I'm gradually gaining experience with Adobe Premier Elements 9. It was under $100. I picked it because Adobe is a big brand name, a friend works there and there is a $30 Adobe produced book called "Adobe Premier Elements 9 - Classroom in a Book". It is billed as the "official training workbook from Adobe Systems". If I master Elements there is an upward path to their more expensive video stuff, but so far I can't find anything Elements won't do if I take the time to learn it.
Adobe brags about Premier Elements being "reference based". That means it can't and won't ever alter your original files. Instead, it marks reference points that are used to pick up the parts of the originals you select and then makes a new file.
The quality of the final files is up to you depending on your needs. You can create output for everything from HD TV to an iPod.
There are some easy to watch video tutorials on both the Adobe site and YouTube where you can see how it works. For the basic features, try
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjG2tAnbtdI . To see how some more advanced options work try:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwVJQIfQt48
Reviews on Amazon as always are a little confusing. It appears to be amazing for most but some users get upset because their computers choke on it and they can't figure out why.
You can watch YouTube videos to see what it does. If you like it, you can download a free copy that inserts a "Free Trial" title on your productions. Then, if you still like it, you can pay them. I tried the trial and then went to Best Buy and paid list price!
Bill
