ADOBE PREMIERE "Adobe Premiere software is a revolutionary nonlinear video editing application." A nonlinear video editor allows the user to manipulate digital video, in no prespecified fashion (i.e. user has total control over the look and feel of the final product). Adobe Premiere, and other similar editing software, is used mainly by semi-professional video editors. This program is designed specifically for Microsoft Windows XP systems. Adobe Systems, Inc. is the manufacturer of all versions of Adobe Premiere.  Adobe was founded in 1982, and has since grown to employ over "3,500 people...generating annual revenues exceeding $1 billion." Manufacturers of rival products include Apple (Final Cut Pro) and Avid (Xpress). Specifications and features: The latest version of Adobe Premiere is Premiere Pro. It contains numerous new features from the pervious version of Premiere, including real-time editing capabilities, multiple editing timelines, advanced color correction, enhanced audio editing, and support for standard of high definition video, among other features. You can view the new features highlights here: New features highlights (PDF file). Pricing: Premiere Pro is $699 (Windows version), or $549 (Macintosh version) from the Adobe store. Premiere Pro is $693.95 from Amazon.com, and can also be found on eBay for various prices. Market Penetration: Adobe currently owns about 60% of the market for digital video software, according to Digital Media Net. This includes Premiere for video editing, and Adobe After Effects for digital compositing. "Adobe currently is the overwhelming leader in this market, however because of the growth opportunity in this sector there is a lot of room for additional companies to gain a substantial presence over the next several years" (Digital Media Net).  News stories: New Adobe Photoshop CS Adds Essential Capabilites to Updated Adobe Video Collection (Business Wire) Certification of Adobe Premiere Pro Plug-Ins (Electronic Publishing) Canopus Introduces VideoFX Transitions (Yahoo! Finance News) search for the latest Adobe Premiere news Advantages And Benefits: "Non-linear editing allows us to take pieces of digital information and re-arrange them at will (without a loss in quality as well). Splicing tape is a bit harder and you damage the original. With this also comes the ability to combine multiple sources into one" (Thought Horizon). Digital editing is also faster and more cost effective than editing film or tape. Another benefit is that almost anyone can edit footage that they shoot. With the lowering cost of digital camcorders, more and more people can begin editing on their own since Premiere (and other editing software) offer great ease-of-use. Downsides Or Negative Impacts: One downside to digital video editing is rendering time. Rendering time is the time that is takes the software to put all of the frames together into a usable video file. This can take a great deal of time, depending on system speed and the length of video, as well as the number of effects used. Product Reviews: Premiere Pro Post Magazine Digital Media Net PC Magazine Premiere 6.5 CNet Internet Newsgroups And Mailing Lists: Adobe-Premiere: "This group is for users of Adobe Premiere (video and movie editing), on both the PC and Mac platform. In this group we help each other with solving problems, report and discuss bugs, and provide each other with knowledge and tips." (2618 members) aftereffect-premiere: "a list for users of adobe after effects and adobe premiere. help for these video editing programs." (531 members) adobedigitalartists: "Adobe Digital Artists is a club for artists who use Adobe software, such as: After Effects, Premiere, Photoshop and Illustrator. The primary medium is video/film, but other mediums are welcome. Come share tips & tricks, advice and questions related to the use of Adobe software." (385 members) AdobePremierePro: "The Adobe Premiere Pro group shall be for open discussion and the sharing of creative and technical ideas by those currently using or considering the Premiere Pro non-linear editing (NLE) system. Discussion of Adobe Premiere as well as other applications that directly relate to the above video editing systems are also welcome. While Adobe Inc. does not maintain this list or accept responsibility for content, they do have an excellent presence and frequently contribute technical information." (23 members) Predictions: I think that the future for Adobe Premiere (and digital, non-linear editing in general) is very bright. In the long run, digital video will become the standard (as opposed to film) due to high-resolution, ease of use, and cost effectiveness. Over time, non-linear editors will evolve to encompass all of the features of a Hollywood editing studio, only on your home computer. The rise of digital editing will evolve hand-in-hand with computer technology and digital camcorders. As these all become less expensive, they will be more commercially available. As with all technologies, innovations will occur at a rapid rate. Therefore, consumers will constantly have to update their editing software, or else it will quickly become obsolete. With the spawn of digital editing into the mainstream, we will see more and more low-budget, independent films rise and eventually take over the traditional film studios of Hollywood. Sources: Adobe Systems Inc. / Adobe Premiere Pro Digital Media Net Thought Horizon Yahoo! Groups 11/11/03 Robert Chandler