I have a few HD comcorders that shoot in AVI, MPEG4/MP4 and MOV.

So far I have been converting all my files to WMV and using Windows Movie Maker Vista version to do my edits, mostly just YouTube videos.

Im looking for a software that is as easy to use as Windows Movie Maker but will accept my formats without having to re-encode or format the files from my camcorders to WMV files.

I have been looking at so many editing programs and reading tons of reviews on different editing program's, all the major contenders, Ulead, Magix, Sony Vegas and all the others, but Im still not sure what to get.

Looking for easy, simple to learn, does not have to have tons of features, can edit HD stuff, and does not crash.
Just need to do titles, simple transitions and some if any effects.

Any suggestions and opinons would be very welcome.

Thanks much in advance
Cheers
Davyo

Well... NONE of them will avoid re-encoding over to WMV... (a re-encode/conversion is necessary in your circumstance and can't be avoided). They all can edit HD.... they ALL crash from time to time, and they all have the capacity for simple transitions/titles...etc.

What it all come down to really is a matter of preference.... they all also come with trial periods and no one knows your preferences better than you.

Probably the easiest to use are Pinnacle Studio and Ulead Video studio x2 (i'm not at all in love with these programs.... but then that's my preference).

I've tried Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, and the much cheaper Sony Vegas Platinum. I'm starting to like the sony products better at this point, especially for HD editing. The platinum edition is fairly inexpensive and the only real limitation is the number of video tracks you can have (I think the limit is 2). This usually works fine for simple editing. You can free trials for all their software.