Adobe Premiere Elements 7

I'm new to this program, though not totally new to making my own DVD's. I've used Windows movie maker, Photo Studio and Roxio before trying this.

Adobe is apparently known for having programs which are "memory hogs." I was glad this program worked with my computer (which is about a year or so old.) I haven't had any memory problems as others have described, but it does run somewhat slow. It took nearly 20-25 minutes for the "full" install.

They did put the software disk in a nice DVD case, unlike most software these days. This program does a lot of things similar to Windows "movie maker," but not similar enough that it was intuitive to use. It comes with a thick instruction manual. Many of the pictures in the manual are too small and very dark, making it difficult to distinguish features. The instructions seem easy enough, but occasionally a step or two is left out that leaves a person scratching their head for a few minutes until they figure it out what was left out.

It is a powerful tool for making home movies, no question. I'm still discovering all its features, too numerous to mention. I like that I can "trim" movie clips to show just what I want, without losing the original clip to the recycle bin. I was also able to change text and clips on the fly, without having to completely "start over" again, but they don't make it obvious as to how you can do that.

I chose the "full install," but it really didn't have enough "generic" themes to be useful. I wanted a generic "sports" theme, but all they had were certain sports (baseball, soccer, etc) that didn't cover the sport I wanted to feature (volleyball.) The "extreme sports" theme wasn't generic enough for my purposes.

It took a while to learn that you have to edit individual clips BEFORE you add them to the "movie" or your edits won't "stick."

I can't really compare this to Roxio, as the two are fairly different. It would be like comparing apples to oranges. Windows "movie maker" is still the easiest of all the programs I've tried, but the version I have doesn't make DVD's that anyone can play in their player (which means it's useless.)

Plan on several hours of learning in order to use this program to its fullest. It's compatible with nearly every imaginable video format which is a real plus. It gives you nearly total control, another plus. It is sophisticated software. It might have benefited from a little more "dumbing down" to make it a bit more user-friendly.

I have never edited video before in my life, nor have I researched any video editing programs. With half my brain tied behind my back, leaving the software manual completely sealed-- and nothing up my sleeve-- I installed this program and made my first video in one afternoon. One reason that I picked this up so quickly is that I have used graphics and 3D programs for years, and I have a good instinct for where to find the functions I want. If you need software that will do everything for you, this isn't a good choice. If you're willing to roll up your sleeves and work a little, you can make great, professional-looking videos with Premiere Elements.

The program took a long time to install-- so long that I had to step away from it several times, AND it required a restart. On some machines the program will lag, and if you're running on Vista you already have a hateful relationship with that stupid little circle that goes round and round forever. It didn't crash, but a couple of times I thought it would. I would advise Windows users to exceed the minimum requirements for operation, and run it on XP if you can.

Nearly everything is drag and drop. The challenge sometimes is finding what you want to drag, whether it's a certain transition, or changing text. I've never found Adobe interfaces to be particularly intuitive, and this one is no exception. What's obvious to Adobe and experienced users is not so cut and dry for beginners. This is what makes Help so important. The online-only Help is inexcusable. As easy as the program is, at some point you'll have to check Help for SOMEthing, but if you have no internet connection you're out of luck. It was also slow, and didn't link keywords and phrases like even some of the most basic programs I've had. I don't understand the apparent lack of MP4 support, either. MP4 imports are hopelessly out of sync about half the time, with no apparent way to fix it.

But what about results? I've got some slick videos for my family, and it didn't take me any time at all to do them. I've got music, transitions, credits, titles, and it was a lot easier than taping together pieces of film. This is a good product for a beginner who typically has a shorter learning curve on computers in general, or an intermediate user who is new to Premiere Elements, or not upgrading from 4.

I am running Win XP Pro SP3 and this package refused to run.
It installed, but crashed within seconds after starting a video file.
$90 wasted i guess. :(
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

System components are:
Thermaltake VC3000BWS Armor Junior ATX Case with Window (Black) amazon-ordered $119
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450 - Retail
CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN3X2048-1333C9 - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
EVGA 01G-P3-N869-AR GeForce 9600 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply - Retail
Rosewill RCR-103 USB 2.0 Card Reader - Retail
LG Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model GDR-H30NK - OEM

If you need more video editing capabilities than the standard types of movie making programs that come with computers provide, then this product is for you. It also creates the automatic type movies, but for me its real beauty is allowing to overlay multiple videos and produce professional looking movies. I have only limited movie making experience but have been very satisfied with what I can do so far. There are many features that I am not even yet familiar with. The one disappointment for me is the DVD authoring is not as robust as I would have hoped for, in fact it seems so limited that I am going to have use a different program to create DVDs. But for making the movies to go on the DVD, Adobe Premiere Elements is excellent.

I was excited to receive this product. But after a couple hours with it, I haven't accomplished anything and my head hurts.

Help - Online... What if I'm not connected to internet? No Help?

Add Files... No search and add to repository - must go find files manually?

Add Media... File browser hoplessly general AND hopelessly specific - can't get "all movies" or "all still images", etc.

Organizer... Project oriented - means must search elements for every project...
- every drag and drop changes view away from last selected

Capture... Found webcam without any problem (wow)

Drag Clips... After bottom row is full must scroll to drop next clip - doesn't automatically reveal next open box

Video Sizing - no key-sequence or other control to maintain aspect ratio

I thrashed through a number of attempts to configure the product for easy follow-up use. I didn't manage to configure the software for anything but the current project.

Thrash was the mode of operation and very quickly grew tiresome.

There's a lot of power here but it just looks like a program written for programmers who live to program. For people who want to get in, get something done, and get on with life, it's a disaster.

I gave it a medium rating because even though it's not for me, I am sure there are people who will love the thrash, gadgets and do-dads.