I'm surprised that no one has suggested Avid Liquid, which I think in this case given that this person has never edited any video before.  Liquid would be a good step. 

Even FCP can be overkill for someone wanting to string together some shots of the kids and do a YouTube/DVD output for the grandparents.

Simplicity is the key here... I feel that woodlab would be far better suited to getting an app that doesn't require advanced knowledge of all aspects of video, web encoding, DVD authoring etc.  Something that he can ingest and spit out a final product from one app.

"I'm surprised that no one has suggested Avid Liquid,"

.- Oh, no, my friend!

Liquid is no toy, nor is easy to learn.

Believe me, you'd be surprised!!.

I own one and I have used it a lot.

Yes, it has some wizards for frequent tasks, but the "easyness" ends there.

To name only one feature, the color correction is very complicated,  with several pro settings, secondary CC and a lot of complicated swatches and controls.

The effects controls are as complex as the next app, with keyframes and beziers.

I'm surprised you didn't try the most obvious (at least to me) option, click in the the 'start' columnn in the bin, type your preferred start timecode and click 'ok' at the prompt.

 Also, if you go into your general settings in your user profile, you can set the default time code start number and type (drop or non-drop) for all new sequences.

The thing about Avid is that it is really aimed at the high end of the market.  That doesn't mean you can't pick it up or that you should be afraid of it, but if you're not a film/video professional, you're not going to need most of the features it provides.  As a hobbyist, you'll never need to make film lists or EDLs.  In fact, you probably don't even care about using timecode or media tracking.  All of these things are crucial for post production on a professional level.  But the process is fundamentally the same whether you're editing a feature film or video of your kids in the pool--you capture the video, make the cuts, and spit it out.  Any video editing package can do that.

That being said, I use Media Composer to edit my home movies, but that's because I already have it and I'm most comfortable with it.  Even then, I do feel a little bit like I'm doing yard work with a bulldozer .  I do believe it has the best and most customizable interface of any video software out there, but that's something that, while I'm sure you'd appreciate, may not justify the cost.  If I didn't need Avid to do my job, I couldn't justify buying it.  It's very much the same way with any other endeavor, I think.  I understand wanting to buy the best tools for the job.  For wrenching on my motorcycle at home, I'd love to have a 120 gallon air compressor and a full complement of Snap-On tools at hand.  But for the five or six times a year I'd actually use those tools, I can get along fine with my Craftsman torque wrench and electric drill.

So, the fundamental question is, what equipment do you need to do what you want?  For me, that's Avid, because I use it to make my living and I require features from my video editing system that no other software provides.  And as much as I hate to steer someone away from what I believe to be the best video package out there, I believe it's difficult to justify the cost when you can get an iMac with Final Cut Express and have a dedicated editing system that will meet all your needs for half the cost of Avid's software alone.

If you were a video professional, or even thinking of becoming a video professional, my answer would be different.  And it's really not that Avid is hard to get the hang of.  But for what you need, I have to say it would definitely be overkill.

Not sure what OS you would like to use for your video editing/ DVD production. But when I started out I found Final Cut Express (HD if you need it) plus iDVD which comes with the Mac's would cover 99% of what you have indicated and would be easy to learn.

Steve

Sasquatch:

 If you can get an express pro HD software on ebay have a go with that you'll soon pick it up

As a long time and loyal Avid user and after reading all the advice presented so far, I believe Sasquatch has given you the best route to the best tools at the best bang for the buck. There's one listed on ebay right now. And who knows, it's just a hobby now, but after you've worked with it for a while and wrap your brain around it, you might have just discovered a second potential source of income for yourself!

Hi Woodlab:

                      Get and learn Media Composer and install it on an Avid certified PC or laptop. Do not purchase Xpress Pro. Why ? Avid Xpress Pro has been officially discontinued and no further development will be made with this end of life product. Secondly, we found many of the advertised features of AXP (I won't go into the list here) simple wouldn't work ! In fact, all of the features which consistently malfunctioned in AXP work perfectly in Media Composer.

                      Fazz Powel's complaints about the general Avid manual in MC are quite valid ! The metal language of these manulas make them next to useless. Stop boasting about features and run settings menus to get things done. The printed manuals in AXP are equally useless.

                      The pattern for these manuals should always be task oriented.

i.e. If you want to do X, then make sure the following settings are set in B to C and so on. You can find the B setting at..... 

                      We have only had MC installed since the end of March 2008, and we are using the application at only 45% of what it is truly capable of doing. Everything we do with it works perfectly, but the learning curve is very steep. The pain in learning is worth the gain in doing. Get MC

 Woodlab:

No matter which choice you ultimately make, if you buy Avid software, here's the core of the editing engine: Load your source material, mark an in and an out point, then mark an in point on your edited timeline and then the "B" key (assemble edit). Three point marking...that's the core of it, everything else is enhancements, bells and whistles. Three point marking will automatically calculate the fourth, no matter what the combination is. In the example I gave, the timeline out will be the one automatically calculated. Use the marking structure, don't do a lot of dragging clips to the timeline. Once you're comfortable with this process, you're going to love everything that comes next.

Larry's right on the money.  Avid at its most fundamental is simple.  Once you start exploiting effects it can be a steep learning curve.  But that applies to anything anyway.  However I also suggest an eBay Xpress Pro.

Laptopeditor:

Get and learn Media Composer and install it on an Avid certified PC or laptop. Do not purchase Xpress Pro. Why ? Avid Xpress Pro has been officially discontinued and no further development will be made with this end of life product. Secondly, we found many of the advertised features of AXP (I won't go into the list here) simple wouldn't work !

That's been the reverse of my experience.  I built a very successful business around Xpress and Xpress Pro, and it never let me down.  Laptopeditor had one weird issue after another and the fixes seemed always to end up being not quite right.  This suggests an underlying problem with his install.

Laptopeditor:

In fact, all of the features which consistently malfunctioned in AXP work perfectly in Media Composer.

In my experience of both systems, MC and Xpro in terms of reliability are interchangeable.

If you are intrigued enough by MC to be posting here, I recommend that you get that eBay copy of Xpress Pro.  Just make sure that you install it on an Avid qualified system, and use it to do what you will.  If you find that it works for you, down the track you can still upgrade to MC.

 First off...thank you, thank you, thank you for all the great information and advice from the board. I haven't really decided what direction to take yet. I purposfully held back the fact that I DO have the academic version available to me because I really didn't want cost to be a major consideration. I also DO have a Mac at the house that I could dedicate to nothing but video projects since I have PC all over the house too.

Here's what I've gathered so far:

• Yes...I'm as green as a clover in the heart of Ireland...which I mss terribly. It seems that these applications are so proprietary that I really would prefer to pick 1 and learn it once.  
• While my projects will remain pretty basic for the near term, it really seems that you're only limited by your imagination and I could really see doing some cool stuff with my classes that have a more professional feel.
• Ideally I'd like to get one of those nice hard drive HD camcorders (I'm still undecided on make/model of those too) and I know that camera file formats and software packages can sometimes be the deciding factor.
• I go back and forth between getting an entry big box solution (Adobe, Vegas, Mac, etc) and "learning"...and getting one product ONCE and learning one time.

Oh...one more project that is definitely on my radar...I will be riding my bike from Seattle to Florida next summer and I would LOVE to do a professional feeling documentary of my ride. I know that doesn't REALLY change much, but right now I'm about 50-50 on home/hobby stuff vs. prosumer stuff.

Once again...I REALLY, REALLY appreciate everyone's input and advice. I'm easily 100% more educated now than I was 2 nights ago. I am in no big hurry for any decisions so I'm going to download a few free trails and try them out...too bad Avid doesn't do that. ;-)

jwrl:

Laptopeditor had one weird issue after another and the fixes seemed always to end up being not quite right.  This suggests an underlying problem with his install.

We knew we had to Transcode the HDV sequence to DNxHD to get anything out to DVD. Guess what ? We would do the required transcode and it would give the same error dialogue - "Long GOP blah, blah ! blah !" As soon as we could migrate to MC (Which we wanted to purchase in the first place but couldn't afford it at the time) all our malfunctions disappeared like a bad dream in the night. Conclusion: AXP is not ready for prime time and MC is

* I would qualify my statements by pointing out AXP seemed to function quite fine with any project other than HDV.

woodlab, I do agree with Larry, the abc of editing is easy and (if I may add) it is the same in all softwares, so to speak same degree off ease/difficulties whatever the app. Moreover, most editing applications share the same metaphor: they resemble the moviola, with the timeline being the equivalent of a roll of film running in front of You and the record (or program) window which displays the content of the timeline; add to this the preview window (mutuated by RVM editing systems) used to preview (!) the stuff that You're going to cut into Your sequence and this is it: the same for Avid, FinalCut, Premiere and who knows what. That being said all those above mentioned programs have plenty of options You'll never use (same as me), but it's good to know they are there, just in case. To make things even more messy You must be aware that there are at least two (or more) ways to accomplish the same goal in all the editors I came across: the mice way and the keyboard way. Do not be frightened by the approved system shouting crowd, there is some room for unapproved systems as long as You stick with the Intel/nVidia/TI-firewire components, especially if You're not planning to buy Avid DNAs (see my system specs for an exemple). Talking of the interface: not only (as someone said) You can custom taylor it to Your needs, but the ergonomics is much better than the competition: see the latest version of FinalCut that seems to be made to sell the 30 inches Apple Cinema Display instead of editing as some of the icons are quite small and therefore difficult to click on smaller monitors.

 Well, I think I have about convinced myself that Avid probably isn't appropriate for what I want to do in the near term (<12 months). I have taken the first steps to my "evaluation" and downloaded a couple of contenders. Based on the reviews on Amazon (anyone here please feel free to offer their 2 cents as well), the Sony Vegas product seems to be what people like...and it probably doesn't hurt that I am planning a Sony camcorder purchase this summer as well.

Thanks to everyone for their great advice. I hope to be editing video very soon and will keep you posted on my progress.

Larry Rubin:

Click on your record monitor and CTRL + I. You can now change the timecode number, and change from drop-frame to non-drop frame and vice versa.

 THANK YOU LARRY!!!! (and everyone else)