Reviews of Video Editing Software and Editing Equipment

We hope that, on this page, members of PBFM will share their views of the editing software and equipment they use.  Like all Customer Reviews on the internet, these not the detailed analyses of professional reviewers but reflect the experience of a user.  Some reviewers will be new to the software/ equipment ... and some will may be seasoned campaigners! 

Magix Movie Pro 15 Plus and Cyberlink PowerDirector 9 ... A Comparison 
NOW with Magix Edit Pro MX (version 18) considered too! (August 17th 2012)

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Although I am comparing the Magix programmes with Cyberlink PowerDirector, I think that I should mention straight away that I started my editing with Movie-Maker (the editor free with Windows). That was when I started filming about four years ago and when I had a standard definition Canon  camcorder.  Somebody else may review Movie-Maker on these pages.  I have to say that I found it very easy to use ('intuitive' as they say!) ... that is, until it suddenly stopped working properly ... and since it was an integral part of Windows I couldn't simply delete and  re-install it again!  But anyway, I had just bought my Canon HF200 hi-def camera & I needed an editor which would tackle hi-def. (Movie-Maker doesn't. Perhaps they've made a hi-def version for Windows 7 by now!?)
    My first hi-def (HD) editor was Magix Movie Pro 15 Plus. Ian bought the same.  Both of us have a dual-core computer with about 2 gigs of memory & Windows XP.  The problem with hi-def is that it takes up a lot more processor power ... and Magix is power-hungry anyway as a programme.  Although Magix does (usually!) offer to reduce the resolution of your hi-def clips during the editing progress (called shadow-filing by Cyberlink) the clips still often jump/stutter/miss frames while they are running and this is really is annoying.  Even if you don't film in full HD (we film in 1440 x 1080) it still happens. To run Magix smoothly, a fast quad-core, with an  i7 processor, is highly preferable .. and that would probably cost at least £1200 -1600, or even more, though prices do vary and you could perhaps build your own more cheaply.  However, you can still struggle along with Magix on a dual-core machine and put up with the stuttering clips!  
     We both find that the way that fades/transitions are executed on Magix is much better than on Cyberlink ... you just push the two adjacent clips over each other to the extent that you want them to fade into each other  - long or short. Totally intuitive!  The burning section of the programme works fine too.
   On the time-line, Magix has 99 lines to use (!) and they can be used exactly as you like ... while Cyberlink 9 has a similar number, but they are labelled for what they 'do' (i.e. titles, transitions, effects etc) which is rather irritating I find.
STOP PRESS!        MAGIX Movie Edit Pro MX (Version 18)
Since I wrote the paragraphs above, both I and Ian have purchased Magix MX recently (August 2012).  We  are still running our dual-core machines, but we bought MX because Magix claimed that it 'ran three times faster'!  And we are very pleased to report that it is faster and suits our slower machines much better. Not only is there no stuttering on a single clip, but it can also cope with long dissolves too - which is running two clips at a time!  This is a vast improvement and we trust that it continues to be the case!  (We are still using the shadow-files of course.)   This version also has other new features as well, such as reducing camera shake in the editing if necessary (very clever!).
 I'll keep you posted, but so far this is, in my opinion,  an excellent buy and makes this the editor of my choice!  (Costs about £50)
August 30th 2012 Brian P's reaction to this:   "It  was interesting to read your comments regarding  Magix PRO MX (Version 18).   I have a couple of questions;  firstly what are the system requirements for this programme and secondly, what is the specification of your computers, bearing in mind that Magix is a notoriously power-hungry editing programme?"
Answer to 'system requirements' (as stated on the MX box):
Minimum: Dual core processor with 2 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, onboard graphics & screen res of 1024 x 768 at least ...
Recommended for AVCHD (high definition) Intel core 2 quad processor with 2.83GHz or better, 4GB Ram, Dedicated graphics card with at least 512 MB VRAM, Blu-ray burner (of course!)
But most would recommend an i7 processor too (which does something called 'hyperthreading' !) & the more RAM the better!
Our computers are: Athlon dual core processors with 2.61GHz & 2GB of RAM - pretty modest but, as I say, seem OK with HD.
One thing we discovered in the last day or two - if we put an old project, started on Magix 15, on Magix MX it does jump/stutter. Perhaps only new projects, created in MX, won't jump!
SH August 31st 2012

 

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Cyberlink PowerDirector 9 has one great advantage over Magix for those who have slower computers (as Ian & I do). It is far less power-hungry and the shadow-frames (which, by the way, look fine, not shadowy!)  do not stutter unless more than a few clips are running at the same time. This is a great advantage and is one of the reasons, perhaps, why this programme is often listed as No.1 in the Top Ten Editors for PCs.  It is a good editor & suits slower machines too, though it is set up for using high-speed machines as well.
   However, when it comes to the use of fades and transitions, for some reason PowerDirector's system is rather slow & cumbersome compared with Magix.  It does work, but it takes longer & involves quite a lot of clicking!  The same applies to the fading in & out of titles.  In Magix it's very easy ... you simply move two sliders, on the clip itself, as far as you wish to; in PowerDirector, again it's a succession of boxes, selections & clickings!  A pity! 
Furthermore, when dealing with the minutiae of editing (selecting clips, down to Time-line, editing length, selecting single frames etc) PowerDirector often defaults to playing just the one clip where the cursor is, rather than 'all clips'  ... and that can be irritating too!

Conclusion:
 If I were to choose between the two for ease of use, it would be Magix ... and I must confess that it has become more useable for me since I bought new hard drives ... perhaps they are faster in themselves!  Anyway, I get less jumping than I did.  But there is much to recommend Cyberlink, especially for the slower computer ... though, as I said above, I find it more 'clunky' to use.  Perhaps I haven't discovered the short-cuts!
And, of course, these versions are not the latest ones.  Magix Movie Pro is now at version 18  and Cyberlink PowerDirector is on version 10.   Both cost between £60 & £100, depending which version you buy ... both tackle 3D! (The previous, outgoing versions may be very cheap for a while at this time  - May 2012.)
[On comparative sites, Cyberlink is still praised for its blistering speed & Magix mentioned for its need for a powerful computer!]
S.H. 12th May 2012
(See the red addition opposite!)

Brian adds ( 24th May)
Following your recent article in PBFM - I also use CyberLink.   PowerDirector 10  has a programme, Slideshow Creator, which although it may not suit the purists, for us jogging along, I find it very user friendly, simple and fast.   An AV of holiday photographs can be created in no time at all, compared with the video!

June 1st 2013 Another update from Brian on Magix editors ... on the viewing of clip icons in the mediapool

I recently purchased  MOVIE EDIT PRO 2013 Premium.
Although I have found the previous Magix programmes very good, unfortunately I have trouble seeing the icons in the mediapool.  This programme however has a facility to enlarge the icons in the mediapool to almost the size ofthe video monitor, if required.   It has various other goodies too which I have not yet had an opportunity to play with but am looking forward to trying out.
   Thanks for the observation on viewing icons, Brian. Magix Edit Pro  MX certainly does allow you to see the icons about 3" across diagonally, which is much better thsn Magix Pro 15 Plus.
Keep the information coming as you discover more about the programme!
SH
I would be very pleased to add other users' views of Magix and/or Cyberlink to this article. 
Please send them to me - short or longer!