Columnist: XP’s movie making no match for iMovie

Windows XP is no match for Apple’s iMovie, according to Jim Heid, who writes the “Mac Focus” column for the LA Times .

In his latest column, Heid writes that “Windows XP has many fine features and even an advantage or two over the Mac,” but “as a movie-making platform, it’s farther from Hollywood than Buffalo, N.Y.” XP does come with a video editing application, Windows Movie Maker, but it had a “nearly barren” editing room that lacks iMovie’s array of special effects, transitions and audio controls, Heid says.

Another drawback is that relatively few Wintel systems sport FireWire connectivity — a big plug when it comes to dealing in digital video — whereas all Apple hardware does. And even if you have a FireWire card, you can’t record your video back to tape without buying a third-party program, Heid says.

And when you throw in Apple’s new iDVD 2 software, well, Apple really shines. “Indeed, with its new iDVD 2 software, Apple has only strengthened the Mac’s lead as the premiere platform for moving pictures,” Heid opines.