Anything I really need to know before pulling the trigger

[P2potter]

I am new to Edius but not VE, I used Premiere 6.0 15 or so years ago to make some reasonable discs to send to the family scattered around the globe from mini DV tapes. A lot has happened since then and I have a pile of SDHC cards with AVCHD files that I want to edit into something reasonable.

My Canon HFS100 still generates fantastic quality video and I will continue to use it, but realize that .mts files are not the most friendly to edit. Based upon numerous google searches it looks like Edius is the best choice, and I have a PC capable of such edits (i9, 32Gb, Quadro 2200, ssd drives and 6Tb backup).

So questions for you worldly folks:

1. Should I wait til September to get Edius X or will upgrading from 9 - X be painless? Will I get all of the future X updates for free?

2. Is there a version that comes with a hardcopy of the manual? Us old folks like something physical to use rather than PDFs!

3. Are there any obvious tips and tricks I should employ when editing mts and m2ts files? I want to avoid recompiling if necessary to maintain quality (data is captured at 18 and 24 Mbs).

4. I will obviously save everything as files on HD, but will almost certainly generate DVD and Blu rays as wellto send to family. Are there any issues with generating discs that play in other parts of the world (mostly Europe)?

5. Is there any advantage ordering the software from a vendor rather than at the 'shop'?

6. Can I use FLAC files for inputing audio (background music)?

Anything else i have missed?

TIA for all of your help!

Phil

[Geoff_C]

. mts files are not a problem. They edit easily.

[dpalomaki]

At least the past version upgrades have been relatively painless. Just follow the instructions. To be on the safe side wait a couple weeks to allow others to find any issues in the upgrade process.

The primary advantage to buying from a local vendor is the potential for obtaining local support if you need it. On line help, such as these forums, is good although not quite real time.

Getting E9 and the included upgrade or waiting for E10 depends on how soon you need to start editing. Waiting for E10 may mean slightly less learning curve when you make the upgrade.

Sadly hard copy manual are a thing of the past for virtually all software, not just Edius. The on-line and PDF manuals work and offer the advantage of key-word search along with the disadvantages of on-line only. They can be printed but it is a lot of pages. (A total of 528 pages for E9). There may be third party "how-to" printed books available at some point in time but I don't know of any in English for E9.

I've had no issues with AVI DV, MTS, or M2TS files from Sony or Canon DV, HDV, or HD cameras.

I normally author DV and Bluray with TMPGEnc AuthoringWorks. I export DB- and DVD-compatible files from Edius.

[P2potter]

Thanks for the helpful comments. Will take them all on board.

Phil