The question you ask is more dependent on your personal requirements, expectations, and computer system specs needed to run the software than anyone's personal opinion here as we are all users here of the Magix software and possibly biased because of that.
I would expect that with experience of using either editor, the quality of the output rendered files would roughly be the same although the amount of time for export rendering may vary between the two applications. Certainly the effects offered vary and while there are some effects that are the same there are more that are not, so which plugin effects would you find most useful?
They both require relatively new computer systems to run on although Elements needs a more powerful system than Movie Edit Pro (Now referred to as Movie Studio) to handle similar resolution files and both seem to have similar export and import limitations.
Please click on either of the blue text sections to take you to the respective program specification pages.
Both will have a different look and feel to them and may influence how your workflow develops.
Both have their good points and bad points. You will see similar complaints on both forums. Neither is perfect.
There will be avid fans on both platforms that will tell you theirs is the best editor which may or not not be the case depending on personal experience and amount of open mindedness of the person replying.
My personal advice would be.
Look at your system specs. Check it will exceed all minimum requirements for a better handling experience and less problems with the editor once installed.
Have a good look around both forums and look at the complaints / queries. Do the people with problems have systems that meet the specifications? Are they open about their own systems or just say 'my system is powerful enough' without then giving the requested system spec?
How helpful are the people replying?
All that information may help you make a better and informed choice. I personally would not wish to recommend one editor over another as both are capable editors in my opinion. They just offer different options on some effects that are not always easily duplicated on the other platform.
Also, if there is a demo to download, try it first and see how your computer handles it and how well you can adapt to using it.
Some editors I like, while others, not so much. It's not that the ones I don't like can't do the job, I just would rather use a different editor. It's a personal choice. That's why it's best for you to try a demo first.
Former user
wrote on 3/10/2022, 11:13 AM
@Ryan-Hoban Sometimes the difference between Adobe & other software is a bit like the difference between a Mac & a PC, or an iPhone vs an Android, my Boris plugins pretty much work in all software i've got but they won't work in Adobe. I'd have to buy a separate licence.
One factor that has not been mentioned is the cost and the end game.
Premiere is subscription only, stop the subscription and the software stops working.
Video Pro X (VPX) is more on the level of Premiere Pro and is subscription only - see link below about the Subscription service
Movie Edit Pro (MEP) is now called Movie Studio (MMS) and has many of the features of VPX, they are based on the same engine, however it is missing most of the tools useful for editing for Broadcast, some features and has only one Preview screen.
MMS options are:
A one off purchase, at the end of the year if you do not renew the Update Service - the program will continue to work - just no further update or upgrades to a later version - see here scroll down to near the bottom.
A subscription service - details are here - also read the FAQ - button is on the same page.
Premiere Elements has one intriguing feature - Elements Organizer - powered by Adobe Sensei.
On this page, scroll down to Effortless Organization and watch the video beside Organize Automatically.
Just import your photos and videos into the Elements Organizer, Smart tags are automatically applied. People recognition goes through all photos and videos, finds the people, tags them to their name, which it somehow magically figures out. It can even tags by places (somehow identifies them) and tags by events (somehow figuring out the name each event). Yeah, sure. I'll believe it when I see it.
It would be better to indicate that the user has to first identify the people, places and events.
Also, "Your videos are automatically curated based on quality, faces, subjects, Smart Tags, and more, so you don’t have to search for the standouts."
It does some other wonderful things, according to the blurb, but the devil is in the details. It does not appear to have in-depth editing tools, but it has a lot of easy features that are interesting.
I just looked in Magix Photo Manager and I have more than 50k image files and 12k video files in the database. I wonder how Elements Organizer would handle all of that if I imported it in one shot.
The price is interesting, but it looks like a slippery slope into the Adobe world of heavy monthly payments.
Not sure that Elements is for me. Click and presto, it does all the work for you....
Former user
wrote on 3/10/2022, 4:16 PM
I just looked in Magix Photo Manager and I have more than 50k image files and 12k video files in the database. I wonder how Elements Organizer would handle all of that if I imported it in one shot.
Just as a side note reg many image files, i 've had this for many yrs, it shows copies of files, it's very simple & free but you do have to be careful what you delete 🙈😢😂 http://www.visipics.info/index.php?title=Download
Thanks everyone, for your valuable input! And the humor regarding Premiere Elements, the effortless "click and presto" comments. 😆
I currently have both MMS and Premiere Elements installed. Unfortunately, since upgrading to Windows 11, APE seems to freeze my system temperately. I have the Aurora R12 Desktop with an 11th gen i5 Intel. And NVIDIA'S GeForce RTX 1650. Thought it would be a sufficient system for video editing/music production. Maybe I have too many files and apps installed or the wrong settings.
Regardless, I appreciate all the knowledge bestowed. I am new to digital video editing. I need to digest a lot of tutorials.
There was talk at Adobe that when they started their subscription model towards the end of the CS6 era that the full paid up and keep model would disappear for all but their Lightroom photo editing program. They changed their minds and never implemented that policy to their cut-down Elements versions of their main product lines. I think they realised as did Magix that subscription models are not entirely liked for various reasons across various sections of the population and can alienate a proportion of the customer base that would look elsewhere.
My personal view is that the subscription model may be okay for Pros using Pro software, but not for consumers using consumer products for a few home movies per year.
@ericlnz I agree with you. But, Powerdirector has only subscription, and I think they are doing "ok".
@Ryan-Hoban your computer specs (which i5 do you have? There are several models) should be fine with working 1080HD. And with MEP, working with 4K too. Make sure you have plenty of hard drive space to store your videos.
As I wrote, download trial versions and see how they operate. For "me", some automation is nice, but for the most part, I'd rather do it all myself. The video is then personalized and not a cookie cutter with canned effects.
Intel i5-11400F does not have an integrated GPU therefore the graphics card is missing.
Can you expand on your computer specification and program version, see this topic for what is required and please quote graphics card make/model in full - I would suggest you put this information in your profile signature so we do not have to keep asking for it in future posts you make.
Alienware Aurora R12 Desktop Windows 11 Version 21H2 (OS Build 22000.556) up to date Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-11400F @ 2.60GHz 2.60 GHz Installed RAM 8.00 GB (7.68 GB usable)
HDD 1T System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor SANYO LCD 1280X720 WDC WD10EZEX-75WN4A1 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER Studio Driver Version 511.65