A trio of new/upgraded video editing solutions from Pinnacle
If you’ve ever dabbled in video editing, you’ll certainly have heard of Pinnacle’s Video Studio, which is now in its 19th edition. Recently updated, the program is available in three versions, Studio, Studio Plus and Studio Ultimate. This review covers the Ultimate edition, which is the most expensive but, as you might expect, has the most features and comes with bags more content. In fact, it has more content than any other editor I’ve ever seen. To give you some idea, you have over 1,500 transitions to choose from. These include the usual wipes, fades and dissolves, yet includes things like rotating, collapsing boxes and two clips changing place while rotating around a planet (I kid you not!). Then there’s an equally comprehensive range of video effects which, like the transitions, can be previewed by clicking on them. Finally, you get a huge collection of audio clips, covering every sound effect you could wish for, together with a brilliant selection of background music. This is also more than it seems, because each audio track can be changed almost infinitely in the ScoreFitter. As the name implies, it’s a utility to subtly alter the base track in terms of its tempo and genre. You can also stretch the audio file to fit your production, and in a few seconds scorefitter will render it automatically for you. This really is a massive collection, but like all digital effects they should be used with some restraint.
This latest version of PVS is nothing like the last one I looked at. The new interface is typical of modern video editors, with a timeline along the bottom of the screen, below a project bin and preview monitor. Clicking the tabs along the top of the project bin reveals the transitions, effects, titles and other content. (Incidentally these are not fixed tabs; you can add or remove them to suit your current project.)
To assemble your video, you simply drag and drop the files onto the timeline, adding titles, transitions, effects and audio in the same way. Once in position, you can edit them in terms of length and content. In the case of titles, there's a more comprehensive editor to change everything from the font to the text style and colour – even the way the letters will animate on the screen.
After completing your projects, you’ll naturally want to save them in a suitable format; here again there’s a wide range to chose from. The MyDVD Disk Menu includes a selection of menu templates covering DVD, Blu-ray and AVCHD, with output formats up to 4K. It also provides a range of format types to suit the final playback device.
Finally, for those who's are already familiar with PVS, what’s new in this version? Well, my last paragraph was a bit of a clue, because the program can now handle 4K video files. Naturally, you’ll need a system that can cope with the increased file sizes, but I guess if you’re into video editing, that’s a given anyway. In my opinion, one of the most important additions is the move to 64-bit architecture; the performance increase on display is outstanding. Other additions include multi-camera editing, so you can edit footage from two different cameras while keeping the clips aligned and audio synced. On top of that, you can multi-layer using up to six audio and video tracks.
Pinnacle obviously thought all the content I mentioned earlier wasn’t enough, so it's added a 30-day, all-access pass to StudioBacklot.tv, featuring brand-new Pinnacle Studio 19 content and loads of Video Studio training. Incidentally, this isn't the usual mediocre giveaway stuff you get with some products; we’re talking top-quality training and files that are well worth having. That's not a deal we'd easily turn down. Joe Lavery
Simple to use and fantastic value for money.