Writer's Note: This post references subjects addressed in an earlier post. Here's the link to that.
Some time ago, likely in the early Oughts, I was considering building a computer for the first time. My first PC had been a Gateway 2000. Back in the day, while Gateway still had "2000" tacked to its moniker, they were a mail-order computer company that shipped everything to your home in Holstein cow-print boxes. Anyway, I had owned this Gateway 2000 computer for 6-7 years and it was time for a change.
I built a computer with the aim of using it to learn video editing. I researched what was needed and built a machine that was up to the task. The specs I don't remember, but what I do remember is Sony Movie Studio. This was one of the first versions of this product, called "Screenblast Movie Studio", Version 1.
I was in hog heaven. It did so much, and I was determined to learn it all. In the following years, I would upgrade regularly, not wanting to miss out on any mind-blowing new features. The final version I had was Movie Studio 13 Platinum.
Fast forward about 5 years...
I have gotten a GoPro or two and I'm getting back into the world of video editing. I still had my Version 13 of Movie Studio, but it was no longer up to the task of editing these videos. Version 13 wouldn't even load MP4 files, which is what my GoPro was delivering. So what were my options?
The go-to for many YouTube content creators was DaVinci Resolve. This attracted me in a big way, but my computer couldn't handle the demands DaVinci placed on it. Granted, my computers are all older. They all have SSD system drives, so they continue to work, doing the same tasks faithfully, year after year. However, like an old person who has been sitting in the same church pew for decades, my computers neither welcome or respond well to change.
I checked into other options, eventually ending up at Magix. Magix bought Movie Studio from Sony and as a long-time supporter of the product, I qualified for an upgrade at only $20.
Movie Studio has changed between Version 13 and 2025 Platinum. Not as many features are available, and in many ways, it doesn't even resemble the original. This was likely part of a deal between Magix and Sony to distance Movie Studio from it's parent product, Vegas Pro. Whatever the reason, I'm having to learn it all over again. However, it seems to work. Rendering times are exponentially higher for hi-res video. I made a video that is just under 30 minutes and the rendering time will be approximately 3:45. Not sure what the file size will be yet, but it will certainly be in the gig-plus range.
It's nice to get back into editing. Learning it all again is a bit discouraging, but I'm up to the task. Creating content is an exciting project, perhaps one I'm a bit naive in beginning. We shall see.
