Though it lacks the features of big-name programs such as Adobe Premiere, Video Magic is admirably simple and suitable for basic home use. Once you’ve captured media from a DV camera, a DVD camcorder, or another source, you just drop the video and audio files onto Video Magic’s time-line-based interface to start editing. The program provides a healthy number of transitions and effects, such as fades, wipes, and even a picture-in-picture tool. It’s a snap to slap together video files and add dissolves, narration, and background music. When you’re done, Video Magic can output your movie to any of the major video formats, including AVI, MPEG, and WMV. The program now includes a tool for splitting clips into multiple segments, but we didn’t find it all that easy to use. Also, the program lacks a dedicated trimming tool, making it difficult to fine-tune transitions. Overall, Video Magic is best suited for novices who want to get their feet wet before moving on to more full-featured packages.
