Which Video Editing Software should I use?

I manage a medialab for a large university and I often get asked this question. Which Video Editing Software should I buy? I don't own a Mac. Well, sometimes the answer is none, depending on what you're trying to do. If you own a Microsoft Windows OS like XP or Vista chances are you already have editing software installed. Windows MovieMaker comes with both of these systems and is a reasonable tool for most video needs. But, sometimes you need a better tool and there are many to choose from. This is where it gets a little confusing. A couple of entry level software packages that stand out are Adobe Premiere Elements 4 and Sony Vegas 8. Each of these packages is loaded with professional features including handling multiple video and audio tracks, numerous input and output formats as well as DVD and MPEG file authoring. You can't go wrong with either. They've both matured to be quite stable and robust applications that I would feel comfortable asking my editing guys to edit the most difficult video projects with either product. It hasn't always been so easy. Just a few years back Vegas and Premiere were both cluncky offerings at best. In my next post I'll feature some of the highlights and lowlights of each. Ciao.