Basically I have a normal PC and just want basic video editing / compression / conversion software.
There's your first problem I'm afraid, without a doubt the easiest solution is to befriend someone with a Mac and use iMovie. .MOV is a Quicktime (Apple) native format hence needs no conversion. iMovie also exports to iPods as a standard option.
I have vista with windows movie maker and player software.
I have a panasonic lumix FX150 camera which creates .mov files
-windows software can't play these
-i tried downloading a codec bundle which should have made all files viewable?
Firstly Moviemaker is a nightmare, they didn't really do any major upgrades for Vista. You may hear rumours about a new version but don't get too excited
http://download.live.com/moviemaker it even worse and still in Beta.
Standard quicktime will play .mov files
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/as will the Klite mega codec pack (including 'Quicktime alternative')
http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/mirror.htmIdeally i'd like 1 piece of free software that allows me to do all i want including compression to my ipod
Can anyone rec comend anything suitable or do i need multiple programmes do do all this. I'm not interested in super techy programmes where you can fiddle with everything as i know i wont use this. To be honest the windows stuff i have is ok but won't let me do anything with my camera files.
The obvious answer (other than a Mac) is Quicktime Pro on a PC.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/http://store.apple.com/uk/product/D3381For £20 it seems the obvious choice for working with .mov files. Compression, playing, basic editing (trimming etc), exporting to different formats including iPod, but as you can see from the reviews, QTPro on Windows is a world away from QTPro on a Mac. You may have no problems but I'm not sure if there is a trial version so if it doesn't work well it's £20 wasted.
The next step up is something like Adobe Premiere Elements 7
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiereel/I think this is great, although it does get mixed reviews, some people find it unstable. £60 from Amazon, £30 if your in education or
even cheaper?? You can download a trial version, I think it puts watermarks on any exports
The other thing to try are online video editors, these have come on quite a bit recently but it is still early days for them really. Jaycut, jumpcut, motionbox etc. I haven't played with these yet so can't recommend any particularly.
what is the best file type to convert video to (quality + siz + compatability)
Totally depends what you want to do with it. Most programmes will have presets for things like iPods etc.
what's the best file type to upload to sites like Vimeo to
As Jim says, most video sites automatically compress and convert from most file sizes and formats, the major issues time it takes to up load a full quality file. If you have time and and unlimited broadband you may as well upload in full quality.
