplay VCD, SVCD or DVD videos, mini DVDs, and CD-ROMs.
• Automatic DVD menu screen designer : Create professional intro screens, interactive buttons and animated menus with sound
• Automatic disc spanning : Split long videos onto multiple discs
• Practical re-edit mode burns project files to VCDs, SVCDs or DVDs for project archiving and future editing

Import & Export

• Import & export AVI (also with compressed sound), DV-AVI types 1 & 2, MPEG-1, 2, WMA, WMV (Windows Media 9), MOV, MXV, MJPEG, YUV, JPG, BMP, WAV,  MPEG 4 and DivX
• Import audio CD tracks, MP3 and MIDI files
• TWAIN compatibility : supports direct import from scanner or digital camera
• Real Helix export, video stills export (JPG, BMP)
• Export NTSC or PAL

Product Description

With Movie Edit Pro 2004 you have complete professional video editing and DVD authoring tool! Integrated CD & DVD authoring tools makes burning as easy as one click

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, January 7, 2004

By 

jpender "jpender_24" (Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Movie Edit Pro 2004 (CD-ROM)

I like this product. I have tried several movie editing/DVD burning software products trying to find one that meets my needs without costing me an arm and a leg. I am working on a project that involves converting the contents of old VHS tapes into DVD. My PC is equipped with the following hardware:
1.0G AMD processor
1G memory
2 - 120G hardrives
Hauppage WinTV 250 video capture card
HP DVD burner

My problems with video software seemed to occur after I tried to edit the video. I don't know what happened but I believe that each software product has a different compression method because the quality of the video never was as good after being processed (ArcSoft Showbiz, Ulead MovieFactory). I downloaded a copy of Ulead MediaStudio Pro and it performed great. The quality of my movies was just as good after editing as they were before. MediaStudio Pro is expensive. I read about Magix and their other video editing products got decent reviews so I thought I would give Movie Edit Pro 2004 a try. The price was right and I have not been disappointed. First off, I was shocked that I actually received a usable user's manual with the software. The tutorials provided are helpful. The user interface was intuitive for me (but I have used several products now, I have and idea of what to expect) There are a few screens that use terms that are confusing especially some of the audio and video cleaning screens. The video editing functions are very easy to use as are the DVD menu creation functions. After a great deal of trial and error, I was able to create some decent DVDs from my VHS tapes. I also created some clips for use on the web.

This software is not without problems. There are quirks. I think every piece of video software that I have tried has had some issues. Sometimes the audio and video would get out of sync. Unexplainable white flashes would occur during scene transitions. The audio/video thing can be dealt with but it is annoying to play a DVD (4-6 hours to process and burn) and find that half-way through the thing, the audio gets behind the video. Magix has a decent user's forum on its website. You might want to check that out before purchasing the software. It gives some insight to the kinds of problems users are finding.

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Best Buy", February 29, 2004

By 

RPG22 "Ryan" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Movie Edit Pro 2004 (CD-ROM)

I have searched for months for a cost effective and feature-filled video editing program. I looked at Pinnacle, Ulead, Cyberlink, and so on. Magix's movie edit pro seems to be the best product out there for under $100. This program is loaded with features. First off, there is a bonus content cd with tons of extra video and audio clips. Plus, the installation cd has many more video clips, audio clips, and transitions that are either included in the program installation or just on the cd, totalling up to around 2,000 media files. The options are endless integrating those media files into your own videos.

The program itself is incredibly awesome. I have only run into a few problems (such as one crash and some audio glitches) during the time I have owned it. You can do things like add commentaries, reverse the film, do picture and picture effects, add 3-D transitions, do green, blue, white, or black screen effects, and many more. Another really cool feature that you don't see in cost-effective video editing programs is the ability to create video menus on DVDs. I recorded about 30 minutes of DV footage onto my computer, and there were no dropped frames.

I would say that this program's only competitor in a similar price range is Apple's iMovie. Although, this program comes with many more specific features, which almost puts it in the catagory of the higher priced video editing programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro. However, if you are looking for extremely powerful but very expensive software you should check out Apple's Final Cut Pro HD. If you do not wish to spend 1,000 dollars on a video editing program, (which is Final Cut Pro's price) then Movie Edit Pro 2004 is a great buy. This program has similar professional features and costs a lot less.

Another feature I am particulary interested in is it's ability to function in real time. I am running a 2.8 GHZ processor with 512 ram, and it seems that the program always runs pretty smooth.

I called this program "the best buy" because programs like pinnacle studio 9 and Ulead Video Studio 8 lack some important features that this program has.Overall, Magix's Movie Edit Pro 2004 is a fun and powerful tool to edit videos.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pick the right software for the job, December 3, 2004

By 

P. Tarpley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Movie Edit Pro 2004 (CD-ROM)

Today, most home users want "video editing" software to simply take a home movie from a camcorder and create a DVD from it. Sometimes, they want to do simple edits, and/or add music or titles to the video as well. If that is all you want to do, and you would like to do it in the absolutely easiest way possible, then this software probably isn't the best choice.

Now, if you (like me) want an actual video editor, that will do very complex editing and effects, then Magix is awesome. I have tried pretty much all of the video editing software packages, and nearly all of them offer only basic editing tools to make a movie. One of the greatest things about Magix is that the effect's properties can be changed dynamically through curves. This means that you don't have to use any types of presets for zooms, PIP, rotation, color changes, sound fades/effects. The effect will change based on the curve that you set in the timeline. This is a HUGE improvement over all other low-budget software packages that lack this feature.

I bought Magix because my friends and I frequently make short films just "for fun," and I was tired of Pinnacle Studio constantly crashing right in the middle of editing. I was extremely happy to find out that Magix is absolutely loaded with features that an ameture video editor would love (blue screen effects come to mind).

Also, I am astounded that most reviews of video editing packages don't mention the quality of the output video. There is a very big difference between the quality of video from one package to the next. For instance, many have a "digital" look to them where the image can look pixellated. In contrast, Pinnacle Studio's output is usually somewhat blurry (probably to reduce pixellation). I'm glad to say Magix is tied (with Nero) for the best quality DVD videos, and they look great even on a 55" widescreen TV.

Now, Magix is in some places "rough around the edges". But, if you want and editor with some serious power, then this is literally the only one on the market in the price range that can produce some very interesting editing effects.