I've done a study of affordable Windows-based apps lately. My findings:
Ulead's VideoStudio is similar in some respects to iMovie. Easy to figure out, has some nice advanced features, but also some "fiddley" features. (Adjusting audio in iMovie is so straightforwardin VideoStudio, it's fiddle fiddle fiddle.) It's a $100 app (or is it more now?) so there are a few more features than iMovie, but overall, iMovie has the ease of use, more classy options. I like it better. But VideoStudio is still pretty good, for a Windows app.
I have only tried the first incarnation of Adobe's Premiere Elements. A bit of a learning curve, but it reminded me of Final Cut a little. I like it. Unfortunately, my copy of Premiere Elements liked to crash crash crash, so I've taken it off my PC. But it gets my vote, definitely. (Though it's not as newbie friendly as VideoStudio!)
I have heard great things about Sony Vegas. It's got many cute features and "goodies" that can make a snazzy-looking video. The interface is a bit unfamiliar and there's also a learning curve. I keep hearing good things about it, though. But when I first used it, things did not "click" for me immediately, as they did when I tried out VideoStudio.
I go with VideoStudio for easy newbie-friendly qualities (and it isn't as if they don't offer plenty of features). I go with Adobe Premiere Elements for the most Final Cut interface (and more features). I don't know if I'd go with Sony Vegas at this point (weird unfamiliar interface), but Vegas has such a loyal fanbase, that I have to believe it's got a lot going for it.
Another thing (if you'll pardon a small hijack). With the abundance of Windows-based apps out there, you'd think there would be a perfect, low-cost, sophisticated option for creating web ready video. So often the built-in converter in the editing software isn't up to snuff. (At least I don't find it so.)
This is what I am looking for:
1. Allows you to trim off the tops or sides of a finished video
2. Deinterlace (if needed).
3. Resizes the video without distorting it, or just plain getting the frame dimensions wrong (resulting in a "squished" video).
4. Encodes in several different codecs, like H.264, DivX, XviD, Sorenson 3, Windows Media, etc.
5. Custom frame sizes (you decide exactly what the frame dimensions will be).
6. Imports a wide variety of different file types (doesn't crash constantly if the video isn't quite the "right" codec, etc.)
I have had trouble finding such an app for Windows. The one that comes closest is good old MPEG Streamclip. But the Mac version of MPEG Streamclip is better. The Windows MPEG Streamclip will make H.264, Sorenson 3, and 3ivX files, with some option to customize frame sizes, frame rate, etc. Which is pretty good. (I don't prefer 3ivX, though.) Also, you can trim the edges off of a video, deinterlace, etc. etc.
Quicktime Pro for Mac (not for PCit's next to useless) allows me to convert to WMV (with Flip4Mac), DivX, XviD, several flavors of Quicktime, yadda yadda. Like with MPEG Streamclip, you can lighten/darken the video picture, and do other basic adjustments.
Where are the abundance of cheap/affordable/free Windows apps which do this and more? (I want to recommend them to my Windows-using friends.) I find some that are okay for one thing, but not for another. A whole lot of them will resize the frame, but there is a loss of picture quality. Or, they distort the frame size ("squished"). Or, they won't import many file types. And on and on and on. Seriously, I wish I could find something, but I can't. And I'm sick of installing so many shareware/freeware pieces of softwarethey invariably clutter up the system, even after they are uninstalled. I give up. So far, all I've got is MPEG Streamclip and a few other apps that I've paid for (and those have definite shortcomings).
I find that encoding/converting on the Mac is so much easier. I don't think I'm being a Mac fangirl when I say this. It's just my experience so far.
