I'm looking for a free or cheap<$50 digital video editing/DVD authoring software. I currently have NERO vision express OEM but it chokes on widescreen AVI with some effects applied and out of sync audio with MPEG2. Most of the input video will be from a Canon(ZR850) miniDV cam imported as AVI or MPEG2. Primary output will be to DVD. I don' need alot of video effects, just some title overlays, fades and transitions.
Any suggestions?

 

Pinnacle just released Studio 11, they have like four versions at different price points. Plus they have rebates going on right now.

 

Do not import your video as AVI or MPEG2. This alone may be the cause of some of your performance concerns. You should be importing your video as DV (raw uncompressed digital video), do your editing, then exporting your finished footage as MPEG2 or AVI files for viewing on the computer or a DVD iso image for burning.

As far as softwar goes, the only other option in your price range besides the Pinnicle studio products is Adobe Premiere elements. I've used an older version and thought it was pretty decent for the money. Comments on the later versions have been fairly mixed though.