Video equivalent to Adobe Lightroom?

[wellman]

The product I'm looking for may not exist, but I have to ask... :D

Is there a software product on the market which is to video as Lightroom is to photos? I'm at the beginning stages of trying to wrangle together a disparate batch of home family video files. AVIs, WMVs, DVDs, all in various stages of pre- and post-processing.

Basic editing and/or DVD-authoring functionality would be nice, but it's not a requirement. I'm more interested in something which can organize, play, and edit the metadata of "final product" video. Something that I can use for years as my digital home video organizer and player.

I'm on a PC. If the product I seek is available on a Mac, tell me. I'm platform-agnostic. :D

Thanks!

[iotashan]

The iLife suite might be what you're looking for. iPhoto for video organization, tagging, etc, iMovie for basic editing/exporting and iDVD for, well, you know.

Toss in a copy of QuickTime Pro for MPEG2 compatibility, and you're set.

[iotashan]

Oh, and don't try to do this stuff on a Mac Mini or MacBook. Get at least an iMac with a desktop-class hard drive and a real video card, not the Intel or nVidia integrated video stuff. Real-time transition previews and exporting are hardware intensive. You said you want it to last for years :)

[wellman]

Oh, and don't try to do this stuff on a Mac Mini or MacBook. Get at least an iMac with a desktop-class hard drive and a real video card, not the Intel or nVidia integrated video stuff. Real-time transition previews and exporting are hardware intensive. You said you want it to last for years :)

Thanks for the advice. I've looked into iMovie, and it sure seems to offer the combination of (more than) basic editing and decent organization capabilities. We of course don't have a Mac. While I'm platform-agnostic, I'm also frugal. :D So, perhaps a Mac will be in our future when we need a new machine, but our PC is serving us well other than the movie issue at the moment.

So, any other Windows recommendations? I see good things about the Sony Vegas line, but I'm not sure about its organization chops. I also see things about staying away from Ulead and Pinnacle products.

Windows Movie maker has fit my needs thus far for editing; it's the organization piece which is so lacking for us right now. Any further advice from those in the know? Thanks! :wink

[iotashan]

For editing on Windows, check out Adobe Premiere Elements. It's actually on sale today on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox

Shan