TechTV Labs wrangles up four editing alternatives, each under $100, as video editing hits home.

Editors note: Watch these editing suites in action on "Call for Help" Wednesday, 3/27 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
Also airs 3/28 at 3 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern.
The days when only Hollywood made movies has been put to rest. Technological advances in digital video cameras, faster (and less expensive) computer systems, increased storage capacity, and the PC adoption of Apple's IEEE 1394 FireWire standard have brought video editing out of the professional studio and into the home. Sony Electronics, not one to shun a trend, even has a line of PCs (Digital Studio) especially configured for video editing.

Software has come of age too. It's more affordable, and several new applications promise to make video editing easy to master. Microsoft has included its Windows Me generic video editing app in its next generation OS, Windows XP, so now even beginners can learn to make a relatively complex movie enhanced with titles, graphics, fades, wipes, and other special effects.

Before you rush out to buy any software that helps you create a home movie, make sure you have the necessary hardware for the chore, including a faster-than-average CPU, ample RAM (more than 128MB is ideal), a FireWire card (to transfer files quickly from a digital video camera to a PC), and a large hard drive with as much storage as you can afford.

According to conservative estimates, a five-minute video with sound and other effects can eat up about 1GB of hard drive space. The good news is that these components are extremely affordable. Most video editing software allows you to grab files you already have stored on your PC, or download new files from the Web as well as work with file formats such as .mpg, .avi, .mov, .mp3, .wav, .bmp, .jpg, .tif, .pcx, .gif, and .tga, among others.

The current crop of low-cost video editing software adds more competition to an established market that includes companies MGI and Ulead. Our review covers three retail software apps: Magix video deLuxe ($50), ArcSoft ShowBiz ($80), Sonic Factory VideoFactory 2.0 ($99), and Interactive Solutions. We also take a look at MovieMaker, the video editing app included in Windows XP home and professional versions.

The verdict? All video editing software suites are not created equal. Each software package offers basic editing tools to help get you started, but we did encounter missteps in each of the packages.

  • Magix's video deLuxe impressed us with its versatile and intuitive effects consoles.
  • We noted serious drawbacks, as in ArcSoft ShowBiz's lack of tools that allow you to quickly cut large files into smaller ones.
  • We thought SonicFoundry's VideoFactory 2.0 would suit those new to video editing, due to its helpful overview, though it won't win any gee-whiz awards.
  • Windows XP Movie Maker offered only a few tools, and little else.