Advice on HD Blu Ray Editing / Authoring Software

Not sure if this belongs here in the Software forum or the Video forum. I did a few searches and haven't found anything recent on this topic.

I have read product reviews all over the web, but I was wondering if anyone here has had any specific luck or preference to an affordable video editing and authoring software. I see most newer releases support 3D, but for now 3D is not a priority and I have no way of viewing it currently anyways.

My goal is to take home 1080p video and fiddle with some cool effects and add music, etc.

1) Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11 Production Suite ($60)
2) CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Ultra ($72)
3) Adobe Premiere Elements 10 ($75)
4) Corel Video Studio X4 ($30)
5) Any compairable free software from a reputible source

I've heard the best things about Sony's Vegas software and was leaning that direction. Your thoughts are appreciated.

My wife does this with DVD quality digital video and has been using PowerDirector...but an older version. I'm thinking of upgrading to a newer version so she can handle Blu-Ray. She seems to like the software a lot.

I tried them all a few years ago and settled on Vegas. It has it's quirks but does seem to have the best overall set of capabilities. The user interface appears more complex than its competitors but the truth is I find that better in the long run because it's easy to do the things you want after you learn how to do them. The good news is Vegas has excellent "show me how" tutorials built in and they take you through the process step-by-step.

Vegas uses a separate free program called DVD Architect Studio to actually make DVD and Blu-Ray disks. This is more cumbersome than the others where this capability is built in. On the other hand, by being a separate program you do get a bit more flexibility...and complexity.

The biggest problem I have with Vegas (actually it is with DVD Architect) is that it will make Blu-Ray disks only with stereo sound, not 5.1 audio. They do this on purpose in an attempt to make people buy the Pro versions, and it's just an unfortunate marketing decision.

All of NLEs have free 30-day trials so your best bet is to try them all. It should become clear to you which one suits you best. ANother one you can check out is Grass Valley's Edius. There is also one from Xara that looks pretty good.

Thanks guys :)

Thanks again. I decided to go with Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11 Production Suite mainly due to the price (marked down from $130 to $55) and the good reviews it was getting.